KUWAIT - Takes Iraqi threats seriously

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AP International

Kuwait Takes Iraqi Threats Serious

by EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Eleven years after Iraq invaded, Kuwait believes Saddam Hussein is trying to destabilize the region and is taking new Iraqi threats of terrorist attacks on Kuwaiti installations very seriously, Kuwait's acting U.N. representative said.

''We are not ruling anything out,'' Mansour Al-Otaibi said in an interview Wednesday night. ''We have no trust of this regime, and we know he still poses a threat. If he had any chance to do it again, he might do it.''

Al-Otaibi was particularly concerned about the anniversary of Saddam's assault on Kuwait, Aug. 2, 1990, when Iraqi troops and armored vehicles crossed the border and shortly annexed Kuwait. Less than six months later, a U.S.-led coalition force routed the Iraqis in the Persian Gulf War and liberated the tiny oil-rich nation.

In recent weeks, the Kuwaiti government has become increasingly concerned about Iraqi press reports that an armed opposition group is operating in the country. Information Minister Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed said Wednesday the reports ''made us certain that there are intentions for a terrorist act in Kuwait.''

The Iraqis claim the group includes stateless people ousted by Kuwait who have already started to vandalize some institutions, Al-Otaiba said.

But Kuwait believes Saddam may be using these people as a cover for his own terrorist operations, Al-Otaibi said.

''We think the Iraqis -- they will seize any opportunities to destabilize the region, particularly Kuwait, by threatening, by establishing such groups,'' he said.

The government is taking ''all precautions,'' he said.

Kuwait is the only Arab country in the Persian Gulf that has an elected legislature and a peaceful opposition. Slightly smaller than New Jersey, it holds a strategic position at the head of the Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

After the Gulf War, Kuwait signed security defense agreements with all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

Between 17,000 and 25,000 American troops remain in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. U.S. and British aircraft patrol no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq.

''Kuwait now is much stronger than 1990,'' Al-Otaibi said. ''Now we can rely really on our friends, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Britain. We can really face any Iraqi aggression. ... It will not be like what happened in 1990.''

The U.S. Defense Department says the Iraqi military has become considerably more aggressive in targeting and shooting at patrolling U.S. and British aircraft during the past seven months.

Al-Otaibi said Saddam is desperate to bring down a plane because he thinks it will lead to a change in the U.S.-British strategy in the no-fly zones.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2001


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