February 4, 1999
Some Iraqi government offices will have access to the Internet soon, the director of the National Computer Center was quoted as saying today. However, access will be limited to ensure that Iraqis "will not be affected by negative Western thoughts,'' al-Zawra weekly quoted the director, Hilal al-Bayati as saying. He did not elaborate. But in the past, Iraq has said the United States uses the Internet to dominate the world by entering every household.
One government paper declared the Internet ``the end of civilizations, cultures, interests and ethics.'' Iraqi newspapers often blame Washington for the country's suffering under a U.N. embargo, which was imposed in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, prompting the 1991 Gulf War.
Al-Bayati said his center plans to provide the world with details and information about Iraq's culture and art through the Internet. It was not clear if Iraq had obtained permission to install the Internet system from the United Nations, which has to approve Iraq's commercial contracts with foreign countries because of the sanctions.
