Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 5PM CST May 10,2007

Wolfowitz fights to keep job as scandal sends top aide packing - Yahoo! News

wasnt wolfowitz playing a big role?

Originally Posted by DontDenyDatDinar

I've heard about a lot of gold supposedly held by the Iraqi gov.
And how so much was found. Has anyone determined how much actually was? I ran across this disclaimer, appears to be old news. . .

There was a lot of publicity in May of 2003 when military forces in Iraq started discovering caches or shipments of gold bars.
One find in a truck in Iraq was estimated to be worth $500 million.
According to a Reuter's report from August 1, 2003, however, later testing of the more than 1,000 bars that were found revealed they were not gold but mostly copper and zinc.


Millions of dollars of gold bars found in Iraq-Fiction!

According to the CBI's Balance Sheet 2003-05
Iraq: Use of Fund Resources--Request for Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance--Staff Report and Statement by Executive Director (

it lists Gold/3 in billions... 94 (94 billion or 9 billion 400 thousand?)in 2005. Not sure if this refers to what is in their vaults or the DFI or what was found in Swiss Bank accounts??? Haven't seen any current figures so it will be interesting to see this audit report.

Cheers!
DayDream

Chevron seen settling probe of Iraqi oil deals: report
08 May 2007 (AFP)


US energy giant Chevron is preparing to settle a government probe into kickbacks under the now-defunct oil-for-food UN program for Iraq.
The New York Times said the US oil giant was to make an acknowledgement that it should have known about kickbacks on its Iraqi oil purchases, as part of an expected agreement with US prosecutors likely to include fines of up to 30 million dollars.
The California-headquartered firm, America's second largest oil group, could not be reached for comment by AFP.
An official for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which the Times said was involved in the probe, declined to comment.
The newspaper said the probe relates to tens of millions of barrels of Iraqi oil that Chevron purchased between 2000 and 2002 under the former United Nations oil-for-food program.
Under the UN program, which ran from 1996 until just after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in March 2003, Iraq was allowed to sell oil and use the revenues to purchase humanitarian supplies.
Citing government investigators and uncovered documents, the Times said about 20 million dollars in "surcharges" were paid on Iraqi oil shipments bought by Chevron.
Chevron reportedly purchased much of the Iraqi oil it bought during this time through intermediaries, which included small oil traders.
US energy group El Paso Corp. agreed in early February to pay 7.7 million dollars in penalties related to illegal surcharges on Iraqi oil contracts under the UN program. El Paso agreed to pay the penalties without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.
Government investigators claimed that El Paso indirectly funneled 5.5 million dollars in "illegal surcharges" to Iraq related to oil purchases from third parties.
The Times report added that Chevron was still in negotiations with the government and that a final agreement could still be weeks away.

Chevron seen settling probe of Iraqi oil deals: report | Iraq Updates

Appologize if previously posted as it is dated,... 6th May, 07

Discounting Experts from the Iraqi Oil Law
By Karim al-Shamma'
06 May 2007 (Al-Hayat)


The Iraqi oil law was subjected to unprecedented criticism, questioning and objections. The last burst came from a plenary of experts and spe******ts who participated in the Amman oil experts seminar in Jordan on February 17 to discuss the pros and cons of the law.
Due to the extensive debate surrounding the issue, I decided to limit myself here to reviewing observations on the prevailing conditions that accompanied this law and the reasons that lead to these conditions.
The need for any given law normally stems from constitutional articles defining the law in question. Since a large number of these articles have been shrouded in vagueness, marred by contradictions, and even dominated by a rather outlandish logic that sought to discredit the intentions of the central government, the oil law sought to destabilize and undercut the natural role of the central government and, in some instances, contained proposals in favor of a part like Kurdistan over central Iraq in any future disputes between the interests of the two.
The law also sanctions contracts independently signed by Kurdistan with a number of oil companies in 1992 and guarantees the protection of these agreements against any revisions or substantial future amendments.
Three expert and competent teams deeply involved in the Iraqi oil affairs were initially tasked with preparing the first draft of the law. The aim of these experts was to resolve the constitutional conflicts arising from the mentioned articles, the practical operational requirements of the oil industry, and the need to protect Iraq's oil wealth.
This draft, however, was embroiled in the political arena and brought under the mercy of the wrangling and maneuvering of giant partisan entities, and just like what took place on the drafting of the resolution, pressures were applied and sides were taken, leading to considerable changes in key and central aspects of the decision-making process, which strangely enough took place while excluding the three-party team tasked with preparing the draft law, forcing one of these experts to publicly denounce the outcome of the first draft and the subsequent withdrawal of a second.
Since the law was mainly concerned with managing what is widely believed to be the region's second largest oil wealth, it progressed under the continued US interference and pressure represented by its various symbols of authority, the least of which came from the US envoy to Iraq as evident in the scores of public statements.
The progress toward the ratification of the law, particularly during recent weeks, was marred by unrelenting pressures on all sides aimed at accelerating the legislative process, which led to reducing the time allowed to debate the bill in the cabinet prior its approval to a few hours.
It was also remarkable that all this took place behind closed doors, as nothing related to the law was made available to the public, which would have engaged Non Governmental Organizations in these discussions.
What was even more dangerous was the exclusion of a broad cadre of oil experts who were behind the renaissance witnessed by the oil industry since the 1950s, which earned them the admiration and respect of the international oil circles for more than 40 years, preventing them from having any role in enriching the draft project with their observations and proposals.
Therefore, it would be reasonable to ask: why have more than 100 oil experts - each having spent at least 30, and sometimes even 40, years serving the oil industry in Iraq - been eliminated?
Despite these observations, I fully support Iraq's need for a law that adequately regulates the Iraqi energy sector and rescues it from the state of neglect and deterioration that has been ailing the Iraqi oil sector since the 1980s, and which can protect such wealth from technical abuse and economical pillaging.
The achievement of such patriotic goals calls for deliberation, transparency, and the all-inclusive participation of everyone.
Law number 80, passed in 1960, saved Iraq's oil resources from the greed and the exploitation of international oil monopolies, and was among the most important achievements of the July 14 Revolution. Therefore, we must prevent the return of these monopolies from between the nets of the occupation.
* Karim al-Shamma' is an oil expert

Discounting Experts from the Iraqi Oil Law | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by bultn

1.26 = 0.79 USD/IQD. Some people have wished for 1:1 but I'd be quite happy with 0.79.

Heck I would be happy with 12.6 = 0.079 USD/IQD

Fate of Kirkuk could spell trouble for Iraq
By Mustafa Mohammed
08 May 2007 (Reuters)


Abdullah Jasim, a Shi'ite Arab, left his native Basra in southern Iraq more than 30 years ago in search of a better life in the oil-producing city of Kirkuk.
He opened three businesses and married off six daughters born in Kirkuk. But in the eyes of many in this northern flashpoint city at the heart of a looming ethnic row, Jasim and his family are "wafedins," or newcomers.

"Most in my family have never seen Basra," said Jasim, 67, drinking tea with friends one recent afternoon.
"No one forced us to come, but every time my sons and daughters apply for a job they are told: 'This job is not for you. This is only for the people of Kirkuk'."

Iraq is expected to settle the final status of multi-ethnic Kirkuk in a local referendum by the end of 2007.
With Iraq's government and Washington focused on saving Baghdad from civil war, a think-tank last month warned that ignoring Kirkuk could see conflict spread to the relatively peaceful north and even spill over the border into Turkey.

Kirkuk, an ancient city 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, is claimed by ethnic Kurds, Arabs and Turkish-speaking Turkmen.
Once a melting pot of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen and Armenians, the city's woes are a recipe for bloodshed if a peaceful solution is not found, analysts said.

Kurds see Kirkuk as their historical capital and want it included in their autonomous Kurdistan region. They want the referendum held by year-end as stated in the constitution. Arabs and Turkmen accuse Kurds of pushing them out of the city.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose government includes Kurdish parties, last month agreed to give Arab families in Kirkuk $15,000 each and a piece of land if they voluntarily returned to their original towns.
Saddam Hussein expelled thousands of Kurds and Turkmen from Kirkuk and replaced them with Arabs under an Arabisation plan in the 1970s and 80s.
Arabs and Turkmen, who oppose a referendum for fear of becoming second-class citizens, said the relocation plan is a ploy to change the city's demographics ahead of the vote.

"The referendum on Kirkuk is a red line," said Mohammed Khalil, a Sunni Arab member of Kirkuk's Provincial Council.
"Kurds are dreaming if they want to hold a referendum, but if there is a vote all Iraqis should be allowed to participate."

DANGER FOR MALIKI
Some local Kurdish leaders have warned that if the vote is delayed, Kurds could quit Maliki's government.
Mohammed Ihsan, the Kurdish regional minister for "disputed territories," said the referendum should go ahead as planned.
He blamed "Baathists" for causing bureaucratic obstacles that have delayed preparations for the vote, such as completing a census in Kirkuk by July 31.
"The Arabs who came here will not be forced out, but will not be allowed to vote in the referendum. They can live in peace there after the referendum," he told Reuters.

Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd, said he believed the constitution should be followed.
"At the end of the day I believe there will be some compromises ... but I believe the constitutional procedure should be implemented," Zebari told Reuters recently.

In negotiations ahead of the 2005 constitution, leaders from Iraq's Shi'ite majority agreed with Kurds to include the Kirkuk referendum in exchange for language on federalism that would allow the creation of a Shi'ite "super region" in the south.

But not all Shi'ites now agree on giving Kirkuk away.
The parliamentary bloc of fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has announced a campaign to delay the vote. Washington, bogged down in Baghdad, has said little publicly about the issue.

But as the deadline nears, Kurdish nationalists have stirred passions over Kirkuk in speeches and in pro-government media.
"Kurds feel it's their chance to get Kirkuk," said Joost Hiltermann, from the International Crisis Group think tank. "They feel Bush is a lameduck president and that Washington won't put pressure on them to let the deadline slip."
Hiltermann said Kirkuk threatened to further erode U.S. goals in Iraq and in the region.

Turkey, wary that Iraqi Kurdish nationalism could ignite its own Kurdish community, has traded barbs in the past month with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.

Chinqeez Morat, a Turkman, blamed Kirkuk's woes on its oil.
"If there was no oil in Kirkuk, nobody would take care of this town," Morat said. (Additional reporting by Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil, Sherko Raouf in Sulaimaniya and Ibon Villelabeitia in Baghdad)

Fate of Kirkuk could spell trouble for Iraq | Iraq Updates

Iraqi press highlights 'Compact document,' calls for national compact
By Hamid al-Hamrani
Baghdad, 08 May 2007 (Voices of Iraq)


The majority of Iraqi newspapers on Monday highlighted the necessity of working out a 'national compact document,' profiting from the international support for Iraq after the Sharm al-Sheikh conferences, while others tackled the criticism made over parliamentarians' summer holiday.

As-Sabah, a government-funded daily, wrote that political observers underlined the importance of setting up a national compact. The newspaper quoted MP Hassan al-Saneed, of the Shiite United Iraqi Coalition (UIC), as saying, "By giving up national unity for international unity we will be giving up a historic chance that may not come again. Political forces, which rely on regional support, will lose if they stick to their position."

Describing them as being "not harmonious with the Iraqi government," al-Saneed said that political forces have to rule out the possibility of regional or international interference in the Iraq's political affairs."

The newspaper also quoted the spokesman for the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), Saleem al-Jubouri, as asserting the importance of developing an agreed national compact, adding that all political blocs should arrange schedules and set deadlines for obtaining the desired results from the international compact for Iraq.

Meanwhile, MP Iyad Jamal al-Din, of the secular Iraqi National List stated, "The compact between Iraqis and the peoples of the world is the (Iraqi) constitution," noting that if any dispute erupted concerning it, revisions and amendments to its articles would be required.

Under two headlines reading, 'International community is confident and optimistic about Iraq's revival' and 'Al-Abbadi warns against plans to undermine the Iraqi political process,' the Shiite al-Bayyina newspaper, issued by the Iraqi Hizbullah, quoted al-Abbadi as saying that the Sharm al-Sheikh conferences were of great significance for Iraq. According to him, these conferences shed light on the Iraqi issue and drew the world attention to the catastrophic results of terrorism and anarchy.

Moreover, al-Abbadi stressed "the conferences' success in providing international support for the Iraqi government to prevent the infiltration of terrorist groups from the neighboring countries and to reconstruct the country."

Expressing his delight with the results of the conferences, Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said, "Until recently, Iraq was a stage for international disputes. We hope that the Sharm al-Sheikh conferences' resolutions help build international and regional consensus on Iraq."

Al-Mada, an independent daily, published a headline that read, 'Arab preparations for the Iraqi Accord Conference,' under which it wrote that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa had met Saleh to discuss the preparations for a conference on national reconciliation under the auspices of the League of Arab States as soon as possible.

The newspaper also published the following headlines, 'Tehran: Our meetings with the Americans in Sharm al-Sheikh were quick and accidental' and 'Cheney seeks more regional support for Iraq.'

Commenting on Iraqi parliamentarians' summer holidays, Abdul Zahra Zaki, the newspaper's managing editor, wrote an article, entitled 'O parliamentarians...Iraqis are believers' in which he blamed Iraqi parliamentarians for paying attention to American criticism of their two-month summer holiday.

While highlighting the importance of summer holidays, Zaki referred to the negative effect of taking long time on passing dozens of laws and regulations, which he said are necessary for developing the legal
and legislative structures in new Iraq.

Baghdad newspaper, the mouthpiece of the former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's al-Wifaq Movement, focused on the security situation in Iraq and the government's failure in returning the immigrants.

Under the headline, "Mortar wars erupt again while government keep watching,' the newspaper wrote, "The neighborhoods of al-Aamel, Biyaa, al-Jihad, al-Maalif, Abu Disheer, Adhamiya and Kadhimiya in Baghdad are witnessing serious deterioration in the security situation due to repeated mortar shelling and frequent explosions caused by car bombs and explosive devices. This means that the security plan has failed to meet the promises made by the government all the time."

Criticizing the current Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the newspaper published the two following headlines: 'Iraq is in need of a powerful leader to bring back reverence for it' and 'After Riyadh rejected to receive him, NY Times says al-Maliki's handling of the situation hindered national reconciliation.'

While evaluating Baghdad's security plan, the newspaper published a feature, entitled 'Eighty days have passed since the implementation of Baghdad's security plan and here are the results: displacement of the poor continues, returnees face threats and furniture of displaced persons are spoils. Where is the law?'

Iraqi press highlights 'Compact document,' calls for national compact | Iraq Updates

Demand for dollar slightly lower, exchange rate down in daily auction
By Dergham Mohamed Ali
Baghdad, May 8, (VOI) – Demand for the dollar was slightly lower in the Iraqi Central Bank’s daily auction on Tuesday, reaching $87.865 million compared with $89.140 million on Monday, while the dollar exchange rate went down.
In its daily statement the bank said it had covered all bids, which included $16.945 million in cash and $70.920 million in foreign transfers, at an exchange rate of 1,264 dinars per dollar, one tick lower than yesterday.
None of the 18 banks that participated in Monday's auction offered to sell dollars.
Abdul-Razzaq al-Abaiji, an economist, told VOI "the one-tick-decline in the exchange rate has encouraged traders to make bids for the dollar as it has become a new policy by the Central Bank to absorb local liquidity in an attempt to bring down inflation."The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Am I missing something here?
It appears to me as this is NOT new policy to absorb local liquidity. They have been doing this for quite some time-since Nov 06 (and probably before).
Apparently they think no one is paying attention.

To spur officials to spend their capital budgets quickly, the GOI has declared that any ministry that does not spend 75% of the portion of its capital budget it has been allotted by June will forfeit the money for reapportionment by the Ministers of Finance and Planning.

What is Iraq doing with its own money

Cheers!
DayDream

Wonder how they can spend 75% of their apportioned budget unless they print more dinar or R/V this by june to have enough funds for the budget.
LIT