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Gulf states help U.S. vs Iraq oil smuggling

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, April 17, 2001

ABU DHABI Ñ The United States has quietly obtained help from Gulf Cooperation Council members in efforts to halt Iraqi oil smuggling.

U.S. officials said Washington has obtained the help of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in the effort to enforce United Nations supervision on Iraqi oil exports. Iraq is said to have earned $600 million in revenues by unauthorized oil exports last year.

Over the weekend, a ship with thousands of tons of Iraqi oil sank in the Gulf off the coast of Dubai. The vessel had a Georgia flag and was heading for Pakistan.

The UAE coast guard participated in rescuing the crew of the sunk vessel. Vessels smuggling oil out of Iraq pass the UAE coast to destinations in India and Africa.

Washington won cooperation from the UAE in 1998 after smuggled Iraqi oil contaminated the coastline of the emirates. Many of the vessels used to smuggle Iraqi oil are old and leaky.

In addition, Kuwait has intensified efforts to stop vessels with smuggled Iraqi oil.

In an unrelated incident, Kuwaiti Defense Minister Jabber Mubarak Al Sabah said a joint investigation has been concluded into a U.S. accidental air bombing that killed six people in the Kuwaiti desert last month. Mubarak said the results of the probe of the mishap during a training mission would soon be released.

Tuesday, April 17, 2001

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