Saturday, March 17, 2007 5:00:25 PM
News postings from this board for the week.
If it works, we'll try it again next weekend.
Trav.
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Posted by: c a
In reply to: None Date:3/17/2007 2:49:04 PM
Post #of 5225
CBI adopts fixed ID exchange rate
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CBI adopts fixed ID exchange rate
Baghdad (NINA)- The Central Bank of Iraq CBI has announced adopting the exchange rate of Iraqi Dinar against the US Dollar, settled on last Thursday’s auction until March 19. A CBI statement said Saturday that the measure came within the previously adopted measures, aiming at boosting Iraqi Dinar...
http://www.ninanews.com/ninaII/indexeng.php
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Sources at the Central Bank told the nation »« that this policy will continue until the Iraqi dinar thrive and become the preferred currency in daily dealings. With those sources expressed its confidence in achieving this policy even finishing off phenomenon (dollarization).
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/15/2007 10:23:44 PM
Post #of 5225
Al-Maliki tells aides U.S. benchmark deadline is June 30 or his ouster possible
The Associated PressPublished: March 13, 2007
BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will withdraw support for his government — effectively ousting him — if parliament does not pass a draft oil law by the end of June, close associates of the Iraqi leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The legislature has not even taken up the draft measure for a fair distribution of the nation's oil wealth — only one of several U.S. benchmarks that are now seen by al-Maliki, a hardline Shiite, as key to continued American support for his troubled government.
Beyond that, the al-Maliki associates told AP, American officials have informed the prime minister they want an Iraqi government in place by year's end that would be acceptable to Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"They have said it must be secular and inclusive," one al-Maliki associate said.
To that end, al-Maliki made an unannounced visit Tuesday to Ramadi, the Sunni insurgent stronghold, to meet with tribal leaders, the provincial governor and security chiefs in a bid to signal his willingness for reconciliation to end the bitter and bloody sectarian war that has riven Iraq for more than a year.
Today in Africa & Middle East
Hamas and Fatah agree on unity government
A new face of Al Qaeda emerges in Lebanon
U.S. troops to fan out into 100 garrisons to secure Baghdad
For its part, the U.S. military is speaking with great optimism about its efforts to turn Sunnis in volatile Anbar province away from the insurgency and its al-Qaida in Iraq allies.
Compounding al-Maliki's fears about a withdrawal of American support were visits to Saudi Arabia by two key political figures in an admitted bid to win support for a major Iraqi political realignment. Saudi Arabia is a major U.S. ally and oil supplier.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite, arrived in the Saudi capital Tuesday. Masoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region, flew in a day earlier. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
"Allawi is there to enlist support for a new political front that rises above sectarian structures now in place," the former prime minister's spokesman Izzat al-Shahbandar told AP.
Barzani spokesman Abdul-Khaleq Zanganah said the two had met in Kurdistan before traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks on forming a "national front to take over for the political bloc now supporting al-Maliki."
It appears certain that the United States was informed about the Allawi and Barzani opening to the Saudis, who are deeply concerned that al-Maliki could become a puppet of Iran, the Shiite theocracy on Iraq's eastern border. Tehran is seen as a threat to stability among the long-standing Sunni regimes throughout most of the Arab world and deeply at odds with the United States over Iran's nuclear program and policy toward Israel.
Washington has been reported to be working more closely with Sunni Arab governments to encourage them to take a greater role in Iraq, particularly in reining in the Sunni insurgency that has killed thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands more Iraqi Shiites.
Washington was believed to be trying to win support for its mission in Iraq among the country's Arab neighbors by assuring a greater future role for the Sunni minority that ran the country until the U.S. invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.
One al-Maliki confidant said the Americans in Baghdad had voiced displeasure with the prime minister's government even though he has managed so far to blunt major resistance from the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia, to the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation in the capital and its environs. The militia is the military wing of the political organization run by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political backing secured the premiership for al-Maliki.
"They have said they are frustrated that he has done nothing to oust the Sadrists, that the oil law has not moved forward, that there is no genuine effort on reconciliation and no movement on new regional elections," said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Passage of the oil law, which seeks a fair distribution of revenues among all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups, has become a major issue for the United States, which had initially counted on financing Iraq's post-invasion reconstruction with oil revenues.
But the decrepit oil infrastructure and violence have left the country producing oil at about the same levels as before the war, at best, and those figures are well below production before the first Gulf War which resulted in U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi oil industry.
The major Sunni bloc in parliament along with Allawi loyalists in the Shiite bloc are openly opposed the draft oil measure as drafted. Al-Maliki also has lost the backing of the Shiite Fadila Party, and independent Shiite members are split on the bill.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/15/2007 5:58:57 AM
Post #of 5225
Chase's Fee After Reval - 1% of the currency !!!
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Bought some more dinar b/c it appears that the reval is close potentially. When asking the manager about the dinar and exchanging the dinar back [after it potentially revals], she said the following:
1) We will exchange the dinars for dollars for 1% of the value. She said this is the typical fee that we charge in currency exchanges. If you have 1 million dinars [for example] and the reval is a 1-1, chase will charge a $10,000 fee to exchange [e.g. $1,000,000 x .01 = $10,000].
2) When asking her about the tax implications, she said we won't take out taxes but that is something you need to talk to a professional about....should...if ...you need to claim it.
Parliament cancels hearing statements (Voices of Iraq)
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Iraqi parliament agreed on Wednesday to temporarily cancel the hearing of members’ statements and postponed the session to Thursday.
Read the entire article at IraqiUpdates.com
Sunday, March 11, 2007; Page B07
A front-page story in The Post last week suggested that the Bush administration has no backup plan in case the surge in Iraq doesn't work. I wonder if The Post and other newspapers have a backup plan in case it does.
Leading journalists have been reporting for some time that the war was hopeless, a fiasco that could not be salvaged by more troops and a new counterinsurgency strategy. The conventional wisdom in December held that sending more troops was politically impossible after the antiwar tenor of the midterm elections. It was practically impossible because the extra troops didn't exist. Even if the troops did exist, they could not make a difference.
Four months later, the once insurmountable political opposition has been surmounted. The nonexistent troops are flowing into Iraq. And though it is still early and horrible acts of violence continue, there is substantial evidence that the new counterinsurgency strategy, backed by the infusion of new forces, is having a significant effect.
Some observers are reporting the shift. Iraqi bloggers Mohammed and Omar Fadhil, widely respected for their straight talk, say that "early signs are encouraging." The first impact of the "surge," they write, was psychological. Both friends and foes in Iraq had been convinced, in no small part by the American media, that the United States was preparing to pull out. When the opposite occurred, this alone shifted the dynamic.
As the Fadhils report, "Commanders and lieutenants of various militant groups abandoned their positions in Baghdad and in some cases fled the country." The most prominent leader to go into hiding has been Moqtada al-Sadr. His Mahdi Army has been instructed to avoid clashes with American and Iraqi forces, even as coalition forces begin to establish themselves in the once off-limits Sadr City.
Before the arrival of Gen. David Petraeus, the Army's leading counterinsurgency strategist, U.S. forces tended to raid insurgent and terrorist strongholds and then pull back and hand over the areas to Iraqi forces, who failed to hold them. The Fadhils report, "One difference between this and earlier -- failed -- attempts to secure Baghdad is the willingness of the Iraqi and U.S. governments to commit enough resources for enough time to make it work." In the past, bursts of American activity were followed by withdrawal and a return of the insurgents. Now, the plan to secure Baghdad "is becoming stricter and gaining momentum by the day as more troops pour into the city, allowing for a better implementation of the 'clear and hold' strategy." Baghdadis "always want the 'hold' part to materialize, and feel safe when they go out and find the Army and police maintaining their posts -- the bad guys can't intimidate as long as the troops are staying."
A greater sense of confidence produces many benefits. The number of security tips about insurgents that Iraqi civilians provide has jumped sharply. Stores and marketplaces are reopening in Baghdad, increasing the sense of community. People dislocated by sectarian violence are returning to their homes. As a result, "many Baghdadis feel hopeful again about the future, and the fear of civil war is slowly being replaced by optimism that peace might one day return to this city," the Fadhils report. "This change in mood is something huge by itself."
Apparently some American journalists see the difference. NBC's Brian Williams recently reported a dramatic change in Ramadi since his previous visit. The city was safer; the airport more secure. The new American strategy of "getting out, decentralizing, going into the neighborhoods, grabbing a toehold, telling the enemy we're here, start talking to the locals -- that is having an obvious and palpable effect." U.S. soldiers forged agreements with local religious leaders and pushed al-Qaeda back -- a trend other observers have noted in some Sunni-dominated areas. The result, Williams said, is that "the war has changed."
It is no coincidence that as the mood and the reality have shifted, political currents have shifted as well. A national agreement on sharing oil revenue appears on its way to approval. The Interior Ministry has been purged of corrupt officials and of many suspected of torture and brutality. And cracks are appearing in the Shiite governing coalition -- a good sign, given that the rock-solid unity was both the product and cause of growing sectarian violence.
There is still violence, as Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda seek to prove that the surge is not working. However, they are striking at more vulnerable targets in the provinces. Violence is down in Baghdad. As for Sadr and the Mahdi Army, it is possible they may reemerge as a problem later. But trying to wait out the American and Iraqi effort may be hazardous if the public becomes less tolerant of their violence. It could not be comforting to Sadr or al-Qaeda to read in the New York Times that the United States plans to keep higher force levels in Iraq through at least the beginning of 2008. The only good news for them would be if the Bush administration in its infinite wisdom starts to talk again about drawing down forces.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030901839.html
__________________
Yesterday was history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
from another board
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Posted by: RJ Trotts
In reply to: D-Block who wrote msg# 5114 Date:3/14/2007 2:18:34 PM
Post #of 5225
Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers, violence down 80%
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.as...en&DSNO=961365
MIL-IRAQ-US SOLDIERS
Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers
BAGHDAD, March 14 (KUNA) -- The rate of killings of US troops in Iraq has been on the decline, down by 60 percent, since the launch of the new security measures in Baghdad, according to statistics revealed by the Multi-National Force -Iraq Combined Press Information Centre.
Only 17 members of the US military in Iraq have been killed since February 14 till March 13, compared to 42 from January 13 to February 13; the rate was on the decline during the first month of the security crackdown, compared to a month before.
Two of the 17 soldiers died at US Baghdad camps of non-combat causes.
The remarkable decrease in killings among the US troops came at a time when more of these troops were deployed in the Iraqi capital, especially in districts previously regarded as extremely hazardous for them such as Al-Sadr City, Al-Azamiyah, and Al-Doura.
Meanwhile, US attacks on insurgent strongholds north of Baghdad curbed attacks against helicopters. Before the new security plan, many such craft were downed leaving 20 soldiers dead.
The US army in Iraq had earlier said that sectarian fighting and violence in Baghdad had dropped sharply, by about 80 percent, since the launch of the plan.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/13/2007 7:56:26 PM
Post #of 5225
Iraqi leader fears ouster over oil money
1 hour, 43 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will torpedo his government if parliament does not pass a law to fairly divvy up the country's oil wealth among Iraqis by the end of June, close associates of the leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The legislature has not even taken up the draft measure, which is only one of several U.S. benchmarks that are seen by al-Maliki as key to continued American support, a crucial need for the survival of his troubled administration.
Aside from the oil law, the associates said, American officials have told the hardline Shiite Muslim prime minister that they want an Iraqi government in place by year's end acceptable to the country's Sunni Arab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"They have said it must be secular and inclusive," one al-Maliki associate said.
To that end, al-Maliki made an unannounced visit Tuesday to Ramadi, the Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold, to meet with tribal leaders, the provincial governor and security chiefs in a bid to signal his willingness for reconciliation to end the bitter sectarian war that has riven
Iraq for more than a year.
Compounding al-Maliki's fears about a withdrawal of American support were visits to Saudi Arabia by two key political figures in an admitted bid to win support for a major Iraqi political realignment. Saudi Arabia is a major U.S. ally and oil supplier.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim, flew to the Saudi capital Tuesday, a day after the arrival there of Masoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
"Allawi is there to enlist support for a new political front that rises above sectarian structures now in place," the former prime minister's spokesman, Izzat al-Shahbandar, told the AP.
Barzani spokesman Abdul-Khaleq Zanganah said the two Iraqis met in Kurdistan before the trip for talks on forming a "national front to take over for the political bloc now supporting al-Maliki."
It appears certain the United States was informed about the Allawi and Barzani opening to the Saudis, who are deeply concerned that al-Maliki could become a puppet of
Iran, the Shiite theocracy on Iraq's eastern border they view as a threat to the region's stability.
Washington has been reported working more closely with Sunni Arab governments to encourage them to take a greater role in Iraq, particularly in reining in the Sunni insurgency that has killed thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi Shiites.
The Bush administration is believed to be trying to win support for its operations in Iraq among Arab neighbors by assuring a greater future role for the Sunni minority that ran the country until the U.S. invasion ousted
Saddam Hussein four years ago.
One al-Maliki confidant said the Americans had voiced displeasure with the prime minister's government even though he has managed so far to blunt major resistance from the Mahdi Army militia to the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation in Baghdad. The Shiite militia is loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political backing secured the premiership for al-Maliki.
"They have said they are frustrated that he has done nothing to oust the Sadrists, that the oil law has not moved forward, that there is no genuine effort on reconciliation and no movement on new regional elections," said the official, who like the other associates agreed to discuss the situation only if not quoted by name because of the political sensitivities.
Passage of the oil law, which seeks a fair distribution of revenues among all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups, has become a major issue for the United States, which had initially counted on financing Iraq's post-invasion reconstruction with oil revenues.
But the decrepit oil infrastructure and violence have left the country producing oil at about the same levels as before the war, at best, and those figures are well below production before the 1991
Gulf War that resulted in U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi oil industry.
The major Sunni bloc in parliament, along with Allawi loyalists in the Shiite bloc, openly oppose the draft measure. Al-Maliki also has lost the backing of the Shiite Fadila Party, and independent Shiite members are split on the bill. Those willing to speak about their opposition voice fears about what they see as too much possible foreign involvement and profit sharing.
The al-Maliki associates said U.S. officials, who they would not name, told the prime minister that
President Bush was committed to the current government but continued White House support depended on positive action on all the benchmarks — especially the oil law and sectarian reconciliation — by the close of this parliamentary session June 30.
"Al-Maliki is committed to meeting the deadline because he is convinced he would not survive in power without U.S. support," one of the associates said.
Standing in the way of forward movement is a recalcitrant Cabinet, which al-Maliki has promised to reshuffle by the end of this week. So far, however, he is at loggerheads with the political groupings in parliament that are threatening to withdraw support for the prime minister if he does not allow the blocs to name replacements for Cabinet positions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070313..._mi_ea/iraq_oil
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Zubaidi:Monetary value of the Iraqi dinar must revert to the previous level, or at least to acceptable levels as it is in the Iraqi neighboring states.
Shabibi:The bank wants as a means to affect the economic and monetary policy by making the dinar a valuable and powerful.
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Posted by: Ken 1003
In reply to: None Date:3/13/2007 1:25:32 PM
Post #of 5225
The problem with Iraq is that it's full of Iraqis :(
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http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2007/pr0748.htm
IMF Executive Board Completes Third and Fourth Reviews under Iraq's Stand-By Arrangement, Approves Six-Month Extension of Arrangement to September 2007
Press Release No. 07/48
March 13, 2007
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the third and fourth reviews of Iraq's performance under its economic program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement. The IMF arrangement is being treated as precautionary by the Iraqi authorities, and no purchase is planned.
The Stand-By Arrangement in an amount equivalent to SDR 475.36 million (about US$714.7 million) was approved on December 23, 2005 (see Press Release No. 05/307). In completing the latest reviews, the Executive Board also approved the authorities' request for a six-month extension of the arrangement through September 28, 2007. Additionally, the Board also approved the authorities request for a waiver of the non-observance of a structural performance criterion.
Following the Executive Board's discussion of Iraq, Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated:
"Iraq is entering a crucial period in its economic recovery. Despite very difficult political and security circumstances, the Iraqi authorities have taken important measures to keep their economic program on track. The maintenance of fiscal discipline, as well as the tightening of monetary policy and the appreciation of the dinar, are commendable. The increase of official domestic fuel prices and the enactment by the Council of Representatives (CoR) of a law liberalizing the import of fuel products are important steps. The amendments to the pension law were submitted to the CoR; we look forward to their early passage into law. The government's approval of a new oil and gas law augurs well for the future of the oil sector. Progress is also being made in financial sector reform.
"Inflation, however, remains high. While this is to an important extent due to the prevailing difficult security situation and supply disruptions, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) may need to take further steps in order to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched and to de-dollarize the economy. Fiscal policy should be supportive by keeping current spending, including the wage and pension bill, in check. At the same time, it is important to increase government investment, especially in the oil sector. The government also needs to reduce supply bottlenecks, especially of fuel products. To that end, actions are needed to facilitate the importing of fuel products by the private sector. The pace of structural reforms needs to be increased. Efforts to modernize the chart of accounts and the budget classification need to be stepped up, and the Financial Management Information System should be implemented rapidly. It is important to complete the census of public sector employees by mid-year. While the restructuring effort on the two largest banks is commendable, efforts should be made to restructure the four other state-owned banks. The modernization of the payments system needs to be expanded to cover all banks.
"The CBI's efforts to implement the recommendations of the Interim Safeguards assessment report and the Ernst & Young 2005 audit report are encouraging. The Ministry of Finance is strongly encouraged to recapitalize the CBI as soon as possible.
"Corruption and violence need to be brought under control to unlock Iraq's oil wealth. More forceful actions are needed, especially in the area of smuggling. In this respect, the implementation of oil metering projects should be finalized as soon as possible. The authorities' intention to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is welcome.
"Progress in settling arrears with private creditors is commendable. However, further progress is needed towards resolving non-Paris Club official claims," Mr. Kato said.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/12/2007 2:54:19 PM
Post #of 5225
Today, 06:58 AM
darock0116
Investor Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: KY
Posts: 859
Parliament Meeting On The HCL Today!!!
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Voices of Iraq : Parliament-meeting (Introduction seconds)
2007 - 01:01 PM BT
Books : nakr2004 on Monday, March 12, 2007 1:01 PM-BT
The House of Representatives will discuss a draft bill of oil and gas
Dargham of Muhammad Ali Abdel Amir, Kawther
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)
The House discussed at its meeting held today, Monday, the draft resolution on oil and gas, with the Council postponed the second reading of the law regulating broadcasting frequencies and because of its relationship to the law of the provinces.
He said Dr Khalid al-Attiyah, first deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, who chaired today's meeting that "the competent authorities demanded postponement of the second reading of the law regulating broadcasting frequencies, due to the completion of the governorates."
The law regulating broadcasting frequencies and the organization of the work of the mobile phone networks and broadcasting via radio to the media on television and radio and the development of the law of the Communications and Information is responsible for granting special leave mobile phones and transmission via the Iraqi ether.
The net objected purity and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs on the postponement that the government needs to enact the law. In addition to the fact that the Ministry of full implications of their work it. "
وعلى صعيد متصل , قال القاضي وائل عبد اللطيف عن ا
And in relation to, said Judge Wael Abdel Latif, the Iraqi from the list at today's meeting that "agriculture in Basra collapsed completely collapsed."
Abdel Latif added, "The reason for the deterioration is due to the lack of agricultural supplies and higher wages instead Landiaali four times from what it was under the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture."
The parliament today had a first reading of the draft law of the irrigation and drainage networks, which provided for the doubling of wages instead of land for those who default on the payment for the first half of the year.
The judge said Abdel-Latif, "agriculture in Iraq need material support, and not to increase the tax burden, especially as farmers in Iraq are represented (60 - 65%) and the strange topic that citrus fruits and intervention of the eyesight of Egypt and Kuwait, and other such that I knew of during my meeting Balmlakat and farming associations in Basra."
He added : "Therefore, the need to support agriculture, seeds, fertilizers
The director of Information Office of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Muhannad Abdul Jabbar had said earlier today told (Voices of Iraq) said that the parliament "will be held today during its first regular legislative chapter III, to be chaired by Dr. Mahmoud Almshahadani President of the Council."
He explained that the Parliament will be discussed in today's meeting, "the second reading of the draft private investment liquidation of crude oil.
No legal quorum for a session held by the House of Representatives last Tuesday, and around the audience members to "consultative meeting" ...
Discussed during the parliament's work over the coming period.
The number of members of the House of Representatives (275) Iraqi Vice, and the required quorum of meetings is half the number of members plus one ...
Any (139) deputies.
Abduljabbar added, "As the House of Representatives today will discuss the second reading of the draft law on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the second reading of the amendment of the law on irrigation and drainage networks (No. 12 of 1995), and the second reading of the draft law to the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works."
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Posted by: nlightn
In reply to: None Date:3/11/2007 7:29:40 PM
Post #of 5225
Halliburton Will Shift Headquarters From Houston to Mideast Financial Powerhouse of Dubai
Army Won't Extend Halliburton Subsidiary's No-Bid Contract to Provide Iraq Services
ABCNews
By JIM KRANE
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Mar 11, 2007 (AP)—
Oil services giant Halliburton Co. will soon shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Mideast financial powerhouse of Dubai, chief executive Dave Lesar announced Sunday.
"Halliburton is opening its corporate headquarters in Dubai while maintaining a corporate office in Houston," spokeswoman Cathy Mann said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE."
Lesar, speaking at an energy conference in nearby Bahrain, said he will relocate to Dubai from Texas to oversee Halliburton's intensified focus on business in the Mideast and energy-hungry Asia, home to some of the world's most important oil and gas markets.
"As the CEO, I'm responsible for the global business of Halliburton in both hemispheres and I will continue to spend quite a bit of time in an airplane as I remain attentive to our customers, shareholders and employees around the world," Lesar said. "Yes, I will spend the majority of my time in Dubai."
Lesar's announcement appears to signal one of the highest-profile moves by a U.S. corporate leader to Dubai, an Arab boomtown where free-market capitalism has been paired with some of the world's most liberal tax, investment and residency laws.
"The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities and growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio," Lesar said.
In 2006, Halliburton once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney earned profits of $2.3 billion on revenues of $22.6 billion.
More than 38 percent of Halliburton's $13 billion oil field services revenue last year stemmed from sources in the eastern hemisphere, where the firm has 16,000 of its 45,000 employees.
Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995-2000 and the Bush administration has been accused of favoring the conglomerate with lucrative no-bid contracts in Iraq.
Federal investigators last month alleged Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.
Halliburton last month announced a 40-percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, despite heavy demand for its oil field equipment and personnel.
On the Net:
Halliburton Co.: http://www.halliburton.com
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2941931
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/11/2007 4:23:42 PM
Post #of 5225
THIS COULD BE BIG NEWS
Demand for dollar down as new policy expected in Central Bank auction
By Dergham Mohamed Ali
Baghdad, March 11, (VOI) – Demand for the dollar was down in the Iraqi Central Bank’s daily auction on Sunday, reaching $45.395 million, compared with $54.145 million on Thursday, amid expectation of a new policy to sell dollars.
In its daily statement, the bank said it had covered all bids, which included $8.845 million in cash and $36.550 million in foreign transfers, at an exchange rate of 1,279 dinars per dollar, unchanged from Thursday.
None of the 10 banks that participated in Sunday's auction offered to sell dollars.
Abdul-Razzaq al-Abaiji, an economist, told VOI "the decline in today's demand for the dollar was due to the expectation that a new policy will be adopted by the Central Bank to raise the dollar exchange rate in upcoming sessions."The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.
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Posted by: RICK C
In reply to: RICK C who wrote msg# 5079 Date:3/11/2007 8:20:23 AM
Post #of 5225
Finance & Banking
Iranian bank to enter Iraq economy
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11 March 2007 (Press TV)
A major Iranian bank will begin operations in war-torn Iraq within the next few days, the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said.
Hassan Tiz-Maghz said during a high-profile meeting of Iranian and Iraqi economic officials in Tehran that Iran also plans to set up an insurance firm in Iraq, Fars news agency reported.
"Bank Melli Iran will begin work in Iraq within the next few days in cooperation with an Iraqi development bank," Tiz-Maghz said, adding that Iran has also paved the way for establishing an insurance company and an inspection facility in Iraq to examine the quality of goods Iranian companies export to that country.
Iraqi Trade Minister Abd al-Fallah Hassan al-Sudani, who was among the participants at the meeting, said the Iraqi government is seeking to privatize the economy of the oil-rich nation.
"Baghdad favors a market economy," the Iraqi minister said.
He said the Iraqi private sector was badly damaged under former dictator Saddam Hussein, and stressed that efforts were currently underway to revitalize private enterprise in the war-torn nation.
The minister added that last year the Iraqi government allowed private companies to import oil derivatives. Iraq's oil reserves are currently at 115 billion barrels.
"Iran possesses great capabilities," the minister continued, calling for the implementation of prior agreements reached between the two countries.
A senior Iraqi economic delegation was in Tehran earlier this week to explore avenues for cooperation between Iran and Iraq.
Iran has exported over $2 billion worth of non-oil goods to Iraq since last March. The country is the second largest exporter of goods to Iraq after the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq imported a total $13 billion of goods in 2006. The nation's annual budget also increased from $33 billion in 2006 to $41 billion in 2007.
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Posted by: RICK C
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5070 Date:3/11/2007 8:19:21 AM
Post #of 5225
BAGHDAD, 11 March 2007 (UPI)
Officials from the China National Petroleum Corp. are in Iraq trying to re-sign a major oil deal first signed with Saddam Hussein.
Assem Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said CNPC representatives had been in country since Tuesday.
Their goal is to renegotiate a contract for the al-Ahdab field, which China won the exploration rights to 10 years ago.
CNPC expects to attain the field rights again, reports China Oil News, a news service owned by CNPC.
The al-Ahdab contract was for $700 million of the 23-year expected lifespan. CNPC would produce 90,000 barrels per day.
Work was halted, however, by U.N. sanctions and other security issues.
But Iraq is closer to finalizing a law governing oil and natural gas developments in the country, which could pave the way for contract terms for CNPC.
Other companies, like Russia's Lukoil, are attempting to re-sign contracts from the Hussein era.
The law is controversial and faces opposition from Iraq's oil unions and others who view it as too gracious to foreign companies.
Details still to be worked out could also be held up by bickering factions in the central government and by regions wanting more secured terms.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, though production of oil has been slowed by the ongoing war and violence.
Production averaged around 2 million bpd last month.
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/10/2007 8:10:34 PM
Post #of 5225
20 billion dinars being flown by the U.S. to one Iraqi bank.
Long read but interesting.
US commander strolls streets of contested city, eating ice cream and talking progress
The Associated PressPublished: March 10, 2007
HIT, Iraq: The top U.S. commander in Iraq strolled through the streets of this dusty Euphrates River city Saturday, munching ice cream and promoting cooperation between Americans and Iraqis in a Sunni Arab community where insurgents have been driven out before — only to return.
Gen. David Petraeus visited Hit, scene of bloody fights with insurgents for the last three years, to affirm U.S. support for a nascent city administration and to deliver a message that American troops will remain here until Iraqi forces are genuinely ready to provide their own security.
To demonstrate his confidence, Petraeus, accompanied by dozens of armed U.S. troops and Iraqi policemen, strolled down the main street, stopping to buy ice cream from a vendor and wandering through the city market, where snipers were taking potshots at U.S. patrols just months ago.
"Iraq presents its own complex set of challenges and you have to do one city at a time," Petraeus said as he beamed at hesitant crowds and delivered Arabic greetings to small groups of young boys who stared at the entourage from the curb.
Few of the Iraqis returned the greeting and most kept back, perhaps intimidated by the stern-faced gun-toting Iraqi policemen who appeared keen to make sure nothing went awry during the visit.
Today in Africa & Middle East
Iraqi leader requests regional aid to curb violence
Kenyan police arrest key Al Qaeda suspect
Disaster puts spotlight on Malian immigrants to U.S.
Nevertheless, the fact that a senior American general could walk through the public market in a Sunni city with such a bloody past indicated a degree of progress which U.S. commanders are keen to exploit.
That is key to the new U.S. strategy of clearing areas of insurgents and then remaining there to promote economic and quality of life projects. In the past, Iraqi forces failed to maintain control once the Americans were gone.
Last month, Iraqi police backed by American troops from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, swept through the city of about 120,000 people about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Baghdad, arresting suspected insurgents and establishing three new police stations in the downtown area.
Since then, the number of violent incidents — mostly bombings and shootings — has dropped from an average of five per day to about 1.3 a day, the lowest level since March 2006, according to Lt. Col. Douglas Crissman of Faifax, Va., the battalion commander.
The plan is for U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints around the city to turn Hit (pronounced Heet) into a "gated community" free of insurgents, Crissman said.
To convince the locals that better days are ahead, U.S. officers plan to fly in 20 billion dinars ($15 million) to float the local bank, which will enable retired government employees and soldiers to start receiving pensions and provide cash to bolster the economy.
The Americans are also encouraging the Shiite-run government in Baghdad to pay more attention to mostly Sunni Anbar, including authorizing funds to pay for the extra police. But U.S. forces have claimed similar successes in the past in Hit, only to see gains lost because of a lack of enough troops here in Anbar province, a vast area that stretches from the western edge of Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Despite a recent cleanup campaign, the city still bears the scars of conflict, including concrete barriers around a local mosque from which insurgents used to fire mortars at American positions.
"See that hole in the wall," said Sgt. Maj. Samuel Coston of Wallace, N.C. "An IED threw a Bradley" fighting vehicle "into it, and a Bradley weighs 30 tons."
In early 2004, the Marines took over responsibility for western Anbar but had to shift forces eastward when violence flared in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi and in Fallujah.
With the remaining Marines overstretched, Hit fell under insurgent control and became a waystation for weapons and fighters entering the country from Syria toward Baghdad and other cities.
Marines worked with a local Sunni tribe, the Abu Nimur, to recruit police and Iraqi soldiers and were well on their way to establishing Hit as a model of U.S.-Iraqi cooperation.
But U.S. units were moved again from Hit to support the siege of Fallujah in November 2004. Insurgents returned, killing policemen, intimidating residents and ambushing American convoys.
The son of the current police commander, Col. Hamid Ibrahim al-Jaza, was beheaded on a soccer field. Hit has remained a flashpoint ever since.
To heal the wounds, U.S. officers are promoting community development plans, including a new wing of the local hospital, and are recruiting hundreds of police to bolster the city's 827-member force.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: Norton1973 who wrote msg# 5069 Date:3/10/2007 12:39:11 PM
Post #of 5225
look at this
"We want 2007 year to be the turning point for economically recovery of Iraq."
Deputy prime minister says Iraq needs new management system to handle its budget
Deputy prime minister says Iraq needs new management system to handle its budget
International Herald Tribune - [07/03/2007]
Iraq's government needs a new management system to enable it to manage the country's unprecedented $41 billion budget, Iraq's deputy prime minister said Wednesday.
"It is unprecedented in the history of Iraq — we have $41 billion budget in which $10.5 billion is allocated for the investment budget," said Barham Saleh, one of two deputy prime ministers and head of the Cabinet's economic committee.
"But we have a problem because of the bureaucracy of the state and the government has been incapable on delivering on its commitments," Saleh told reporters after a conference sponsored by the Ministry of Finance to discuss the investment budget.
Saleh said the major problems in managing the budget were "the accumulated heritage" of Saddam Hussein's regime, a "bureaucratic mind" and corruption.
"We are trying to find new management systems to enable the government to work actively to implement its commitments," he added. "We want 2007 year to be the turning point for economically recovery of Iraq."
Ali Baban, the minister of planning, told the conference other major problems facing Iraq's economy were inflation, unemployment and poor services. He said the best way to confront those problems was to revive Iraqi industry.
"We do believe that reviving the sectors of agriculture, services and industry will develop the Iraqi economy," Baban said. "The government is still the biggest investor because we don't have an active private sector and huge foreign investments," despite the country's oil wealth.
"Corruption has become a dangerous element and is curbing the governmental work. This dangerous disease should not curb our efforts and we have to face it bravely and develop the capability of our supervision systems."
Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the government hopes to use state funds to revive domestic industry and put about a half million people to work this coming year, offering "real services to the citizens."
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5066 Date:3/10/2007 12:33:24 PM
Post #of 5225
Yes I know I put up alot of stuff, but man...it's happening, can you see it...? Lot's of great things going on.
Gulf investors invited to implement “Iraq Great Port” project
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [08/03/2007]
Governor of Basrah, Muhammad Misbih Alwaeli, invited Arab (especially Gulf) and international companies to present designs concerning “Iraq Great Port” project which is intended to be set up at the mouth of Shatt al-Arab in the city of Faw, (100 km south of Basrah).
Alwaeli stressed that “the project of the port is a first step in establishing a broad Iraqi investment base starting from Basrah, explaining that it would be built in a 100% safe area, located outside the city, and isolated from any political or party activity, as well as being protected by Iraqi forces, which will help inviting investors to examine it”.
Alwaeli especially invited Gulf investors in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, preferring their presentations to foreign bidders, because most of Basrah families have affinity and kinship relations with many Gulf businessmen; also, the area is located within the Arabian Gulf region, which facilitates the transfer of equipment and machinery across common waters.
Alwaeli denied the information about the fears of some Gulf businessmen from the Iranian influence in Basrah, pointing out that “these fears are mere illusions created by some enemies of the city and political opponents, in order to obstruct the reconstruction projects in it”.
He explained that the project includes the construction of a port accommodate the anticipated requirements of reconstruction; the project will be implemented on several stages, comprising building docks, warehouses and a railway linking Iraq to the ancient Silk Road, connecting Europe to Iraq, in addition to the construction of housing units, chalets, parks and recreational projects, which will be organized by a central law of their own. He confirmed the desire of some European banks to fund the project.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5065 Date:3/10/2007 12:24:26 PM
Post #of 5225
Byblos Bank plans Iraq expansion from Kurdish North
Financial Express - [08/03/2007]
Byblos Bank, Lebanon’s third-largest lender, will open a branch in Iraq next month using the safety of the Kurdish north as a platform for expansion into a country that holds 10% of the world’s oil reserves.
“Iraq is very important, there is huge potential there,’’ chairman Francois Bassil, 72, said in an interview in his office in Beirut March 6. Byblos will open its branch in Arbil, capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, because it’s more secure than other parts of the country, he said.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3377
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Weeks' end review of news.
Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5064 Date:3/10/2007 12:18:06 PM
Post #of 5225
reduce the exchange rate ...I Love the last sentence.
First rise in the dollar exchange rate over several months
First rise in the dollar exchange rate over several months
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [09/03/2007]
The dollar exchange rate rose for the first time over several months ago in the Iraqi Central Bank auction yesterday, Thursday, after it continued its dropping for more than five months.
The demand for the dollar in the auction, on Thursday, dropped to 54 million and 145 thousand dollars against 66 million and 260 thousand dollars on Wednesday.
The purchase demands were divided as: 7 million and 70 thousand dollars in cash, and 47 million and 75 thousand dollars in the form of remittances for outside the country fully covered by the Bank at the exchange rate of 1279 dinars, going up one point on the exchange rate of last Wednesday, and this is the first rise in the dollar exchange rates over the past five months.
While none of the 11 banks participating in the auction made any offers to sell the dollar.
Mr. Ali Al-Yasiri, one of the dealers with the Bank, explained that the rise, although not big, it was surprising and reflected the Bank’s policy for the past three months, which aims at reducing the exchange rate; this affected the volume of cash bids and their restriction to urgent dealings.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5062 Date:3/10/2007 12:14:43 PM
Post #of 5225
Jumping at the chance...
Turkish firms, Shell set up Iraq gas JV
Turkish firms, Shell set up Iraq gas JV - source
Reuters - [10/03/2007]
Turkish companies and Royal Dutch Shell have set up a consortium to bid for a gas production licence in Iraq and build a pipeline to Turkey's energy hub of Ceyhan, an industry source said on Friday.
"There is a joint venture that has been set up to that end among TPAO (state-owned Turkish Petroleum Inc), Shell, (state pipeline operator) Botas and (Turkish firm) Tekfen," the source told Reuters at an energy conference in Istanbul.
The pipeline would run parallel to an existing oil pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
The source said the production of gas and its transport to Turkey were a focus of discussions between Iraqi, Turkish and U.S. officials at a meeting on Friday in Istanbul.
Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler confirmed the meeting, saying it had been successful, but declined to comment on what had been discussed.
"This meeting was the first. We will meet again soon," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the energy conference.
The U.S. State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza, who attended the talks, said on Thursday Washington supported Turkey becoming a transit point to Europe for Azeri and Iraqi gas to provide a new source of gas and break the dominance of Russian giant Gazprom.
Bryza said the energy map of Europe would change if gas from Iraq could be incorporated in the future with gas from ex-Soviet republics such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, but said this would require clear signals to investors.
Last week, Guler said foreign firms had expressed interest in working with TPAO, Turkey's state oil exploration firm, in its search for crude and natural gas in northern Iraq.
The latest energy moves follow the Iraqi cabinet's recent endorsement of a draft oil law that regulates how the war-shattered country's oil wealth will be shared between its ethnic and sectarian groups.
The law, which must still be approved by the Baghdad parliament, allows regional administrations in Iraq to negotiate contracts with international energy companies.
But it would also put oil revenues into a central account which would then be distributed according to population.
Turkey has a complex relationship with the mainly Kurdish north of Iraq. Its army generals and politicians have sometimes threatened to take military action to crush separatist Turkish Kurdish rebels hiding in the mountains there.
But despite such political tensions, more than 600 Turkish firms are operating in northern Iraq. Analysts say Turkish exports to the Kurdish government there, including fuel, totalled about $5 billion in 2006 alone.
If it works, we'll try it again next weekend.
Trav.
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Posted by: c a
In reply to: None Date:3/17/2007 2:49:04 PM
Post #of 5225
CBI adopts fixed ID exchange rate
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CBI adopts fixed ID exchange rate
Baghdad (NINA)- The Central Bank of Iraq CBI has announced adopting the exchange rate of Iraqi Dinar against the US Dollar, settled on last Thursday’s auction until March 19. A CBI statement said Saturday that the measure came within the previously adopted measures, aiming at boosting Iraqi Dinar...
http://www.ninanews.com/ninaII/indexeng.php
__________________
Sources at the Central Bank told the nation »« that this policy will continue until the Iraqi dinar thrive and become the preferred currency in daily dealings. With those sources expressed its confidence in achieving this policy even finishing off phenomenon (dollarization).
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/15/2007 10:23:44 PM
Post #of 5225
Al-Maliki tells aides U.S. benchmark deadline is June 30 or his ouster possible
The Associated PressPublished: March 13, 2007
BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will withdraw support for his government — effectively ousting him — if parliament does not pass a draft oil law by the end of June, close associates of the Iraqi leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The legislature has not even taken up the draft measure for a fair distribution of the nation's oil wealth — only one of several U.S. benchmarks that are now seen by al-Maliki, a hardline Shiite, as key to continued American support for his troubled government.
Beyond that, the al-Maliki associates told AP, American officials have informed the prime minister they want an Iraqi government in place by year's end that would be acceptable to Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"They have said it must be secular and inclusive," one al-Maliki associate said.
To that end, al-Maliki made an unannounced visit Tuesday to Ramadi, the Sunni insurgent stronghold, to meet with tribal leaders, the provincial governor and security chiefs in a bid to signal his willingness for reconciliation to end the bitter and bloody sectarian war that has riven Iraq for more than a year.
Today in Africa & Middle East
Hamas and Fatah agree on unity government
A new face of Al Qaeda emerges in Lebanon
U.S. troops to fan out into 100 garrisons to secure Baghdad
For its part, the U.S. military is speaking with great optimism about its efforts to turn Sunnis in volatile Anbar province away from the insurgency and its al-Qaida in Iraq allies.
Compounding al-Maliki's fears about a withdrawal of American support were visits to Saudi Arabia by two key political figures in an admitted bid to win support for a major Iraqi political realignment. Saudi Arabia is a major U.S. ally and oil supplier.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite, arrived in the Saudi capital Tuesday. Masoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region, flew in a day earlier. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
"Allawi is there to enlist support for a new political front that rises above sectarian structures now in place," the former prime minister's spokesman Izzat al-Shahbandar told AP.
Barzani spokesman Abdul-Khaleq Zanganah said the two had met in Kurdistan before traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks on forming a "national front to take over for the political bloc now supporting al-Maliki."
It appears certain that the United States was informed about the Allawi and Barzani opening to the Saudis, who are deeply concerned that al-Maliki could become a puppet of Iran, the Shiite theocracy on Iraq's eastern border. Tehran is seen as a threat to stability among the long-standing Sunni regimes throughout most of the Arab world and deeply at odds with the United States over Iran's nuclear program and policy toward Israel.
Washington has been reported to be working more closely with Sunni Arab governments to encourage them to take a greater role in Iraq, particularly in reining in the Sunni insurgency that has killed thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands more Iraqi Shiites.
Washington was believed to be trying to win support for its mission in Iraq among the country's Arab neighbors by assuring a greater future role for the Sunni minority that ran the country until the U.S. invasion ousted Saddam Hussein.
One al-Maliki confidant said the Americans in Baghdad had voiced displeasure with the prime minister's government even though he has managed so far to blunt major resistance from the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia, to the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation in the capital and its environs. The militia is the military wing of the political organization run by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political backing secured the premiership for al-Maliki.
"They have said they are frustrated that he has done nothing to oust the Sadrists, that the oil law has not moved forward, that there is no genuine effort on reconciliation and no movement on new regional elections," said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Passage of the oil law, which seeks a fair distribution of revenues among all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups, has become a major issue for the United States, which had initially counted on financing Iraq's post-invasion reconstruction with oil revenues.
But the decrepit oil infrastructure and violence have left the country producing oil at about the same levels as before the war, at best, and those figures are well below production before the first Gulf War which resulted in U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi oil industry.
The major Sunni bloc in parliament along with Allawi loyalists in the Shiite bloc are openly opposed the draft oil measure as drafted. Al-Maliki also has lost the backing of the Shiite Fadila Party, and independent Shiite members are split on the bill.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/15/2007 5:58:57 AM
Post #of 5225
Chase's Fee After Reval - 1% of the currency !!!
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Bought some more dinar b/c it appears that the reval is close potentially. When asking the manager about the dinar and exchanging the dinar back [after it potentially revals], she said the following:
1) We will exchange the dinars for dollars for 1% of the value. She said this is the typical fee that we charge in currency exchanges. If you have 1 million dinars [for example] and the reval is a 1-1, chase will charge a $10,000 fee to exchange [e.g. $1,000,000 x .01 = $10,000].
2) When asking her about the tax implications, she said we won't take out taxes but that is something you need to talk to a professional about....should...if ...you need to claim it.
Parliament cancels hearing statements (Voices of Iraq)
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Iraqi parliament agreed on Wednesday to temporarily cancel the hearing of members’ statements and postponed the session to Thursday.
Read the entire article at IraqiUpdates.com
Sunday, March 11, 2007; Page B07
A front-page story in The Post last week suggested that the Bush administration has no backup plan in case the surge in Iraq doesn't work. I wonder if The Post and other newspapers have a backup plan in case it does.
Leading journalists have been reporting for some time that the war was hopeless, a fiasco that could not be salvaged by more troops and a new counterinsurgency strategy. The conventional wisdom in December held that sending more troops was politically impossible after the antiwar tenor of the midterm elections. It was practically impossible because the extra troops didn't exist. Even if the troops did exist, they could not make a difference.
Four months later, the once insurmountable political opposition has been surmounted. The nonexistent troops are flowing into Iraq. And though it is still early and horrible acts of violence continue, there is substantial evidence that the new counterinsurgency strategy, backed by the infusion of new forces, is having a significant effect.
Some observers are reporting the shift. Iraqi bloggers Mohammed and Omar Fadhil, widely respected for their straight talk, say that "early signs are encouraging." The first impact of the "surge," they write, was psychological. Both friends and foes in Iraq had been convinced, in no small part by the American media, that the United States was preparing to pull out. When the opposite occurred, this alone shifted the dynamic.
As the Fadhils report, "Commanders and lieutenants of various militant groups abandoned their positions in Baghdad and in some cases fled the country." The most prominent leader to go into hiding has been Moqtada al-Sadr. His Mahdi Army has been instructed to avoid clashes with American and Iraqi forces, even as coalition forces begin to establish themselves in the once off-limits Sadr City.
Before the arrival of Gen. David Petraeus, the Army's leading counterinsurgency strategist, U.S. forces tended to raid insurgent and terrorist strongholds and then pull back and hand over the areas to Iraqi forces, who failed to hold them. The Fadhils report, "One difference between this and earlier -- failed -- attempts to secure Baghdad is the willingness of the Iraqi and U.S. governments to commit enough resources for enough time to make it work." In the past, bursts of American activity were followed by withdrawal and a return of the insurgents. Now, the plan to secure Baghdad "is becoming stricter and gaining momentum by the day as more troops pour into the city, allowing for a better implementation of the 'clear and hold' strategy." Baghdadis "always want the 'hold' part to materialize, and feel safe when they go out and find the Army and police maintaining their posts -- the bad guys can't intimidate as long as the troops are staying."
A greater sense of confidence produces many benefits. The number of security tips about insurgents that Iraqi civilians provide has jumped sharply. Stores and marketplaces are reopening in Baghdad, increasing the sense of community. People dislocated by sectarian violence are returning to their homes. As a result, "many Baghdadis feel hopeful again about the future, and the fear of civil war is slowly being replaced by optimism that peace might one day return to this city," the Fadhils report. "This change in mood is something huge by itself."
Apparently some American journalists see the difference. NBC's Brian Williams recently reported a dramatic change in Ramadi since his previous visit. The city was safer; the airport more secure. The new American strategy of "getting out, decentralizing, going into the neighborhoods, grabbing a toehold, telling the enemy we're here, start talking to the locals -- that is having an obvious and palpable effect." U.S. soldiers forged agreements with local religious leaders and pushed al-Qaeda back -- a trend other observers have noted in some Sunni-dominated areas. The result, Williams said, is that "the war has changed."
It is no coincidence that as the mood and the reality have shifted, political currents have shifted as well. A national agreement on sharing oil revenue appears on its way to approval. The Interior Ministry has been purged of corrupt officials and of many suspected of torture and brutality. And cracks are appearing in the Shiite governing coalition -- a good sign, given that the rock-solid unity was both the product and cause of growing sectarian violence.
There is still violence, as Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda seek to prove that the surge is not working. However, they are striking at more vulnerable targets in the provinces. Violence is down in Baghdad. As for Sadr and the Mahdi Army, it is possible they may reemerge as a problem later. But trying to wait out the American and Iraqi effort may be hazardous if the public becomes less tolerant of their violence. It could not be comforting to Sadr or al-Qaeda to read in the New York Times that the United States plans to keep higher force levels in Iraq through at least the beginning of 2008. The only good news for them would be if the Bush administration in its infinite wisdom starts to talk again about drawing down forces.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030901839.html
__________________
Yesterday was history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
from another board
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Posted by: RJ Trotts
In reply to: D-Block who wrote msg# 5114 Date:3/14/2007 2:18:34 PM
Post #of 5225
Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers, violence down 80%
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.as...en&DSNO=961365
MIL-IRAQ-US SOLDIERS
Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers
BAGHDAD, March 14 (KUNA) -- The rate of killings of US troops in Iraq has been on the decline, down by 60 percent, since the launch of the new security measures in Baghdad, according to statistics revealed by the Multi-National Force -Iraq Combined Press Information Centre.
Only 17 members of the US military in Iraq have been killed since February 14 till March 13, compared to 42 from January 13 to February 13; the rate was on the decline during the first month of the security crackdown, compared to a month before.
Two of the 17 soldiers died at US Baghdad camps of non-combat causes.
The remarkable decrease in killings among the US troops came at a time when more of these troops were deployed in the Iraqi capital, especially in districts previously regarded as extremely hazardous for them such as Al-Sadr City, Al-Azamiyah, and Al-Doura.
Meanwhile, US attacks on insurgent strongholds north of Baghdad curbed attacks against helicopters. Before the new security plan, many such craft were downed leaving 20 soldiers dead.
The US army in Iraq had earlier said that sectarian fighting and violence in Baghdad had dropped sharply, by about 80 percent, since the launch of the plan.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/13/2007 7:56:26 PM
Post #of 5225
Iraqi leader fears ouster over oil money
1 hour, 43 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fears the Americans will torpedo his government if parliament does not pass a law to fairly divvy up the country's oil wealth among Iraqis by the end of June, close associates of the leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The legislature has not even taken up the draft measure, which is only one of several U.S. benchmarks that are seen by al-Maliki as key to continued American support, a crucial need for the survival of his troubled administration.
Aside from the oil law, the associates said, American officials have told the hardline Shiite Muslim prime minister that they want an Iraqi government in place by year's end acceptable to the country's Sunni Arab neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
"They have said it must be secular and inclusive," one al-Maliki associate said.
To that end, al-Maliki made an unannounced visit Tuesday to Ramadi, the Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold, to meet with tribal leaders, the provincial governor and security chiefs in a bid to signal his willingness for reconciliation to end the bitter sectarian war that has riven
Iraq for more than a year.
Compounding al-Maliki's fears about a withdrawal of American support were visits to Saudi Arabia by two key political figures in an admitted bid to win support for a major Iraqi political realignment. Saudi Arabia is a major U.S. ally and oil supplier.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite Muslim, flew to the Saudi capital Tuesday, a day after the arrival there of Masoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
"Allawi is there to enlist support for a new political front that rises above sectarian structures now in place," the former prime minister's spokesman, Izzat al-Shahbandar, told the AP.
Barzani spokesman Abdul-Khaleq Zanganah said the two Iraqis met in Kurdistan before the trip for talks on forming a "national front to take over for the political bloc now supporting al-Maliki."
It appears certain the United States was informed about the Allawi and Barzani opening to the Saudis, who are deeply concerned that al-Maliki could become a puppet of
Iran, the Shiite theocracy on Iraq's eastern border they view as a threat to the region's stability.
Washington has been reported working more closely with Sunni Arab governments to encourage them to take a greater role in Iraq, particularly in reining in the Sunni insurgency that has killed thousands of U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi Shiites.
The Bush administration is believed to be trying to win support for its operations in Iraq among Arab neighbors by assuring a greater future role for the Sunni minority that ran the country until the U.S. invasion ousted
Saddam Hussein four years ago.
One al-Maliki confidant said the Americans had voiced displeasure with the prime minister's government even though he has managed so far to blunt major resistance from the Mahdi Army militia to the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation in Baghdad. The Shiite militia is loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political backing secured the premiership for al-Maliki.
"They have said they are frustrated that he has done nothing to oust the Sadrists, that the oil law has not moved forward, that there is no genuine effort on reconciliation and no movement on new regional elections," said the official, who like the other associates agreed to discuss the situation only if not quoted by name because of the political sensitivities.
Passage of the oil law, which seeks a fair distribution of revenues among all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups, has become a major issue for the United States, which had initially counted on financing Iraq's post-invasion reconstruction with oil revenues.
But the decrepit oil infrastructure and violence have left the country producing oil at about the same levels as before the war, at best, and those figures are well below production before the 1991
Gulf War that resulted in U.N. sanctions against the Iraqi oil industry.
The major Sunni bloc in parliament, along with Allawi loyalists in the Shiite bloc, openly oppose the draft measure. Al-Maliki also has lost the backing of the Shiite Fadila Party, and independent Shiite members are split on the bill. Those willing to speak about their opposition voice fears about what they see as too much possible foreign involvement and profit sharing.
The al-Maliki associates said U.S. officials, who they would not name, told the prime minister that
President Bush was committed to the current government but continued White House support depended on positive action on all the benchmarks — especially the oil law and sectarian reconciliation — by the close of this parliamentary session June 30.
"Al-Maliki is committed to meeting the deadline because he is convinced he would not survive in power without U.S. support," one of the associates said.
Standing in the way of forward movement is a recalcitrant Cabinet, which al-Maliki has promised to reshuffle by the end of this week. So far, however, he is at loggerheads with the political groupings in parliament that are threatening to withdraw support for the prime minister if he does not allow the blocs to name replacements for Cabinet positions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070313..._mi_ea/iraq_oil
__________________
Zubaidi:Monetary value of the Iraqi dinar must revert to the previous level, or at least to acceptable levels as it is in the Iraqi neighboring states.
Shabibi:The bank wants as a means to affect the economic and monetary policy by making the dinar a valuable and powerful.
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Posted by: Ken 1003
In reply to: None Date:3/13/2007 1:25:32 PM
Post #of 5225
The problem with Iraq is that it's full of Iraqis :(
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http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2007/pr0748.htm
IMF Executive Board Completes Third and Fourth Reviews under Iraq's Stand-By Arrangement, Approves Six-Month Extension of Arrangement to September 2007
Press Release No. 07/48
March 13, 2007
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the third and fourth reviews of Iraq's performance under its economic program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement. The IMF arrangement is being treated as precautionary by the Iraqi authorities, and no purchase is planned.
The Stand-By Arrangement in an amount equivalent to SDR 475.36 million (about US$714.7 million) was approved on December 23, 2005 (see Press Release No. 05/307). In completing the latest reviews, the Executive Board also approved the authorities' request for a six-month extension of the arrangement through September 28, 2007. Additionally, the Board also approved the authorities request for a waiver of the non-observance of a structural performance criterion.
Following the Executive Board's discussion of Iraq, Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated:
"Iraq is entering a crucial period in its economic recovery. Despite very difficult political and security circumstances, the Iraqi authorities have taken important measures to keep their economic program on track. The maintenance of fiscal discipline, as well as the tightening of monetary policy and the appreciation of the dinar, are commendable. The increase of official domestic fuel prices and the enactment by the Council of Representatives (CoR) of a law liberalizing the import of fuel products are important steps. The amendments to the pension law were submitted to the CoR; we look forward to their early passage into law. The government's approval of a new oil and gas law augurs well for the future of the oil sector. Progress is also being made in financial sector reform.
"Inflation, however, remains high. While this is to an important extent due to the prevailing difficult security situation and supply disruptions, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) may need to take further steps in order to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched and to de-dollarize the economy. Fiscal policy should be supportive by keeping current spending, including the wage and pension bill, in check. At the same time, it is important to increase government investment, especially in the oil sector. The government also needs to reduce supply bottlenecks, especially of fuel products. To that end, actions are needed to facilitate the importing of fuel products by the private sector. The pace of structural reforms needs to be increased. Efforts to modernize the chart of accounts and the budget classification need to be stepped up, and the Financial Management Information System should be implemented rapidly. It is important to complete the census of public sector employees by mid-year. While the restructuring effort on the two largest banks is commendable, efforts should be made to restructure the four other state-owned banks. The modernization of the payments system needs to be expanded to cover all banks.
"The CBI's efforts to implement the recommendations of the Interim Safeguards assessment report and the Ernst & Young 2005 audit report are encouraging. The Ministry of Finance is strongly encouraged to recapitalize the CBI as soon as possible.
"Corruption and violence need to be brought under control to unlock Iraq's oil wealth. More forceful actions are needed, especially in the area of smuggling. In this respect, the implementation of oil metering projects should be finalized as soon as possible. The authorities' intention to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is welcome.
"Progress in settling arrears with private creditors is commendable. However, further progress is needed towards resolving non-Paris Club official claims," Mr. Kato said.
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Posted by: nid4u
In reply to: None Date:3/12/2007 2:54:19 PM
Post #of 5225
Today, 06:58 AM
darock0116
Investor Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: KY
Posts: 859
Parliament Meeting On The HCL Today!!!
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Voices of Iraq : Parliament-meeting (Introduction seconds)
2007 - 01:01 PM BT
Books : nakr2004 on Monday, March 12, 2007 1:01 PM-BT
The House of Representatives will discuss a draft bill of oil and gas
Dargham of Muhammad Ali Abdel Amir, Kawther
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)
The House discussed at its meeting held today, Monday, the draft resolution on oil and gas, with the Council postponed the second reading of the law regulating broadcasting frequencies and because of its relationship to the law of the provinces.
He said Dr Khalid al-Attiyah, first deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, who chaired today's meeting that "the competent authorities demanded postponement of the second reading of the law regulating broadcasting frequencies, due to the completion of the governorates."
The law regulating broadcasting frequencies and the organization of the work of the mobile phone networks and broadcasting via radio to the media on television and radio and the development of the law of the Communications and Information is responsible for granting special leave mobile phones and transmission via the Iraqi ether.
The net objected purity and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs on the postponement that the government needs to enact the law. In addition to the fact that the Ministry of full implications of their work it. "
وعلى صعيد متصل , قال القاضي وائل عبد اللطيف عن ا
And in relation to, said Judge Wael Abdel Latif, the Iraqi from the list at today's meeting that "agriculture in Basra collapsed completely collapsed."
Abdel Latif added, "The reason for the deterioration is due to the lack of agricultural supplies and higher wages instead Landiaali four times from what it was under the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture."
The parliament today had a first reading of the draft law of the irrigation and drainage networks, which provided for the doubling of wages instead of land for those who default on the payment for the first half of the year.
The judge said Abdel-Latif, "agriculture in Iraq need material support, and not to increase the tax burden, especially as farmers in Iraq are represented (60 - 65%) and the strange topic that citrus fruits and intervention of the eyesight of Egypt and Kuwait, and other such that I knew of during my meeting Balmlakat and farming associations in Basra."
He added : "Therefore, the need to support agriculture, seeds, fertilizers
The director of Information Office of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Muhannad Abdul Jabbar had said earlier today told (Voices of Iraq) said that the parliament "will be held today during its first regular legislative chapter III, to be chaired by Dr. Mahmoud Almshahadani President of the Council."
He explained that the Parliament will be discussed in today's meeting, "the second reading of the draft private investment liquidation of crude oil.
No legal quorum for a session held by the House of Representatives last Tuesday, and around the audience members to "consultative meeting" ...
Discussed during the parliament's work over the coming period.
The number of members of the House of Representatives (275) Iraqi Vice, and the required quorum of meetings is half the number of members plus one ...
Any (139) deputies.
Abduljabbar added, "As the House of Representatives today will discuss the second reading of the draft law on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the second reading of the amendment of the law on irrigation and drainage networks (No. 12 of 1995), and the second reading of the draft law to the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works."
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Posted by: nlightn
In reply to: None Date:3/11/2007 7:29:40 PM
Post #of 5225
Halliburton Will Shift Headquarters From Houston to Mideast Financial Powerhouse of Dubai
Army Won't Extend Halliburton Subsidiary's No-Bid Contract to Provide Iraq Services
ABCNews
By JIM KRANE
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Mar 11, 2007 (AP)—
Oil services giant Halliburton Co. will soon shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Mideast financial powerhouse of Dubai, chief executive Dave Lesar announced Sunday.
"Halliburton is opening its corporate headquarters in Dubai while maintaining a corporate office in Houston," spokeswoman Cathy Mann said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE."
Lesar, speaking at an energy conference in nearby Bahrain, said he will relocate to Dubai from Texas to oversee Halliburton's intensified focus on business in the Mideast and energy-hungry Asia, home to some of the world's most important oil and gas markets.
"As the CEO, I'm responsible for the global business of Halliburton in both hemispheres and I will continue to spend quite a bit of time in an airplane as I remain attentive to our customers, shareholders and employees around the world," Lesar said. "Yes, I will spend the majority of my time in Dubai."
Lesar's announcement appears to signal one of the highest-profile moves by a U.S. corporate leader to Dubai, an Arab boomtown where free-market capitalism has been paired with some of the world's most liberal tax, investment and residency laws.
"The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities and growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio," Lesar said.
In 2006, Halliburton once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney earned profits of $2.3 billion on revenues of $22.6 billion.
More than 38 percent of Halliburton's $13 billion oil field services revenue last year stemmed from sources in the eastern hemisphere, where the firm has 16,000 of its 45,000 employees.
Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995-2000 and the Bush administration has been accused of favoring the conglomerate with lucrative no-bid contracts in Iraq.
Federal investigators last month alleged Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.
Halliburton last month announced a 40-percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, despite heavy demand for its oil field equipment and personnel.
On the Net:
Halliburton Co.: http://www.halliburton.com
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2941931
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/11/2007 4:23:42 PM
Post #of 5225
THIS COULD BE BIG NEWS
Demand for dollar down as new policy expected in Central Bank auction
By Dergham Mohamed Ali
Baghdad, March 11, (VOI) – Demand for the dollar was down in the Iraqi Central Bank’s daily auction on Sunday, reaching $45.395 million, compared with $54.145 million on Thursday, amid expectation of a new policy to sell dollars.
In its daily statement, the bank said it had covered all bids, which included $8.845 million in cash and $36.550 million in foreign transfers, at an exchange rate of 1,279 dinars per dollar, unchanged from Thursday.
None of the 10 banks that participated in Sunday's auction offered to sell dollars.
Abdul-Razzaq al-Abaiji, an economist, told VOI "the decline in today's demand for the dollar was due to the expectation that a new policy will be adopted by the Central Bank to raise the dollar exchange rate in upcoming sessions."The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.
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Posted by: RICK C
In reply to: RICK C who wrote msg# 5079 Date:3/11/2007 8:20:23 AM
Post #of 5225
Finance & Banking
Iranian bank to enter Iraq economy
----------------------
11 March 2007 (Press TV)
A major Iranian bank will begin operations in war-torn Iraq within the next few days, the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said.
Hassan Tiz-Maghz said during a high-profile meeting of Iranian and Iraqi economic officials in Tehran that Iran also plans to set up an insurance firm in Iraq, Fars news agency reported.
"Bank Melli Iran will begin work in Iraq within the next few days in cooperation with an Iraqi development bank," Tiz-Maghz said, adding that Iran has also paved the way for establishing an insurance company and an inspection facility in Iraq to examine the quality of goods Iranian companies export to that country.
Iraqi Trade Minister Abd al-Fallah Hassan al-Sudani, who was among the participants at the meeting, said the Iraqi government is seeking to privatize the economy of the oil-rich nation.
"Baghdad favors a market economy," the Iraqi minister said.
He said the Iraqi private sector was badly damaged under former dictator Saddam Hussein, and stressed that efforts were currently underway to revitalize private enterprise in the war-torn nation.
The minister added that last year the Iraqi government allowed private companies to import oil derivatives. Iraq's oil reserves are currently at 115 billion barrels.
"Iran possesses great capabilities," the minister continued, calling for the implementation of prior agreements reached between the two countries.
A senior Iraqi economic delegation was in Tehran earlier this week to explore avenues for cooperation between Iran and Iraq.
Iran has exported over $2 billion worth of non-oil goods to Iraq since last March. The country is the second largest exporter of goods to Iraq after the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq imported a total $13 billion of goods in 2006. The nation's annual budget also increased from $33 billion in 2006 to $41 billion in 2007.
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Posted by: RICK C
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5070 Date:3/11/2007 8:19:21 AM
Post #of 5225
BAGHDAD, 11 March 2007 (UPI)
Officials from the China National Petroleum Corp. are in Iraq trying to re-sign a major oil deal first signed with Saddam Hussein.
Assem Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry, said CNPC representatives had been in country since Tuesday.
Their goal is to renegotiate a contract for the al-Ahdab field, which China won the exploration rights to 10 years ago.
CNPC expects to attain the field rights again, reports China Oil News, a news service owned by CNPC.
The al-Ahdab contract was for $700 million of the 23-year expected lifespan. CNPC would produce 90,000 barrels per day.
Work was halted, however, by U.N. sanctions and other security issues.
But Iraq is closer to finalizing a law governing oil and natural gas developments in the country, which could pave the way for contract terms for CNPC.
Other companies, like Russia's Lukoil, are attempting to re-sign contracts from the Hussein era.
The law is controversial and faces opposition from Iraq's oil unions and others who view it as too gracious to foreign companies.
Details still to be worked out could also be held up by bickering factions in the central government and by regions wanting more secured terms.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, though production of oil has been slowed by the ongoing war and violence.
Production averaged around 2 million bpd last month.
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Posted by: waterfowler
In reply to: None Date:3/10/2007 8:10:34 PM
Post #of 5225
20 billion dinars being flown by the U.S. to one Iraqi bank.
Long read but interesting.
US commander strolls streets of contested city, eating ice cream and talking progress
The Associated PressPublished: March 10, 2007
HIT, Iraq: The top U.S. commander in Iraq strolled through the streets of this dusty Euphrates River city Saturday, munching ice cream and promoting cooperation between Americans and Iraqis in a Sunni Arab community where insurgents have been driven out before — only to return.
Gen. David Petraeus visited Hit, scene of bloody fights with insurgents for the last three years, to affirm U.S. support for a nascent city administration and to deliver a message that American troops will remain here until Iraqi forces are genuinely ready to provide their own security.
To demonstrate his confidence, Petraeus, accompanied by dozens of armed U.S. troops and Iraqi policemen, strolled down the main street, stopping to buy ice cream from a vendor and wandering through the city market, where snipers were taking potshots at U.S. patrols just months ago.
"Iraq presents its own complex set of challenges and you have to do one city at a time," Petraeus said as he beamed at hesitant crowds and delivered Arabic greetings to small groups of young boys who stared at the entourage from the curb.
Few of the Iraqis returned the greeting and most kept back, perhaps intimidated by the stern-faced gun-toting Iraqi policemen who appeared keen to make sure nothing went awry during the visit.
Today in Africa & Middle East
Iraqi leader requests regional aid to curb violence
Kenyan police arrest key Al Qaeda suspect
Disaster puts spotlight on Malian immigrants to U.S.
Nevertheless, the fact that a senior American general could walk through the public market in a Sunni city with such a bloody past indicated a degree of progress which U.S. commanders are keen to exploit.
That is key to the new U.S. strategy of clearing areas of insurgents and then remaining there to promote economic and quality of life projects. In the past, Iraqi forces failed to maintain control once the Americans were gone.
Last month, Iraqi police backed by American troops from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, swept through the city of about 120,000 people about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Baghdad, arresting suspected insurgents and establishing three new police stations in the downtown area.
Since then, the number of violent incidents — mostly bombings and shootings — has dropped from an average of five per day to about 1.3 a day, the lowest level since March 2006, according to Lt. Col. Douglas Crissman of Faifax, Va., the battalion commander.
The plan is for U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints around the city to turn Hit (pronounced Heet) into a "gated community" free of insurgents, Crissman said.
To convince the locals that better days are ahead, U.S. officers plan to fly in 20 billion dinars ($15 million) to float the local bank, which will enable retired government employees and soldiers to start receiving pensions and provide cash to bolster the economy.
The Americans are also encouraging the Shiite-run government in Baghdad to pay more attention to mostly Sunni Anbar, including authorizing funds to pay for the extra police. But U.S. forces have claimed similar successes in the past in Hit, only to see gains lost because of a lack of enough troops here in Anbar province, a vast area that stretches from the western edge of Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Despite a recent cleanup campaign, the city still bears the scars of conflict, including concrete barriers around a local mosque from which insurgents used to fire mortars at American positions.
"See that hole in the wall," said Sgt. Maj. Samuel Coston of Wallace, N.C. "An IED threw a Bradley" fighting vehicle "into it, and a Bradley weighs 30 tons."
In early 2004, the Marines took over responsibility for western Anbar but had to shift forces eastward when violence flared in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi and in Fallujah.
With the remaining Marines overstretched, Hit fell under insurgent control and became a waystation for weapons and fighters entering the country from Syria toward Baghdad and other cities.
Marines worked with a local Sunni tribe, the Abu Nimur, to recruit police and Iraqi soldiers and were well on their way to establishing Hit as a model of U.S.-Iraqi cooperation.
But U.S. units were moved again from Hit to support the siege of Fallujah in November 2004. Insurgents returned, killing policemen, intimidating residents and ambushing American convoys.
The son of the current police commander, Col. Hamid Ibrahim al-Jaza, was beheaded on a soccer field. Hit has remained a flashpoint ever since.
To heal the wounds, U.S. officers are promoting community development plans, including a new wing of the local hospital, and are recruiting hundreds of police to bolster the city's 827-member force.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: Norton1973 who wrote msg# 5069 Date:3/10/2007 12:39:11 PM
Post #of 5225
look at this
"We want 2007 year to be the turning point for economically recovery of Iraq."
Deputy prime minister says Iraq needs new management system to handle its budget
Deputy prime minister says Iraq needs new management system to handle its budget
International Herald Tribune - [07/03/2007]
Iraq's government needs a new management system to enable it to manage the country's unprecedented $41 billion budget, Iraq's deputy prime minister said Wednesday.
"It is unprecedented in the history of Iraq — we have $41 billion budget in which $10.5 billion is allocated for the investment budget," said Barham Saleh, one of two deputy prime ministers and head of the Cabinet's economic committee.
"But we have a problem because of the bureaucracy of the state and the government has been incapable on delivering on its commitments," Saleh told reporters after a conference sponsored by the Ministry of Finance to discuss the investment budget.
Saleh said the major problems in managing the budget were "the accumulated heritage" of Saddam Hussein's regime, a "bureaucratic mind" and corruption.
"We are trying to find new management systems to enable the government to work actively to implement its commitments," he added. "We want 2007 year to be the turning point for economically recovery of Iraq."
Ali Baban, the minister of planning, told the conference other major problems facing Iraq's economy were inflation, unemployment and poor services. He said the best way to confront those problems was to revive Iraqi industry.
"We do believe that reviving the sectors of agriculture, services and industry will develop the Iraqi economy," Baban said. "The government is still the biggest investor because we don't have an active private sector and huge foreign investments," despite the country's oil wealth.
"Corruption has become a dangerous element and is curbing the governmental work. This dangerous disease should not curb our efforts and we have to face it bravely and develop the capability of our supervision systems."
Finance Minister Bayan Jabr said the government hopes to use state funds to revive domestic industry and put about a half million people to work this coming year, offering "real services to the citizens."
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5066 Date:3/10/2007 12:33:24 PM
Post #of 5225
Yes I know I put up alot of stuff, but man...it's happening, can you see it...? Lot's of great things going on.
Gulf investors invited to implement “Iraq Great Port” project
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [08/03/2007]
Governor of Basrah, Muhammad Misbih Alwaeli, invited Arab (especially Gulf) and international companies to present designs concerning “Iraq Great Port” project which is intended to be set up at the mouth of Shatt al-Arab in the city of Faw, (100 km south of Basrah).
Alwaeli stressed that “the project of the port is a first step in establishing a broad Iraqi investment base starting from Basrah, explaining that it would be built in a 100% safe area, located outside the city, and isolated from any political or party activity, as well as being protected by Iraqi forces, which will help inviting investors to examine it”.
Alwaeli especially invited Gulf investors in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, preferring their presentations to foreign bidders, because most of Basrah families have affinity and kinship relations with many Gulf businessmen; also, the area is located within the Arabian Gulf region, which facilitates the transfer of equipment and machinery across common waters.
Alwaeli denied the information about the fears of some Gulf businessmen from the Iranian influence in Basrah, pointing out that “these fears are mere illusions created by some enemies of the city and political opponents, in order to obstruct the reconstruction projects in it”.
He explained that the project includes the construction of a port accommodate the anticipated requirements of reconstruction; the project will be implemented on several stages, comprising building docks, warehouses and a railway linking Iraq to the ancient Silk Road, connecting Europe to Iraq, in addition to the construction of housing units, chalets, parks and recreational projects, which will be organized by a central law of their own. He confirmed the desire of some European banks to fund the project.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5065 Date:3/10/2007 12:24:26 PM
Post #of 5225
Byblos Bank plans Iraq expansion from Kurdish North
Financial Express - [08/03/2007]
Byblos Bank, Lebanon’s third-largest lender, will open a branch in Iraq next month using the safety of the Kurdish north as a platform for expansion into a country that holds 10% of the world’s oil reserves.
“Iraq is very important, there is huge potential there,’’ chairman Francois Bassil, 72, said in an interview in his office in Beirut March 6. Byblos will open its branch in Arbil, capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, because it’s more secure than other parts of the country, he said.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3377
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Weeks' end review of news.
Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5064 Date:3/10/2007 12:18:06 PM
Post #of 5225
reduce the exchange rate ...I Love the last sentence.
First rise in the dollar exchange rate over several months
First rise in the dollar exchange rate over several months
Translated by IRAQdirectory.com - [09/03/2007]
The dollar exchange rate rose for the first time over several months ago in the Iraqi Central Bank auction yesterday, Thursday, after it continued its dropping for more than five months.
The demand for the dollar in the auction, on Thursday, dropped to 54 million and 145 thousand dollars against 66 million and 260 thousand dollars on Wednesday.
The purchase demands were divided as: 7 million and 70 thousand dollars in cash, and 47 million and 75 thousand dollars in the form of remittances for outside the country fully covered by the Bank at the exchange rate of 1279 dinars, going up one point on the exchange rate of last Wednesday, and this is the first rise in the dollar exchange rates over the past five months.
While none of the 11 banks participating in the auction made any offers to sell the dollar.
Mr. Ali Al-Yasiri, one of the dealers with the Bank, explained that the rise, although not big, it was surprising and reflected the Bank’s policy for the past three months, which aims at reducing the exchange rate; this affected the volume of cash bids and their restriction to urgent dealings.
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Posted by: pkripper
In reply to: pkripper who wrote msg# 5062 Date:3/10/2007 12:14:43 PM
Post #of 5225
Jumping at the chance...
Turkish firms, Shell set up Iraq gas JV
Turkish firms, Shell set up Iraq gas JV - source
Reuters - [10/03/2007]
Turkish companies and Royal Dutch Shell have set up a consortium to bid for a gas production licence in Iraq and build a pipeline to Turkey's energy hub of Ceyhan, an industry source said on Friday.
"There is a joint venture that has been set up to that end among TPAO (state-owned Turkish Petroleum Inc), Shell, (state pipeline operator) Botas and (Turkish firm) Tekfen," the source told Reuters at an energy conference in Istanbul.
The pipeline would run parallel to an existing oil pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
The source said the production of gas and its transport to Turkey were a focus of discussions between Iraqi, Turkish and U.S. officials at a meeting on Friday in Istanbul.
Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler confirmed the meeting, saying it had been successful, but declined to comment on what had been discussed.
"This meeting was the first. We will meet again soon," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the energy conference.
The U.S. State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza, who attended the talks, said on Thursday Washington supported Turkey becoming a transit point to Europe for Azeri and Iraqi gas to provide a new source of gas and break the dominance of Russian giant Gazprom.
Bryza said the energy map of Europe would change if gas from Iraq could be incorporated in the future with gas from ex-Soviet republics such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, but said this would require clear signals to investors.
Last week, Guler said foreign firms had expressed interest in working with TPAO, Turkey's state oil exploration firm, in its search for crude and natural gas in northern Iraq.
The latest energy moves follow the Iraqi cabinet's recent endorsement of a draft oil law that regulates how the war-shattered country's oil wealth will be shared between its ethnic and sectarian groups.
The law, which must still be approved by the Baghdad parliament, allows regional administrations in Iraq to negotiate contracts with international energy companies.
But it would also put oil revenues into a central account which would then be distributed according to population.
Turkey has a complex relationship with the mainly Kurdish north of Iraq. Its army generals and politicians have sometimes threatened to take military action to crush separatist Turkish Kurdish rebels hiding in the mountains there.
But despite such political tensions, more than 600 Turkish firms are operating in northern Iraq. Analysts say Turkish exports to the Kurdish government there, including fuel, totalled about $5 billion in 2006 alone.
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