Iraq Won’t Defy Blockade : U.S. to Expel 36 of Iraq’s Diplomats

Iraqi tankers and other cargo ships have been given new orders by Baghdad not to defy the Western blockade in the Persian Gulf, Bush Administration officials said today.

The move came as the United States said it would expel 36 Iraqi Embassy personnel and restrict 19 others in response to Iraq’s actions against foreigners, particularly its forced closing of the U.S. Embassy in occupied Kuwait.

The decision by Iraq not to defy the blockade could remove a major flash point from the month-old gulf crisis. On Aug. 18, two U.S. warships fired warning shots across the bows of two Iraqi tankers, but the Iraqi ships refused to stop.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said intelligence reports indicated that Iraq had reversed earlier instructions to ship captains to ignore any attempts by U.S. and other warships to search them in the volatile region.

The Administration officials confirmed a report by CBS television that the captains had been told to allow U.S. and other ships to stop their vessels and board and search them if requested.

The order followed a U.N. Security Council resolution passed over the weekend to allow warships to use minimal force to implement U.N. trade sanctions against Iraq after its annexation of Kuwait.

State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler announced the expulsions of Iraqi diplomats at a briefing with reporters, saying the expulsions and restrictions will take effect “as expeditiously as possible.”

The 19 diplomats who remain must stay within 25 miles of the Iraqi Embassy, Tutwiler said.

Washington’s action was in response to all of Iraq’s aggressive actions since the invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, Tutwiler said, but especially against “the illegal Iraqi order to close our embassy in Kuwait.”

She said Iraq has shown a blatant disregard of international law for refusing to let thousands of foreigners leave Iraq and Kuwait and for “using foreign hostages, including American citizens, as shields.”

Among the 36 who will be expelled are seven accredited diplomats, including all those who deal with commercial affairs, Tutwiler said.

In addition, she said, funds disbursed by the Iraqi Embassy to students in the United States and “other allegedly humanitarian needs” will be closely controlled.

Earlier today, the White House said Iraq “has once again reneged on its pledge” in refusing to allow a full convoy of dependents of U.S. diplomats to leave the country.

Presidential Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater noted that three members of a convoy of American dependents that reached the Turkish border late Sunday had been detained in Iraq.

“We are disappointed that the Iraqi government has once again reneged on its pledge to allow the entire convoy to depart,” Fitzwater said. “We’ve been in touch with Iraqi officials in Baghdad and Washington and continue to urge the safe release of all Americans and foreign nationals.”

Also today, Iraqi television debuted an edited new program called “Guests News” that features hostages playing pool, declaring they were well treated and wishing relatives happy birthday.