Where's alBore??,

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001012/ts/ship_clinton_dc_2.html Thursday October 12 9:55 AM ET
Clinton 'Horrified' by Attack on Navy Destroyer

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. (Reuters) - President Clinton (news - web sites) was ''horrified'' by the attack on Thursday on a U.S. Navy ship by an explosive-laden raft in a Yemeni port, which the White House said appeared to be a ``terrorist'' incident.

``The president is horrified and has asked for a full accounting and is awaiting the facts,'' White House spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said in Washington.

White House spokesman Jake Siewert told reporters in Chappaqua in suburban New York where the Clintons have a home, that the president ``was obviously very troubled.''

Asked to comment on a remark Siewert made earlier to a reporter in which he described the incident as a ``terrorist'' attack, the spokesman said: ``I said what appears to be (a terrorist incident), but we want to know what happened.''

Another U.S. official in Washington said terrorism could not be ruled out in the attack. ``We can't rule it out but we're not ready to draw that conclusion. We're awaiting the facts,'' the official said.

Siewert said Clinton had learned about the attack at 7:18 a.m. EDT on Thursday and spoke to Defense Secretary William Cohen soon afterward. Four U.S. sailors were killed in the incident and 31 injured.

Also, Siewert said Clinton had spoken to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Thursday, seeking to prevent violence from escalating in the Middle East.

Asked if there was any connection between the Yemen attack and a recent outbreak of violence in the Middle East, Chitre said, ``at this point ... we just don't know.''

Violence increased in the West Bank on Thursday after two Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinians. Israeli helicopter gunships responded by firing missiles at Palestinian targets in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

-- cpr (buytexas@swbell.net), October 12, 2000

Answers

I heard on the news this morning that the head of the CIA was over in Israel. Why is that?

Then, one hour later I heard that one of our Destoyer's was attacked in a suicide fashion. Are we going to be drawn into this whole thing? I think we know the answer

Mar. ((who has a pounding headache right now and can't find the (bleeping) Advil...))

-- Not now, not like this (AgentSmith0110@aol.com), October 12, 2000.

Sorry, don't have a link but the Palestinian Authority, led by their terrorist-in-chief, has just officially declared war on Israel.

Dan V.

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), October 12, 2000.

They just declared war? Man! This is going to be bloody. And now they've dragged us into it. I know Madeline Albright said something about "action against whoever did this" but what does she mean by "action?" Sanctions? Or Missles? This is an old war, deep-rooted and almost intrinsic to their way of life. Do we have to make it our war too?

Mar. ((I found the Advil, but it isn't helping ;-))

-- Not now, not like this (AgentSmith0110@aol.com), October 12, 2000.

No, war has not been declared. Some Palestinians are saying what Israel did today is tantamount to a declaration of war against Palestinians.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001012/wl/mideast_leadall_dc_138.htm l

``This (helicopter) action is a token signal to the Palestinian Authority leadership that the Israeli army will not sit idly by when acts of violence are committed,'' it said.

But Palestinian officials accused Israel of unleashing all-out war and appealed for international intervention.

A leader of the PLO Fatah faction, Marwan Barghouti, told Reuters: ``This is a declaration of war. They are out to kill.''

Peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said: ``What we are witnessing is an all- out war against the Palestinian people. We call upon the international community for immediate intervention.''

-- (in@the.news), October 12, 2000.

"Where's alBore??"

Right here, with Babble Bush

" If it is determined to be the result of a terrorist operation, those responsible should know that the United States will not rest until the perpetrators are held accountable, Gore said today.
Early this afternoon, the vice president abruptly threw out his campaign schedule and prepared to return to Washington to help the administration deal with the situation."

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), October 12, 2000.

"I heard on the news this morning that the head of the CIA was over in Israel. Why is that?"

Not Here, the head of the CIA has been with Albright since last week, on her frantic attempts to negotiate with Barak and Arafat. Last week they (Albright, CIA, Arafat and Barak) were in US embassy in Paris. (I guess that location was chosen because both Blair and the French president had their turn trying to negotiate with Arafat and Barak.)

It makes sense to me that the CIA would want to be in the middle of the action at all times, to know what's going on.

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), October 12, 2000.

what Israel did today is tantamount to a declaration of war against Palestinians.

This guy thinks so too.

snip

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer has said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has chosen a path of war with Israel and the peace process is now dead. He was speaking in an interview on Israel Radio on Thursday.

-- Peg (e-m@i.l), October 12, 2000.

off?

-- Peg (fixed@I.hope), October 12, 2000.

in@thenews:

Somehow that report isn't reassuring at all. Sounds more like symantics. ;-(

Smarty:

With Gore, do you think its to make him "look good" or because this is serious? (Re: The CIA in the middle of the action... Agree!)

Mar.

-- Not now, not like this (AgentSmith0110@aol.com), October 12, 2000.

"With Gore, do you think its to make him "look good" or because this is serious?"

Because it's serious. He's the vice president afterall, it's his job to be where he's needed. Takes precedence over his campaign. That it happens to make him look good for the elections is just gravy where he's concerned. On the other hand, Bush is governor of Texas at the moment, and not needed for the middle east. If a crisis in Texas were to happen, I'd expect him to take off from the campaign to attend to it also.

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), October 12, 2000.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bbn/topfin_2.html?s=AOeZ_MRVNQ3J1ZGUg

Thu, 12 Oct 2000, 11:25pm EDT

Crude Oil Little Changed Near 10-Year High on Mideast Violence

By Stephen Wisenthal

Sydney, Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed near a 10- year high on concern the spread of violence in the Middle East may choke off supply from a region that pumps a third of the world's oil.

Oil rose after a suspected terrorist attack on the warship USS Cole in Yemen caused an explosion that U.S. officials said killed at least six sailors. Violence worsened in Israel where helicopter gunships destroyed a Palestinian police station after three Israeli soldiers were beaten to death.

``It's the worst possible timing for a flare-up of conflict in the Middle East,'' said Tsutomu Toichi, director at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. ``This will only heighten concern about potential shortages of heating fuel this winter.''

Crude oil for November delivery fell as much as 43 cents, or 1 percent, to $35.63 a barrel, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In floor trading, prices rose as high as $37 a barrel, close to a 10-year high of $37.80 reached last month.

Oil also rose as the U.S. National Weather Service and private forecasters said Americans are likely to see a colder winter this year, raising demand for heating fuel.

``We are expecting a winter that is going to be colder than the last three winters,'' said James Baker, administrator at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ``You are going to need that much more fuel to heat your house and heat the nation as a whole.''

Heating Oil Shortage

U.S. heating oil supplies are 35 percent lower than a year ago nationally, and 51 percent lower on the East Coast, the main area of demand for the fuel, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude oil reserves are rising at the same time as distillate reserves, which include heating oil, decline, the U.S. Department of Energy said in its weekly report yesterday. Distillate stocks fell by 0.5 million barrels to 113.7 million barrels, down 21 percent from the same time a year ago, the DOE said.

U.S. refineries operated at 92.4% of capacity in the week ended Oct. 6, compared with 94.7% in the previous week, the department said.

``There's a withdrawal of refined product but there is an increase in the crude stocks,'' said Jing-Feng You, an oil and gas analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Hong Kong. ``These two should be ... neutral to crude prices,'' but rising refined products prices have tended to pull oil prices up this year, he said.

High Prices

Some oil traders bought oil futures on speculation exports from the Persian Gulf might fall, though an Iranian oil ministry official said that won't happen.

``We have no reason to believe that OPEC governments will cut oil production,'' Bill Richardson, the U.S. Energy Secretary, told reporters at an energy conference dinner in Washington.

Even so, the likelihood that Mideast producers would side with the Palestinians if the situation in Israel deteriorates further is keeping prices high.

Fifteen days of violence in Israel has resulted in more than 100 deaths, mostly Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.

``There's a feeling of uncertainty and apprehension in the market whenever there are tensions in the Middle East,'' said Justin Fohsz, an oil broker at Starsupply Petroleum Inc. in Englewood, New Jersey.

Israeli helicopters fired rockets at a complex in Ramallah containing offices of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a police station. Cable News Network reported 16 injuries.

The Palestinian Authority's headquarters in Gaza City was also attacked, and television networks broadcast pictures of Israeli naval vessels off the coast.

`All Out War'

``I think what we are witnessing now is an all out war against our people,'' Saeb Erakat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator, said in an interview with CNN. Erakat called on the international community to stop further attacks.

The killings on the West Bank were ``a serious development in our eyes,'' Israeli government spokesman Nachman Shai said in an interview with CNN. Arafat has ``ignited the entire Middle East.''

In October 1973, Arab states imposed an embargo on oil exports to the U.S. in response to the Arab-Israeli War, causing shortages and sending prices soaring.

``Everyone knows the U.S. would back Israel'' if the situation escalates and people end up choosing sides, said Robert Ebel, director of energy and national security program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. ``The Arabs could use their only weapon: oil.''

Even so, another embargo isn't probable, said Aaron Kildow, an energy analyst at Prudential Securities in New York. Oil producers in the region are ``more dependent on the U.S. than ever.''

Heating oil for November delivery fell as much 1.04 cents, or 1 percent, to $1.0669 a gallon in after-hours Nymex trading. In floor trading, the price rose 5.8 percent. Prices rose as high as $1.11 during the floor trading session, the highest price since a record $1.15 in December 1979, according to exchange figures.

After-hours electronic trading has been light, following the big rise during floor trading, said Hank Edwards, a trader at Fimat USA Inc. in New York.

``The Mideast crisis always has a major effect,'' he said. ``Everybody's glued to their televisions to see what happens next.''

-- (M@rket.trends), October 12, 2000.

Clinton wanted some kind of legacy... Well, here it is. He started peace talks and look where it ended up. Of course he wasn't serious on this topic. In the middle of peace talks he took Chelsea (Chelsea? yes the first daughter because the first lady is too busy trying to win votes in New York) to on a diplomatic trip abroad. Left the talks in the hands of Madeline NoBright. Thank you President Clinton, you just lost the election of your illustrious VP. What a way to end a the wild ride!

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), October 13, 2000.

smartywanna.be

Yeah, I agree about Gore. He is still the viceprez... And the situation grew more serious overnight. (You'll notice, btw, I took your advise and put on my flame-proof pants ;-)

Maria:

Well, here it is, a chance for Clinton to have a "legacy" I shudder at what he may do. But he may surprise us and for once think before he acts ((crossing fingers))

Mar.

-- Not now, not like this (AgentSmith0110@aol.com), October 13, 2000.

Maria, that's what Albright's job is, negotiating peace on behalf of the US. On her flight back to the US from the Middle-East talks last week she heard the news of the uprising in the Balkans, and cheered. That was her big one. Clinton knows that Albright is better at negotiating with Arafat and Barak than he is, so he steps back when appropriate.

Yesterday Albright was back negotiating with communist Korea. She's spinning her wheels, and the Middle-East is just another hot spot in the world. I'd rather Clinton run our country from his office at home than run all over the world trying to run other people's business.

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), October 13, 2000.

Clinton "very troubled".

Were truer words ever written?

-- Sam (wtrmkr52@aol.com), October 13, 2000.

Smarty, run all over the world trying to run other people's business Yeah but Clinton does exactly that. He has sent more troops all over the world than any other prez. Some justified, some not. If an area is of interest, he needs to be there.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), October 13, 2000.