Thread: Iraq/Dinar News Until 5/31/2007 7:15 PM CST..

Talabani will be in the US for 3 weeks and I don't expect there will be any monetary adjustment while he is away from home.

News::Talabani to Meet with Bush at White House

Originally Posted by Inscrutable

Talabani will be in the US for 3 weeks and I don't expect there will be any monetary adjustment while he is away from home.

News::Talabani to Meet with Bush at White House

Does this trip count towards his 2 months vaction?

The Ministry of Housing and Construction to conclude contracts at 86 billion dinars.
(Voice of Iraq) - 31-05-2007 | Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Republic of Iraq
The Cabinet-National Information Center
Media Relations
Press statement / Press Release

The Ministry of Construction and Housing conclude contracts cost 86 billion dinars to implement projects Gaza public buildings

The Assembly concluded one of the buildings of the Ministry of Construction and Housing contracts amounted to a total cost (86) Dentreetraki billion for the implementation of a number of projects public buildings in Baghdad and other governorates within the investment plan for 2007 until the middle of this May.

This came during a statement undersecretary of the ministry of brocade thorns, which showed that the implementation of these projects include the building of the Housing Fund in Baghdad and the building of the Construction Engineering and the establishment of the headquarters of the ministry in the governorates (Wasit, Najaf, Diyala, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Maysan) and the development of the Safwan border in Basra and develop complex Trebil border in Maysan as well as the implementation of complementary work to the headquarters of Al-Mansour and the two companies staying in the ministry and the establishment of many of the border posts and buildings Alcetarat central provinces (Muthanna, Dhi Qar, Basrah, Salah al-Din, Babil, Karbala), in addition to many buildings, including spe******t Entraltederibe Traffic in Baghdad and the development and rehabilitation of a building major crimes and the establishment of a building for the passage of the Directorate of Baghdad.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Construction and Housing Authority and through the building's implementation and supervision of public buildings projects in all governorates, which are within the ministry's plan and has annual Cadres engineering and technical efficient in the application of the best technical specifications approved and the management of construction projects.

Mowafaq Al-Rubaie Kurds run for the chairmanship of the Article 140
(Voice of Iraq) - 31-05-2007 | Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Irbil (May 31) and the agency (Lucky) Italian News-A source in the Kurdish Parliament "that Parliament will be held next Sunday, a special meeting to discuss the obstacles that hinder, ways to implement Article 140 of the Constitution, concerning the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk, and research positions around Iraqi forces, as well as the position of the proposed constitutional amendments." Tariq essence Information Advisor to the Chairman of the Parliament in a special statement, said that "the parliament in its call those, the Minister for areas outside the province, Dr. Mohammed Ihsan, to hear the report of the findings of the Kurdish delegation in Baghdad, during his meetings with Iraqi officials about those topics, in the forefront the issue of Article 140." He disclosed that the essence of "the Kurdish leadership to take on the Iraqi government delay in the implementation of Article 140, which is non-appointment of the Chairman of the Higher Committee of the article, in its attempts to block its implementation." Meanwhile, Al Agency (Lucky) Italian news from private sources, three names put forward for the chairmanship of the works, from whom Dr Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i, the Iraqi national security adviser, who is considered the most likely candidate Kurds to assume the post, succeeding former Justice Minister Hashim Shebli who tendered his resignation. But leading Turkmen Front denied knowing the names put forward, asserting that "the Front has not received any offer by the subject." Ali Mahdi, a leading figure in the Turkmen Front in a telephone conversation with the agency (Lucky) Italian News said that the "front has not received any proposal in this regard so far, and we do not oppose the front appointment of any person to chair the Commission, but must be impartial and fair, and agreed upon by all political parties on the question of Kirkuk." For his part, deputy governor of Kirkuk, "Article 140 is the key solution to all the problems of Kirkuk, which suffered so much in the era of the former dictator." Irfan Kerkuki, who also occupies the presidency of the People's Party of Turkmenistan, in a telephone conversation said that "Kirkuk has suffered for more than 35 years under the former regime, which destroyed 750 villages belonging to the province, and the abandonment of thousands of citizens of the city of Kurds and Turkomans, and distorted features and management of many regions, Therefore, the article 140 is the key solution to all the problems of Kirkuk, it does not matter who will lead it, as much as we would like to be acceptable to all parties, and begin the actual steps for the application of this article, for the remainder of the constitutional deadline before it. " The Dr. Mowafaq Al-Rubaie friend of the Kurdish people, and defend the rights of national minorities, is good relations with the Kurdish leaders, and was present yesterday at the handover the security dossier to the territorial government, which coincided with the leaking news of his nomination by the Kurds for the presidency of the 140.

Originally Posted by tiffany

There has been NOTHING mentioned about the Oil Summit supposidly going on now...did I miss something important?

Hey Tiff, can't have an oil summit with no hydrocarbon law
It is like trying to have a party with no food, drink or guests.

President Bush will be sending one of his top aides to Iraq to assist the Iraqis "meet the benchmarks that the Congress and the President expect to get passed," he announced in a press conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Though many items of mutual concern were discussed during today's White House meeting between the Iraqi and US presidents, benchmarks appeared to have been the primary focus. Washington has been urging the Iraqis to move more aggressively on draft legislation that would address the equal distribution of oil revenue, reform the de-Baathification process, and plan for provincial elections.
O'Sullivan spent time in Baghdad early in the war, working for Jay Garner, and subsequently Paul Bremer. After returning to Washington, she joined the White House staff in October 2005, becoming Bush's top policy adviser on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan until her resignation last month.
Though O'Sullivan had said she would probably be seeking work outside the government after leaving the White House, the opportunity of the new position apparently changed her mind. President Bush says she will work directly with Ambassador Ryan Crocker, but did not detail what efforts she would undertake assisting the Iraqis to push through the pertinent legislation.



IraqSlogger: Bush to Send Meghan O'Sullivan to Iraq

Originally Posted by Inscrutable

Talabani will be in the US for 3 weeks and I don't expect there will be any monetary adjustment while he is away from home.

News::Talabani to Meet with Bush at White House

Is there really a better place to be then in the US (next to President Bush) during such a monumental, historic change?

I don't think so!

It comes down to attitude - positive or negative.

The pessimists have to be right all the time - the optimists only have to be right once (and that time is approaching!)!

Regarding the Oil Summit... there was also an article Last week or the week before that those holding it decided that since the HCL seemed to be so hottly debated... they were planning to move it to September 2-4th in Dubai give or take a day or so.. but early September

Check that... I just saw the announcement that it is to September 8th - 10th in Dubai

HD

Originally Posted by HoosierDaddy

Regarding the Oil Summit... there was also an article Last week or the week before that those holding it decided that since the HCL seemed to be so hottly debated... they were planning to move it to September 2-4th in Dubai give or take a day or so.. but early September

Check that... I just saw the announcement that it is to September 8th - 10th in Dubai

HD

Go back and look at it again two different conferences.

Spet. 2, 3 Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and Electricity Summit

Iraq Oil, Gas, Petrochemical & Electricity Summit

Sept. 8, 9, 10 International Investment in the Iraqi Oil Industry under the

New Hydrocarbon Law

CWC Exhibitions and Conferences

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Red on Red in Amiriyah
Fighting in a western Baghdad district between two insurgent groups continued for the 2nd day, eye witnesses told ITM.
The clashes erupted yesterday around noon between two groups of insurgents that are competing for control in the Amiriya district, one of Baghdad's most violent and lawless districts.

The two groups, teams actually, were later identified; on one side there's al-Qaeda and the Islamic state in Iraq and on the other there's the Islamic army and 'Jaish al-Mujahideen' (The brigades of the 1920 revolution in another account), the latter are know to be largely military and intelligence officers of the former regime as well as members of the Baath Party.

"I saw seven or eight bodies of militants who were killed in the clashes lying on the ground" one eyewitness said this morning. This was before the fighting resumed after a short pause.

Sot al-Iraq reports that machineguns, RPG's and mortars were used in the clashes and that masked men, believed to be reinforcements for al-Qaeda began pouring into the district.

Islamic extremists like al-Qaeda often clash with the pan-nationalist, less Islamic elements of insurgent groups which are largely made up former military officers and Baathists, so this is not the first time that such clashes occur in Amiriyah or Adhamiyah where both groups have strong presence but this time the clashes are fiercer and lasted longer than any previous incident.

AP has a quite different story though:


A battle raged in west Baghdad on Thursday after residents rose up against al-Qaida and called for U.S. military help to end random gunfire that forced people to huddle indoors and threats that kept students from final exams, a member of the district council said.
While I so much wish this was true, the information I received from inside Amiriyah says that the fighting was mostly between the two groups mentioned above and the intervention by the American troops was only a routine response to the spike in violence.

Either way, al-Qaeda is under pressure on more than one front and it has lost a bunch of its commanders and fighters and this is always good news.One correction to the AP story, Hajj Hameed was the chief of the Sharia courts of al-Qaeda in Amiriyah, not the leader of the network. Only god knows how many innocent people were executed by orders from this terrorist. Whether killed by Baathists, fellow terrorists, good Iraqis or American troops….Good riddance!