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

Iraq says Syria 'crossed red line' over Kurds
Talabani slams Assad for Damascus’ promise to support Turkish incursion in northern Iraq.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani slammed his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad's support for a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to tackle Kurdish rebels, a newspaper said on Saturday.

"President Assad's remarks are dangerous and run contrary to the spirit of Arab solidarity," Talabani, himself a Kurd, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

"Usually I would refrain from commenting on Syrian positions in order to preserve our historic ties, but this time I am unable to support this dangerous crossing of red lines."

On Wednesday Assad said he would support a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq against Turkish Kurdish rebels, calling such action Ankara's "legitimate right."

Syria and Turkey both oppose any Iraqi Kurdish attempt to break away from the central government in Baghdad, fearing that this could fuel separatist ambitions among their own Kurds.

"How can the president of an Arab state support military intervention against the Iraqi republic?" Talabani was quoted as asking. "This is a serious matter and damaging to relations between the two countries.

"The Syrian president should have commented as the Americans and Europeans did, saying they preferred a diplomatic solution, even if he understands the Turkish position."

On Wednesday the Turkish parliament authorised military strikes in Kurdish-held northern Iraq within a year against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which uses the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets across the border.

"I have personally visited Syria, and our two countries have joint commissions working on current projects. I am really astounded at this unfriendly stance taken by Syria," Talabani told the daily.

Assad is the first Arab leader to come out in favour of Turkish action against PKK bases in Iraq.

The PKK, which has waged a 23-year armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey, is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community.

Assad later finetuned his position, calling on Ankara to give Baghdad a chance to tackle the rebels.

"The problem cannot be resolved by being considered only as a military and security problem. Results cannot be obtained without the backing of political efforts," the Turkish newspaper Radikal quoted him as saying on Friday.

In January, when Talabani made the first visit to Syria by an Iraqi president for nearly 30 years, Assad pledged that Damascus would work with the Iraqi authorities to "eradicate terrorism."

Iraq says Syria 'crossed red line' over Kurds | Iraq Updates

PUK Politburo Holds a Meeting

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Politburo held a meeting yesterday in Sulaimaniyah city to discuss the results of the meeting between Presidents Talabani and Barzani.

The Politburo once more repeated its call for claiming the situation between Turkey and PKK, because wars only bring destruction, especially it is the time of dialogue, policy and diplomacy.

The meeting also stressed that the citizens of Kurdistan Region do not want to be harmed by this war, and it called the two parts to announce an armistice and calm the situation.

PUKmedia :: English - PUK Politburo Holds a Meeting

Turkey Insists on Pursuing PKK Elements

A security meeting held in the Presidency Palace in the attendance of the Turkish President Abdullah Gul, PM Rajab Tayeep Erdoghan and the Chief of Staff Yashar Biokannet. The meeting lasted for five and a half hours to discuss the military procedures against PKK.

A statement issued from the meeting calls the citizens to be patient, and that the PKK operation was aiming to deteriorate the security and stability in Turkey.

The Turkish President office announced that Turkey is ready to pay the price for defeating PKK in the north of Iraq, and that Turkey is respecting the safety of Iraqi soil but it won’t gave up from protecting its rights, laws, unity and citizens.

On his side, PM Rajab Tayeep Erdoghan said that the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requested Turkey to wait a few days before moving against the PKK elements in Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

PUKmedia :: English - Turkey Insists on Pursuing PKK Elements

This is an interview with President Talabani on the PKK - Turkey Crisis.

It's quite long so I will just put the link in for anyone who wishes to read it :-


PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi President Talabani on the PKK-Turkey Crisis

Zebari and Mualem Hold Talks on the Tension between Iraq and Turkey

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari talked today on phone with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Mualem about Iraq issue and Syrian president, Bashar Assad’s discussion with Turkish senior officials during his last visit to Turkey.

A statement from Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that Mualem, with his counterpart, stressed the importance of finding a quick solution for the Iraqi Turkish tension to put an end to PKK activities in Turkey.

On the other hand, Zebari thanked the Syrian people and government for giving importance to this issue.

PUKmedia :: English - Zebari and Mualem Hold Talks on the Tension between Iraq and Turkey

President Talabani: PKK May Imminently Announce a Cease Fire

In an interview with the 32nd Day program which is introduced by the famous Turkish reporter Mohammed Ali Berand, the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that PKK may announce a cease fire imminently.

President Talabani repeated his call for PKK to stop violence and turns into a political party.

In answering a question about his opinion about PKK as a terrorist organization, he said “if PKK continues his mortal operations and violence, we will consider it as a terrorist organization, otherwise we will consider it as a political one.”

And about handing over the PKK leaders, his Excellency said “we can not do that, because they are living in a very rough area. Turkish leaders must understand that we are against all the forms of violence, and we call on PKK again to stop violence.”

About the rumors that say there is a support for PKK elements in Kurdistan Region, Talabani said “these are certainly rumors no more, they are incorrect, we supported our Turkish brothers.”

President Talabani also stressed having good relations with Turkey.

In the other part of the program, the U.S. National Security Council spokesman Mr. Gordon Jondro said that “President Bush has condemned the armed attack of PKK against Turkish forces, and he expressed his condolences to the soldier’s families.”

”The Iraqi government and the Kurdish Administration should move quickly to stop PKK’s military operations inside Iraq”, the spokesman added.

PUKmedia :: English - President Talabani: PKK May Imminently Announce a Cease Fire

Oil Laws - Colonising Iraq’s Economic Prize

This is a long article about the Oil Law (mainly repeating what we already know) put together by British Journalists. Interesting read.

Oil Laws - Colonising Iraq’s Economic Prize

Oil prices ease in Asia de****e Turkey-Iraq tensions UPDATE

Oil prices eased from record highs in Asia on Monday even as tensions escalated further along the Turkish border with Iraq.

New York's key oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, was 60 cents lower at 88.00 dollars a barrel in afternoon trade.

Analysts cited profit-taking as the contract closed down 87 cents at 88.60 dollars in New York on Friday, after hitting a record 90.07 dollars earlier.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery dropped 38 cents to 83.41 dollars per barrel. The contract hit a record 84.88 on Thursday.

Crude prices blazed a record-breaking trail last week as Turkey set the stage for a possible military incursion into oil-producing northern Iraq.

But David Johnson, an analyst with Macquarie in Hong Kong, said fears over the impact of the tensions on oil prices may have been overblown.

"We're talking about one pipeline that carries about 600,000 barrels a day, under threat," Johnson said. "There was nothing else really under threat."

Turkey said Sunday it was ready to pay any price to win victory over Kurdish separatists after 12 soldiers and 32 rebels were killed in heavy clashes near the border with Iraq.

Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul however said after talks with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that Ankara did not have urgent plans to cross the border.

Turkey accuses the rebels of launching assaults from Iraqi territory.

A falling US dollar has helped support the record-high prices. A weak greenback makes commodities priced in the US unit cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies and therefore boosts demand for crude.

The dollar suffered fresh losses Monday, falling to a record low 1.4347 dollars against the euro before easing back to 1.4323 by mid-afternoon trade in Tokyo.

Analysts have also expressed concern about tight fuel supplies going into the Northern hemisphere winter.

Iran said Saturday that the real price of oil is actually less than 50 dollars a barrel.

"Oil is still cheap," Iran's acting Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said in an interview at the weekend. His country is the number-two exporter in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel.

Nozari argued that calculations based on current inflation rates and depreciation of the dollar's value, as well as high costs of oil and gas projects, puts oil's true price at less than 50 dollars a barrel.

Oil prices ease in Asia de****e Turkey-Iraq tensions UPDATE

ID10B to develop garages in Baghdad and provinces

Transportation Ministry allocated ID10B to develop some of public garages in Baghdad and provinces, authorized source in the Ministry said.

He added that State Company of Private Transportation Management would repair some of these garages in Karbala, Najaf and Babil after Cabinet allocated the needed money for it. He mentioned that those garages, 171 garages, were built within 1980s and 1990s and suffer from oldness and crowd because cars' whereas need to build more than 150 garages throughout country.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=4764

Over ID 6B to Improve Hilla, Mosayab, Mahaweel

Municipality and general works ministry specified 6,733 billion dinar to improve both of Hilla, Mosayab and al-Qasim districts in Babel province, while specified 5 billion dinar to improve the northern area of Babel including the complementary budget for the current year 2007.General director of Babel municipality department Abdul Hussein Hadi said that, the finance specifications include number of the carrying out number of the projects such as paving the roads, building the markets, establishing the gardens besides building other gardens in the mentioned above districts.On the other hand, Hadi pointed that, the ministry study currently a suggestion to establish a department interests in offering the municipality services for the big villages in the provinces.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=4765