Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2000)
WORLD l^i- 14 THE BATTALION Oil smuggling provides funds for Hussein DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Smugglers skirting U.S. destroyers in the Persian Gulf are shipping more and more Iraqi oil in violation of U.N. sanctions, reaping handsome profits and lining the pockets of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the U.S. Navy says. Last week's seizure of a Russian tanker carrying il licit Iraqi fuel highlighted the issue of Iraqi oil smug gling, which the U.S. Navy estimates has nearly dou bled in six months. U.N. naval forces seized the tanker off the Emirates’ coast. The 4,000 tons of oil — equivalent to 29,320 barrels — seized from the Volga-Neft-147 is only a fraction of what is getting through, said Cmdr. Jeff Gradeck, spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. Navy 5th Fleet. In January, when oil prices hit nine-year highs of about $28 a barrel, 367,000 tons — 2.7 million barrels — of Iraqi oil was smuggled out, according to Navy es timates. Last September, when prices were about $ 19 a bar rel, 191,000 tons — 1.4 million barrels — were smug gled out, Gradeck said. “The amount of oil smuggled out of Iraq has dou bled since August last year, when oil prices began to in crease,” Gradeck said in a telephone interview Wednes day from Bahrain. “That means increased profits for the smugglers and increased profits for the Iraqi regime.” Crude prices today are about $26.75 a barrel, and al though smugglers sell for less than the legitimate mar ket rate, their prices go up with world market prices. Western diplomats suspect merchants in Iran and the Emirates buy smuggled Iraqi oil at huge discounts. Iraq is banned from most international commerce be cause of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which led to the Persian Gulf War. Although a December U.N. resolution includes lift ing a cap of $5.2 billion on Iraqi oil sales every six months, Iraq has not accepted the resolution and pumps within the old ceiling. Smuggled oil revenues go straight to Saddam, ob servers say. “Even if you reckon that the smugglers are selling the oil at a bit over half the market price, at today’s prices that means Saddam is making $50 million a month. That’s going directly into his coffers,” said Leo Drollas, analyst at London’s Center for Global Energy Studies. Because proceeds from legitimate oil sales are strict ly monitored, they cannot be diverted to rebuild Iraq’s military. Revenues from smuggled Iraqi oil cause con cern because then Saddam can do whatever he wants with them. Iraq has long denied that smuggling of crude oil or byproducts exists in the Gulf. It maintains that the United States scrutinizes Gulf ships traveling to and from Iraq but does nothing to stop brisk oil smuggling overland from northern Iraq into Turkey. Small tankers and other vessels allegedly flood their ballast tanks and compartments with the cargo picked up at ports on Iraq’s Shatt al-Arab waterway, then skirt the Iran coast as they steam southward. Smugglers carrying a 4,000-ton cargo, like that aboard the Volga-Neft-147, can make $300,000 to $500,000, Western diplomats said. The United States said it has stepped up efforts to stop illegal oil exports from Iraq, but international law and coastal shoals keep deep-hulled U.S., British and other warships on sanctions patrol out of Iran’s 12- mile-wide territorial waters. The Emirates vowed to crack down on smuggling after a 1998 oil spill from a rickety barge. The Emi rates has said it cannot monitor its entire 435-mile coastline, and has consistently called for sanctions against Iraq to be lifted. go Out To Bat Thursdays Uv Th& Battalions r AGGIE BUCKS WELCOME HERE! Bring a Date for $ 8.00! Get 2 All-You-Can-Eat & Drink Buffets for just $ 8.00. You save *2.00 with this coupon! 1673 Briarcrest 776-1124 Not valid with other coupons or special offers. One coupon per order please. Good at Participating Mr. Gatti’s. ; Expires 02/16/00. i I I I The Best Pizza in Town, Honest! t Red Bandana BAR-B-Q & Country Cookin’ OPEN EVERYDAY EARLY TIL LATE Famous “Mama Lois" Pies Catering For Groups 10 to 2,000 Buy one meal get second 1/2 Price S 1.50 off of Breakfast Buffet 778-0077 FOOD TO GO...FAST! Most Credit Cards Accepted East Bypass @ Hwy 21 E Bryan (Saturday & Sundays 8-11:30 a.m. only) • Not valid w/any other offer • Expires 05/00 HONEY-B jr~H~ A M 7l Freshly made Sandwiches,. Soups & Desserts FREE CHIP & DRINK! w/purchase of any sandwich Present coupon before ordering Expires 03/24/00 2416 Texas Ave. S • College Station 696-DELI Fax: 693-6606 Hours: 10 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Delivery available. $20 minimum Jovj LvicU CHINESE FOOD DELIVERY (Minimum ■ 10.00 Within Limited Area) tel: (409) 693-9999 10% off Pick-up Only (with this coupon—exp. March 2,200o) OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 11:30 a.m. - Midnight G32g£> 1702 KYLE AVE. SOUTH #101-B COLLEGE STATION, TX 77840 Try U$ Again For The First Time. m B AC ELS Dough At All THE 694-8990 1703 Texas Ave. South Not to be co^bired wife ony other ofte f . Or* per customer. Expires 2/9/00. Stown® #• Best Prices on Supplements EAS - LaBRADA - Twin Lab ‘Vitamins ‘Herbs ‘Sports Nutrition ‘Diet Products ‘Sports Drinks ‘Nutritional Bars Buy Any Size Smoothie Get a 20oz Smoothie FREE. Excludes Kids Kups, powemeals, malts, shakes or hulks. Expires Feb. 29, 2000. Northgate 601 University Dr. Between Papa Johns & Subway 268-7668 Kroger Center Near Gold's Gym 2416 Tx Ave. S 696-5464 1 Buy 1 Chicken Fried Steak Platter Get 2nd half-off Bryan Location 3610 S. College Ave. 846-4275 College Station Location 2003 S. Texas Ave. 696-2076 i ms om mm mm 1905 South Texas Ave., College Station 695-9675 LUNCH BUFFET $795 51 00 off w/coupon $ 2 00 OFF Dinner j w/coupon 1 Lunch Hours M-F 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Dinner Hours Sun.-Th. 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 5:30 -10:30 Lunch & Dinner Boxes To Go Starting at $4.95 Lunch from s 4 95 Dinner from $ 6 95 Not valid with any other offer Thursday, Februan BRADLEY ATCHISONTwBr Kristy Pierce, senior Agricultural Journalism major, liesontlte ground to simulate a “from above" perspective for herTVproc. tion class Wednesday outside the Reed McDonald building. Israelis continue Lebanese airstrike KIRYAT SHI MONA. Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis living near the Lebanon border huddled in un derground shelters or tied south out of rocket range Tuesday, fearing reprisals by Lebanese guerrillas for the heaviest Israeli bombardment in eight months. Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered a military state of emergency along the border, a sign that Israel was preparing for extended fighting. Hezbollah guerrillas on Tuesday killed an Israeli soldier the sixth in two weeks — only hours after Israeli airstrikes cut electricity across parts of Lebanon. “In all that is connected with the protection of our people, our settle ments and our soldiers, we will do everything required,” Barak told resi dents of Kiryat Shmona who had spent the night in shelters. In its second night of attacks, Is rael’s air force struck a Hezbollah of fices in the coastal city of Tyre and the guerrilla stronghold of Iqlim al-Tuffah, Lebanese security officials said. At least two people were wounded. The Israeli army confirmed the two attacks on Iqlim al-Tuffah, hut identi fied the other target as a Hezbollah radar station. Israeli leaders blamed Syria for the latest fiare- urn i trafmg b\ theo: • government, just uk office in July, scalation in attacks on staffing a buffer zo \s south coincided wit in Syrian-Israelpeaci Lebaw sine hard-lin Barak to The * troops Lebanor collapse January. Syria wants a prior comm! from Israel that it will withdr: the disputed Golan 11eights bet - ensue; Israel refuses, and sayst sumption of violence8 to get Israel to cave h\ Barak was getting closer\opi his own card against Syria eral withdrawal from Uj would leave Syria without it most effective method dfpress* rael, and would raise uncomfc questions about the presenceo! Syrian troops in Lebanon “If we will not reach anagti (with Syria) in the next two® believe — I know — that tilt government will meet anddecit will withdraw uni laterally,” ( minister Haim Ramon, a dant. told The Associated Pre mon is in favor of a unilateral! 1 and says most other minister! well While such talk could into Syria up and said peace talks will not re sume with Damascus until it ends the wave of Lebanese guerrilla at tacks. Syria is the main power-bro ker in “Bombs and missiles are actually striking the al ready stalled peace process and destroying all prospects of peace in the region." — Syria Times eager its it have on Hezh thev toijn pea# wouP Lebanon, and Israel says it encourages the violence. The airstrikes “signal that ... the continuation of Hezbollah action with Syrian encouragement and Lebanese government praise, must be stopped,” said Barak’s foreign minister, David Levy. Syria’s state media warned that the bombing could hurt the peace process. “Bombs and missiles’are actually striking the, already stalled peace process and destroying all prospects of peace in the region,” the English-lan guage Syria Times said. The airstrikes early Tuesday de stroyed three power stations at Jamhour near Beirut, in the northern mountains east of the port city of Tripoli and in the eastern Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek, a Hezbollah guerril la stronghold where a base for the group also was targeted. The base re mained sealed and damage could not be assessed. Fifteen civilians were wounded in Baalbek and were treated at hospitals for various injuries from broken glass, debris and shrapnel. Parts of Lebanon were left without electricity and severe rationing was im posed. The airstrikes were the harshest well with a militant group that it the very existence of the Jewisl Should it hasten a withdrawal or without peace talks — Hezk seeking to expand its political ence, would claim credit as# that drove the occupiers south With that win-win prospecti guerrillas showed no sign ofb’ back. The prospect of the rocket# ing Israel prompted Barak’s ann 1 ' ment, through broadcast meefc 48-hour state of emergency meant that residents who stayed were required to spend the ni shelters — some, hardly h equipped with mildew-soak^ tresses that had not been re years. Many headed south rathertl# another night in the bowels of apartment buildings. Rachel Bd tan, surrounded by four bulgisi cases at the Kiryat Shmona buss 1 said she was fed up with re? emergencies after 43 years in “If these attacks go on hit we will leave, wewillgotoaf has peace and quiet,” she said? boarding a bus to stay with here ter in a town several miles sop “We cannot go on like this.” Dresset Matt Sr Campu; Col tuit WASH ft money mad. student loan tmes college plained sena and governn “Itisinc ri °us look a ment spend: fmed Thomp the Senate C mittee, to: Wednesday, lie and pri\ Rubied in tl mereases ha a ble for mar mial $41 bil guaranteed 1 Senators could 1'urth. speculated ti He tuition c; dents could er loan, a big br eak on the Senators mi ght reduc f/ams in fav ford to pay tl
