Re: Straight from the (Stratfor) Horse's Mouth

["Johannes Schneider" <Johannes.Schneider@xxxxxxx>]

Paul Flewers forwarded from Stratfor:

> Germany is now very much on
> the mind of Bush administration members whenever they speak about
> Iraq. Germany will be key to the diplomacy in the Security
> Council and is critical in NATO.

Related to this from today's Washington Post:

U.S. Won't Endorse Germany to Chair Sanctions Committee
Position on Iraq Causes Discord
By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 13, 2002; Page A50

UNITED NATIONS, Dec.12 -- The Bush administration, still angry over German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's anti-war stance on Iraq, has blocked
Germany's quest to assume the chairmanship of a key Security Council
sanctions committee that oversees billions of dollars in Iraqi trade,
according to U.S. and U.N. diplomats.

Germany, one of five countries that will begin serving two-year terms on the
15-nation council in January, had been angling for the prestigious post,
which it chaired during its previous tenure in the council between 1995 and
1996.

Germany is Iraq's 20th-largest trade partner. Its corporations have
conducted a total of $419 million in business with Baghdad through a U.N.
humanitarian program since the beginning of 1997, according to U.N.
diplomats.

U.S. and U.N. officials said that the White House, fearing the Schroeder
government might challenge U.S. policy on Iraq, made it clear that it would
not accept Germany in the position. It has instead promoted the candidacies
of Chile and Spain.

Full:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47750-2002Dec12.html



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