Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. (before Jan.20,2007)

Basra-Meters
Posted by: nadioshka on Sunday, January 14, 2007 - 06:40 PM

Basra-MetersSouth Oil Company preparing to install metersBy Malek SaadounBasra, Jan 14, (VOI) - A South Oil Company official said on Sunday that technicians and engineers of the company are getting ready to install meters at Basra oil terminal, 135 km southwest of Basra city, to measure the amount of exported oil."Installation of meters in Basra's oil terminal will take place on Tuesday after all technical procedures were completed," media director Sallam al-Maksousi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.Exports from the terminal would stop for a few days, but Maksousi said this would not affect the exports rates as the port of Khour al-Amaya would make up for the amounts pumped by Basra terminal.He said installing these meters was delayed for three years because there was no company to undertake the project due to the security situation, adding that only U.S. company Parsons accepted the project.A spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry had earlier said that Basra's oil port would stop exporting oil as of January 14, 2007 for four days due to the installation of oil meters that would accurately determine the exported amount.

Oil expert Jabbar al-Halfi said: "The oil ministry is the party that should purchase these meters and Iraqi technicians should receive a training course on the use of these meters.""Installing these meters is an advanced step in Iraqi oil shipment technology and would put an end for the groundless accusations against South Oil Company of involvement in oil smuggling," he said.

AE
Basra-Meters :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Sunday, January 14, 2007 - 03:48 PM

Baghdad-BudgetMaliki urges parliament to speed up approval of draft budget

By Santa Michael

Baghdad, Jan 14, (VOI) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday called on parliament to accelerate adoption of the draft budget for 2007 in a bid to avoid postponing vital projects."You are all aware of the exceptional circumstances and security pressures Iraq is going through, not to mention the accumulative heavy burdens of the former eras on the government budget," al-Maliki said in a statement read by Parliament Speaker Dr. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani upon the inauguration of Sunday's session.

Maliki said: "The offered budget is based on clear realistic considerations. Iraq is about to build its armed forces with all its formations in preparation to receive the security file from the multinational forces by the end of this year."

He referred to "the state's commitment to spend on the ration cards system and the social safety network despite their financial burdens on the budget."

Maliki pointed out that the 2007 budget has allocated 10 billion dollars for investment, the largest sum ever in the history of Iraqi budgets to be appropriated for investments."This year's budget does not meet all the government's ambitions. We hoped that the largest sums would be channeled into the field of investment, but it is a realistic budget that took into consideration Iraq's exceptional circumstances," the Iraqi premier said.

AE
Baghdad-Budget :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Sotaliraq.com

American : We will be setting up generators in all parts of Baghdad
(Voice of Iraq) - 14-01-2007
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Source : U.S. will set up generators in all parts of Baghdad
By Hossam Shahamani
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)

Said Michael Welch, General Commander of the Gulf of American Engineers Corps in Baghdad today, Sunday, that they would set generators throughout Baghdad between the second and fifth month of this year, according to the strategy announced by the Bush recently.

Welch said News Agency (Voices of Iraq) Independent Baghdad today, Sunday, "We are working on the faster the reconstruction of Iraq and that there are huge amounts estimated at $ 1 billion earmarked for reconstruction and Sousalha await us in the coming days."

And, he said, "There is additional funds allocated by the government of Japan, estimated at five billion and 300 million grant to Iraq, which will be allocated for water projects, health and some of the projects."

He continued, "We will work on the memorial generators in Baghdad, including the station Wat Sila in the north of Baghdad and a production capacity of nine to 159 Mika watt generator in the area of Dura, south of Baghdad capacity of 160 Mika watts will be installed during the month of March of this year, another southernmost Baghdad capacity of 110 Mika watts and will be adding 33 Mika Watt of the birth of Jerusalem will be erected in the month of February where will be limited action by the call for the month of the current and to the month Maes May of this year." Asserting that "after the completion of the generators installed, there will be a large increase in the increase of the electricity used by citizens," and said, "Our goal is to improve the electricity throughout Iraq, not only in Baghdad, and we will try to increase the electricity supply before the summer, pointing me cooperation of the Ministry of Electricity in the continuing work with them."

He said Welch, "when it came to Iraq in 2003 to start reconstruction projects comes from the amounts of taxes paid by the American people for the government and those amounts were speaking a big gap in the projects but now, after President Bush announced the allocation of funds for projects in Iraq within the new strategy will eliminate this gap and therefore we will do all the projects without interruption."

Welch emphasized that "a person has been appointed by President Bush named Dimitri Karni to oversee the reconstruction process and the coordination between the Iraqi government and the American government in the area of reconstruction."

He added, "since his Corps engineers in the reconstruction of Iraq in 2004 had the amounts estimated at 13 billion dollars, of which eight billion dollars and the remaining five billion gain from the completion of projects in the future."

He continued, "which drew attention in Iraq is the reconstruction of the electricity sector and the Ministry of Justice and hospitals, but we focused on electricity projects in particular, being the most important sector of that went to the memorial generators and strengthen the distribution and maintenance of power stations throughout Iraq."

He said, "We are also working on the water project and Erbil card in 6000, as well as three maintenance projects for water purification in Baghdad and other governorates."

In the area of health, Welch said, "There are 26 hospitals under the achievement of the 156 hospitals throughout Iraq and are working to end the 15 clinics in various locations in Baghdad."

Welch explained that "within the strategy announced by Bush was to train engineers and Iraqi workers" and said "during my experience in working in Iraq and the engineer found the Iraqi coach and ready to work with this we will train many of the engineers and technical personnel in all fields, especially in the electricity and this, as recommended by President Bush."
N p

Forbes - 1 hour ago

Critics Won't Halt Iraq Surge, Bush Says - Forbes.com

Associated Press
Critics Won't Halt Iraq Surge, Bush Says
By BEN FELLER 01.14.07, 1:09 PM ET

President Bush, facing opposition from both parties over his plan to send more troops to Iraq, said he has the authority to act no matter what Congress wants.

"I fully understand they could try to stop me from doing it. But I've made my decision. And we're going forward," Bush told CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people )' "60 Minutes" in an interview to air Sunday night.

Vice President Dick Cheney asserted that lawmakers' criticism will not influence Bush's plans and he dismissed any effort to "run a war by committee."

"The president is the commander in chief. He's the one who has to make these tough decisions," Cheney said.

The defiant White House stance comes as both the House and Senate, now controlled by Democrats, prepare to vote on resolutions that oppose additional U.S. troops in Iraq. Cheney said those nonbinding votes would not affect Bush's ability to carry out his policies.

"He's the guy who's got to decide how to use the force and where to deploy the force," Cheney said. "And Congress obviously has to support the effort through the power of the purse. So they've got a role to play, and we certainly recognize that. But you also cannot run a war by committee."
Any attempts to block Bush's efforts would undermine the troops, Cheney said. He took particular aim at Democratic lawmakers who have blasted the president for increasing troops despite opposition from Congress, military advisers and a disgruntled electorate that in November ousted the GOP as the majority party on Capitol Hill.

"They have absolutely nothing to offer in its place," Cheney said of Democratic leaders. "I have yet to hear a coherent policy from the Democratic side."

Yet many Republican lawmakers, too, have begun to criticize Bush's war management. Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, for example, said last week he feared Bush's plan would be the worst foreign policy blunder since the Vietnam War.

Responding to that, Cheney said the most dangerous blunder would be to give up on the global fight against terrorism because the United States has decided the war in Iraq is too difficult. That is just what America's terrorist enemies are counting on, he said.

"They're convinced that the United States will pack it in and go home if they just kill enough of us," Cheney said. "They can't beat us in a standup fight, but they think they can break our will."

Bush announced last week he will send 21,500 more troops to Iraq to halt violence, mainly around Baghdad, as an essential step toward stabilizing the country's government. That plan - along with economic and political steps - are meant to allow Iraqis to move ahead with securing the country themselves and allow U.S. troops to gradually return home.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in London for talks Sunday with Prime Minister Tony Blair on Bush's new approach in Iraq and Britain's plan to withdraw troops from southern Iraq.

Like Bush, though, Cheney braced Americans to frame the war in Iraq as part of a much longer effort.

"This is an existential conflict," Cheney said. "It is the kind of conflict that's going to drive our policy and our government for the next 20 or 30 or 40 years. We have to prevail and we have to have the stomach for the fight long term."

The White House also said Sunday that Iranians are aiding the insurgency in Iraq and the U.S. has the authority to pursue them because they "put our people at risk."

"We are going to need to deal with what Iran is doing inside Iraq," national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

Added Cheney: "Iran is fishing in troubled waters inside Iraq."
The U.S. military in Baghdad said five Iranians arrested in northern Iraq last week were connected to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard faction that funds and arms insurgents in Iraq.

"We do not want them doing what they can to destabilize the situation inside Iraq," Cheney said.

Bush's revised war strategy seeks to isolate Iran and Syria, which the U.S. has accused of fueling attacks in Iraq. The president also says Iran and Syria have not done enough to block terrorists from entering Iraq over their borders.

"We know there are jihadists moving from Syria into Iraq. ... We know also that Iran is supplying elements in Iraq that are attacking Iraqis and attacking our forces," Hadley said.

"What the president made very clear is these are activities that are going on in Iraq that are unacceptable. They put our people at risk. He said very clearly that we will take action against those. We will interdict their operations, we will disrupt their supply lines, we will disrupt these attacks," Hadley said.

"We are going to need to deal with what Iran is doing inside Iraq."
Iran's government denied the five detainees were involved in financing and arming insurgents and said they should be released.

Hadley asserted that if Iranians in Iraq "are doing things that are putting are people at risk, of course we have the authority to go after them and protect our people."

Hadley sidestepped a question about whether U.S. forces would move across the border to pursue Iranians who are helping Iraqi insurgents.
He said the priority "is what's going on inside Iraq. ... That's where we're going to deal with his problem."

Hadley was interviewed on "This Week" on ABC and "Meet the Press" on NBC. Cheney was on "Fox News Sunday."

Sotaliraq.com

Maliki Parliament demands to speed up the approval of the

(Voice of Iraq) - 15-01-2007
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Maliki Parliament demands to speed up the approval of the budget
Baghdad-Hisham became

The Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday, Sunday, the House of Representatives to speed up the approval of the draft budget for 2007 the desire of the government not to delay the implementation and warranted the disruption of public projects.
The Prime Minister said in a statement, read by the President of the House of Representatives, Dr. Mahmoud Almshahadani the alumni meeting of the Council yesterday, "Everybody knows you for the exceptional circumstances experienced by the private Iraq and the security pressure against accumulations in addition to prior periods and their heavy on the government budget."

He added : a "budgetary considerations before imposed realistic and clear, Iraq is on the verge of building its armed forces in all configurations in preparation for handing over the security file from the multinational force at the end of the year."

He referred to "the obligation of the State spending on the ration card and the network of social protection as this is a socially and politically, the government decided to maintain despite the exorbitant cost on the budget."
The Prime Minister said in his statement that "the 2007 budget allocated is equivalent to ten billion dollars of investment, which is the highest amount allocated for investment ever in the history of the Iraqi budgets."

Al-Maliki also pointed out that the budget this year for mines presented not all the aspirations of the government, he said, "we hope to draw greater amounts of investment despite all the Khssanah but budget fait accompli which the mind exceptional circumstance which cut Iraq without neglecting the basic requirements we have to fulfill our citizens."
And the House has held 59 of its open yesterday, which set aside to discuss the budget for 2007.

Long

Sotaliraq.com

Widespread feelings among Iraqis because of the government's inability to provide

(Voice of Iraq) - 15-01-2007
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Widespread feelings among Iraqis because of the government's inability to provide basic services «

Liters of oil thousand dinars to the poor, free of charge to members of the municipal council only», «and bottle gas at 20 thousand for the poor and without a price to the members of the Municipal Council», banners written on the walls of the headquarters of some local councils in some streets, and its group of demonstrators in front of one of those boards in the city of Baghdad to protest against the poor services rendered to them and the large gap and the inability of the ministries concerned in the provision of basic needs of Beit Iraq.

The demonstrators demanded the members of municipal councils to leave their posts if they could not assume the duties entrusted to them and their inability to meet the needs of citizens, especially that they are not elected by the group was installed by American forces three years ago.
, "Said Abul-Sarah (54 years old) resident births Morocco in the area-A'zamiyyah north of Baghdad, that the« ministries and government institutions concerned in providing and the provision of services such as ministries of oil, electricity and Municipalities and Public Works and the secretariat of Baghdad, are simply unable to carry out its work and to provide the necessary the citizen from the services of DUE of financial and administrative corruption the large rampant in the nabbing who is being announced, before officials in those institutions, as reflected negatively on reality service consumption zero originally in the whole country », he said, pointing out that the members of municipal councils, who are considered representatives of the people« offered no real work, serves the Local residents which they represent only if it serves a of their personal or family to the most optimistic estimates ».

Turning Abu Sara to the instances of corruption that تشوب process of selling oil derivatives in the black market through the sale of a liter of oil at 1000 dinars, while its official in the fuel stations affiliated to the Ministry of oil did not exceed 100 dinars, but it is also the case for the gas, which reached its price to 30000 thousand dinars, while the price of the official to exceed 750 dinars, but members of the local councils get the meals free of charge or at very low.

He criticized the number of demonstrators inability of the government and ministers and they fail to provide what is required of them and their ministries service, which became known among the Iraqi Ministries of theft and corruption, it is only a month and is announced and the detection of smuggling, fraud and corruption by some employees, and officials in those ministries by the public integrity which specialize investigate issues of corruption in all State ministries.

And said charity Allawi (33 years old) : «Why do of Ministers of electricity and oil and the country drowns crisis stifling in these two sectors vital and essential to the citizen's life and public life alike, Electricity comes two hours to four hours at most in day, and this means 20 hours spare in the day, and we are this case, since it had assumed its tasks in mid-last year without any positive change, the crises of oil derivatives which passed the whole country at many could be captured, and the government importing the those derivatives from neighboring States and the amount of ad hoc from the general budget estimated 800 million dollars annually Although Iraq has the second oil reserves in the world».

He added that «the impact of corruption to a great extent on the level and quality of services provided, including that the government was unable to find solutions and remedies for this corruption, the level of service will remain the case unless deplores the future, and the proportion of high corruption in the projects, which oversaw the implementation of the American forces had made a positive contribution to the deterioration of the level and quality of services».

He criticized Allawi's cabinet in the service ministries frequent trips they take, whether it will travel on their duties, or for other reasons are not advertised, and political problems that occur between political factions and parties, shrugging off of the issues and matters of mutual interest and serve the Iraqi citizen.

The mission of the United Nations operating in Iraq (Ionami) criticized in a recent report issued by the human rights abuse and poor quality of services provided to citizens by the ministries and government institutions, and pointed to the suffering endured by Iraqis by the shortfall in the services provided to them.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/stor...727F811693F%7D

Lukoil set to revive huge Iraq oil deal - reports

Last Update: 11:38 AM ET Jan 14, 2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Russia's OAO Lukoil Holdings (LKOH.RS) is poised to ressurect a $4 billion contract it signed with Saddam Hussein's regime to develop one of Iraq's largest oil fields, The Independent of Sunday reported.
U.S.-based ConocoPhillips (COP) will also benefit as it has a stake in the joint venture with Lukoil to develop the West Qurna-2 field, the paper said.
Iraq's long-awaited hydrocarbon law contains a provision that states that existing contracts to develop oil fields remain valid, it added.

Iraq-Currency
Posted by: nadioshka on Monday, January 15, 2007 - 02:57 PM

Iraq-CurrencyDollar demand sharply down in Iraqi Cenbank auction Baghdad, Jan 15, (VOI) – Dollar demand went sharply down in Iraq’s central bank daily auction on Monday to $64.005 million from more than $103 million on Tuesday.

The bank said in its daily statement it covered all bids which were $31.745 million in cash and $32.260 million in foreign transfers at an exchange rate of 1,310 dinars per dollar, five dinars lower than Tuesday’s rate.

Fourteen banks participated in Monday’s auction but none offered to sell dollars. Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, blamed the big fall in demand on the central bank policy of pushing exchange rates lower.He expected dollar demand to continue sliding over the next few days if the dollar rate kept falling.

Iraq-Currency :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

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Thank goodness RolClub is back up again....I think I have posted all the articles I have saved over the last few days. As you know I only post here at RolClub so I have been researching and saving articles. Glad everybody is back and sorry if I duplicated any articles.