Listen:
MP3 One Segment
RealAudio
This program examines evolving events in US/Mideast politics. In particular, events in US relations with Saudi Arabia (“The Hard Place”) and Iraq (“Iraq”). In response to the lawsuit filed against members of the Saudi Royal Family and related elements of the Saudi petro-financial elite, an apparent withdrawal of Saudi funds from the U.S. capital markets has begun. That lawsuit, for a $trillion in damages, has been filed by survivors of the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The Saudi Royal Family, related economic and Wahhabite Islamist elements, the petroleum industry, international fascism (the Third Reich, in particular), and key economical and political forces in the United States historically allied with the Bush family are the dominant forces that have precipitated the events of 9/11. Involved with, and at the core of this structural relationship, the forces of international fascism have been able to nurture in the Arab world and the United States.
1. The program begins with an apparent withdrawal of significant amounts of Saudi capital invested in the United States. This withdrawal is, in part, a reaction to the lawsuit mentioned elsewhere. “Disgruntled Saudis have pulled tens of billions of dollars out of the U.S., signaling a growing disenchantment with America. One analyst said the total funds withdrawn by individual investors amounted to $200bn. Other bankers put the figure nearer to $100bn. The U.S.-Saudi alliance was put under severe strain after September 11, when 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. Accusations that Saudi Arabia’s austere brand of Islam breeds terrorism and its charities finance Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network have been perceived in the kingdom as attacks on Saudi society and its religion.” (“Saudis Pull Billions Out of the U.S.” by Roula Khalaf; Financial Times; 8/21/2002; p. 1)
2. “An analyst from the Rand Corporation said at a Pentagon briefing this month that Saudi Arabia was the ‘kernel of evil’, exacerbating concerns among the country’s elite that they have become demonized in the U.S. and their money is no longer safe there. As part of the fight against terrorism, the U.S. and Saudi authorities have been monitoring the accounts of dozens of Saudi companies and individuals, a move that has alarmed Saudi companies and individuals, a move that has alarmed Saudi merchants. Youssef Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations working on a project re-examining U.S.-Saudi relations, said Saudis had withdrawn at least $200bn from the U.S. in recent months. He said the move had been driven by hawkish U.S. commentators’ calls for the freezing of Saudi assets.” (Idem.)
3. “The trend, he added, could be expected to accelerate with last week’s trillion-dollar lawsuit by relatives of the victims of September 11. The lawsuit accuses several Saudi institutions and charities and three members of the royal family, including the defense minister, of financing terrorism.” (Idem.)
4. Behold the Hard Place, and note the mention of “Iraq” at the end of the quoted passage. “People no longer have any confidence in the U.S. economy or in U.S. foreign policy,’ said Bishr Bakheet, a financial consultant in Riyadh. ‘And if the latest lawsuit is not thrown out in court, it will mean no more Saudi money in the U.S.’ Despite statements by both the U.S. and Saudi governments that ties remain strong, tensions are also exacerbated by the apparent U.S. determination to seek regime change in Iraq through possible military action, a policy opposed by the oil-rich kingdom.” (Idem.)
5. The bulk of the program focuses on a hypothetical element in the discussion of possible military action against Iraq. The discussion explores an aspect of the Iraq debate that has received relatively little debate—the foot-and-mouth epidemic in Britain in the spring of 2001 and the possibility that it may have involved bioterrorism. A recent op-ed column raised the very question at the heart of recent discussion: IS the outbreak of foot-and-mouth the result of biological warfare? The writer also raised another aspect of the line of inquiry presented in that program-the possibility that Iraq may have been involved in the deliberate spread of the disease. “Could the United States be at war and not know it? The current outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom makes one wonder. Not about Britain’s plight specifically; there’s nothing to suggest that the epidemic there is an act of war. But consider how quickly and easily it has spread. Then consider a regime such as Iraq’s, which has demonstrated a commitment to developing biological weapons. Might such a nation find it advantageous to strike anonymously and biologically by spreading an economically devastating disease or a slow-acting toxin? This is not an abstract question. The Iraqi regime insists that the economic sanctions imposed on it are nothing less than a genocidal attack by the United States and the United Kingdom. The regime has said it is still fighting the Persian Gulf War, and that it will respond to the plight of the Palestinians . . . . Among the agents known to have been loaded into warheads are aflatoxin, a fungal toxin that can cause liver cancer, and wheat-cover smut, which destroys grain crops . . . . And if a slow-developing disease can’t be linked to the event that triggered it, how can a country prevent such attacks? How can it respond? Science might be able to address part of this problem. Subtle differences in varieties of biological agents can be analyzed and traced to certain regions. Other effects might have signatures that can be observed in victims.” (“If an Enemy Attacks, Will We Know It?” by Charles Duelfer; San Jose Mercury News; 4/24/2001; p. 7B.)
6. A recent U.N. study about the renascent Iraqi development programs for weapons of mass destruction warned of that country’s development of foot-and-mouth virus. (“Missiles, Viruses Still Trouble Experts” by the international staff, Financial Times; 3/2/2001; p. 5.)
7. “Iraq’s research into viruses-including polio, influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, the camelpox virus, infectious hemorrhagic conjuunctivitis virus and rotavirus-was also worrying.” (Idem.) The program asks, hypothetically, if possible Iraqi authorship of the British epidemic may underlie some of the debate on the potential military action against Saddam Hussein. There has been some media discussion of a possible Iraqi attack on the U.S. (unfulfilled) based on information that has not been disclosed. (Is this part of what has not been publicly disclosed?)
8. Interestingly, and perhaps significantly, the U.S. and Britain launched air strikes against Iraq shortly after George W. Bush became president. The possibility that the foot-and-mouth outbreak might stem from Iraqi biological warfare retaliation for Britain’s role in the strikes is not one that should be too readily cast aside. It is also interesting to note that, as the Charles Duelfer column excerpted noted above points out, genetic signatures of a given contagion-causing organism might yield clues as to the possible origin of the disease. “The strain of foot-and-mouth virus plaguing Britain’s farms was first detected in India more than a decade ago. Scientists have been tracking it across the world since then, but are no closer to determining how it got to England. . . . Experts have identified the virus causing the current outbeak in Europe as belonging to the Pan-Asia type zero strain. The subtype ravaging Britain is normally found in the Middle East and South Asia. Note this outbreak in relation to Pakistani support for the Taliban, and the long-standing conflict between that country and India. (“Foot-and-Mouth Trots Around Globe” by Emma Ross; San Jose Mercury News; 3/30/2001; p. 5A.)
9. In the context of Saddam’s hostility to Britain, several additional facts should be taken into account. One is that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was raised by, and heavily influenced by, his pro-Nazi, anti-British uncle. “At ten, he found a mentor in his maternal uncle, Khairallah al-Tulfah, a recently cashiered army officer whose hatred of British colonial rule was matched only by his admiration for Adolf Hitler and his Nazi ideals. . . .He learned to read by the light of an oil lamp and fed his spirit on his uncle’s tales of exploits with pro-German officers in the Iraqi army. Khairallah al-Tulfah had a dream that Arabs would one day be free of foreign occupation and foreign rule. The Germans, Khairallah said, were the only ones who respected the Arabs as equals. The British were just after their oil.” (The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq; by Kenneth Timmerman; copyright 1991 [HC]; by Houghton Mifflin Company; ISBN 0–395-59305–0; p.1.)
10. Khairallah was also deeply involved with the development of the Iraqi biological weapons program, which was known as the “General Directorate of Veterinary Services!” (Anthrax is a disease of cattle that “Saddam Hussein was attracted early on to bacteriological weapons. They were cheap, relatively simple to manufacture, and potentially deadly. . . .On November 2, 1974, [Izzat] al-Douri signed a contract with the Paris-based Institut Merieux, to set up Iraq’s first bacteriological laboratory. The Iraqis explained that they needed to be able to manufacture large quantities of vaccines in order to develop agricultural and animal production. The official Iraqi purchasing agency was called the General Directorate of Veterinary Services.” (Ibid.; p. 20.)
11. “Al Douri’s success won him a promotion and made him a de facto member of the team, the three-man Strategic Planning Committee, along with Saddam, Khairallah, and Adnan Hamdani.” (Ibid.; pp. 20–21.)
12. One interesting detail concerning the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain concerns reports of human infections with the disease. “Government hopes of persuading tourists back to the countryside suffered a serious setback yesterday when a slaughterman in north-west England was suspected of catching foot-and-mouth disease. The Department of Health said a man involved in the mass cull in Cumbria was suffering blistering which indicated he had become infected with the disease, although final results from medical tests would not be available for a day or two. The news came as the government faced growing concern about the health risks of burning carcasses on mass funeral pyres and seemed certain to undermine last week’s claim that the epidemic was now ‘fully under control.’ The government has always maintained the risk to humans from foot-and-mouth is minimal and, with many tourist businesses on the brink of collapse, has urged people to return to rural areas . . . . Peter Ainsworth, culture spokesman for the opposition conservative party, said that if the case was confirmed it would be a ‘massive setback to the recovery of British tourism’ as some Americans and other visitors who mistakenly believe foot-and-mouth is a serious risk to human health would decide to stay away. ‘It’s a further massive dent to the image of British tourism at a time when we can ill afford it.’ Mr. Ainsworth said . . . . ‘This is incredibly rare.’ Said a Department of Health spokesman.’ ‘The symptoms are relatively mild and it should respond well to treatment and clear up quickly.’ ” (“Suspected Human Foot-and-Mouth Case Hits Government Campaign” by Michael Mann and Cathy Newman; Financial Times; 4/24/2001; p. 9.)
13. More suspected human infections were reported by the Financial Times the following day. “Two more suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease being transmitted to humans were being investigated by the Department of Health yesterday as the government’s handling of the crisis was strongly criticized by leading independent scientists. Results from the first suspected case, involving a slaughterman in Cumbria, North-West England, are due shortly. Officials said the circumstances in which he may have caught the infection were highly unusual and proved there was no cause for concern. The man was moving a decomposing carcass when it exploded.” (“Livestock Disease Suspected in More Humans” by John Mason Cathy Newman and Michael Mann; Financial Times; 4/25/2001; p. 9.) One possibility is the strain of foot-and-mouth may have been genetically altered to affect humans.
14. In addition to the obvious distraction such a war would induce from Bush’s domestic political doings, an Iraqi war might have something to do with the Iraqi biological warfare program and a clandestine application. The fact that the elder George Bush was involved with the arming of Iraq will not hasten the pace of any discussion on this possibility.
Discussion
No comments for “FTR #374 Between Iraq and a Hard Place”