Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Andy Xie, chief Asia economist at Morgan Stanley said, "In his second term, Bush is very likely to attack Iran. That will result in soaring oil price, and truly imperil China's economic development."

The disputed islands I believe to be one factor that will contribute to a more encompassing war in the Middle East and a means by which Bush can attack Iran ‘indirectly’ through the civil war we discussed. Civil war in this instance referring to a dividing of the Middle East.
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It is entirely possible the United States, an ally of the UAE, is the hidden force behind the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) request that the European Union mediate the issue of the disputed islands between Iran and the UAE in an attempt to create an unhealthy political climate. The involvement of the EU has the potential to ignite an international crisis and divide the Arabs. This looks like the United States is attempting to escalate the territorial dispute as a means to diminish Iran. Bush would then be the catalyst in a ‘civil’ war among the countries of the Middle East, this time dividing the Arabs and the Iranians.
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-Am

Iran rejects GCC statement on disputed Persian Gulf islands

www.chinaview.cn 2004-12-22 18:58:59

TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran rejected a declaration of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit over the territorial disputes between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.

"The declaration of GCC is totally unacceptable. The three islands are an indispensable and inalienable part of the Iranian territory," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying.

The three islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa, standing in the strategic Hormuz strait, have been controlled by Iran since Britain withdrew from the region in 1971. Both Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed sovereignty over the three islands.

In a joint communique issued after a GCC summit on Tuesday in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the six GCC states, grouping Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and UAE, threw support behind UAE's claim on the islands. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/22/content_2368501.htm