Thread: Iraq/Dinar News to April 19, 2007 10PM CST

and remember, US funding for the war is SUPPOSED to run out on the 15th...

Originally Posted by ordinaryseawoman

and remember, US funding for the war is SUPPOSED to run out on the 15th...

I for one REALLY hope it does indeed RUN OUT!!! Enough already!

I find Talabani is a pretty smart guy:

President Talabani : April 9, a day of liberation of Iraq from the worst dictatorial regime

April 11, 2007April 11, 2007
4/11/2007
The President of the Republic, Jalal Talabani, during his meeting with a group of representatives of the Iraqi satellite channels and foreign, in his headquarters in Baghdad, on Wednesday 4-11-2007 to April 9 is the day of liberation of Iraq from the dictatorship of the worst occurred in the region.
و استعرض فخامته التطورات السياسية و الانجازات التي تحققت طيلة السنوات الأربع الماضية، في مجال الحريات السياسية و الإعلامية و حرية التعبير عن الرأي، فضلا عن التجربة الديمقراطية التي أفرزت تشكيل حكومة الوحدة الوطنية التي تمثل مكونات الشعب العراقي بأطيافه المختلفة، إضافة إلى وجود مجلس نواب منتخب و دستور اقر باستفتاء شعبي.Excellencies, reviewed the political developments and achievements over the past four years, in the area of political freedoms and the media and freedom of expression, as well as the democratic experiment, which caused the formation of the government of national unity, which are components of the Iraqi people Batiafh different, in addition to the presence of the deputies elected and the constitution a popular referendum.
و بشأن وجود قوات التحالف في العراق، أوضح الرئيس طالباني" أن المجلس السياسي للأمن الوطني وجه الحكومة بتقديم طلب إلى الأمم المتحدة لتمديد فترة بقاء قوات التحالف في العراق، حتى يتم تأهيل القوات الأمنية و العسكرية العراقية، لتتمكن من تولي المسؤوليات المناطة بها وصولا إلى تحقيق الأمن والاستقرار في البلاد وبالتالي فان وجود قوات التحالف في العراق جاء بطلب من الحكومة وبقرار دولي، الا أن الحكومة العراقية تملك حق مطالبة هذه القوات بالمغادرة في أي وقت تراه مناسبا لذلك، وان الإدارة الأمريكية أكدت في مرات عدة استعدادها لسحب تلك القوات في حال طلب الحكومة العراقية ذلك".And on the presence of coalition forces in Iraq, President Talabani said that "the political council for national security in the face of the government to submit a request to the United Nations to extend the stay of the coalition forces in Iraq, so that the rehabilitation of the security forces and the Iraqi military, to be able to assume its responsibilities in order to achieve security and stability in the country Thus, the presence of the coalition forces in Iraq came a request from the government and the international resolution, but that the Iraqi government has the right to claim these forces to leave at any time it deems appropriate to, and in the American administration several times in the willingness to withdraw those forces in the event it was requested by the Iraqi government. "
و شدد فخامته على أن المطالبة بانسحاب قوات التحالف من العراق، في الوقت الحاضر، يعد أمرا غير واقعي، حتى تستتب الأوضاع الأمنية في العراق.Excellencies, stressed that the demands for the withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq, for the time being, is not realistic, until the situation settles down security in Iraq.
كما انتقد الرئيس طالباني، في معرض حديثه، عملية حرق العلم الأمريكي خلال التظاهرات التي جرت في النجف الاشرف، يوم التاسع من نيسان، واصفا إياها بالعمل الطائش.He criticized President Jalal Talabani, speaking, the process of burning of the American flag during demonstrations that took place in Najaf, on the 9th of April, describing them mindless work. و قال فخامته "إن العلم هو رمز للدولة و للشعب و الأمة و ليس رمزا للحكومة فقط، و أن حرق العلم يمثل اهانة للشعب و الأمة الأمريكية، إضافة إلى انه لا يعكس المستوى الحضاري الذي نتمنى ان يظهر به المواطن العراقي".Excellencies, said, "The flag is the symbol of the State and of the people and the nation and not a symbol of the government only, and that burning the flag is an insult to the people and the American nation, in addition to it did not reflect the level of civilization to which we wish to show the Iraqi citizen." و في هذا السياق انتقد رئيس الجمهورية قناة العراقية الفضائية الرسمية لبثها لقطات لعملية حرق العلم الأمريكي، و قال: "نحن بلد ديمقراطي ولكن ما سجل علينا هو ان العراقية خلقت لنا مشكلة مع أمريكا لان العراقية نشرت وقائع المظاهرة التي حرق فيها العلم الأمريكي. فالأمريكان احتجوا علينا باعتبار ان العراقية هي تلفزيون رسمي، فكيف نشرت تفاصيل هذه المظاهرة. نطلب من العراقية ان تكون محايدة وان تكون للجميع وليس لطائفة او قومية معينة و لا لجهة سياسية معينة".And in this context, the President criticized the Iraqi satellite channel to broadcast official footage of the burning of the American flag, and said : "We are a democratic country, but what we record is that the Iraqi problem created us with the United States because the Iraqi newspaper, the facts demonstrate that the burning of the American flag. Valamrikan we protested because the official Iraqi television is, how published details of this demonstration. we ask the Iraqi to be neutral and be for all and not for a or a certain point, not only for certain political. "
كما أشار الرئيس طالباني إلى أن استخدام الشعارات المستوردة، مثل (الموت لأمريكا) يسيء لمستخدمي هذه الشعارات قبل الإساءة إلى الطرف الآخر، مبينا انه ليس من اللائق و الصحيح أن نتمنى الموت لشعب وأمة بكاملها لها إسهاماتها في الحضارة الإنسانية، داعيا إلى إتباع أساليب أكثر احتراما تعكس المستوى الثقافي و الحضاري للشعب العراقي.As the President pointed out that the use of Talabani imported slogans, such as (Death to America) harm to the users of such slogans before offend the other party, stating that it was not proper and right that we wish death to the people and the entire nation to its contributions to human civilization, calling methods are to be more respectful and reflect the cultural level of civilization of the Iraqi people.
و كشف الرئيس طالباني، خلال حديثه إلى ممثلي قنوات فضائية عراقية و أجنبية، عن وجود اتصالات مع مجاميع مسلحة تطلق على نفسها "المقاومة الوطنية" لغرض ضمها إلى العملية السياسية في البلاد.And President Jalal Talabani, during his speech to representatives of Iraqi satellite channels and foreign, about the existence of contacts with the armed groups calling themselves "national resistance" for the purpose of annexing to the political process in the country. وقال في هذا السياق "إن هناك خمس مجاميع مسلحة اتصلت بالجانب البريطاني أولا و من ثم بالحكومة العراقية و بعد ذلك اتصلت برئاسة الجمهورية، و إننا الآن في المراحل النهائية لانجاز الحوار مع تلك المجاميع المسلحة" مشيرا إلى أن الحكومة تبدي تعاونا و تساهلا في سبيل ضمهم إلى العملية السياسية.He said in this context that "there were five armed groups contacted the British side first and then the Iraqi government and then contacted the President of the Republic, and we are now in the final stages of completion dialogue with the armed groups," pointing out that the government to cooperate and lenient towards incorporation into the political process.
كما أشار فخامته إلى التحسن الأمني الذي يشهده غرب العراق، بعد ان شعر الأهالي بخطر الارهاب وشرعوا في مواجهته في الانبار والمناطق التي تقطنها عشائر زوبع ومناطق اخرى غربية ابتليت بآفة الارهاب.His Excellency also referred to the ongoing improvement of security in western Iraq, after residents felt the threat of terrorism and attempted to confront him in Anbar and areas inhabited by clans Zoba and other western regions afflicted by terrorism. و دعا الرئيس طالباني العرب السنة الى تمييز انفسهم عن القوى الارهابية، مشيدا بمواقف الحزب الاسلامي في هذا المجال.The President Talabani and Sunni Arabs to distinguish themselves from the terrorist forces, praising the positions of the Islamic Party in this area. و حث قوى التوافق الأخرى الى ان تسلك نفس المسار الذي اختاره الحزب الاسلامي.A strong consensus and urged others to follow the same path chosen by the Islamic Party.
كما استنكر رئيس الجمهورية تفجيرات تلعفر التي استهدفت التركمان، و أعرب عن تعاطفه معهم.It also denounced President Tall Afar explosions that targeted the Turkomen, and expressed sympathy with them. مؤكدا أن أهالي المدينة تعرضوا، إسوة بالأقليات الأخرى، إلى تنكيل النظام البائد الذي شن أقسى حملات التطهير و التهجير ضدهم.He stressed that the city's residents were, like other minorities, to the torture of the former regime, which launched the harshest cleansing campaigns and forced them.
و شدد فخامته على حق التركمان و بقية الأقليات بالعودة إلى مناطقهم الأصلية و الحصول على حقوقهم التي اقرها الدستور كاملة.Excellencies, stressed the right of Turkmen and other minorities to return to their areas of origin and obtain their rights fully endorsed by the Constitution.
و في معرض رده على استفسار بشأن قمة الرياض وما حققته للقضية العراقية، قال الرئيس طالباني"لقد نجحنا في الحصول على إدانة واضحة و شديدة للإرهاب في العراق، كما قمنا بتوضيح الكثير من الحقائق الايجابية الموجودة على ارض الواقع، التي كانت خافية عن أنظار العديد من القادة العرب، خاصة فيما يتعلق بتحسن الوضع المعاشي، و تطور العملية الديمقراطية في البلاد، و تعزيز الوحدة الوطنية، و استقلالية الموقف و القرار العراقي وعدم تبعيته لأية جهة خارجية بالإضافة إلى آلية توزيع النفط والثروات الطبيعية بين المواطنين من قبل الحكومة المركزية، وكذلك قانون اجتثاث البعث، و أوضحنا لهم أن العراق متسامح مع أبنائه إلا من تلطخت يداه بدماء العراقيين".And replying to a query about the summit Riyadh and achievements of the Iraqi issue, President Talabani said : "We have succeeded in obtaining a clear condemnation of terrorism and severe in Iraq, as we have clarified many of the positive realities on the ground, which had been hidden from the eyes of many of the Arab leaders, especially with regard to the improvement in the situation of living, and the evolution of the democratic process in the country, and strengthening national unity, and independence of the Iraqi decision, and non-affiliation to any foreign body in addition to the distribution of oil and natural wealth among citizens by the central government, as well as the eradication of the Baath, and explained to them that Iraq tolerant with his children, but from tarnished his hands the blood of Iraqis. "
و ثمن فخامته دور خادم الحرمين الشريفين الملك عبد الله، و الرئيس المصري حسني مبارك في دعم القضية العراقية، وأشار إلى انه تلقى من الرئيس المصري دعوة لزيارة مصر و تقبلها بامتنان.Excellencies, the price of the role of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in support of the Iraqi issue, and pointed out that he had received an invitation from the Egyptian President to visit Egypt and gratefully accepted.
و بشان العلاقة مع انقرة قال الرئيس طالباني" إن العراق بحاجة إلى تعزيز العلاقات مع تركيا بما يتلاءم مع العمق التاريخي للروابط المشتركة بين البلدين الجارين".And on the relationship with Ankara President Talabani said that "Iraq needs to strengthen relations with Turkey in line with the historical depths of the common ties between the two neighboring countries."
و اشار فخامته الى انه أوضح لرئيس الوزراء التركي رجب طيب اردوغان خلال لقائه على هامش القمة العربية في الرياض الكثير من الحقائق و المعلومات التي كانت تصل بشكل خاطئ الى الحكومة التركية فيما يتعلق بالواقع الاجتماعي والتركيبة السكانية لمدينة كركوك، و كذلك طبيعة المادة 140 من الدستور، التي تمنح المواطنين حرية الاختيار بين البقاء في كركوك او العودة إلى مناطقهم الأصلية.Excellencies, he pointed out that the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his meeting on the sidelines of the Arab summit in Riyadh, many of the facts and information that was hit the wrong way to the Turkish government with regard to social reality, and the demographic composition of the city of Kirkuk, and also the nature of Article 140 of the Constitution, which granted citizens are free to choose between staying in Kirkuk or return to their areas of origin.
و أضاف رئيس الجمهورية أن ما يجري الآن في المدينة هو تطبيع للأوضاع فيها، مستبعدا وجود أي محاولات لضمها إلى إقليم كردستان.President of the Republic and added that what is happening now in the city is the normalization of the situation there, and ruled out any attempts to be annexed to the region of Kurdistan.
و ردا على سؤال بشان مؤتمر العقد الدولي قال رئيس الجمهورية "ان الجميع متفقون على اهمية المؤتمر و انه يصب في مصلحة العراق من خلال تشجيع الاستثمار و انعاش الاقتصاد في البلاد، و لهذا طالبنا مجلس النواب بضرورة الإسراع بانجاز القوانين ذات العلاقة و التي من شأنها تسهيل عملية الاستثمار".And in response to a question on the International Decade of the president said that "everyone agrees on the importance of the conference and that it was in Iraq's interest through the promotion of investment and revitalize the economy in the country, and for this we need the House of expediting the completion of related laws, which would facilitate the investment process."

Iraqi Gov to Pay the Displaced
Payment Designed to Encourage a Return Home
Posted 0 hr. 53 min. ago
BAGHDAD, 12 April 2007 (IRIN) - BAGHDAD, 12 April 2007 (IRIN) - The Iraqi government is giving out a cash inducement of one million Iraqi dinars (about US $800) to each displaced family in Baghdad willing to return to their original home, the country's Displacement and Migration Ministry said on Thursday.

"The cabinet endorsed the decision this week upon a request from the Minister of Displacement and Migration and it is in effect right now," Sattar Nawroz, the ministry's spokesman, told IRIN.

"Only Baghdad families are covered by this in the frame of Baghdad's new security plan . Joint committees with interior and defence ministries have been formed to follow up," Nawroz said.

He added that about 10,000 individuals had returned to their homes since the US-led security clampdown was launched in Baghdad on 14 February.

Iraq's relentless sectarian violence between the country's two major Muslim sects, Sunnis and Shias, can be traced to 22 February, 2006, when a revered Shia shrine in Samarra, 100km north of Baghdad, was bombed. Sunni extremists were blamed for the act.

Since then, revenge killings and attacks between Sunnis and Shias have escalated at an alarming rate. In the capital, which has seen the highest levels of violence in the country, families of the respective sects have been driven out, if they were in the minority, of neighbourhoods where they had long lived.

According to Nawroz, nearly 500,000 individuals have been displaced countrywide since February 2006. Of those, about 180,000 people have fled their homes in the capital, Baghdad.

"But their return is still linked to the government's guarantee to ensure security for these families and we hope this will work," he added.

Streets still not secure

As part of its security crackdown in conjunction with US forces in Iraq, the government said those who had occupied the homes of displaced families would be given 15 days to return the properties to their original owners or prove they had permission to be there.

But creating a safe environment for thousands of people to move back to their Baghdad neighbourhoods is a monumental task, especially when the streets are still not secure, analysts say. There is little evidence so far of significant numbers of people returning to their rightful homes.

It is also not clear how many Iraqis trust the government's assurances that they will be protected against militias and sectarian death squads if they do return to their homes.

"The government is unable to protect its key offices and almost 90 percent of Baghdad areas, how can it offer protection to thousands of families who have left heir houses? It has to put an army or police check point in each street,"said Abbas Nasser al-Ejam, a Baghdad-based political analyst.

"This will not succeed. The government needs to get to the root of the problem which is not a military one, it's about bringing this society together again and renouncing all their sectarian differences," al-Ejam added.

Akeel Omran Ali, a 34-year-old businessman, left his house in Baghdad's restive western neighbourhood of al-Jamia five months ago and still doubts that the government can protect his family.

"They are like ghosts ; they disappear when the government forces go through an area and return when they go," said Ali, a Shia father-of-two who now lives in a relative's house.

"Government forces can't protect themselves, how can they ensure my safety?"
Casualties/Iraqi | Iraqi Government | Safety Email This Post

IraqSlogger: Iraqi Gov to Pay the Displaced

Parliament Bombing -- How Could it Happen?
Green Zone Security Intense but Imperfect, Uneven
By EASON JORDAN Posted 0 hr. 23 min. ago

Press reports often refer to it as "the fortified Green Zone," but as the parliament bombing today shows, it's far from impenetrable.

The strengths and weaknesses of Green Zone security were especially evident to me during my 17th visit to Iraq last month as I spent 10 days in (and going in and out of) the Green Zone.

To get to the parliament building in the Green Zone, most people must pass through as many as six checkpoints, including some combination of patdown searches, metal detectors, and bomb-sniffing dogs.

While the parliament building's security is run by Iraqis, the Green Zone's perimeter security and security checkpoints within the Green Zone and around the parliament building are run by the U.S. military, coalition forces (Estonian and Georgian forces near the parliament building), and U.S. military contractors.

While the private security contracting companies are American, most of their employees don't speak fluent English or Arabic because they are Latin American military veterans (Peruvian, Salvadoran, Colombian) who are paid $600 a month each.

Iraqi- and U.S.-issued credentials expedite access, with those possessing the highest level of credentials -- top Iraqi and U.S. officials and their bodyguards, for example -- being allowed to bypass most, if not all, security checkpoints.

So where are the gaps? How could this happen?

First, any insurgent or insurgent sympathizer who snags a credental for fast track access around or through security checkpoints would be an extreme risk.

At least hundreds of Iraqis have such credentials -- especially bodyguards of Iraqi officials, some of whom are Sunni opponents of the Shia-led government, and the parliament building's security guards.

Second, thousands of Iraqis have less privileged credentials that provide access on a somewhat more restricted basis.

Falling into this category would be low-level Iraqi officials, Iraqis working for the coalition or contractors, parliament building janitors and cafeteria workers, and the cafeteria's suppliers of food and drink.

Further complicating matters, adding further security risk, roughly 15,000 Iraqis live in the Green Zone. They often clog checkpoints, leading to security checks that occasionally are more lax than they should be.

IraqSlogger: Parliament Bombing -- How Could it Happen?

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

it wasnt my point that they are using the revalue as a bargaining tool. really the only ones who are concerned about the revalue are the people who invested in dinar and the ones who continue to hold it on the ground in iraq. dont ask me why theyve chosen to do it this way but i have read enough to know that when the debt is gone, the country will begin to prosper.

and on the burden note, they didnt incur these debts they are trying to get relieved but they are responsible since saddam was running the show and put them in debt. they are his bills not the countries.

It's my view that Iraq can and should prosper with or without debt. Isn't their debt down now to approximately $40 billion? If so, that is a little bit
less than one year's budget. The rest of the world should have it so good!

Iraq seems too content to let other countries go deeper into debt just to
help Iraq out of its own hole.

Once the oil starts flowing, paying off this debt should be a relatively easy
task. At 3 or 4 million barrels a day, which is where Iraq should be in a few years, $40 billion is almost pocket change.

The time has come for Iraq to pull itself up by the bootstraps, r/v for its citizens (not us speculators), implement the HCL and create brand new jobs by
the millions in so doing.

Trying to tell its citizens that it can't do these things until its debts are
forgiven is an extremely flimsy excuse for the G.O.I. to visit upon its long-suffering people.

maybe,just maybe,this latest bombing in the green zone and in the iraqi parliament cafeteria might make them hurry up for a change and ratify or pass these laws they need to pass and hurry up also and revel the dinar.....it seems that noone,no matter where u r,is safe from these terrorists and that it does not matter which party u belong to...or if u are Sunni,Shiite,or Kurd....time to pass these laws and revel....Pat

Originally Posted by Jola

..."The parliament speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, called for a special legislative session on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, as a show of defiance ."...

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 04/12/2007 | Blast at Iraqi parliament kills 3 in Baghdad’s secure Green Zone

RIGHT ON!!

Originally Posted by Ranger III

It's my view that Iraq can and should prosper with or without debt. Isn't their debt down now to approximately $40 billion? If so, that is a little bit
less than one year's budget. The rest of the world should have it so good!

Iraq seems too content to let other countries go deeper into debt just to
help Iraq out of its own hole.

Once the oil starts flowing, paying off this debt should be a relatively easy
task. At 3 or 4 million barrels a day, which is where Iraq should be in a few years, $40 billion is almost pocket change.

The time has come for Iraq to pull itself up by the bootstraps, r/v for its citizens (not us speculators), implement the HCL and create brand new jobs by
the millions in so doing.

Trying to tell its citizens that it can't do these things until its debts are
forgiven is an extremely flimsy excuse for the G.O.I. to visit upon its long-suffering people.

the bulk of the debt lies with the neighbor countries. youre speaking of the debt relief package (paris club) initiated by the international community when you speak of only 40M.

as ive stated and still believe along with adster, that they will not revalue the currency until theyve achieved debt relief from saudi and kuwait. they are in constant talks and it will happen. and i for one dont blame them for this act. they are doing what is necessary FOR IRAQ. im sorry if it doesnt include making all their currency investors rich in a fast enough manner.

USA
World economic chiefs bask in praise

Thu, 12 Apr 2007
Global financial leaders head into a weekend of high-powered talks basking in what the IMF says will be the world economy's longest sustained expansion since the early 1970s.

But while the International Monetary Fund is positively gushing about global prospects, the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank will not be without controversy — especially for bank chief Paul Wolfowitz.

The former deputy US defence secretary is accused of favouritism over startling pay hikes given to his Libyan-born girlfriend when she was on the World Bank's payroll, just as he vies to clean up corruption in its lending.

Prior to the weekend meetings, finance ministers from the wealthy Group of Seven nations will debate currency rates and controls on the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry at their latest talks in Washington on Friday.

The G7 ministers will survey a global economic picture that, according to a twice-yearly IMF survey released Wednesday, has rarely looked as good.

In its World Economic Outlook report, the fund projected that growth in global gross domestic product would reach 4.9 percent both this year and next.

While down from 5.4 percent in 2006, that would take the current expansion into its fifth and sixth years, the world economy's best performance since before the 1970s oil shocks.

That would come despite a housing-led slowdown in the United States, which was forecast to register its slowest growth rate in five years at 2.2 percent in 2007.

If the IMF forecasts are proven correct — and fund officials on Wednesday admitted that their figures are only sometimes "spot on" — then the eurozone and Japan would both overtake US growth for the first time in many years.

Both economies were seen expanding by 2.3 percent this year, while red-hot growth in China, India and other big developing powers was seen as moderating, but only a little.

Unlike in the 1970s, according to IMF chief economist Simon Johnson, growth is far more widespread as China and India extend dramatic transformations while Europe and Japan finally perk up.

"Everyone around the world is sharing in this prosperity. I hesitate to say that that is unprecedented, but it is very impressive," he told a news conference.

"While the US indeed may have sneezed, it appears to be a mild sneeze so far, and not likely to spread."

IMF managing-director Rodrigo Rato was likely to expand on the report's findings at a news conference on Thursday, while also addressing a drive by the six-decade-old Fund to overhaul its operations.

Reforms designed to make the IMF more relevant in a fast-changing economic landscape appear to be hitting a roadblock as richer powers hold out against any dilution of their influence.

Under Wolfowitz, the IMF's sister institution also faces questions about its relevance. On one longstanding criticism, the World Bank is trying to force change by going after graft in its multimillion dollar loans.

But the Wolfowitz campaign has had to be watered down in the face of virulent criticism, and some countries have queried whether an architect of the war in Iraq is best positioned to promote "good governance."

The US official now faces embarrassing questions over his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, who through rapid promotions went on to earn nearly $200 000 during an external assignment from the World Bank to the US State Department.

Wolfowitz was due to hold his own press conference on Thursday before Rato's. At a hastily arranged briefing on Wednesday, he deflected a barrage of questions about the Riza affair by arguing it was the subject of an investigation.

"You have to ask, I have to answer," he parried, turning exasperated at a grilling from reporters.

AFP

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