Indian delegation leaves for Iraq; aims to pacify Saddam Hussain

Rohit Bansal & Huma Siddiqui

New Delhi, Aug 31: The special Indian Airlines ferry carrying members of Parliament, businessmen and social somebodies, flown to Baghdad on Friday morning, aims to mollify Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, without hurting growing Indo-US ties.

Sources said every detail was choreographed under the supervision of external affairs minister and key aides. Significantly, the Americans "were kept informed through informal channels", and "they seemed to understand" India’s complex politico-economic strategy behind undertaking this goodwill mission at this stage.

Given diplomatic sensitivity on such a move among Iran and Kuwait, both nations were kept in the loop, and (mutual) sensitivities appreciated, sources added.

Iraq had been rejecting several consignments of Indian wheat over the last six months on grounds of poor quality. "The consignments are full of rats, stones, and dirt" and "local (Iraqi) mills were unable to process grain of such poor quality", had been Iraq’s refrain.

But, simultaneously, its spokesmen had not made any secret of the fact that Iraq sees trade as an opportunity "to reward its friends" and the decisions "are as much political as economic". With stocks overflowing in its granaries, and high stakes inherent in the "wheat-for-oil" programme, India did not wish to prolong any misunderstanding with Mr Hussain. Not surprisingly therefore, MEA is spending large sums of time and money in the goodwill mission. A measure of its keenness is evident in the sum of Rs 1.47 crore it has paid to Indian Airlines as charter charges for an Airbus A-320. The money has been remitted in advance. IA sees the account as a "prestige flight" in the same vein as the account to fly former US president Bill Clinton earlier this year.