Translated material
Blair wants to go to Baghdad
Iraqi opposition says Brits are smarter than Americans
British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to beat US President George Bush and be the first to visit Iraq. Blair's likely visit to the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where British, not American, troops are stationed, was kept secret until the last moment. Blair officially set off yesterday on a six-day voyage, during which he will visit Kuwait, Poland, Russia (celebrating the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg) and France. First of all, Mr. Blair flew to Kuwait, where he will meet with Emir Jaber and Sheikh Sabah, in fact the second person in the state.There are hints in London that Mr Blair intends to make a risky foray into Basra this afternoon. The Guardian notes that such a visit would have enormous political and symbolic significance - "exactly 50 days have passed since the fall of the Saddam statue" in the square in front of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. Blair intends to congratulate British troops on their victory. George Bush is also thinking about visiting Iraq, but his advisers are so far against such a trip for security reasons.
Great Britain intends to take advantage of its victory as much as the Americans will allow. The head of British Petroleum, John Brown, said the other day that he would like to begin large-scale work in Iraq, but immediately made a cautious reservation in the spirit that he does not want to harm American interests. Still, the British clearly benefit from the fact that the main oilman in Iraq is now the American Philip Carroll, who previously headed the American branch of the British-Dutch company Shell. At the same time, the British are trying to promote their people from among the Iraqi oppositionists living in London to the leadership of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
In particular, they bet on 73-year-old Fadal Chalabi. This former deputy oil minister of Iraq, and now executive director of the Center for Global Energy Research in London, left the country back in 1976, although he managed to meet the young Saddam at that time. At that time, Mr. Chalabi visited the USSR more than once as part of delegations of Iraqi oil workers. Yesterday he admitted in a conversation with a Vremya Novostei newspaper correspondent that first the British and then the Americans asked him to go to Iraq and even head the country's oil department. “I have refused the post for now,” says Mr. Chalabi. — There is anarchy and occupation in Iraq now. There is no government. It would be strange to accept an invitation to become a minister in a ministry that does not exist.”
But he agrees to help the Americans and British with practical advice. “At the request of the British, Iraqi oil expatriates organized an advisory council on the oil and gas industry in Iraq,” said Mr. Chalabi, who chairs the council behind the scenes. According to him, it will take at least three to five years and at least $100 billion to restore Iraq's oil industry. As an Iraqi, Mr Chalabi observed that the British, with their colonial experience in the Gulf region, were being much smarter in Iraq. “The Americans shot at a peaceful demonstration in the city of Fallujah in vain. There is still shooting and casualties on both sides,” says the Iraqi opposition leader.
But the dangers in Iraq did not prevent Prime Minister Tony Blair from appointing Ms. Anne Clwyd as his special envoy to that country. She has worked on human rights issues in Iraq and is well known among the Iraqi emigrants. “The people I once helped are very happy to see me as the British Prime Minister’s special envoy to Iraq,” Ms. Clwyd said and promised to do everything possible to make the Iraqis feel calm in their own country.