Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has voiced an appeal Tuesday, March 25, on Arab oil-producing countries to use their petroleum exports to affect a halt to the military attack on Iraq.
The senior Iraqi official criticized the Arab leaders for their lack of “concrete support” to his beleaguered nation. His fiery remarks were made after a Cairo meeting of the Arab League’s foreign ministers was concluded with a lukewarm resolution condemning the aggression against Iraq.
Stop supplying the US and UK with oil, block the use of Arab airspace and territorial waters by coalition forces and expel US and British diplomats, Ramadan urged the Arab nations, "this is bound to break the back of the aggressors."
Officials at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were quick to dismiss the Iraqi call, saying that regardless of individual members' political convictions, using oil as a weapon isn't feasible or economically viable.
In fact, OPEC linchpin Saudi Arabia is believed to be exceeding its 7.963 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) OPEC quota, to make up for any possible shortfall in oil production. Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait are hosting American and British troops, planes and warships. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
