Reform party of Syria
www.reformsyria.net
New Economic Syrian Minister Anti Free Market
Washington DC, October 12, 2004 /RPS News/ - In the latest shuffle of cabinet
ministers made under pressure as a result of an international community reeling against Syria, Baschar al-Assad named a new economic minister that does not believe in the "free market economy" according to Levant News, a London Arabic daily Internet news service.
Mr. Amer Lotfi was a professor of economics at Aleppo University and more recently he managed the government owned cotton national company. His credentials are narrow and very local.
Mr. Lotfi replaces Ghassan al-Rifai, a seasoned World Bank executive, who during his short tenure was not able to exercise the transformation needed for the Syrian economy to prosper. His liberal views about a market economy faced daunting tasks given the lack of conditions and will in the Syrian government to modernize an ailing system of bureaucracy and corruption. His failings were the failings of the State to fully grasp what is required to enter a modern world.
Mr. Lotfi, on the other hand, believes that "globalization" is a U.S. conspiracy to hegemonize the world solely for the interests of multinational corporations. He also believes that any economic modernizing efforts should take into consideration the historic and cultural aspects of a country while avoiding the "monstrosity" of a free market economy. Syrian experts believe that his ancient economic theories will doom the country and sink it into a depression.
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RUSSIA, SYRIA LEADING ARMS SUPPLIERS TO SADDAM
Washington DC, October 11, 2004/MENL News/ -- Russia and Syria have been deemed the leading arms suppliers to the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.
A CIA report identified Russia and Syria as two of the top 12 arms suppliers to Iraq until the eruption of the U.S.-led war against Baghdad in March 2003. The report, authored by Iraq Survey Group, listed Russia and Syria above North Korea -- regarded as the leading missile proliferator in the Middle East -- as the leading suppliers to Baghdad.
The report said state-owned companies in Russia and Syria defied United Nations sanctions to supply weapons and platforms to Baghdad. The report said Syria also served as the leading route for illegal arms supplies from Europe and other countries.
Several of Iraq's neighbors were said to have joined in the secret military effort to aid Baghdad. The report -- based on interviews with senior Iraqi officials and 40 million pages of documents and classified intelligence -- cited Jordan and Turkey as leading suppliers to the Saddam regime. Jordan was the third largest supplier of weapons to Iraq.
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