washingtontimes.com James Morrison

News and dispatches from the diplomatic corridor.

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     Indian Ambassador Lalit Mansingh denounced India's nuclear rival Pakistan in a recent speech for failing to stop terrorists from creeping into Pakistan's remote western mountainous region bordering Afghanistan.      "In short, terrorism is back in business in Pakistan," Mr. Mansingh told the Woman's National Democratic Club.      Mr. Mansingh blamed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for allowing remnants of Afghanistan's brutal Taliban government and al Qaeda terrorists to find refuge in Pakistan's tribal areas.      Gen. Musharraf last year promised to prevent Pakistan from becoming a haven for terrorists and to end the cross-border infiltration of militants into Indian-controlled Kashmir.      "Musharraf has gone back on every single commitment he made last year," Mr. Mansingh said.      The ambassador noted that Pakistan had "nurtured the Taliban and fostered the growth of al Qaeda" in Afghanistan before the United States crushed the regime and scattered the terrorists' base.      "It comes as no surprise to us that Osama bin Laden and his gang of terrorists have found a welcome sanctuary in the rugged mountains of western Pakistan," Mr. Mansingh said.      "Two of the four provinces of Pakistan that adjoin Afghanistan are today led by governments that are openly supportive of bin Laden and al Qaeda."      On Iraq, Mr. Mansingh said India supports the goals of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, which requires Saddam Hussein to disclose and dismantle his weapons of mass destruction.      "The issue of foremost concern to the people of the United States today is Iraq," he said.      "Naturally," he added, "it is our hope that the crisis can still be resolved peacefully and that whatever further action is contemplated against Iraq will be undertaken with the authority of the United Nations."      Mr. Mansingh said India is worried about the economic consequences of a war in Iraq.      "In calculating the costs of war, one must not ignore its potential impact on the stability and economy of the region and, indeed, on the well-being and security of the long-suffering Iraqi people," he said.      "India has special concerns arising from the presence of millions of our expatriates who live and work in the Gulf region, from threat to the security of oil supplies and [from the] volatility that could follow military action."            Maisto to OAS      John Maisto, former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela and now a Latin America specialist at the National Security Council, is expected to be nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, an administration source said.      Mr. Maisto would replace Roger Noriega, who is awaiting Senate confirmation on his nomination to the post of assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.      Mr. Maisto's pending nomination has upset conservatives who see him as soft on leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. As ambassador to Venezuela, Mr. Maisto privately assured members of Congress that Mr. Chavez should not be taken seriously.      "Now look at Venezuela," the administration source said, referring to the recent widespread protests against Mr. Chavez that crippled the country's vital oil industry.            New embassy in Kenya      The United States next week will dedicate a new embassy in Kenya, four and a half years after the old one was destroyed in a terrorist bombing claimed by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.      The embassy, which has operated out of temporary quarters, said yesterday that three top State Department officials will attend a flag-raising ceremony at the new diplomatic complex in Gigiri, a suburb of the capital, Nairobi.      Grant S. Green Jr., undersecretary for management, will preside over the ceremony. He will be accompanied by Charles E. Williams, director of overseas buildings operations, and Walter H. Kansteiner III, assistant secretary of state for African affairs.      The new diplomatic complex will include a memorial to the 12 Americans and 201 Kenyans killed in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombing at the old embassy in downtown Nairobi. The massive blast injured 5,000 others.      A bomb on the same day damaged the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania and killed 11 Tanzanians.

To contact James Morrison, call 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.

www.republicons.org by: Scott   Thomas 2/27/2003   In his speech on February 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell once again asserted that Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda (yawn). Yet even intelligence operatives in the FBI and CIA argue that such ties don't exist. Their unending threats and unwavering stance is likened to grasping at straws in an already failed policy that has already caused untold suffering to the Iraqi people. Powell's tactics on Wednesday, then Ashcroft's "orange alert" on Friday, Feb. 7, was simply an attempt to further their selfish goals through fear-mongering and is still not a case for war. He and his cohorts are still using Americans' sorrow and fear about September 11th to "sell" this war to us. I, for one, am not buying.

It also masks the the hypocrisy behind the inspections. Though Saddam Hussein, and brutal despots like him, should certainly be disarmed through international efforts, the bigger question remains as to why this is being carried out by governments with just as many human rights violations in their closet, past and present. The constant mantra of "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, repeated ad nauseum, and obviously fabricated evidence with no possibility of verification, cannot hide the fact that the governments of the United States, Great Britain, France, and others, have much larger arsenals -- including nuclear weapons, have colonized the entire planet, and whose own business interests are pressing the need for a full-scale ground invasion-- to get that oil.

At this point in history, the US military/industrial/media complex stands as the biggest threat to world peace and security. With a nuclear arsenal of over 7,000 missiles, conventional weapons tipped with depleted uranium (DU) which remains deadly for centuries, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, bases and nuclear submarines throughout the world, why hasn't the UN resolved to disarm the US? Our government invented the Bomb, is the only nation on Earth to actually use it twice, carried out a low-intensity nuclear war in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq for the past dozen years using DU, and now has a policy of pre-emptive strikes on any nation it feels threatens its global domination. It has invaded many nations weaker than itself or provided military support for fascist regimes throughout the years for no other reason than their desire for self-determination that did not agree with US business interests: the Philippines, Cuba, Korea, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Iraq, Iran, Columbia, Venezuela, et al. This is certainly more colonization than Saddam Hussein has ever achieved, yet no one in the UN seems to notice the pink elephant in the middle of the room. Or perhaps UN justice is selective, not according to the rule of law, but the law of the jungle

Since Bush and Co. cannot make the case for war, I would like to make the case for impeachment. In 1999, Congress saw fit to impeach (unsuccessfully) Pres. Bill Clinton, not for his war crimes in Yugoslavia and Iraq (impeachable offenses), but for a sex scandal because the Republicans saw an opportunity to discredit the Democrats for a 2000 victory. Yet Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft (and maybe Powell) are responsible for blatantly violating the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, continuing an ongoing war against Iraqi civilians, ordering "first strike" aggression towards Afghanistan, Iraq, and possibly N. Korea, ordering and condoning assassinations, torture and physical and psychological coercion of prisoners, and ordering false statements and propaganda to be given to the public, all violations of international law and the Geneva convention. Bush & Co. have also backed out of the IBM treaty and reinvigorated Star Wars, sparking a new arms race. These guys make Nixon look like a petty thief.

For more info go to VoteToImpeach.org and sign the petition.

Scott Thomas is a peace activist and co-chair of the Taos/Rio Arriba County (TRAC) Green Party in Taos, NM   For more information visit: www.VoteToImpeach.org

washingtontimes.com EDITORIAL • February 27, 2003

     In Venezuela, the heavy-handed charges against two opposition leaders suggest President Hugo Chavez is determined to prove his harshest detractors right. And the best that can be said of the recent violence perpetrated by Chavez supporters is that the president has become unable to secure the safety of citizens.      At midnight last Wednesday, business leader Carlos Fernandez, one of the leading organizers of a two-month strike that ended Feb. 4, was arrested by armed police agents while at a restaurant and charged with rebellion and incitement, among other things. Labor leader Carlos Ortega, also a strike organizer, faces a warrant for his arrest on the same charges and has gone into hiding. The Venezuelan Embassy didn't respond to our request for comments on these actions.      These grave charges seem inconsistent with involvement in a strike, however injurious it may have been to the economy. But they become even more worrisome when examining their context.      After the strike was called on Dec. 2, Mr. Chavez began threatening extra-judicial retaliation against those involved. Earlier this month, when Venezuela imposed new currency-exchange restrictions, Mr. Chavez said "orders [to officials] will be: not one dollar to coup mongers." And Mr. Chavez had "sentenced" strikers from the bully pulpit. Shortly before Mr. Fernandez was arrested last week, Mr. Chavez said oil-industry strikers were "terrorists" and "coup mongers" and must be sent to jail. On Friday, Mr. Chavez demanded 20-year prison terms for Messrs. Fernandez and Ortega. "These oligarchs believed that they were untouchable. There are no untouchables in Venezuela. A criminal is a criminal," he said.      Mr. Chavez has managed to carry out his extra-judicial designs through the judiciary. And human-rights groups are taking notice. "The judiciary has a key role in preventing these events from triggering an escalation of the human-rights crisis," said Amnesty International in a statement Friday. Amnesty also has expressed concern regarding the vigilantes wreaking violence to counter opposition to Mr. Chavez. Earlier this month, the corpses of three dissident soldiers and one woman were found, with signs of torture. The victims had participated in an anti-Chavez demonstrations. Amnesty called for an impartial investigation into the killings.      The terrorist bombings at the Spanish Embassy and Colombian Embassy yesterday were also perpetrated in Mr. Chavez's name. Leaflets scattered at both sites said, "Our revolution will not be negotiated, only deepened." Interestingly, Mr. Chavez had recently lashed out against the governments of Spain, the United States and Colombia for criticizing the Chavez administration. "I ask of all of the countries of this continent and the world . . . Are you going to stop this meddling?" He said, "It's worth remembering that the Spanish ambassador was here, in this room, applauding the [April] coup," and added, "We say the same thing to the government in Washington. Stop making mistakes."      The timing of the bombings, which injured five persons, was not lost on the White House. "We note that these bombings followed the sharp verbal attacks by President Chavez on the international community as well as Venezuelans," said State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker.      Any of these recent incidents is worrisome enough. Collectively, they suggest that the current Venezuelan government is not merely a left-wing populist regime, but may be evolving into a police state. If Mr. Chavez does not pull back into constitutional government, it will be a tragedy for the Venezuelan people and the beginning of a substantial foreign-policy danger for the hemisphere.

www.globeandmail.com Associated Press

Caracas — A march by thousands of antigovernment protesters forced the suspension of talks aimed at ending Venezuela's political turmoil Wednesday, while the U.S. embassy beefed up security following "credible" threats.

Marching just days after the arrest of a leader of a crippling two-month strike, the demonstrators dared President Hugo Chavez's government to jail them, waving placards reading "Chavez, your mask is off, dictator!" and "Put us all in prison!"

Talks between government and opposition delegates were scheduled to begin mid-afternoon Wednesday, but the marchers' route passed by the negotiations venue, forcing their rescheduling until Thursday.

Protest leader Carlos Fernandez has been ordered under house arrest to face rebellion and other charges for leading the 63-day general strike against Mr. Chavez. Police are searching for strike co-leader and labour boss Carlos Ortega.

The protesters marched past the Fedecamaras business chamber of which Mr. Fernandez is president and ended at the labour confederation headquarters where Mr. Ortega is president. There were no reports of violence.

Authorities were also seeking to arrest seven people who were fired from executive positions with the state-run oil company for participating in the work stoppage. A judge issued the warrants Wednesday night.

Juan Echeverria, an attorney representing the executives, said he had reports that they would be charged with interrupting and "damaging the means used to supply" fuel, which carries a sentence of up to six years upon conviction.

Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy closed Wednesday after receiving "credible information of a threat to its security," a statement said. The closure came a day after two bombs ravaged Colombian and Spanish diplomatic missions, injuring four people and generating fears that the nation's political crisis was entering a more violent phase.

At a U.S. request, Venezuelan officials said they sent more than a dozen federal agents, national guardsmen and municipal police to boost security around the embassy, which wasn't expected to reopen until Friday.

"Practically all the security, protection and surveillance measures have been taken," said Dany Azuaje, police coordinator for the interior ministry.

No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's bombings, which blew out ceilings and twisted metal street signs. Both sides in Venezuela's conflict blamed each other and the finger-pointing threatened to undermine Organization of American States-sponsored negotiations.

"Negotiations, it seems, are becoming less and less viable as the days go on," said Michael Shifter, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank.

Leaflets supporting Mr. Chavez were found near both blasts. They were seized on by the opposition as evidence that the attacks were carried out by government sympathizers. Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel ridiculed the suggestions and said opponents of the President might have been involved.

Mr. Fernandez's arrest came just days after the sides signed an agreement rejecting violence and provocative language.

"The government is violating and walking all over the agreement that we signed when the ink has not even dried," said Americo Martin, one of the opposition delegates at the peace talks.

The opposition leader said he would fight the detention order. "I'm a political prisoner," he said from his home.

Mr. Chavez called Mr. Fernandez and Mr. Ortega "terrorists" on Sunday for commanding the opposition movement that paralyzed much of Venezuela and cost more than $4-billion (U.S.), hitting the oil industry hardest. He also lambasted representatives of the Spanish and Colombian governments, together with the United States and OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, for "meddling in Venezuela's affairs."

These comments, say opposition leaders, directly provoked the embassy attacks.

In a statement, government negotiators said they rejected any attempts to take Venezuela's internal politics to an outside arena. They warned of a "clear break within the opposition and the emergence of an ultra-radical sector which has definitively taken the shortcut of terrorism and risk."

www.dailyfreeman.com By Jonathan Ment, Freeman staff February 27, 2003

KINGSTON - Rising gasoline and oil prices, due to the threat of war with Iraq and problems in Venezuela, have prompted U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer to again call for a release of oil from the nation's emergency stockpiles.

Prices in Upstate New York are at an all-time high, Schumer said in a telephone news conference on Wednesday. He said the cost of a gallon of regular gas could approach $2 by spring.

Schumer, D-N.Y., has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether price gouging is taking place. Gouging itself is not a crime, though collusion between dealers to fix or inflate prices is.

"In a time of war, if someone is gouging, they're going to have to back off," the senator said.

The problem lies not with local service stations, who do better when prices are low and stable, but with big oil companies, Schumer said.

A year ago, a gallon of gas in the region cost $1.20, Schumer said. Today it's as much as $1.75, or 46 percent more.

Schumer's office estimates that if the price per gallon rises to $1.90, the higher prices will cost an estimated 411,200 motorists in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia and Greene counties an average $596 more per year apiece. Wednesday's projections are in step with those Schumer made in October.

Main-Care Energy, which does business in 11 counties, said Wednesday that its price per gallon of regular gas was $1.746, plus local sales tax. Its price for heating oil was $1.799 per gallon.

Schumer's office placed the average price per gallon of heating oil at $1.86 in the Hudson Valley.

The state Energy Research and Development Authority estimates the average heating oil customer in New York will see an increase of $332, or 52 percent, in their heating expenditures this year.

"Even if you don't drive your car and even if you don't heat your home with oil, if you go to the supermarket, prices are higher because the market heats with the oil and the trucks that deliver the food have to use gas," Schumer said. "All we need from the (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) is to release 30 million barrels. We have 600 million barrels. The (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) is right by the refineries in Louisiana and Texas."

Those refineries typically refine Venezuelan oil, which they're not getting, Schumer said. He estimates oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve could be on the market in two to three weeks.

For comparison, Schumer offered the summer and fall of 2000, when former President Clinton released 30 million barrels from the reserve over 30 days. Prices subsequently dropped by more than 10 percent and helped stabilize gas prices for nearly a year, he said.

"In 2000, prices were almost this high. Using the (Strategic Petroleum Reserve) is essential, and I'm asking the president to do it before we go to war and prices go up any farther," Schumer said. "We've talked to people at the New York (Mercantile Exchange) and they think the prices will go up if we go to war, at least in the beginning.

"This is as bad as any tax and it affects the whole economy like any tax does," he added. "It's getting to a crisis point, and we should be doing something about it."