Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 16/08/07 - 03/11/07

The Ministry of Trade discusses economic cooperation with Tunisian and Syrian companies

The Ministry of Trade sent a delegation representing the Public Company for Trading Construction Materials to Tunisia and Syria to discuss the supply of construction materials and resolve the unsettled issues between the company and the companies in both countries.

This was confirmed by Mr. Raad Al-Mas, general manager of the Public Company for Trading Construction Materials, and added, during a press statement last Tuesday, that the company obtained approval from the Minister of Trade to send a delegation to Syria and Tunisia to make discussions with the companies we contracted with to supply health materials, within the Memorandum of Understanding, in addition to meeting suppliers in order to resolve the unsettled problems between the Company and the companies there. He added that the delegation was able to resolve all unsettled problems with the suppliers who agreed to re-test in laboratory all previous shipments which were agreed upon in earlier contracts, in addition to the agreement on the delivery of shipments to one of the Iraqi outlets or ports and then to the Company's warehouses as in the contract, and the supplier bears the transportation costs in the outlets to the company's stores.

Al-Mas said that the delegation agreed with Tunisian companies to work according to the selling fee system which Tunisian companies desire to work according to it, because it is appropriate for the work of the company and provides good potential material.

He also referred to the agreement with Syrian, Indian and Russian companies to replace the iron bars agreed upon, within the memorandum of understanding, to other articles of the material with which the Company deals to serve our Iraqi citizen in this circumstance that the country is living.

Al-Mas stressed that the visit has achieved its objectives since many unsettled issues have been resolved with the Syrian and Tunisian companies in addition to replacing previous materials with new articles which are in the interest of the Iraqi citizen. He stressed that the company has been working on new mechanisms to serve the construction movement in the country through the provision of construction materials from the best global origins.

The Ministry of Trade discusses economic cooperation with Tunisian and Syrian companies | Iraq Updates

Iraq buying $100 million of light arms from China
Iraqi president calls for faster weapons delivery from US to beef up Iraq's fledgling army.

Iraq is buying 100 million dollars of light military equipment for its police from China because the US cannot provide the materiel, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told the Washington Post's Thursday edition.


"The capacity of the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we need, even for the army. One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of the arms to the Iraqi army," Talabani said.

The Iraqi leader gave the interview to the US newspaper Wednesday while he was in Washington for talks with President George W. Bush.

According to Talabani, "only one in five Iraqi police officers is armed," the Post reported.

It said he called for "faster weapons delivery from the United States" to beef up Iraq's fledgling army.

The Post said the deal with China has raised concerns among US military analysts because Iraq's security forces already cannot account for some 190,000 weapons already provided by the United States, including 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles supplied in 2004-2005.

US officials fear some of the arms have made their way into the hands of insurgents, who are believed to have widely infiltrated police ranks.

"The problem is that the Iraqi government doesn't have -- as yet -- a clear plan for making sure that weapons are distributed, that they are properly monitored and repeatedly checked," Rachel Stohl of the Center for Defense Information think-tank told the newspaper.

An anonymous Bush administration official acknowledged the problem to the Post, saying "We're working hard just to supply our own troops."

"Our factories are working for our own troops. So it's true we don't have the ability to provide these rifles and other equipment they're looking for."


Middle East Online

Poland Won’t Withdraw its Forces from Iraq

Poland PM Yaroslao Katzinski announced that his country is not going to withdraw its forces from Iraq in ****e of the terrorism attack against its ambassador in Baghdad city yesterday.

In a press conference, he said “withdrawing is always the bad solution. It is a solution with nothing positive in it, and not to mention its ethical side.”

The Polish Interior Ministry spokeswoman Patricia Hernoytiz announced that the ambassador’s driver has been killed in the attack.

An Iraqi security sources announced that 3 road side bombs exploded successively when the ambassador’s envoy was passing.

PUKmedia :: English - Poland Won’t Withdraw its Forces from Iraq

Political Blocs Affirm their Support to the National Agreement Project

Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi received the delegations of al-Sadir Movement, al-Fadhila Party, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, Independent Arabia Bloc and other political personalities. They discussed in the meeting the political situation and the Iraqi National Agreement Project, which was introduced by al-Hashimi.

In a press conference, the vice-president said that the Accordance Front and the other political blocs are approaching to a national project which will include the whole blocs, there is real determination and a joint sense to move out from this crisis.

Al-Fadhila Party and al-Arabia Bloc expressed their full support for this project.

Hassan al-Shimari, al-Fadhila Party official spokesman said “we have discussed the project, and we found its principles similar to our party’s project.”

On his side, the head of the Independent al-Arabia Bloc announced his full support for the project.

PUKmedia :: English - Political Blocs Affirm their Support to the National Agreement Project

Are the Iraqi Kurds Really a Security Risk?

Iraqi Kurdistan could be a security risk and a political liability or it can be an asset for Turkey. Our policies will determine this. We could alienate the Kurds or we can win them. The Iraqi Kurds also have to decide whether they want Turkey as a friend or a menace.

A few months ago Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said the real issue that bothers Turkey is the existence of "Kurdistan," the semi-autonomous region of Iraq… In recent statements Turkish military leaders have proven him right.

First it was Land Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug who warned that the Kurdish entity in northern Iraq could become a source of attraction for Turkey's Kurds. On Monday Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit was much more to the point when he said that the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq would constitute a political and security risk for Turkey.

It is clear that the Turkish military is extremely unhappy with the semi-autonomous entity the Kurds have set up in the three Iraqi provinces of Duhok, Erbil and Suleimania all bordering Turkey and feel this is a threat.

This is an important position made clear by the military as it will no doubt have a bearing on the policies that Turkey wants to chart for the future of Iraq. Turkey is trying to forge a new system where the civilians will be the ******* of the country but for the time being it is clear that the military also has a say. Even if this was not the case when the issue is national security and defense even a strong civilian government would still listen to the military regarding such vital issues.

If the Turkish military is uneasy everyone has to sit and think. That includes the Iraqi Kurds.

There are some people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq who are talking about their area as "southern Kurdistan" and who refer to our southeastern Turkey as "northern Kurdistan." It is clear that this kind of talk and other nationalist sentiments have not escaped the attention of the Turkish military. There are even some who talk about the prospects of a greater Kurdistan that engulfs parts of Iran, Syria as well as a chunk of Turkey. These are dangerous views which only invite concern and in some cases enmity.

The Iraqi Kurdish leadership does not entertain such views. Hoshyar Zerbari, Nechirvan Barzani and Dr. Barham Saleh who are the future rising stars of Kurdish politics all believe in the importance of Turkey as a friend, ally and partner.

They know that once the Americans are gone and the Kurds are left on their own Turkey is the only viable ally that they can trust.

They also know that their region is heavily dependant on Turkey and will remain so in the future especially if they try to sell their oil.

We sincerely believe that it is up to Turkey to either turn the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a liability for Turkey or an asset. If we play our cards right the region will be an asset for Turkey and will never be a security risk. But if we continue to make mistakes and alienate the Kurds of the region all we will have is a liability. The Turkish military should be aware of this.

This is also valid for the Iraqi Kurds. Their policies also can turn Turkey into a menace or a friend.

PUKmedia :: English - Are the Iraqi Kurds Really a Security Risk?

Iran to increase trade with Iraq

Iran's Deputy Finance Minister has said that the country plans to increase trade deals with Iraq by active participation in Iraqi markets.

“There are some trade barriers between Iran and Iraq the most important of which, is the lack of developed border markets, the high cost of transporting goods and the restrictions imposed on them, the lack of the implementation of agreements, and lack of trade deals between the two countries' banks," Iran's Deputy Finance Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said.

Ghazanfari who is also the Head of the Trade Development Organization of Iran said last year that the organization tried to provide the proper ground for active participation in Iraq's markets by holding special trade fairs in various Iraqi cities, establishing a representative office in Baghdad, and sending a financial adviser to the Iraqi capital.

He concluded that the Trade Development Organization has held joint conferences with governors of the Iranian provinces bordering Iraq, which have resulted in the dispatch of special technical and merchandising delegations to Iraq.

Iran to increase trade with Iraq | Iraq Updates

British Policy in Iraq remains on track

One of the most notable misconceptions about British foreign policy over recent months is that with a change in government, our long-standing commitment to support the Iraqi people has gone out of the window. I have seen a lot of reporting on the British departure from Basra Palace working on the presumption that this was the end of the road for the British in Iraq. This is not true.

Those who take a careful look at the British government's statements over the past year will realize that this latest step is in line with efforts going back months to create the necessary conditions in the province of Basra for this region to be formally handed over to the Iraqis. The hand-over of Basra Palace in no way marks the end of the process, but it certainly signals our confidence that we are well on the way toward that goal.
We have always refused to set out an artificial timetable for withdrawal from Iraq on the principle that this process should happen when Iraqis are ready to take over these responsibilities and conditions on the ground are appropriate - and not based on political interests in London, Washington or anywhere else.

We are pleased that General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker in their recent report recognized the progress made by the Iraqi Security Forces, whose training has been a key task of UK forces, and we will continue to work with the Iraqis and the coalition to improve capacity where needed. We also welcome Petraeus' findings that sectarian violence across Iraq has fallen over the last eight months.

This is good news and we congratulate the Iraqi and coalition forces who have sacrificed so much to bring this about. Petraeus' report also highlighted the huge differences in security levels and the kinds of the challenges in different parts of the country; it is these qualitative differences which mean that Britain is moving toward being ready to hand over Basra, while certain other regions will continue to require a coalition presence.

I am often asked why Britain is preparing to hand over responsibilities and gradually reduce its number of troops, while elsewhere the Americans have been intensifying their levels of engagement. The simple answer is that Basra is not Baghdad. Basra has largely been unscathed by the appalling violence between Sunnis and Shiites and, although some Sunnis left the city following the increase in tensions after last year's Samarra Mosque attack, many of them subsequently returned. Neither is there a meaningful presence from Al-Qaeda or Baathists.

Rather, the majority of violence can be attributable to militias and criminal groups, jostling for position in the new political landscape. Knowing that the British presence is finite and seeking to establish their nationalist credentials, as well as fighting each other, most of these groups' firepower has been directed at British troops in recent months. Some of their shells and roadside bombs tragically have killed members of our brave forces as well as innocent civilians and there is evidence of munitions, explosives and training that link these militias to elements in Iran.

However, rather than the Iraqi authorities being perpetually reliant on foreign forces to tackle this scourge, Britain's approach has been to train Iraqis, who best understand the dynamics of their own localities, to take these responsibilities themselves. These UK efforts have resulted in a total of more than 20,000 Iraqi Police Service students trained in basic and advanced policing skills by our forces.

Over the past year and reaping the fruit of four years of training, it has increasingly been Iraqi forces planning, preparing and leading their own operations. This gaining of operational experience has reaped dividends in the readiness of Iraqi forces to take on the challenge. And far from being bogged down and over-stretched, these increasingly capable forces from the regions in the south have frequently been deployed further north where the need is greatest.

At the same time, we have not turned a blind eye to the infiltration of the police and army by militias. For it to be sustainable, it has to be Iraqis themselves who can tackle this challenge in the long term, after coalition forces have left. A lot of time, training and resources have therefore been invested in units to tackle corruption and root out bad apples. On several notable occasions, Iraqi forces have directly operated against this kind of infiltration. In the high-profile incident regarding the (very appropriately named) Serious Crimes Unit, this notorious unit was closed down.

When we handed over the other three provinces which Britain originally had responsibility for, our troops went into the phase of over-watch of these provinces; if Iraqis needed our support we would step in to assist. But when there were disturbances in Al-Amarah, de****e being put on high alert, UK forces were never needed to go in, because Iraqi forces handled this on their own. A similar situation will exist when the Basra Province is handed over; our troops will remain in Iraq for some time to come to provide support if needed, but we hope that as with these other provinces, our judgement is correct and we withdraw leaving Iraqi forces which can operate without us. Our troop levels have decreased gradually from 44,000, to around 5,000, reflecting the decreasing demands on these troops.

Another myth is that these long-declared British plans have come as a surprise to our US counterparts. In practice, since the war in 2003, we have discussed such plans on a continual basis with both Iraqis and our coalition counterparts. All of these British efforts are based on assessment by both Iraqi and coalition military experts on the ground and are minutely coordinated and discussed.

It is also vital to recognize that the solution to the challenges in Iraq is not a purely military one. A politically and economically strong and united Iraq will be much more resistant to the destructive narrative of terror and violence. The UK has invested heavily in rebuilding the crippled infrastructure in these provinces and this commitment will continue long after Basra has been fully transferred to Iraqi control.

To continue moving toward greater stability, democracy and prosperity, Iraqis need to know they have the long-term support of the international community and the solidarity of their neighbors. Huge challenges remain ahead and in parts of the country the violence continues.

The aim must be to encourage and help the Iraqi to establish stability and development in order to allow refugees to return and contribute their skills and energy toward rebuilding their homeland. At the same time, it has never been more important that we reiterate Britain's commitment to stand alongside the Iraqis in their aspiration for a brighter and better future.

British policy in Iraq remains on track | Iraq Updates

US says Finds List of Qaeda Fighters in Iraq

The US military said on Wednesday it had seized a list of some 500 Al-Qaeda members recruited to fight in Iraq from the Middle East and Europe during a raid in northwest Iraq that killed eight militants.

Major General Kevin Bergner said the September 11 raid near Sinjar targetted a senior Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, known as Muthanna, who was killed along with seven colleagues.

"Muthanna was the emir of Iraq and Syrian border area and he was a key facilitator of the movement of foreign terrorists once they crossed into Iraq from Syria," Bergner told a news conference in Baghdad.

"He worked closely with Syrian-based Al-Qaeda foreign terrorist facilitators," he added.

"During the operation, we captured multiple documents and electronic files that gave an insight into Al-Qaeda's foreign terrorist operations not only in Iraq but throughout the region," he said.

The files revealed "a list of some 500 foreign terrorists being recruited by Al-Qaeda, biographies on 143 foreign terrorists en route to Iraq or who have already arrived, including personal data, photographs, recruiters' names, route and date of entry into Iraq."

Bergner said they came from a range of countries including Libya, Morocco, Syria, Algeria, Oman, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.

The Iraqi and US governments have accused neighbouring countries such as Syria and Iran of not doing enough to check the flow of foreign fighters across their borders into Iraq.

Among the documents were pledges by foreign recruits who were committed to suicide operations, Bergner added.

US says Finds List of Qaeda Fighters in Iraq | Iraq Updates

Claims to increase allocations of the ration card

Iraqi Trade Minister, Falah Al-Sudani, approved leasing seven central markets in Baghdad and provinces to the private sector and investment companies to manage, and secure financial incomes to the government to enable it from paying the salaries of those markets employees who did not get their payments for two months.

He explained that his ministry adopts the self-financing system to pay the employees salaries, and the central markets suffer from a standstill since April 2003; most of them have been burned and their contents stolen, leaving more than 500 of their employees without work, so the state undertook ensuring their salaries. He noted that the Ministry will impose conditions on the investors to maintain the buildings as commercial centers.

The ministry is seeking the privatization of a number of institutions, and trying to balance between the rights of the employee and of the investor; among these institutions are the exhibitions companies, central markets, cars and machinery trade as well as construction materials trade. The ministry has companies that serve the ration card offered to citizens, and the minister admitted that there is reluctance in the distribution of some materials for reasons beyond the control of his ministry; he also said that the ministry is late in supplying milk, rice and cooking oil to citizens. He stressed that the ministry would compensate citizens financially for the materials that it have been unable to provide.

It is noteworthy that the material covered by the ration card formed 8 to 10% of the current year's budget, which is $ 3.17 billion, while the Ministry of Trade calls for increasing the allocations of the ration card due to the high world prices, particularly milk, wheat, sugar, oil, in addition to the high wages of global transport due to the high prices of oil; for example, the price of a ton of wheat increased from $ 219 last June to $ 362 in September, also the cost of freight of a ton increased from $130 to $192.

Claims to increase allocations of the ration card | Iraq Updates

Iraqi trade Union Leader on the current situation in Iraq

Falah Alwan, president of the Federation of Workers Councils & Unions in Iraq was recently on a short visit to Lisbon to gather some support for the workers' resistance inside Iraq. While he was here, he met some political and union activists and on 2nd October, he participated in a debate about the current situation in Iraq, from a class-struggle point of view.

He briefly presented the situation concerning the workers' movement, the effects of the invasion and occupation and the difficulties in organising workers, due to the continuing effect of Saddam-era decrees, which have been maintained by the present government. In particular, many workers in governmental pay are forbidden to organise themselves in unions - not only civil servants, but also workers in industries owned by the State.

The image one gets from Iraq through the mass-media is far from reality. The media tries to present an image which shows the workers being divided along ethnic, religious lines. But it is not so. The sectarian war has not been able to split the country. There is no civil war, but a war between factions.

Another important point is the fact that each and every political sector, namely those in power and government, has its own militia. The police and army are also penetrated by people from these militias.

Though well known in Iraq, Europe is completely unaware that some militias abduct citizens and carry out their terrorist acts using police cars and army vehicles. The previous prime minister directly furnished his own militia with equipment stolen from the army.

Every militia is seeking to win control of the State. The terrorist attacks against civilians are aimed against other armed factions, not against the occupiers.

The US troops have no stabilizing effect on this inter-militia war. In fact, after the bombing of Samara mosque, US troops stood aside and did nothing to prevent clashes between opposing factions.

The people go to their workplaces fearing that we will not come back. Women cannot walk in public unless they are escorted and are very often the subject of kidnappings. In prisons, women have been tortured and raped, both by the Americans and by the Iraqi police. But the women’s movement has been fighting back and has had some success in making life less terrifying for women prisoners. They also won a small victory with the reversal of the sentence in one trial against a woman, from the death penalty to a prison sentence.

The workers' movement is vigorous. Strikes broke out at the end of April this year in the oil sector. Both these and many other strikes have been declared illegal, but the workers go on fighting and organising.

There is a great amount of theft going on at government level, but the treasury is not devoid of any capacity to finance Iraq's reconstruction. However, it is simply allowing it to rot, in order that they can first carry out privatizations, in sectors like electrical power and distribution.

The change in situation will come from the workers' movement. The occupation is not preventing the clash between the rival groups in the struggle for power. An end to the occupation will not result in further chaos; on the contrary, because the occupation is fuelling the sectarian war, it will be easier for the workers to shift the balance towards something more favourable to their interests once the occupation is finished.

Iraqi trade union leader on the current situation in Iraq | Iraq Updates