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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan urged to learn from Iraq's experience |
| 2003-02-13 |
| Just as Pakistan is today, Iraq was once a close ally of Washington's. And just like Iraq, the United States may one day demand of Pakistan to disarm itself, said Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani on Tuesday. Actually, that's not only a lie, but a damned lie. Iraq was a Soviet client state up until the Sovs went out of business. Iraq's tanks were all Soviet — T72s and T55s. So were her APCs, mostly MT-LBs, if I recall. So were the majority of her aircraft, to include bombers; the remainder were French. The artillery was Soviet, too, except for some Brazilian multiple rocket launchers. The U.S. did provide some intel support during the Iran-Iraq War, which occurred just after the Iranians occupied our embassy and held our people hostage. That was pretty much the extent of our involvement, other than diplomatically — and that was usually in oppostion to Iraq. Maulana Noorani, a leader of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Pakistan and the Chairman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, said the American moves against Iraq were actually aimed at getting hold of the Muslim World's resources. Washington's measures were also meant to protect and preserve Israel. JUP's measures, on the other hand, are meant to protect and preserve international terrorism. Let us not forget that they're one of the signators of Binny's declaration of war on us. Let us never forget — and never forgive. I consider the fact that JUP hasn't been disbanded and its leadership jugged as an unfriendly act by Pakistan, and probably grounds for war itself. If the United Nations allowed the United States to launch an attack on Iraq, the Muslim countries and the Organization of Islamic Countries should reject it as it would go against them, he said. so why bother? Maulana Noorani suggested that in such an eventuality, the Muslim countries should boycott American goods and recalled their diplomats. Relations with Washington be scaled down, and if America still didn't get rid of its wrong policies, supply of oil be stopped. Notice that Noorani doesn't control any oil himself... The MMA leader claimed that the United Kingdom had been plotting against Islam for the last two centuries. This time it had used the United States. Similarly, the United States was using Great Britain in its shameful game, said Maulana Noorani. It was the United Kingdom which had by giving away the district of Gurdaspur to India provided the latter with a land route to Kashmir. London had also played an objectionable role in the international designs against the Ottoman Empire, he said. The real force behind the moves against Islamic countries, thus, remained the United Kingdom, he claimed. "Great Britain, in league with the United States, again is busy in plotting against Islam," he said. "This is an important part of their 'New World Order.'' Oh. I never knew that about the Brits. I always assumed they were sticking with us because they like our beer. Make's me like 'em more, y'know? Answering a question, Maulana Noorani said at the moment war was on America's mind only. "Like a wild elephant, it wants to crush the Muslim World." Only that part of it that wants to kill us. But that includes Noorani's bunch, eventually... The only way out of the present situation was for the Muslim countries to unite against the West's evil designs. "America is planning for the future. In about 12 years, there will be a shortage of oil in the United States. And the big oil reserves are in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. We thought that the Pakistan government had finally realized that it had made some mistakes, but as it turns out, it is still dancing to the American tune." I suppose it could always bite the bullet and arrest Noorani and Qazi and Fazl and stretch their necks. They could also stop infiltration into Afghanistan and Kashmir. But I guess that's asking too much. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 My feeling is that any supply of materials to Iraq for their chem weapons program would have involved dual-use materials. Sammy's first usage against the Iranians involved mustard gas and, if I remember correctly, chlorine. Chlorine has a lot of legitimate uses, and mustard gas isn't very complicated to make; both are WWI technology. Mustard gas was actually "invented" in 1860, by mixing ethelyne with chlorine. Sarin is a "fluorinated organophosphorous compound" - doesn't sound real complicated to make, not as complicated as gasoline. VX, I think, is more complicated. I don't know anything about the bio agents, but I suspect that data exchange was in the realm of disease control. NBC components were embargoed in the 1980s, at the latest, and I'm pretty sure the embargo was in effect through the beginning of Gulf War I. Obviously it was breached, but I doubt if it was with government connivance, despite the theorizing at Indymedia and its clones. You can find some released CIA reports - some of them look like they're barely out of the raw intel stage - here, and there is some non-hysterical information at Gulf Web. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-13 20:43:52 |
| #1 Fred, what's this about us supplying stuff to Iraq---tangible things, not intel---during the Iran-Iraq war? I've heard it was everything from actual bioweapons [very bad] to dual-use medical supplies [questionable, at worst]. Do you know of a good site for reference? I've tried googling on it, but I only get about ten thousand hysterical wacko hits. Yeah, yeah, I know other countries (like, oh---FRANCE) supplied much more, and much more dubious, things; but I'd like some hard facts to hit idiots over the head with. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2003-02-13 17:33:36 |