THE SOUTHERN Iraq no-fly zone was tested Tuesday when four US jets fired on -- but failed to hit -- four Iraqi MiG warplanes in the first such confrontation in more than six years. The incident marked an escalation of tension between Iraq and the US and Britain over enforcing the no-fly zones which Baghdad says are illegal.
In a hard-hitting speech, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein called on Arab peoples to topple Washington's "collaborators and stooges" in the region, vilifying those Arab leaders who he said took their orders from the US.
In a front-page editorial Wednesday, Al-Ahram said Saddam was playing his last wild card, hoping to push the US to strike again and thus make him a hero among the Arab people. According to the writer, the Iraqi leader is holding his people hostage by claiming the fall of his dictatorial regime would also mean their destruction. Stirring Arab people up against their rulers is an old ploy, Al-Ahram concluded, and a sure sign that Saddam has lost the confidence of his people.
Saudi daily Okaz, under the headline "Saddam's most dangerous dance", accused the ruling "gang" in Baghdad of "planting seeds of sedition everywhere". The writer added, "Saddam has turned from a butcher into a dancer on the tightrope of divisions -- from the divisions in the Security Council to those in the Arab League."
Iraqi ambassador to the UN Nizar Hamdoun said he was expecting the worst after the latest clashes in the Iraqi skies. In a note delivered to the Iraqi mission, the UN rejected Iraq's request that it replace American and British workers in the country because of security concerns after last month's missile attacks.
New UN men
EGYPT has appointed two new permanent representatives at UN headquarters in New York and Geneva. Ahmed Abul-Gheit, currently an assistant to the foreign minister, will be Egypt's new UN representative in New York while Nabil Fahmi, the head of Egypt's diplomatic mission in Tokyo, will be posted in Geneva.
They replace Nabil El-Arabi and Mounir Zahran, who had been serving in New York and Geneva respectively. El-Arabi and Zahran will return home to join the Foreign Ministry as senior ambassadors.
