Sunday September 17 11:14 AM ET Kuwait Asks World for Measures Against Iraq

By Ashraf Fouad

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait said on Sunday that Iraq posed a real and present threat to the vital oil-rich Gulf region and called for serious international steps to contain its former occupier.

Kuwait ``strongly rejects these false (Iraqi) accusations and the real danger they pose to regional security and stability,'' the government said in a statement following its weekly meeting.

The government was responding to allegations last week from Baghdad, and renewed by the Iraqi press on Sunday, that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil from a border field.

Kuwait said it received Iraq's claim with ``deep concern,'' describing them as ``intentions of enmity and continuous attempts to spread tension and instability in the region.''

The cabinet ``calls on the international community to take serious steps toward the Iraqi regime's threats and all necessary measures to guarantee Iraq will not repeat its threat to the security of Kuwait and neighboring states,'' added the statement, sent to Reuters.

Iraq has said it is ready to take unspecified measures against Kuwait, but denies threatening its much smaller Arab neighbor. Washington responded with its readiness to use force if Iraq threatened its neighbors.

Iraq seized Kuwait on August 2, 1990, citing a dispute over border oil fields and oil policy differences. The U.S.-led Gulf War ended the Iraqi occupation in February 1991.

Iraq 'Would Pay Dearly'

Kuwaiti officials said the latest claims were identical to an Iraqi complaint to the Arab League prior to the invasion.

Kuwait's defense minister warned Iraq would pay dearly for any military action against the Gulf Arab state.

``Circumstances now are radically different from 1990, and we are on the alert for any act of treachery,'' Sheikh Salem Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, who is also a deputy prime minister, was quoted as saying by al-Rai al-Aam newspaper.

Diplomats and Western defense sources say the level of concern in Kuwait has been rising steadily since the 10th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion.

A Kuwait Defense Ministry official told Reuters that since the Gulf War, Kuwait has maintained naval, air and ground forces on full alert.

``We are fully ready and also coordinate regularly with our allies. Our self confidence is high and we trust the arrangements and precautions taken,'' the official said.

Following the cabinet meeting, Sheikh Salem told reporters that routine exercises with various forces based in and around Kuwait, show an ability to deal swiftly with any aggression.

U.S. and British forces in the area have taken into account the possibility of a fresh military confrontation with Iraq around this time of year. And an additional firepower could be immediately rushed to the area in case of an emergency.

They last led a major attack against Iraq in December 1998.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ``has been awfully quiet for some time now,'' a senior Western officer told Reuters before the 10th anniversary of the invasion.

``Maybe he is waiting for the American (presidential) elections to enter their final stretch in September or October to return to his old habits and create a new crisis to re-test our resolve,'' the officer added.

Since Iraqi troops were forced out of Kuwait, Western forces have had almost annual stand-offs and clashes with Iraq.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000917/wl/iraq_kuwait_dc_6.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 17, 2000

Answers

Sunday September 17 7:41 AM ET US Will Not Let Iraq Become Threat Again - Cohen

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The United States is watching Iraq closely and will not allow President Saddam Hussein to become a threat again, Defense Secretary William Cohen said on Sunday.

Iraq recently revived old accusations that Kuwait was stealing its oil and warned of unspecified measures against the neighbor it invaded in 1990, leading to the 1991 Gulf War.

``We have made it very clear to Saddam Hussein that he should not seek to pose a threat to his neighbors or to his own people as he has done in the past,'' Cohen told a news conference on board the U.S.S. Germantown, docked in Singapore.

``Our forces stand ready. We are enforcing the no-fly zones in the north and south, watching very carefully,'' he said.

U.S. and British planes patrol no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq set up after the Gulf War. The zones, which Baghdad does not recognize, were imposed to protect a Kurdish enclave in the north and Shi'ite Muslims in the south.

``We have sufficient forces on station. With pre-deployed forces we can certainly handle Saddam should he choose to take any kind of aggressive action,'' Cohen said.

``It would be a mistake on his part should he attempt to repeat what he did in the past,'' Cohen said.

``He (Saddam) should understand that the United States and our British friends are fully prepared to take whatever action is necessary to prevent him from trying to repeat his past actions.''

Iraq on Saturday denied it was threatening any of its neighbors and dismissed as baseless what it called U.S. allegations that it was threatening Kuwait. Iraq said it would defend itself against aggression.

Cohen's comments came on the final day of a visit to Singapore. He was to due travel to Jakarta later on Sunday

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000917/pl/iraq_cohen_dc_1.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 17, 2000.

Sounds like a powder keg situation, similar to the Gulf War, is developing.

-- QMan (qmn@c-zone.net), September 17, 2000.

It sure does.

-- Nancy7 (nancy7@hotmail.com), September 17, 2000.

This is a little scary....I don't like the sound of this at all.

-- R2D2 (r2d2@earthend.net), September 17, 2000.

I like all this bravo talk about how well prepared we are to teach Iraq a lesson if they dare start a fight -- I think everybody knows that we're in no way as well prepared as we were in the 1991 flap.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), September 17, 2000.

Didn't we fire off most of our cruise missiles in the Kosovo war? And, I don't think there has been any production to replace them.

-- QMan (qman@c-zon.net), September 17, 2000.

And then there is the quesion of Clinton's resolve. Will he use force? If so, how much? Will it be enough to win, or, just enough to rally the country behind him and win the election for Gore?

-- Wayward (wayward@webtv.net), September 17, 2000.

For the third straight day Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing its oil. This time they came up with a figure. It's 300,000 barrels a day. Saddam has something up his sleeve to influence the U.S. presidential election. I wonder what it is.

-- Wellesley (wellesley@freeport.net), September 17, 2000.