Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 5/23/07 Midnight CST

20 construction companies on the blacklist for failing to implement projects in Babylon

13 May 2007 (Iraq Directory)

Governor of Babil, Salim Salih Almesalmawi, revealed the local government's intention to include twenty contracting companies and contractors on the blacklist expressing his regret for the loitering of these companies in the implementation of projects assigned to them.

The governor said in a press statement that: the governorate will inflict the harsher penalties on the companies and contractors who are proved to delay in the implementation of reconstruction projects in the province for the current year 2007. He explained that some 20 construction companies and contractors would be included on the blacklist and deprived in addition to the other penalties under the law.

Almesalmawi pointed out that the ratios of technical achievement of reconstruction projects for the current year are good when compared with last year rates, indicating that they exceeded (15%) and more than 114 projects are being implemented are transferred to contractors while the rest of the projects will be transferred within weeks. The inhabitants of Alwaeli district organized a sit-in in front of the headquarters of the Provincial Assembly last week to protest against the poor services in their district; they ended their sit-in after receiving official promises to develop the services sector in their district.

International Relations

US forces arrest a cell transporting weapons from Iran

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Baghdad, 15 May 2007 (Al-Sabaah)
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US army has announced that it arrested three terrorists who are members of a cell last Sunday including a senior leader in this group during operations southwest Baghdad.

Coalition forces have raided several buildings and arrested three members of a cell known of using road side bombs and facilitating weapons transportation from Iran and bringing foreign fighters to train in Iran.

More projects for NajafBy Saadoun al-Biri

13 May 2007 (Azzaman)

The provincial authorities in the holy city of Najaf have started scores of projects worth billions of Iraqi dinars.

Ahmad Duaibel of the city’s local administration said work on 81 projects had started and on completion they should improve Najaf’s infrastructure.

Health, agriculture and water purification schemes are among the top priorities, Duaibel said.

He said 23 projects to develop the province’s transport infrastructure were underway.

But most of these projects, he said, would only revamp those which were affected “by recent events” in Najaf.

Najaf has been the scene of violent car bomb attacks as well as sporadic clashes involving rival Shiite militia groups as well U.S. occupation troops.

Duaibel did not say when these projects will be completed and declined to reveal the names of the contracting firms.

Iraq
Rift Appears Among Iraq Insurgent Groups
by Mary Louise Kelly


Enlarge Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie shows video images of Abu Ayyub al-Masri of al-Qaida in Iraq during an October 2006 news conference in Baghdad.


Morning Edition, May 14, 2007 · The four years since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have seen countless alliances rise and then collapse, as fighters bicker over tactics and strategy.

But the past few weeks have brought a new development. Iraq analysts say three key insurgent groups have joined together to confront al-Qaida. They're calling themselves the Reformation and Jihad Front.

Some believe this new alliance poses the most serious challenge yet to the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Qaida in Iraq had managed to infuriate other insurgents through what was seen as a particularly arrogant and brutal campaign of violence targeting not just Iraqi civilians, but other insurgent factions.

So in April, al-Qaida in Iraq issued a series of tapes, attempting to patch things up and reassert its status.

One video showed a man, identified as a spokesman for the umbrella organization that includes al-Qaida, announcing a so-called "Islamic Cabinet" for Iraq, with al-Qaida in Iraq's leader, Abu Ayuub al-Masri, serving as "minister of war."

But if al-Qaida leaders thought a mini-goodwill campaign would smooth things over within the insurgency, they were mistaken.

On May 2, a new Web site appeared, announcing the creation of the Reformation and Jihad Front.

The driving force behind the revolt is the Islamic Army in Iraq. It's joined by two others — the Mujahideen Army and Ansar al-Sunna, one of the most hardcore insurgent groups. Kara Driggers, who monitors jihadi Web sites for the Terrorism Research Center, says they are all major players within the insurgent landscape.

"The important difference between them and al-Qaida is that they are nationalist groups," Driggers says. "They are fighting for Iraq, and solely for Iraq."

Evan Kohlmann, an analyst who runs the Web site globalterroralert.com, agrees with Driggers.

"There is a division separating now Sunni insurgents who see a future Iraq in a Middle East that we can recognize, versus extremists who are intent on redefining the entire face of the Middle East," Kohlmann said. "And the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Reformation and Jihad Front have made it certain that there is not a larger jihad mission — that the jihad is only in Iraq and is not supposed to extend beyond its borders."

Is the emerging split good news for U.S. interests in Iraq? On one hand, if it isolates al-Qaida, that would be a welcome development. But Kohlmann cautions that the Reformation and Jihad Front has no more interest in a democratic Iraq than al-Qaida does, and that no one should paint the new alliance as the good guys.

"It has no interest in supporting the United States. It is not a friend of the United States," Kohlmann said. "But that being said, for a group like this to step forward and to suddenly say things which offer a much more critical view of what al-Qaida is doing inside of Iraq ... I think you have to take that very seriously."

Kohlmann argues that if the new alliance succeeds, it could "present an existential threat to the future of al-Qaida in Iraq."

Mark Perry, co-director of the Conflicts Forum, an international think tank that promotes dialogue between Islamist groups and the West, won't go quite that far. But he does see the emergence of the new, anti-al-Qaida coalition as significant.

"Some of these key insurgency leaders have begun to realize that the American occupation will end, and that what has to emerge after this occupation is a new Iraq in which these groups are going to have to cooperate, or they will be plunged into a much worse, bloody civil war," Perry says. "And I think that there's now maneuvering among key Sunni leaders in Iraq to try to shape a political foundation on which they can take the country forward."

The rift within the insurgency follows what the United States sees as another potentially promising development. Sunni tribal leaders in Iraq's volatile Anbar province are joining U.S.-led efforts to fight al-Qaida.

The tribes have formed what they call the Anbar Salvation Council. It remains to be seen how solid an ally the tribes will ultimately prove to be, or how they will view the formation of the new insurgent alliance.

Iraqi MP woos foreign investors, says reconstruction program will require $300 billion in spending

An Iraqi lawmaker on Monday urged foreign firms attending an international reconstruction fair in Jordan to help rebuild his war-battered country, saying that more than $300 billion were needed. "Iraq needs more than $300 billion for reconstruction in all fields - oil, economy, industry, agriculture, infrastructure," said Yunadem Kanna, a member of Iraq's parliamentary commission on the economy, investment and reconstruction.

"I urge the representatives of the firms attending this fair not to hesitate and to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq," Kanna told AFP.

"Iraq is a huge market that needs expertise and technology in order to take its seat among world countries," he said at the opening of the fourth Rebuild Iraq international trade fair which is being held in Amman and lasts until Thursday.

"We are not here to say that everything is fine in Iraq," Kanna said, acknowledging that deadly daily violence in the country was the main hurdle facing foreign investors.

"There are security problems but we have safe areas in the north and the south, and there is an investment law that gives foreign firms many benefits," he said.

More than 700 Arab companies and foreign firms from Britain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States are attending the gathering in Amman.

"This huge international participation clearly shows a desire by these firms to work with their Iraqi counterparts and to forge future deals," Jordanian Industry Minister Salem Khazaaleh told reporters.

"The Iraqi market needs a lot of what is on display here today, and everyone is hoping for stability in that country in order to participate in its reconstruction," he added.

Last month Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told South Korean business leaders that the Iraqi people were struggling to "rise from the ashes" of conflict.

"Because of its abundance in resources such as oil and gas, Iraq has a great potential to become an advanced country," Maliki said in Seoul after a visit to Japan to drum up support to revamp Iraq's oil and petrochemical sectors.

Last week the leaders of more than 50 countries agreed at an international conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to fund reconstruction if Iraq meets certain economic benchmarks.

It's a rough time but I wouldn't panic.
The political process in Iraq has reached another very critical and important stage. This is the time that will decide if Iraq will emerge as a country that can sustain itself and where groups of people-while have many differences-can share this nation and coexist peacefully.

There's no doubt that this is going to be a difficult journey until key requirements to reconciliation, especially the oil distribution law and the Justice and Accountability law (which will replace the debaathification law) see the light. Many concessions will have to be made by every one of the major constituents of this country before the final compromise is reached.

The challenge this time is not about logistics as it was with holding elections. This time we're asking Iraq's political leaders to strike a deal that will shape this country and draw the prospects of the future of their corresponding public bases.
The efforts to reach a final agreement will be faced by many obstacles. Some of those are coming or will come from parties that simply want to get a better deal for themselves and their public bases while other obstacles will come from parties that simply do not want to see any compromise take place even if that meant the disintegration of the country and the failure of the democratic project.

As an example of the first category we have influential people like Ayatollah Sistani who told the delegates sent by Maliki two days ago that he was against making hasty legislations. Sistani isn't against stability or peaceful coexistence with Sunni Arabs or Kurds but emotions and history make him and others around him wary from rushing toward accepting former Baathists among them.
Sadr and his movement are the biggest example of the second category; they are not interested in nation-building and will keep opposing every sincere effort in this direction, thus their attempt to undermine Maliki's efforts and Bush's new strategy. But I wouldn't panic about that because I can tell their bill will be blocked. Critical decision require more than a vote, they require consensus among the leaders of the blocs and the people in top offices and such consensus is unlikely. And I wouldn't panic about the two-month recess either because the lawmakers know it's political suicide to insist on such a childish inconsiderate demand especially with a public long angered by all the vacations and benefits the lawmakers give themselves; I think all they wanted was to not look as if they were taking orders from America.

The major representatives of Sunni Arabs have varying attitudes as well. There are people like VP Hashimi who sat down with Maliki on Wednesday to figure out a way to reach an agreement and there people like Khalaf Ilayan who is sitting in Jordan and threatening from there to withdraw from the government.

Meanwhile the Kurds are staying as neutral as they can so far, which is their usual attitude whenever their direct interests are not seriously threatened—debaathification is not a big concern for them and equal distribution of oil revenues would give them a bigger share of the oil than if they get control over Kirkuk's oil alone, at least for years to come given the current rates of production and export. Even if my math isn't very accurate then the newly estimated additional 100 billion barrels of oil in the western part of the country will make equal distribution a good idea in the long run.
However they agreed to send one of their senior guys Barham Saleh-as duputy PM of Iraq, not as a Kurdish politician though-to Washington to seek support for the ongoing security and political efforts among the Congress.

While it is frustrating to see this process take relatively so much time-and I say relatively because we're talking about only a few months but even this is too much time given the current situation an pressures-I can see that the negotiations among Iraq's leaders tell us who are watching whether from within Iraq or from afar that the difficulty in the negotiations is because the political leaders know this deal and these legislations will not be mere ink on paper.
They view these legislations and their effects as the contract that will define their and their people's position and rights in this country for a long time to come. Perhaps the politicians themselves might not be aware of this particular idea but to me I see that their yelling, disagreements yeas and nays in fact reflect a will to establish rule of law but that will first go through passing the laws they agree to rule and be ruled by.
On the other hand those who are opposed to reaching a compromise unfortunately might have the power to delay the progress through the votes they have in the parliament as well as through violent means, therefore we will need to win every positive voice we can to override those who are against the effort to reach stability and rule of law.
It's not going to be easy though, no one said it would be—we're stuck for another two and a half years with a parliament that has plenty of people who don't respect the concepts of dialogue and compromise and neutralizing their destructive effect will require a lot of courage and hard work from those how do and a good deal of understanding and patience from our friends in the world.

Kurds restoring ancient citadel to showcase culture

15 May 2007 (Washington Times)

Kurdish authorities have removed hundreds of families, cleaned up their trash and have begun development in an ancient citadel, which they say is the site of the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.

Their plans -- to establish a cultural centerpiece in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) that will attract tourists and archaeologists from around the globe -- extend well beyond the fortress itself.

All across this Kurdish regional capital are signs of a citywide makeover in progress. Fancy new hotels and foreign-built office buildings rise above the din of diesel trucks and clatter of men at work.

"Under Saddam [Hussein], the Kurdish people never had a chance to show off their heritage," said Kanan Mufti, general director of antiquities for the Kurdish region and leader of the citadel project.

"Now we have a potential stage to tell the world. When visitors see all this history, they will really come to respect the Kurdish people. ... If I had permission, I would call [the citadel] the eighth wonder of the world."

Local historians say the Erbil citadel has been the site of human habitation for more than 7,000 years. The Assyrians, Sumerians, Greeks and Ottomans are among the peoples known to have lived in the Erbil region, a fertile plain at the
junction of two rivers near the Zagros Mountains.

Some archaeologists dispute that claim, citing a lack of hard evidence. Mr. Mufti counters that probes sunk into the man -made hill have indicated multiple layers of civilizations -- supported by written references that date back to the 21st century B.C. -- though civil conflict and isolation have so far prevented experts from undertaking a proper excavation.

A study carried out by the Iraqi government many years ago catalogs more than 3,000 archaeological sites in the Kurdish region. Mr. Mufti said fewer than 25 have been unearthed because Saddam opposed digs in the area in order to suppress Kurdish culture.

Exploration in the citadel ended completely in the 1980s, when Saddam waged a scorched-earth campaign against rural Kurds. Masses flocked to the cities to blend in and escape, and many found refuge in the ancient fortress.

Roughly 5,000 people were living inside until the Kurdish government moved to relocate them before a collapsing sewer system could damage the layers of buried artifacts.

More than 800 families were given plots of land about 25 miles east of Erbil and $4,000 for housing expenses. Only one family has been permitted to remain inside in the citadel to preserve the continuity of habitation.

Since the relocation, almost 6,000 cubic yards of trash have been removed, exposing labyrinthine alleys and crumbling homes. Mr. Mufti and his team are in consultations with UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, which is looking into the possibility of renovating parts of the city.

Many in Erbil hope this will lead to coveted status as a U.N. World Heritage Site, but they are aware of the work that must be done to meet the agency's standards.

Sami al-Koja, an adviser to the citadel's board of renovation, said he is committed to securing the best foreign expertise to ensure the project is given the care and attention it deserves.

"We are beggars. We want the help and technology, and that's all there is to it," Mr. al-Koja half-joked. He said the U.S. military had provided helicopters to take vertical mapping images of the citadel.

He thinks it will take at least five to 10 years before the old town is sufficiently restored to attract tourists and archaeologists. People will also be brought back to live inside the citadel "on a more regulated basis," he said.

All such dreams depend on the Kurdish region remaining a relatively peaceful island of stability amid the violence of Iraq -- something that is far from certain.

Pressure is building over the fate of Kirkuk, an oil-rich, ethnically mixed city less than two hours drive from Erbil that the Kurds want to annex in a referendum this year.

Several recent attacks have targeted the Kurdish majority in Kirkuk, while Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army militia has vowed to resist any Kurdish attempt to take control of the city.

"If the referendum is held later this year over the objections of other communities, the civil war is very likely to spread to Kirkuk and the Kurdish region," said an April report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

To the north, archrival Turkey has threatened a unilateral military incursion into Kurdistan (northern Iraq) to oust separatist Kurdistan Workers Party guerrillas known to stage cross-border attacks. Turkey has also pledged to intervene if the Kurds ever move toward independence.

Electricity ministry to erect diesel generators in Baghdad
By Hadi al-Hadi

Baghdad, 15 May 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity is currently preparing some sites and structures in Baghdad for erecting diesel generators, a ministerial source said on Monday.

"Diesel-driven generators will feed into the electricity supply system, reducing the number of hours where electricity is regularly cut off the capital," an official media source from the ministry told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Technical teams and engineers are currently undertaking maintenance work in many of Baghdad's districts to repair electricity lines and supply electricity to all districts, particularly to Karkh, western Baghdad, added the source, who requested his name not be mentioned.

Four weeks ago the ministry conducted a test in Baghdad al-Jadidah's al-Mualimeen district by offering every house a 10-ampere electricity connection in an attempt to reduce power consumption.

The ministry said that if it proved successful, the rest of Baghdad's areas would be included in the test.
Baghdad is divided into two sides: the west, called Karkh, and the east, called Rasafa.

Water resources companies execute projects cost ID86B

Baghdad, 15 May 2007 (Al-Sabaah)

Ministry of Water Resources’ companies achieved advanced execution rates of its projects during recent year which cost more than ID86B, adviser of companies’ affairs at the ministry Shaker Mahmood said.

He added that report of the companies’ performance showed an advancement from begin of recent year to late last month, referred to execution rates ranged between 11% and 56% of 21 projects across Iraq within investment allocations to recent year.

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Iraq's Parliament is increasingly hamstrung by sectarian rivalries.

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Shouting matches are commonplace, and there are many absences. Key legislation has yet to be debated on the floor. Ordinary Iraqis are fed up with the lawmakers. And U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that the legislature will fail to take action on moves aimed at ending sectarian violence.


In Parliament last week, Shiite lawmaker Shatha al-Mousawi was complaining bitterly about her recent visit with displaced Shiites from Diyala province. They were expelled from their homes because of sectarian violence.


It's intolerable that the government allows this bloodshed to happen, she said, demanding that the prime minister and other top officials be summoned to Parliament to respond.


The speaker of Parliament reacted to her emotional diatribe with laughter.
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, said he was laughing to conceal his pain at the situation in which the Shiites of Diyala found themselves. But Shiite parliamentarians openly scolded him for his seemingly coldhearted reaction, and he in turn began attacking them.


"Three-quarters of those sitting here are responsible for the displacements and the sectarian killings, and now you're calling yourselves patriots?" he thundered.
Amid the shouting that ensued, Mashhadani pounded his gavel and declared the session adjourned. He did not consult his two deputies before making the decision. Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman says Mashhadani then got into a physical confrontation with a fellow parliamentarian from his own party.


Critics inside and outside parliament — Shiite and Sunni — blame Mashhadani for the legislature's failure to move on any critical issue.
Othman says Mashhadani and his deputies allow chaos to rule the house.
"They should have more experience in this job," Othman said. "They should know how to control the session."
No major issue has yet made it to the parliament floor, from the draft oil law to the review of the ban on former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to amendments to the constitution.


Procedure calls for a first reading of each bill, like in most other parliaments around the world, and that has yet to happen here.


It's unlikely the bills will be debated before Iraqi lawmakers break for their two-month summer vacation in June.


The prospect of such a long holiday in the midst of political crisis, both here and in Washington, has infuriated U.S. officials and politicians. But Mahmoud Othman says Iraqi lawmakers are already taking off more time than members of the U.S. Congress know about.

"Every month we work two weeks," Othman said. "That's another point people should know about ... we are working half the time. So it's two-to-three hours a day, two weeks a month and then there is a holiday. So it's sort of a disaster."

Lawmaker Shatha al-Moussawi says U.S. objections to the vacation schedule here have only made matters worse, saying it sends a message that Iraqis "don't have any control" of their own country and "receive orders from America."


In the streets of Baghdad, the Iraqi Parliament's reputation is at rock bottom.


"Our parliament is a failure, because they force us to accept the least of everything," says Ahmed Dawood, a short-order cook.


Sweating as he flips hamburgers on a grill, Dawood says the lawmakers are only out for what they can get. And he prays for the day they've had enough, so ordinary Iraqis can bring in others who really will help the people.
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