The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 10, 2000, Image 14

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    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
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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