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

The Kurdish PR Machine
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Posted GMT 5-18-2007 14:33:29
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Jesus Christ was a Kurd! Well, he probably was not; but this is the kind of conclusion American lobbyists who are on Kurdish payroll are coming close to. With some more funding going to these extremely creative lobbyists, the American public should be prepared to lobbying bombshells featuring new scientific discoveries that may include "George Washington's secret will for an independent Kurdish state," "Kurdistan: the Holy Land that inspired Christopher Columbus' journey across the Atlantic (Columbus had first sailed to the turquoise shores of Mesopotamia), "The story of a Kurd who gave up his life to prevent a new 9/11," or "Apostolic evidence reveals Kurds were pious Christians before being forced to convert to Islam under the Turkish sword."

Alternatively, Hollywood can produce the "United 93 -- Revisited," this time featuring the story of a Kurdish hero fighting back the four terrorists who had hijacked the United Airlines airplane on 9/11. In the new version, perhaps some further revisions can be made. Why not, instead of killing all aboard, make the Kurdish hero safely land the aircraft and deliver the terrorists to justice. The injured but proud hero, in the final picture, appears on the apron holding two flags in his hands; American and Kurdish.

Did you, by the way, know that the United States won both the World War II and the Cold War thanks mainly to secret Kurdish efforts? Or that the Statue of Liberty was in fact built by a Paris-based Kurdish sculptor whose work had unfortunately been stolen by a man called Frederic Auguste Bartholdi?

An interesting article

A recent article in Washington Post (Kurds Cultivating Their Own Bonds with U.S., by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, April 23, 2007) was both very informative and amusing. Mr. Chandrasekaran detailed how the vigorous Kurdish lobbying efforts hope not only to have important men in their political sphere in Washington, but also to build emotional bonds with ordinary Americans. That was the informative part for which praise should go to a skilled journalist. The amusing part was not Mr. Chandrasekaran's liability, but an inevitable content problem. Since Mr. Chandraserakan could not alter what his interviewees told him, the article gained an entertaining touch too.

For example, listen to what Bill Garaway, an evangelical Christian minister, told the Post: "…(having realized that the Kurds had a public relations problem)… They (his neighbors) said, 'Who are the Kurds?' I said, "There is nobody like them in the Middle East. They're Muslim, but they hate fundamentalist Islam. They love America.'"

Mr. Garaway believes that many key events described in the Bible occurred in Kurdistan, including the stories of Noah's ark and Queen Esther. Although Mr. Garaway claims that the three wise man the Bible says visited baby Jesus in Bethlehem came from Kurdistan, he probably misses the fact that Bethlehem was actually part of Mesopotamia at the time -- well, what matters, a few hundred miles to the east or west? Yes, Jesus Christ was a Kurd and the wise men who came to visit him were his Kurdish baptizers! With a larger lobbying budget, we might have been told that God was Kurdish too.

Here is more scientific evidence to support Mr. Garaway's theory: The powerful King of Kurdistan, Abdullah Talazani VIII, had once sent an e-mail message to his Viceroy, Shiwan Jameson Jr., circa 666 BC, declaring: "O trustful Viceroy! Convey my message to the noble Kurds no later than 8:00 a.m. GMT. I hereby prophesize that one day we shall stand by a great nation with a great leader whose name saints revealed to me will be George W. Bush. Tell them we shall be with them in good times and in bad times. And Shiwan Jameson Jr., now please remember to send in my golf tutors."

Mr. Garaway, who joined the Church after "God revealed himself to him," hopes to take his national campaign on behalf of Kurdistan to "the next level" with an influential Washington partner: Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and a mechanic-turned-lobbyist, as the article describes him. The Post story also tells us that Mr. Garaway encouraged Mr. Talabani and other Kurdish leaders to spend several million dollars this year to run commercials on prime-time network television. Getting Americans "to understand our story," agrees the mechanic-turned-lobbyist, is essential for the Kurds.

I, too, agree. The Kurds should spend more, perhaps several hundred million dollars, not just one million, "to buy" a love affair with the ordinary Americans. But what more can be done? Here is my humble proposal.

Mr. Garaway told the Post: "There is more of the best American values in Kurdistan than anywhere else in the Islamic world." Ah, that gives us ideas. To cement the nation-to-nation love affair, Mr. Garaway could, for example, champion a nationwide holiday-making campaign: Every American family to Kurdistan for vacation! I suggest the right slogan for the campaign could be: A living more American than American!, or "Meet Jesus Christ's descendants!"

PKK camp, an alternative

If one should have doubts about the bed capacity in Kurdistan, I suggest a shortcut solution: every family in Kurdistan should host one American family a year (depending on the success of the program this hosting idea can be made mutual so that every Kurdish family stays in American homes and teaches them the real American values.) That idea failing, the American tourists can always be comfortably hosted at the nearest PKK camping facility with fresh mountainous air and an immaculate view of the country.

As for the financing of a "getting-to-know-our-Kurdish brothers" program, I am sure, if Kurdish or American resources failed to suffice, the Turks would volunteer to donate.

By Burak Bekdil
Turkish Daily News - May 18, 2007

© 2007, Assyrian International News Agency

Increased stability provides industrial opportunities in Iraq
Friday, 18 May 2007


Paul Brinkley, U.S. deputy undersecretary of Defense for Business Transformation, and Fawzi Hariri, Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, discussed the progress of Task Force for Business and Stability operations and continuing efforts to build the Iraqi economy at the Combined Press Information Center Thursday. U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Jennifer E. Fulk, Combined Press Information Center.BAGHDAD — The U.S. deputy undersecretary of Defense for Business Transformation and Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals held a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Thursday.

Paul Brinkley, U.S. deputy undersecretary of Defense for Business Transformation, and Fawzi Hariri, Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, discussed the progress of Task Force for Business and Stability operations and the continuing effort to rebuild the Iraqi economy.

“We continue to work in partnership with the [Iraqi] Minister of Industry to reinvigorate the near-idled industrial capacity in Iraq,” said Brinkley. “This is part of a continuing effort to bring businessmen from the international community to Iraq.”

As part of the effort to rekindle the Iraqi economy, the Iraqi Minister of Finance Bayan Jaber announced additional sets of low interest loans totaling $20 million to be distributed amongst factory outlets in need of financial support.

“These will support 24 different factory operations,” said Brinkley. “This is also part of our effort to partner with the government of Iraq to restore industrial operations, to reemploy sizable numbers of people here in Iraq and to restore normalcy to areas of the country where stability exists.”

While the intra-Iraqi economy begins a cycle of creating jobs and industries to restart the economy, international businesses are beginning to show interest in what an industrial Iraq has to offer.

“We continue to work contract negotiations with Western retailers as well as heavier industrial operations in the West,” Brinkley said. “One of the most inspiring locations is a very large textile factory [in Najaf] where 1,800 Iraqis have now returned to work, and the clothing made in that factory is being reviewed by Western retail outlets.”

As factories begin showing signs of success, other factories are being reestablished to provide similar opportunities for the Iraqi public.

“We are working to [restart] as many factories as we can to sell our products to the local and Western markets to guarantee salaries for everyone,” said Hariri.

While revitalizing the Iraqi economy is expected to provide business opportunities, it is also expected to bring Iraq up-to-date with current technology.

“We believe the development of the Iraqi industry in cooperation with international companies will fill the gap in technology from the past 30 years,” said Hariri.

As security improvements in Iraq make industrial opportunities possible, the economy is expected to improve the standard-of-living and return everyday life to normalcy.

(U.S. Army story by Spc. Carl N. Hudson, Combined Press Information Center)

Iraqi Soldiers train under fire
Friday, 18 May 2007
By Staff Sgt. Antonieta Rico
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment



Spc. Edwin Kane of Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and a soldier from 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, move through a gate in Baqubah, Iraq, April 23. Soldiers of the 20 Inf. Regt., 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash., began the clearing operation with Iraqi army soldiers April 23 to rid the Tahrir neighborhood of insurgents.BAQOUBA — Soldiers with the 5th Iraqi Army Division have been working alongside the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, since the Stryker Battalion’s arrival in Baqubah in early March, improving their skills as they clear the city.

They have actively participated in several combat operations on the eastern side of Baqubah, integrating with the Stryker Soldiers and learning from them along the way.

Side by side, the Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers faced heavy resistance from insurgents during a recent week-long clearing operation in the Tahrir neighborhood.

“We integrated a platoon of Iraqi Army Soldiers into our squads and cleared (buildings) with them,” said 1st Lt. Colin Layne, a platoon leader with Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. “We usually do a little class on room clearing before every operation.”

But most of what the Iraqi army soldiers learn from the Stryker Soldiers is done as they clear houses and move together through the streets of Baqubah, under enemy fire.

“They see how we do things,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Woodring, a squad leader with Co. B.

Woodring integrated several Iraqi soldiers into his squad during the Tahrir clearing mission.

“They move down the street just like we do,” Woodring said. Not only do the Iraq soldiers learn how to move tactically by watching, they have also improved in searching the neighborhoods for weapon caches.

“They are getting better trained every time they come out with us,” said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Labrosse, a platoon sergeant with Co. B.

The Stryker Soldiers say they are impressed by the Iraqi soldier’s abilities.

“They are really good at searching,” Woodring said. “They know where to look.”

During the clearing of Tahrir, the battalion reported locating 30 pre-rigged bombs, two machine guns, four mortar tubes, 75 rifles, as well as homemade explosives, ammunition and rocket propelled grenades. The caches also included bomb-making materials, terrorist propaganda, military-style clothing and fake identification cards.

The Stryker Soldiers hope that receiving training under fire will better prepare the Iraqi soldiers to take over security for their own country.

“When our country leaves, when our forces leave, (the Iraqis) will be able to stand up and take care of the job,” said Woodring.

The future of Kirkuk is primarily a constitutional issue


18 May 2007


Many people, with or without a connection to Iraq, to Kurdistan or to Kirkuk, seem to have a ready-made opinion regarding the way to solve the Kirkuk issue. Some say let past injustice be past injustice and live with the new reality. Some compare the situation in Kirkuk with states absorbing immigrants, arguing that to demand any change in Kirkuk is immoral, unjust and against basic human rights. Others label the demands of the Kurds on Kirkuk as irredentism or an obvious process of annexation.

In the case of Kurdistan, we confront the Arabization of Kurdish areas. Arabization was a deliberate political strategy to change the identity of target areas and cities, not a consequence of movements of people. De-Arabization requires a counter-political settlement agreed upon by Iraq's major political forces.

Kirkuk, together with other disputed territories, has become a constitutional issue in post-Saddam Iraq. Article 140 (2) of Iraq's constitution, endorsed by 82 percent of the country's voters in a referendum in October 2005, provides a clear road map for resolving this issue. It lays out a three-phase process, beginning with normalization, census and referendum. Normalization refers to changing the administrative boundaries of Arabized areas back to the pre-1968 borders, that is to say the date before Arabization became an official policy of the Baath Party, and enabling people to return to their areas of origin. Census is the next step. It will determine who will be entitled to vote in the final phase - a referendum to be carried out no later than December 31, 2007, with the objective of determining the boundaries of each administrative unit. In the case of Kirkuk and other Arabized areas, the vote will focus on belonging to the Kurdistan region or not.

Many argue that the issue of Kirkuk could determine the fate of Iraq as a newly recreated state. Some would say that if this road map, as laid out in the constitution, is implemented, the Kurdistan region will face unprecedented difficulties both internationally and regionally. Kurdish leaders argue that postponing this process, especially the referendum, will by no means lead to an easier solution. Rather, honoring the constitutional timetable is the federal government's obligation as well as a condition for its survival as a coalition government. Thus one reason for the Kurdish leadership's unwillingness to delay the process is to avoid a constitutional crisis. Once you open up the constitution for such a dramatic change, several issues, including federalism and the powers of the regions, will be subject to change.

Another argument is that the issue of Kirkuk is not about oil revenues. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has agreed to share all oil revenues. Control and management of currently producing oil fields is already settled in Article 112 of the constitution: The federal government will take responsibility together with producing regions and governorates, and not the KRG alone. For oil revenues from future fields, the KRG has proposed a revenue-sharing mechanism throughout Iraq, including potential fields in Kirkuk. If adopted by Iraq's Council of Representatives, the oil revenue issue is not behind Kurdish insistence on the implementation of the constitutional mechanism for Kirkuk.

What has become obvious in the last three years is that the focus of Kurdish leaders and opinion-makers in Kurdistan is on the issue of justice and rights. Until now several thousands returnees have been patiently waiting, in awful camps, for a peaceful settlement of the issue. Returnees have not attacked people who still occupy their properties and belongings. People seem to have accepted the idea that what has been taken away from them by force must be returned to them in a legal, peaceful and constitutional way. Among the returnees there is no obvious desire for revenge. On the contrary, many have shown a remarkable understanding that people who were part of the Arabization program should be compensated and provided with safety, protection and security as well as jobs and re-housing programs.

Politically, the Kurdish leadership and ordinary citizens seem to have accepted the idea that a peaceful settlement in Kirkuk and other Arabized areas is the only way forward, as provided by the constitution. There is also a great degree of awareness that the constitutional mechanisms also mean political uncertainties, since no one can predict with absolute certainty the outcome of any referendum.

The most important message from Kurdistan is to avoid any violent clash over Kirkuk and other Arabized areas. Many in Kurdistan argue that patience and a peaceful resolution are needed to convince all inhabitants of these areas that joining the KRG administration is a viable alternative. Discussion is well under way to ensure that once Kirkukis decide to join the KRG, an inclusive power-sharing arrangement will help to ease any potential tension. The KRG has already absorbed many Christian and other displaced persons. The KRG also has a similar internal power-sharing formula according to which diverse political actors have meaningful representation in the parliament and government.



Khaled Salih is Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman. He is also a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Southern Denmark. He is co-editor (with Brendan O'Leary and John McGarry) of "The Future of Kurdistan" in Iraq (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005). This commentary first appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter.


Article originally published by The Daily Star 18-May-07

Iraq: Exchange Rate as of April 30, 2007

Yuck!

Involve Iraq's neighbours: UAE daily


Abu Dhabi, May 18, 2007 (WAM) -- A major UAE English daily today commented on the situation in Iraq in the light of the Chatham House report which painted a bleak picture about the future of Iraq despite the frantic efforts being made to find solution to the carnage in that war-torn country.

Commenting editorially today, the Dubai-based "Gulf News" said: "On the brink of a breakdown: The Chatham House report on Iraq makes for grim reading. It states what has been obvious for months, that the Iraqi government is now largely powerless and irrelevant in many parts of the country.

"It goes on to warn that there is not one war but many local civil wars, and urges a major change in US and British strategy, such as consulting Iraq's neighbours more. It is a damning indictment of US and British policy in Iraq.

"It is clear that four years after the invasion, Iraq is fast becoming a theme park for terrorism. But as bleak as the picture is, it could get worse.

"Iraq, the report says, is in danger of splitting. If this occurs the bloodshed will be far greater than the carnage we are already witnessing.

No one it seems is taking responsibility for one of the great disasters of modern history.

"It is worth repeating the basic fundamentals, Iraq under Saddam Hussain had no connection to 9/11, was a vociferous enemy of Al Qaida and possessed no weapons of mass destruction. Yet today it is in a state of terror, with a real Al Qaida presence.

"Of course, it is easier to diagnose what is wrong than to fix it. But it is clear that whatever the solution to Iraq is, it must involve its neighbours. Spending billions of dollars on a military campaign that cannot secure the country is ridiculous.

"A massive programme of reconstruction, headed by the regional neighbours will bring immediate benefits to the besieged population. There is no military solution to what is happening in Iraq and there will be no solution until the Iraqi people feel not only that they have a stake in society but that there is a society worth having a stake in.


Article originally published by WAM (Emirates News Agency) 18-May-07

US Army Seeks $20B In Armored Vehicles To Use In Iraq-Report


Friday, May 18, 2007

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Army has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to approve spending nearly $20 billion for up to 17,770 heavily armored vehicles for use in Iraq, USA Today reported Friday, citing a memo.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren, in a May 15 memo to Gates, requested the vehicles, which would be shipped to Iraq by July 2009, the newspaper reported. When combined with requests for the vehicles from other services, the cost amounts to around $25 billion, according to Pentagon records, the newspaper reported.

The vehicles, called Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, are popular with the Pentagon for their increased protection against improvised explosive devices.

Eight companies are competing for contracts to build the vehicles.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 18, 2007 09:16 ET (13:16 GMT)

Talabani: blocks talks to restore stability

Friday, May 18, 2007 09:32 GMT

President Jalal Talibani studied with the Communist Party delegation a number of political and security issues in the country. Party’s General Secretary, Hamid Majid Moussa, affirmed that the discussions tackled the talks between the parliamentarian blocks in order to enlarge the participation in decision-making and to solve the hindrances that are obstructing the democratic process.






Moreover, Talibani met with the US Ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker. During the meeting the two men reviewed the latest progress that is taking place in the country on the security and political levels.
Talibani stressed that the steps that has been taken and the meetings and discussions that took place lately between the political blocks would have an important role in enhancing and evolving the role of the institutions. Thus, stability and security would be established.
However, the US ambassador valued the efforts exerted to converge points of views between all the political forces, which will contribute in achieving the Iraqi people’s interest.
Furthermore, Talibani met the Chinese Ambassador Chin Chaw Dong and discussed with him the situation in the country.
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© 2007 Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite Network

Iraq Council bans administrative corruption

Thursday, May 17, 2007 08:51 GMT

The Iraqi government announced the formation of a joint council to fight administrative corruption. The Council’s role consists of counseling, establishing an academy to fight corruption and encourage the principles of professional conduct.






For his part, the government’s Secretary General Ali Al Allaq reiterated the council’s counseling role in suggesting a legislation for fighting administrative corruption.
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© 2007 Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite Network

In Iraq, the stakes are high on all sides
By Ahmed Aboul Gheit The Boston GlobePublished: May 18, 2007



CAIRO:

'Iraq's neighbors have everything at stake here," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said recently to emphasize the link between the future of Iraq and the future of the Middle East. Yet, the region - Egypt in particular - needs no reminder of this stark reality.

The stakes are indeed high. Iraq's slide into ethnic conflict and internal fragmentation poses enormous challenges for the region's stability. If left to fester, Iraq's sectarian fault lines will spill beyond its borders. The growing vacuum left by the breakdown of central authority will be filled by the rising influence of ethnic and tribally based militias.

Iraq's neighbors will strive to fill that vacuum, thus increasing the propensity for intervention in Iraq's internal affairs, both to prevent the chaos from spreading to their own borders, and to cultivate proxies among Iraq's protagonists to increase their influence.

All this will turn Iraq into a regional hub for terrorism similar to, if not worse than, that which prevailed in Afghanistan during the 1990s as it disintegrated into civil war in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal.

In such an environment, the region's aspirations for a better future will no doubt be challenged.

Egypt has long recognized the link between regional stability and internal reform. After pioneering the path of peace that resulted in our peace treaty with Israel, Egypt embarked on a process of internal transformation from a centrally managed economy to one based on the private sector that achieved a 7 percent rate of growth; from a single-party political system to one based on multi-party pluralism. We know full well that sustaining this transformation requires a conducive regional environment; one that faces a profound challenge in the form of a collapsing Iraq.

Despite Egypt's disagreement with the United States over the invasion, this has not detracted from its efforts to ensure the emergence of a viable Iraq.

Egypt was pivotal in forging an Arab consensus that allowed for acceptance of the Iraqi Governing Council into the Arab League following the war.

President Hosni Mubarak's recent meeting with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is clearly indicative of Egypt's support for his efforts at political reconciliation. It was this fundamental position that lay behind Egypt's hosting of the recent ministerial conference on Iraq, bringing together Iraq's neighbors and the international community to forge a new "International Compact" with Iraq.

Yet, as the region and the international community increase their support for Iraq, the greater burden falls on the Iraqi government to implement the hard steps necessary for security and political reconciliation.

Critical among these is the revision of the Constitution to provide a framework for greater integration of Iraq's Sunni population into the political process. Complementing this must be a serious effort to reverse the de-Baathification process that has fueled much of the rejectionism among the Sunnis, and deprived Iraq's bureaucracy of the talent needed for the effective functioning of the civil service.

Closely linked with this is the revival of the Iraqi Army, an institution that has historically constituted a pillar of unity among Iraq's various ethnic groups.

The militias that now ravage innocent populations on all sides of the sectarian divide must be dismantled and integrated into the ranks of Iraq's regular security forces.

The urgency of this objective cannot be emphasized enough; there can be no future for Iraq if the government's monopoly on the use of force is challenged by sub-state entities that undermine the very foundations of the state. All of this would pave the way for launching a national reconciliation process that would ensure that Iraq's politics are organized around a solid framework of national unity, rather than on the shaky foundations of sectarianism.

The deliberations of the ministerial conference at Sharm El-Sheikh reflected a general consensus regarding these objectives. They also generally reflect the benchmarks the United States itself has set for the Maliki government.

If Iraq is to avoid the dangerous slide toward civil war, the Iraqi government must demonstrate a commitment to place Iraq firmly on the path of reconciliation, rather than remain beholden to the sectarian agendas that threaten Iraq's very unity.

There can be no mistake: A failed state in Iraq will present the region - and the world - with a dire security challenge for decades to come.

The stakes in Iraq are clear. The responsibility of the region and the international community to ensure Iraq's emergence as a unified, viable, independent state is equally clear. That objective must begin with the Iraqis themselves, for it is they who must assume ownership for their future. We can only hope that the Iraqi government recognizes the heavy burden it must now carry.