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

Originally Posted by Wm.Knowles

Hello everyone. From this article, we can see that our position that the CBI has been/is decreasing the base money supply is in line.. I will not restate all of the good reasons why this was necessary due to inflation and the need to "dry" up the money supply, but one can reason that this is exactly what would be needed prior to any significant appreciation of the dinar. We also need to add the additional piece that the Iraqis are increasing their savings rates in the banks due to the gradual appreciation of the dinar and the increase in interest rates payable to accounts, which are probably in the double digits. So, the iraqis have the best of all worlds, high interest rates on their accounts and appreciation of the dinar, therefore, changing the economy into one that had a lot of distrust for the banks and a cash based economy, into one where dinar (cash) would be deposited into the banks and provide some of the cash the local banks have been selling to the CBI at the auctions. In effect, "parking" the money instead of allowing it to circulate around the economy. (IMHO). Any fundamental that supports a decrease in supply is excellent news, the change in the economy would also incourage a change in demand. Enticing the iraqis to save/horde/acquire dinar, therefrore increasing demand. All good for us. As stated before, IMHO debt and inflation were the killers of this investment, and that political concerns would eventually be worked out. But, until the inflation rate and the debt issues were resolved, little would happen. It seems that in bopth of these areas we have seen excellent progress. Debt started out around 140 B and I recently saw a relort that foreign debt is now around 20 to 25 Billion. the last reliable reports of inflation for March were reported to be 30 plus percent with one around 23%. Since inflation was 77% last August, this reduction is another piece of excellent news and we have yet to see the rates for April. We have also seen many reliable reports that on the streets of Iraq, dinar is not available. Very different from when I was there in '04 when you could buy this stuff on the side of the road. So the question is, "what will they do now"? IMHO, the same thing they have been. Slowly removing dinar from the economy untill they achieve their target level and gradually reduce the exchange rate until they to another target level, and then the currency will appreciate. IMHO the HCL is important. While they may have the means to significanly appreciate the currency now, the HCL provides Insurrance that inclome levels will be adequate in the upcoming years to continue to support the economy. So It all good for us and IMHO this horse race is on the last lap. Thank You.

If I am not wrong, I remember reading that there is $8 Billion stored somewhere in the USA who belong to Iraq.

If you think, RV at $3 and sunddenly all the debt are paid off.

Not bad.....

Iraq : 267 billion dinars to compensate Progress Kirkuk

(صوت العراق) - 18-05-2007

(Voice of Iraq) - 18-05-2007

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Irbil (May 18) and the agency (Lucky) Italian News-According to Kurdish sources, the Iraqi government allocated a substantial budget this year of 267 billion dinars, to compensate Kurdish and Turkoman families displaced from Kirkuk under a policy of "ethnic cleansing" exerted by the Saddam regime. Iman said Jalal Eddin, Financial Adviser to the Supreme Committee of rule 140, in a statement to the newspaper (Cordstani Noi) Kurdish today that the "Iraqi Prime Minister expressed his approval for the allocation of the budget among other expenditures in next year's budget 2008 for the same purpose." The allocation of this amount comes in the context of the application of Article 140 of the Constitution relating to the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk, while not yet decided Baghdad government special budget to compensate Arabs coming to the city. Although responsible Kurdish did not address the issue of compensation Arabs, but noted that "the payment of compensation to evacuees and arrivals are normally not encountered any obstacles."His friend pointed Kachrch head of the Office of Article 140 in Kirkuk that "there are many circles chauvinism stand against the implementation of article without owns a substitute for how to re flouted rights of owners." He said "we note these days chauvinistic attitudes of certain parties, which calls for normalization of the situation Kirkuk without holding a referendum on the fate, and this is inconsistent with the Constitution."

A friend, "there 100 subcommittee distributed to the preservation process started distributing forms for financial compensation, which completed its work without any problems, and is expected to complete its work of the commissions soon."

(Shs/Aki)

(Shs/Aki)

Translated version of http://www.sotaliraq.com/

Iraqi backs 'benchmark' action
By David R. Sands
18 May 2007 (Washington Times)


Iraq's parliament should pass a new oil law and make progress on amending the constitution before the end of the month, two key "benchmarks" being demanded by U.S. officials, a top Iraqi official said yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, one of the highest-ranking Kurdish officials in the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said that despite the increasingly pessimistic debate in Washington, Iraqi lawmakers should take action on both difficult issues in the coming days.

Mr. Salih said Iraqis are watching the U.S. debate over the Iraq war with mounting concern, saying that even recent signs of progress in Iraq are being overlooked in the partisan debate here.
"I know a lot of my colleagues are worried and watching the debate here very closely," he said in remarks at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. "Every nuance is analyzed -- maybe overanalyzed."

President Bush has rejected efforts by congressional Democrats to condition funding for the Iraq war on hard-and-fast benchmarks.
But both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney have said in recent days that progress by the Iraqi government on the oil law and other key measures was essential for continued U.S. military and economic support.

Other U.S. benchmarks for the al-Maliki government include holding new provincial elections and amending the near-blanket ban on government and military posts for former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party.
Showing the sensitivity in Baghdad to the U.S. debate, both Mr. Salih and Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said in Washington in recent days that the Iraqi parliament will cut short a planned two-month recess scheduled to begin in July and may cancel it altogether.

U.S. lawmakers had angrily denounced the summer break at a time when terror strikes and anti-government insurgent attacks show no signs of easing.
Finding a way to share Iraq's vast oil wealth is considered vital to finding a political accommodation satisfying Iraq's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions. One key sticking point has been the payment mechanism to ensure that each region gets its fair share of the oil profits.

The Kurds have also fiercely objected to a draft oil law issued in February and revised last month. They say it would place more than 90 percent of the country's fields under a new state-controlled national oil company and scare off foreign companies who are already signing deals to develop fields in the relatively secure Kurdish-dominated north.

Many Sunni and Shi'ite politicians insist Iraq's oil wealth should be controlled by the national government. The powerful oil workers' union is also deeply suspicious of non-Iraqi investors.
Despite reports that the oil law is in trouble, Mr. Salih said yesterday, "It is still our hope that we will offer a success story by the end of the month."
He said Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan regional government, was traveling to Baghdad in the next few days to discuss compromises on the oil law.

"In any other country, such a law would take years and years to draft, even if you had stability," Mr. Salih said. "We've done the basic work in six months on what has historically been a very contentious issue."
The deputy prime minister said a parliamentary committee studying the constitution plans to issue a long-awaited report a week from today. Sunni politicians have been demanding changes to the current constitution, which they say favors Shi'ite and Kurdish interests.

A major stumbling block has emerged over the fate of Kirkuk, an oil-rich, ethnically mixed city that the Kurds see as the future capital of their region. Some lawmakers have urged a delay in a planned referendum later this year on Kirkuk's status, but Mr. Salih echoed other Kurdish lawmakers yesterday in insisting the vote should go forward as scheduled.

Yesterday saw continued violence in Iraq as the U.S. military reported five U.S. soldiers were killed in four separate attacks in and around Baghdad and an additional soldier died of non-combat-related causes.
In the southern city of Basra, a Danish soldier was killed, and five were wounded by a roadside bomb. It was the seventh Danish soldier killed in Iraq.
U.S. forces continued to comb an area about 20 miles south of Baghdad, searching for three American soldiers thought to have been captured by an al Qaeda unit after an ambush Saturday. Four other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed in the attack.

Iraqi backs 'benchmark' action | Iraq Updates

DNO makes Tawke oil find
18 May 2007 (AME Info FZ LLC)

Norway's independent oil producer DNO has reported making a new discovery in its Tawke field in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, according to reports.
The Tawke-3 well gave an aggregate test flow rate of 7,000 bpd. DNO had hoped to start exports from Tawke at the end of Q1 2007, but is being held up by negotiations over a national petroleum law, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

DNO makes Tawke oil find | Iraq Updates

Iraq Industrial Revitalization Continues
The Conservative Voice - [18/05/2007]


Defense Department task force is in Baghdad again this month working with the Iraqi government to revitalize Iraq's industry and restore normalcy to the economy.

Paul Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense for business transformation, briefed reporters in Baghdad today, highlighting the group's latest efforts, including bringing international business leaders to Iraq and giving loans to Iraqi businesses.

"Our process is to engage these industrial operations, to get them restarted, to help restore intra-Iraqi demand and the ties of commerce that existed before," Brinkley said. "We are working in partnership with the government of Iraq to reestablish between different areas of the country, but also to provide access for the global community, the global economic community, to these industrial operations."

The team, which has been visiting Iraq since May 2006, has spent four and a half weeks in Iraq on this visit, Brinkley said. During that time, the Defense Department brought a group of 15 business executives from the Western and international communities to Iraq to engage with Iraqi business leaders and develop economic partnerships.

Brinkley also announced that the Defense Department, in partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry, is offering low-interest loans to Iraqi businesses. These fixed-term loans, totaling $20 million, will go to boost revitalization at about 24 businesses, he said.

"This is part of our effort to partner with the government of Iraq, to restore industrial operations, to reemploy sizeable numbers of people in Iraq, and to restore normalcy to areas of the country where stability exists," Brinkley said.

Yesterday, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of Multinational Force Iraq, visited a large textile factory in Najaf where 1,800 Iraqis have returned to work, Brinkley said. The clothing made in that factory is being reviewed by Western retail outlets and probably will appear in Western retail outlets by this fall, he said.

"We continue to work on contract negotiations with Western retailers as well as heavier industrial operations in the West who are negotiating with the minister of industry and directly with plant managers here in Iraq to move work here to acquire goods made in Iraq, and we continue to see progress on this front, and that's a very exciting development," Brinkley said.

Fawzi Hariri, the Iraqi minister of industry and minerals, also spoke at the news conference, highlighting the importance of the task force's work to the Iraqi people. The ministry of industry is working to open Iraqi business to investments from the Arab world, Hariri said, and is working with the U.S. to bridge the gap in technology that has developed in recent years.

"The team from the Department of Defense and the job they're doing by supplying us and providing us with support, this is the thing that we welcome, and it is so tangible by us, and it's one of the basic things that we've witnessed," Hariri said through a translator

Activate cooperation with Russia in oil fields
18 May 2007 (Iraq Directory)

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahrastani called on Russian companies to participate in the competitions on oil projects, including the development of fields and the establishment of refineries in all parts of Iraq, like the known global companies, after approving the oil law.
Shahrastani said during his meeting with Russian ambassador in Iraq, Vladimir Jamov: “We are discussing with Russia, ways of strengthening relations between the two friendly countries in various fields, particularly in the area of oil and gas; Iraq expresses its desire to develop relations with Russia in a way that serves the common political and economic interests between the two friendly countries”.
Shahrastani pointed out that: “it is necessary to activate the (Iraqi-Russian) joint committee, to strengthen cooperation between the two countries”, and said that:”Russian government should write off its debts on Iraq just like the countries of Paris Club did, and which Russia is one of its members, but has not done so yet; however Iraq expects such initiative from Russia at the International Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh”.
He continued that: “Iraq would not commit to any contract concluded outside the framework of the existing laws that limit the negotiation and contracting in the area of oil and gas to the Oil Ministry, pending the enactment of the new oil and gas law”, adding: “foreign companies must conclude contracts only through the federal government and the Ministry of Oil which warns companies that violate Iraqi laws to bear the responsibility of their actions”. He pointed out that: “any contract in Iraq outside the federal government is considered illegal”.

Activate cooperation with Russia in oil fields | Iraq Updates

Iraq is open for investments in «refining» to Iranian companies

Source : Statement UAE-18 / 05 / 2007

A spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry that Iraq invited the Iranian companies to make offers to participate in the construction of four oil refineries at least in the different areas of Iraq. He explained Assem Jihad «invited Iranian companies to come forward with offers to build oil refinery, the ministry has already announced that it intends to set up».

Iraq wants to build at least four lines to help solve the problem of the chronic shortage of fuel. The ministry said last year that it wants to build a refinery south of Baghdad, Mesopotamia direct capacity is expected to reach 140 thousand barrels per day. The refinery in the north Koya card 70 thousand barrels per day. Iraq also intends to build a refinery Nasiriyah in southern Iraq for the purposes of export capacity of 300 thousand barrels per day and another refinery in southern Amarah. In Iraq, eight lines not affected any of them during the invasion. Officials say that the oil sector refineries operating at between 50 and 75% of their capacities, forcing Baghdad to import most of its fuel.

On the other hand, the Iraqi oil ministry that the American report warned Iraq that it loses up to 15 million dollars a day because of the smuggling and theft of crude oil is inaccurate and false statements. Assem Jihad, spokesman for the Ministry told Reuters that the report mixing raw data including left with the raw products and other smuggling such quantities without American covered by the security forces is extremely difficult. The «figures reported figures are unreasonable and wrong does not depend on the basis». He continued, «the smuggling of crude oil is very complex and almost impossible. It is not the economic feasibility of smugglers because they require a division ».

The government accounting office in the United States had said earlier that up to 300 thousand barrels per day of production likely to disappear, while the Iraqi oil sector is facing difficulties because of equipment consuming attacks and sabotage and years of neglect in pumping 2 million barrels per day. The bureau said there is a difference between one hundred thousand and 300 thousand barrels per day of daily data for the production of Iraqi oil supplied by the Foreign Ministry and supplied by the Energy Information Administration of the Ministry of American Energy.

In this context, Al Jihad «say it is a hundred to 300 thousand likely smuggled outside the official accounts. This could not be, because this quantity needed between 1500 and 5000 cars. This very large number so that the possibilities outside the Oil Ministry itself ». He continued, «American forces in control of the outlets southern security belt. We are not also on the Shatt al-Arab pipeline and outlets for the smuggling of such quantity ». The Jihad, there will be differences between the production data daily and monthly data. He said «Yes, there is a difference between the figures for production and daily figure in the last month, because the quantity that we declare them part of the daily ratios water and gas and all that come with crude oil». He believed that this was normal because of the lack of counters and there are differences between the data but not because of smuggling, not the size that the report pointed out that the differences might amount to about one hundred thousand barrels per day.

Oil is the mainstay of the Iraqi economy represents 70% of GDP and provides 95% of government revenues. This comes as stated in the report consistent with a previous report offered a study of Iraq in December 2006 which said that up to 500 thousand barrels of Iraqi oil per day steals. Her co - that Iraq needed a system for measuring oil and maintain a greater degree.

Top US official concedes country had stepped close to 'edge of the abyss'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baghdad, 18 May 2007 (Reuters)
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Iraq stepped close to 'the edge of the abyss' but is showing signs it can meet political benchmarks set as vital steps towards reconciliation, Washington's top official in Iraq said yesterday.

Progress was being made on a revenue-sharing oil law, legislation to allow former members of Saddam Hussain's Baath party to take up public posts and on constitutional reform, the three key milestones Washington has set Baghdad's leaders.

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said he was encouraged Iraq had not slipped back into the widespread sectarian violence of a year ago, despite the continued provocation of horrific car bombings, but conceded patience was not "limitless".

"If I had to evaluate today, and looking purely at the security situation, as devastating as the Al Qaida-led chain of suicide vehicle attacks is, that does not in my mind suggest the failing of the state or of society," Crocker told reporters.

Stark contrast

Crocker's relatively upbeat assessment was in stark contrast to a report by British think-tank Chatham House which said Iraq was on the verge of collapse, with the government unable to exert its authority across huge swathes of the country.

Washington is pouring tens of thousands of extra troops into Iraq in a last-ditch bid to avert all-out sectarian civil war.

The tactic was adopted to buy time for Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government to reach political benchmarks seen by Washington as crucial to national reconciliation.

Washington's top general in Iraq will deliver a progress report in September.

"If this were September I think it would be a terrible mistake to conclude that, because they've been able to mount these attacks, that therefore it isn't working, it isn't going to work and we just all need to pull stakes," Crocker said.

"Sometimes it can be the case that you've got to look over the edge to see how deep the abyss really is," he said.

Some progress has been made on the hydrocarbon law but the central government and autonomous Kurdistan in Iraq's north are at loggerheads over annexes to draft legislation that will decide control of the world's third largest oil reserves.

Crocker said officials from Kurdistan will travel to Baghdad in the next few days to thrash out last-minute disputes, with a deadline set for the end of May.

A committee this week agreed to send to parliament a plan to reform the constitution but significant difficulties lay ahead.

The constitutional amendments extend its work and make progress on some controversial points ...


Baghdad-5-18 : The Iraqi Accord Front that the question of withdrawal from the political process depends decisively political consensus on the constitutional amendments proposed by the one in the paper at a time when the political blocs constitutional period necessary to resolve the issue of constitutional amendments further two weeks.

He said Salim Abdullah, deputy Accord Front, told «life» the political blocs completed discussion paper put forward by the Front includes 55 observation regarding amendments to the Constitution be approved. He pointed out that a percentage of the political consensus between the blocs on certain issues.

He stressed that the political blocs demanded specific notice of the results that have been reached on the question of amendments to the heads of the blocs to reach final agreement in which, He noted that there were no differences between the blocks on some major issues most important powers of the government and the Territory and links oil wealth and distributed to the regions as well as the identity of Iraq and the issue of Kirkuk.

Abdullah said that «the Front serious and clear in the decision to withdraw in the event of failure to reach political consensus on the final issues, noting that for a real perception by some political parties offering alternative Sunni parties in the event of withdrawal from the political process».

The Wael Abdel Latif deputy Iraqi bloc, the political blocs that extended the work of the constitutional amendments after the prescribed period on the 16th of May (May) being the hope of reaching a final consensus on the subject included all outstanding issues between the political blocs.

He told «life» to the Constitutional Commission completed its discussion of the Russian Federal Council and fresh and Alhayat independent of the government also reached an agreement in the diplomatic offices of the regions outside the country, serving briefly powers of those offices to educational and cultural affairs of the States and Territories with inaction diplomatic offices independent of the government.

He added that this agreement «came to prevent the fragmentation of Iraq's sovereignty and limit the powers of political and diplomatic vast regions of the political blocs also agreed to resolve an average of the identity of Iraq».

He pointed out that the main outstanding points of difference in the distribution of wealth is oil and gas between the provinces and federal Patriotism Guard Territories.


Objection Kurds

He accused the leadership of the Kurdistan Alliance Mahmoud Othman political parties obstructing the application of Article 140 of the Permanent Constitution of the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk, rejecting calls made by the Iraqi Ctlta compatibility and to postpone the application of article which was considered by the existing Iraqi Accord Front «time bomb» in the Iraqi body.A number of clan elders rejected the application of rule Kirkuk and all decisions of the Special Committee.

He accused Othman told the «life» number of political parties trying to evade constitutional obligations already approved by inviting them to postpone the application of Article 140 to a later date, saying that a clear constitutional violation

The Accord Front, a list of some Iraqi parties in the coalition bloc opposes standardized procedures normalization, pointing out that the reason for rejection was due to a misunderstanding in terms of the constitutional article, saying that it had not specialize city of Kirkuk alone but include other Iraqi cities, which witnessed the ethnically similar and attempt to change Demogeravitha population.

He pointed out that «Turkish intervention in Kirkuk cast a shadow over the deputies Iraqis and Turkoman parties oppose Article 140 through conferences and meetings that have been held in Istanbul and Ankara, and the attempt to mobilize public opinion against the constitutional article on the Talibam and the Kurds on the other.

Osman pointed out that the Iraqi government's attitude was positive article constitutional formed through the Special Committee for application and approval decisions, but they appear to be subjected to pressure by some parties to obstruct normalization procedures in the city.

He strongly rejected the Kurdistan Alliance postpone the application and the constitutional article calling for it to achieve self-interests, explaining that there were no obstacles or impediments to the implementation of Article 140 three stages.

The Sami military, the deputy in the «United Iraqi Alliance» close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said there was agreement in principle to postpone the implementation of Article 140, explaining that «could not at the present time the implementation of this Article of the Constitution on the ground, especially as specific schedule ends another year.

Referring to the proposal from some quarters to extend term for another year based on the position of the United Nations, which has the primary topic of the referendum and said it could not carry out its work «at the present time».

For his part, deputy Iraqi List Wael Abdel Latif told «life» that «the issue of Kirkuk is a time bomb in the Iraqi body and a candidate to explode at any moment because of the incompatibility exists within the city in applying the procedures of normalization, It is better to avoid a crisis within the city careful application and non-urgent because the political and security situation does not allow this current application and lead to internal strife, which appeared to occur looming on the horizon after the divergent views of the city's population over the recent recommendations of the Commission which was hasty and «Ghazelt» Kurds in several aspects of it a »


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Wolfowitz Resigns, Ending Long Fight at World Bank

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/wa..._r=1&th&emc=th

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: May 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, May 17 — Paul D. Wolfowitz, ending a furor over favoritism that blew up into a global fight over American leadership, announced his resignation as president of the World Bank Thursday evening after the bank’s board accepted his claim that his mistakes at the bank were made in good faith.

Paul D. Wolfowitz at his home in Chevy Chase, Md., after resigning yesterday from the World Bank in exchange for clearing ethics charges.

Wolfowitz Said to Push for Deal to Quit (May 17, 2007)
Text: Statements by World Bank and Wolfowitz (May 17, 2007) The decision came four days after a special investigative committee of the bank concluded that he had violated his contract by breaking ethical and governing rules in arranging the generous pay and promotion package for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion, in 2005.

The resignation, effective June 30, brought a dramatic conclusion to two days of negotiations between Mr. Wolfowitz and the bank board after weeks of turmoil.

“He assured us that he acted ethically and in good faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution, and we accept that,” said the board’s directors in a statement issued Thursday night. “We also accept that others involved acted ethically and in good faith.”

In the carefully negotiated statement, the bank board praised Mr. Wolfowitz for his two years of service, particularly for his work in arranging debt relief and pressing for more assistance to poor countries, especially in Africa. They also cited Mr. Wolfowitz’s work in combating corruption, his signature issue.

Mr. Wolfowitz said he was grateful for the directors’ decision and, referring to the bank’s mission of helping the world’s poor, added: “Now it is necessary to find a way to move forward. To do that I have concluded that it is in the best interests of those whom this institution serves for that mission to be carried forward under new leadership.”

Mr. Wolfowitz’s negotiated departure averted what threatened to become a bitter rupture between the United States and its economic partners at an institution established after World War II. The World Bank channels $22 billion in loans and grants a year to poor countries.

But he left behind a place that must heal its divisions and overhaul a flawed, cumbersome structure that had allowed the controversy over Mr. Wolfowitz to spread out of control.

People close to the negotiations said that Mr. Wolfowitz had agreed not to make major personnel or policy decisions between now and June 30. Some bank officials said he might go on an administrative leave and cede day-to-day functions to an acting leader, but that might not be decided until Friday.

President Bush earlier in the day praised Mr. Wolfowitz at a news conference but signaled that the end was near by saying he regretted “that it’s come to this.” A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said, “We would have preferred that he stay at the bank, but the president reluctantly accepts his decision.”

More important for the bank’s future, Mr. Fratto said, President Bush will soon announce a candidate to succeed Mr. Wolfowitz, quashing speculation that the United States would end the custom, in effect since the 1940s, of the American president picking the bank president.

Many European officials previously indicated that they would go along with the United States’ picking a successor if Mr. Wolfowitz would resign voluntarily, as he now has.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said Thursday that he would “consult my colleagues around the world” before recommending a choice to Mr. Bush, in what seemed to be an effort to assure allies that the United States would not repeat what happened in 2005 when Mr. Bush surprised them by selecting Mr. Wolfowitz, then a deputy secretary of defense and an architect of the Iraq war.

Leaders of Germany and France objected but decided not to make a fight over the choice and risk reopening wounds from their opposition to the war two years earlier. Some also argued that Mr. Wolfowitz, as a conservative seeking to write a new chapter in a career that had been focused on national security, might bring new support to aiding the world’s poor.

Soon after Mr. Wolfowitz took office, however, he engaged in fights in various quarters at the bank over issues including his campaign against corruption, in which he suspended aid to several countries without consulting board members, and his reliance on a small group of aides.

Mr. Wolfowitz’s resignation, while ending the turmoil that erupted in early April over the disclosure of his role in arranging Ms. Riza’s pay and promotion package, will not by itself repair the divisions at the bank over his leadership, bank officials said Thursday evening.

By all accounts, the terms of Mr. Wolfowitz’s exoneration left a bitter taste with most of the 24 board members, who represent major donor countries, as well as clusters of smaller donor and recipient countries. Most had wanted to adopt the findings of the special board committee that determined he had acted unethically on the matter of Ms. Riza.

Wolfowitz Said to Push for Deal to Quit (May 17, 2007)
Text: Statements by World Bank and Wolfowitz (May 17, 2007) But the closest the board came to criticizing Mr. Wolfowitz was saying in that “a number of mistakes were made by a number of individuals in handling the matter under consideration and that the bank’s systems did not prove robust to the strain under which they were placed.”

Also angered was the bank’s staff association, which had called for Mr. Wolfowitz’s resignation in early April. The bank’s internal blogs were filled with denunciations of the action on Thursday evening.

Late in the evening, the association issued a statement saying, “Welcome though it is, the president’s resignation is not acceptable under the present arrangement,” and that it “completely undermines the principles of good governance and the principles that the staff fight to uphold.”

The association represents most of the 7,000 full-time employees at the bank in Washington. Their unhappiness could be a crucial factor in the bank board’s ability to heal the wounds left by the fight over Mr. Wolfowitz. It appeared likely that after Mr. Wolfowitz’s departure there would be a departure of several top aides, including Robin Cleveland, who officials said was involved in the negotiations over the statements accompanying his departure.

During the day, as word spread throughout the institution that Mr. Wolfowitz was close to a deal, some officials said that one of the obstacles was his compensation package. But there was no information Thursday night on whether he would receive any sort of severance package or pension, or be reimbursed for legal fees from his long battle.

Mr. Wolfowitz’s pay package was $302,470 in salary as of 2004 — the bank pays any of the taxes on that sum — and $141,290 in expenses. His contract calls for him to be paid a year’s salary if he is terminated, but it was unclear whether his resignation would be considered a termination as defined by the contract.

Mr. Wolfowitz’s fight for vindication was led by his lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, and negotiated at the bank by the British director, Thomas Scholar, a close associate of Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the Exchequer who is to become prime minister this summer.