Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 29)
غرض
- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 29)
- المحتوى
-
USS Stark
Reports in European newspapers con-
firm this impression. For example, in
May, the French newspaper Le Monde
revealed that in the UN Security Coun-
cil, Washington, London and Paris had
worked against maintaining a firm
resolution to halt the Gulf war, due to
conflict between their national in-
terests, which has the effect of hamstr-
inging major new initiatives. On the
one hand, England was flattering Iran
by approving the Security Council
resolution urging a ceasefire along the
front where the forces of the two sides
are now situated. France vetoed this
resolution as it includes a paragraph for
an arms and economic embargo on
both sides; this would affect the French
arms sales to Iraq. On the other hand,
the US vetoed this resolution as it «did
not want history to record that the five
permanent members of the UN Security
Council had maintained unified work.»
However, more recent developments
show that it may be forced to accept
such unified work.
The outcome of the Venice Summit
showed that the seven major capitalist
nations are concerned about securing
their respective national interests,
rather than about ending the Gulf war.
Although these states are the real
decision-makers, capable of ending the
war if they so choose, they were content
with issuing statements. They produced
a statement on the Gulf demanding
«effective measures» by the UN
Security Council to stop the war, while
pledging to keep open the vital oil
routes and maintain freedom of
navigation in the Gulf.
Iran, for its part, refuses to halt the
war and rejects all actions taken by the
UN Security Council. According to the
statement of the Iranian foreign
minister, Ali Akbar Vilayyati, at a
press conference held in Abu Dhabi on
May 3lst, the precondition for ending
the war is the overthrow of Saddam
Hussein’s regime. With this stance,
Iran is providing the excuse for in-
creased US involvement in the Gulf.
US—IRAQI COOPERATION
Brandishing the slogan of self-
defense against deliberate or accidental
attacks, the US Defense Department
decided to add three more warships to
its five-vessel force in the Gulf. One of
these is the destroyer Fox and another is
the aircraft carrier Saratoga. The attack
on the Stark initiated an effective US-
Iraqi cooperation on the military level,
decisively ending thirty years of
economic and political boycott which
has anyway eased in recent years. US
Navy Rear Admiral David Rogers led a
nine-man delegation to Iraq soon after
the accident to investigate the matter.
On May 29th, Rogers declared a
preliminary Iraqi-US agreement to
develop relations and maintain effec-
tive cooperation in order to minimize
the possibility of future accidental at-
tacks. On June 2nd, the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al Qabbas reported that the
US investigation committee advised the
Reagan Administration to form an
American-Iraqi committee based in
Baghdad, to specialize in exchanging
urgent information with respect to US
navigation in the Gulf.
Washington also exploited the Stark
attack, and the Iranian threats to
obstruct navigation, in its efforts to
seek the formation of a joint naval
force for the Gulf along with its NATO
allies. The US is moreover working to
enhance the role of the reactionary
regimes in the region, mainly Saudi
Arabia, so that they can execute US
policy in the Gulf and the whole Middle
East. On June 4th, US Defense
Secretary Caspar Weinberger met in
Nice with Amir Sultan Ben Abdel Aziz,
secretary of the Saudi defense ministry.
Reuters reported that their discussion
focused on a US proposal about
whether to permit US aircraft to utilize
the airports of the Gulf Cooperation
Council states, and/or to have US air-
craft participate in protecting airspace
over the Gulf, and/or permitting US
reconnaissance planes to use Gulf air
bases.
Warning the Saudis to follow US
wishes even more closely, the Reagan
Administration withdrew its proposal
to sell twelve F-15 fighters and 1600
Maverick missiles to Saudi Arabia,
after the sale met opposition in the
Congress. Congressmen pointed to the
Saudi refusal to intercept the Iraqi air-
craft that fired on the Stark, but the
real background for their opposition is
long-standing Zionist lobbying against
major arms sales to Arab countries
generally. The Reagan Administration
will present its proposal again in the
context of drawing the Saudis into even
closer military cooperation. Already
the monarchy had agreed to extend
joint air surveillance with the AWACS.
In its latest move, the US has ordered
the battleship Missouri to sail for the
Gulf. This ship is equipped with
Tomahawk cruise (nuclear) missiles,
and its presence in the Gulf will again
up the military ante. At the same time,
Saudi Arabia has agreed to sweep Gulf
waters for mines, while providing
facilities for wounded US servicemen.
All facts attest to the Reagan Ad-
ministration’s determination to escalate
its military presence and interference in
the Gulf. The worse the Iraq-Iran war
gets, the more pretexts US imperialism
will gain to do just that. This im-
perialist aggression will only be sub-
dued by a unified regional and interna-
tional effort to stop this irrational war. @
29 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 25
- تاريخ
- يوليو ١٩٨٧
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
Contribute
Not viewed