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

PUK and KDP Politburos Hold a Meeting in Baghdad

On August 25th, both politburos of PUK and KDP held a meeting in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad for discussing the Iraqi and the Kurdistani issues.

During the meeting the challenges facing the progress of the Iraqi political process and the obstacles which hinder the performance of the Iraqi government were discussed.

Both politburos stressed on using all efforts for facing these challenges and resolving the problems for reinforcing the cabinet of PM Mr. al Maliki.

Also they stressed on widening the quadruple agreement among PUK, KDP, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), and Iraqi Daawa Islamic party.

Regarding the Kurdistani current affaires the meeting stressed on accelerating in carrying out the article 140 of the Iraqi permanent constitution through normalization of Kirkuk and its surroundings.

The meeting identified the causes and problems which hinder carrying out article 140, therefore, both politburos decided to open two offices in Baghdad and Kirkuk for following accelerating the implimentation of the article and dealing with the technical and procedural problems. Because article 140 is considered as one of the major and determining issues to the Kurdish people and hindrance of its carrying out is not acceptable in any way.

PUKmedia :: English - PUK and KDP Politburos Hold a Meeting in Baghdad

Sulaimani: arresting Terrorist

Sulaimani security forces arrested a wounded terrorist in one of the Sulaimani Ho****als.

Brigadier Hassan Nuri, chief of Sulaimani security told PUKmedia that the terrorist is an Arab from Baquba. After he was wounded in one of the terrorist operations out of Kurdistan region, he came with a forged identity and by the name of Hassan Ibrahim to one of the Sulaimani ho****als for treatment.

He also said that when we knew about this terrorist’s arrival into Sulaimani city, our forces in the ho****al arrested him and now he is under interrogation. The source did not disclose the date of the arresting and the name of the ho****al.

PUKmedia :: English - Sulaimani: arresting Terrorist

Iraqi troops deliver $38 million to Diyala province without U.S. help

For the first time, the Iraqi army has completed a money delivery without the help of U.S. troops, officials said late Thursday.

The Iraqi troops escorted a shipment of more than $38 million in cash — around 49 billion in Iraqi dinars — from the Iraqi Central Bank in Baghdad to an “undisclosed location” in Baqouba, about 50 miles north of the capital.

The money is to be used by the Diyala provincial government to pay salaries and pensions for local residents, some 70 percent of whom rely on the government for their income. From Baqouba, the money will be sent to rural banks and distributed to roughly 1.3 million people.

“The [Baqouba] bank had recently become several months behind on payments to workers and retirees, largely due to repeated attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq on convoys and Diyala-area banks,” a U.S. military news release read.

Iraq’s banking system has been a problem since the war began. Because of a relatively fragile banking infrastructure, cash transactions have always been favored. But, insurgents and thieves have targeted the banks.

In mid-July, guards of a bank in downtown Baghdad allegedly robbed it of $282 million in American currency and escaped into the city with one the largest hauls in history, Iraqi officials said.

Iraqi security officials continue to investigate the crime, but speculation was that because the robbers were able to get through the various checkpoints in Baghdad, they were tied to militias or rogue security forces. The guards reportedly slept in the bank as part of their regular duties but have not been seen since the robbery.

The heist was the second largest in Iraqi history. In March 2003, just hours before the U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq began, Saddam Hussein and members of his family took an estimated $1 billion in cash from Iraq’s Central Bank.

In that incident, Hussein’s sons and other high-ranking government officials essentially abducted bank managers, forced them to open vaults and then drove off with the money in three trucks.

At various times throughout the war, military officials have announced the finding and seizure of huge amounts of cash and gold. Much of the money has been tied to financing the insurgency.

Stars and Stripes: Iraqi troops deliver $38 million to Diyala province without U.S. help

Sulaimani Governor Warns KRG PM on the Iranian Bombardement

Mr. Dana Ahmad Majid, Sulaimani Governor, directed a letter that contained all the documents about the damages of the Iranian shelling in last few days, to Mr. Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) PM, and Mr. Omer Fatah, the deputy of KRG PM.

In the letter more than 27 villages are included with the dates of the shelling by the Iranian artilleries. The damages are the displacement of a large number of villagers from their homes, wounding of a number of people, destroying many houses and orchards in the border villages, and killing of a large number of animals.

KRG office in Tehran directed a protest letter to the Iranian Foreign Ministry concerning the issue.

PUKmedia :: English - Sulaimani Governor Warns KRG PM on the Iranian Bombardement

Jundiani: It was Decided that a Joint Envoy to be Sent to the US

Mr. Azad Jundiani ,PUK Leadership Committee member and head of PUK Central Media Office , said during the recent ongoing meetings between both PUK and KDP politburos in Baghdad it was decided that a joint envoy to be sent to the US for delivering the Kurdistani view point closely to the US administration concerning the latest developments on the Iraqi arena.

This visit will have its impacts on the Kurdish –American relations, as well as the progress of the current situations in Iraq particularly the report which general David Petraeus and ambassador Ryan Crocker to the US congress on med of the next month, Mr. Azad Jundiani added.

He also stressed that the current duties on both the main Kurdish parties are sensitive and crucial tasks, indicating the need for a practical interpretation to the strategic agrre3ment between PUK and KDP.

“Coordinating both parties’ stances and unification of their viewpoints on the quadruple agreement among the Iraqi political parties and the article 140 of the Iraqi permanent constitution are also needed.” He said as well.

PUKmedia :: English - Jundiani: It was Decided that a Joint Envoy to be Sent to the US

Bush beats drum of Iraq success amidst Iraq debate

Washington - For the second week in a row, US President George W Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to sound the theme of success in Iraq after days of negative news and strident debate over his war strategy, even apparently within the Pentagon. With the clock ticking down to important reports on Iraq to Congress in September, Bush spent the week doubting, then defending Iraqi Prime Miinister Nuri al-Maliki, and making a major speech likening the dangers of withdrawing from Iraq to the "killing fields" that followed US withdrawal from Vietnam.

A key supporter for his strategy, Republican Senator John Warner, also called on Bush to begin considering a step-by-step withdrawal to send a signal to al-Maliki about his failure to bring together Iraq's warring parties on a political level.

In his radio address on Saturday, Bush compared US efforts to bring democracy to the Middle East - through a "free and democratic Iraq" - to the successful role the US played in bringing freedom to Asia in the 20th century.

"America's enduring presence and perseverance on that continent (Asia) aided the rise of democracy, helped transform American enemies into American allies, and made our country safer," he said.

September 15 is the deadline for reports to the Democrat- controlled Congress from the commanding general in Iraq, David Petraeus, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq.

Bush, who ordered some 20,000 extra troops to Iraq this year, has repeatedly asked for patience until Crocker and Petraeus deliver their update, which will be pivotal in determining whether the strategy has made progress.

But two major newspapers - the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times - reported Saturday that General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is expected to urge Bush to reduce the number of troops by about half by late 2008. The stories quoted unnamed sources, and Pace dismissed them as "speculative."

In his radio speech, Bush said the "Iraqi people feel more secure" and were forming neighbourhood watch groups to volunteer "important information about the terrorists and extremists hiding in their midst."

He cited an example of an Iraqi civilian who lost his life deflecting a suicide attacker from a group of US soldiers and Iraqi citizens, and said the culprits who planned the attack were tracked down from citizen tips.

Opposition to the war is not only growing in Washington's political ranks, but also among an increasingly outspoken rank and file military, according to media reports and an opinion piece written last week by seven US soldiers who are finishing a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division.

"To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched," the group wrote in the New York Times Sunday. The group included an Army spe******t, sergeants and staff sergeants.

Bush beats drum of Iraq success amidst Iraq debate - Feature : US World

Kurdistan Region Parliament will Announce its Formal Stance on the Iranian Bombardment on 28/8

For assessing the latest developments of Kurdistan region, particularly the neighboring countries bombardment of the border areas of Kurdistan region, the next Tuesday, August 28th Kurdistan region parliament will hold an unusual session with participation of KRG.

During that session it’s scheduled that the parliament to precisely assess the situation and to announce a formal stance on the neighboring countries’ bombardment of the border areas of Kurdistan region.

PUKmedia :: English - Kurdistan Region Parliament will Announce its Formal Stance on the Iranian Bombardment on 28/8

Bush promises Iraq update next week

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 President George W. Bush Saturday said he would provide the public next week with "an update on the developments we are seeing from our new strategy in Iraq."

Bush used his weekly radio address to reinforce the message he delivered this week in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in which he compared the Iraq War to the Vietnam War.

He said he would provide an update on Iraq during a speech next week to the American Legion in Reno, Nev.

"In that speech, I will focus on the Middle East and why the rise of a free and democratic Iraq is critical to the future of this vital region and to our nation's security," Bush said.

He claimed Saturday that U.S. forces have killed or captured more than 1,500 "al-Qaida terrorists or other extremists" every month since January. He also said U.S. troops "launched a surge of operations" in June that is "helping bring former Sunni insurgents into the fight against al-Qaida, clear the terrorists out of population centers and give families in liberated Iraqi cities a safer and more normal life."

Bush said security in Iraq is improving, and more Iraqis are "stepping forward to defend their democracy."

Bush promises Iraq update next week : World

Iraqi Stock Exchange index rises and new contracts for non-Iraqi investors

The index of Iraqi market for securities rose on Thursday by 1.117% from the session of Tuesday; also, ten contracts for non-Iraqi investors were implemented during the session.

The bulletin issued by the Iraqi market for securities, stated that Thursday's session, the ninth during the month of August, witnessed trading more than (438) million shares with a value exceeded (730) million dinars; the market index closed at 41.993 points, going up 1.117% from the previous session of (Tuesday). It added, "During Thursday's session, ten contracts for non-Iraqi investors were implemented on shares of the companies: Islamic Bank, the Iraqi Investment Bank, the Bank of Basrah, the Iraqi National Bank, Bank Sumar, Bank Babylon, Al-Warkaa Bank, the Bank of the North and Kurdistan Bank, in addition to Al-Wiiam company for financial investment."

It said, "The shares of 13 companies have been circulated, and the shares of five companies rose: Babylon Bank by (14.2% ), the Gulf Bank by (9%), the Iraqi Investment Bank by (3.3%), the Bank of Kurdistan by (1.8%) and The Iraqi Credit Bank by (1.2%); while the shares of three companies dropped: the North Bank by ( 9.7%), the Iraqi Private Bank by (6.8%) and Sumar Commercial Bank by (4.1%). Five companies maintained the same rates of their shares prices at the previous session: the Commercial Bank, the Islamic Bank, the Bank of Basrah, Dar-il-Salaam Bank and Al-Warkaa Bank. The banking index closed at ( 38.800), dropping (0.08%) from the previous session. "

The share of the banking sector form the traded shares has exceeded (359) million shares by the amount (82%) of the total number and at a value of shares exceeded (608) million dinars through the implementation of (165) contract.

On Thursday, the shares of (11) companies were circulated, where the shares of six industrial companies rose: Baghdad for packaging materials by ( 9.3%), Al-Hilal industrial company by (7.1%), Nineveh Company for Food Industries by (5%), Light Industry Company by ( 3.3%), the Company of Electronic Industries by (3.1%) and the Company of Crates Industry by (3.1%); the prices rate of the shares of any industrial company did not decrease, and the industrial index closed at ( 11.991) points, going up (0.570%) from the previous session.

The final outcome of Thursday's session is: the shares of (32) companies out of (93) listed in the market were circulated, the rates of the shares prices of (16) companies increased while the ones of five companies dropped and (11) companies maintained the same rates of the previous prices.

The market also announced that after eight sessions since allowing non-Iraqi investors to enter the Iraqi market for securities in the second of this August, the total number of contracts that have been implemented to non-Iraqi investors was (35) contracts. The contracts share of the Real Estate Company and Al-Warkaa Bank was (5) contracts for each, followed by the Bank of Kurdistan(4) contracts, Baghdad for Carbonated Beverages and Commercial Bank (3) contracts, then Basrah Bank, Dar-il-Salaam Bank and the Company of Electronic Industries with (2) contracts each, while only one contract was implemented for each of: Bank of Baghdad, the Iraqi Islamic Bank, the Iraqi Investment Bank,the Bank of Babylon, the Gulf Bank, the Bank of the North, Al-Hilal Industrial Company, Light Industries Company and Al-Tharrar Company for agricultural production.

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Analysis: Kurd oil law drives Iraq oil

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government will not wait for a federal oil law before it starts signing more contracts to explore what is thought to be sizeable reserves in its territory. The KRG has already signed a handful of contracts with small oil companies and, now that it has passed a regional law governing any underground oil and natural gas, it will not put development on hold while Baghdad implodes.

“It might take us a little while to sign the next batch of contracts,” KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told United Press International, “but at least we have now paved the way for that.”

Iraq’s federal oil law has been stuck in negotiations for more than a year. The Kurds had been carefully slowing their own law, hoping the federal law would be completed. Two weeks ago the KRG Parliament unanimously approved the law. The approved version has not been released yet; Hawrami said it’s still being translated into English and Arabic.

He said a version of the federal law the KRG agreed to in February “is in line with our law.”

Whether the new KRG law is the constructive pressure needed to push those debating the federal law is not clear.

“We would like to assume that,” Hawrami said in a telephone interview from Irbil, the KRG capital. Regardless, “we’re not going to wait for the federal law. No. If we were waiting for the federal law, there’s no point in doing our own law.”

Iraq exported about 1.6 million barrels per day last year; that brought in more than $31 billion, making up more than 90 percent of its federal budget. Iraq produced about 2 million barrels per day, far less than its vast reserves can handle.

For much of the last half century, Iraq’s oil sector has been governed from the center, deciding the strategy for one of the founding members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. But that included ultimate control in the hands of Saddam Hussein, a legacy the Kurds, especially, aren’t willing to allow again.

Kurdish semi-autonomy, first gained in the early '90s, was enshrined in the 2005 constitution. It is the only official “region” in Iraq, though various factions within the Shiite community in the south -- where 80 percent of Iraq’s 115 billion barrels of proven reserves are located -- are floating various plans. (The Sunnis, which have virtually no oil land, and many Shiites want to keep a strong central control over the oil.)

“In Kurdistan, we have about 0.5 percent of Iraq’s proven reserves, less than one percent,” Hawrami said, adding when fully explored he expects the KRG could produce as much as 1 million bpd. “We’re looking at creating proven reserves, new production, and sharing that with the rest of the Iraqi people.”

Critics, however, say too much control for local governments risks overproduction and lessening the value of Iraq’s oil.

The KRG has already signed contracts with small companies to explore for and develop its oil and gas, a move derided by Baghdad for allegedly overreaching its authority. The Kurds are also keen on breaking the nationalized oil sector open to a free market, a prerogative so controversial it is a major stalling factor of the federal oil law and a move the oil unions have threatened to strike to prevent.

To ensure passage of the constitution, its authors left parts vague. Arguments over the federal oil law are in many ways rooted in the mixed interpretations of the constitutional articles applying to Iraq’s oil, which are the third-largest reserves in the world. It calls for the central government to work with the oil-rich regions and provinces in “the management of oil and gas extracted from present fields” and “formulate the necessary strategic policies to develop the oil and gas wealth in a way that achieves the highest benefit to the Iraqi people.”

But “present fields” isn’t a technical oil industry term, leaving for debate what that covers, which is vital when taking into account the following section of the constitution:

“All powers not stipulated in the exclusive powers of the federal government belong to the authorities of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region. With regard to other powers shared between the federal government and the regional government, priority shall be given to the law of the regions and governorates not organized in a region in case of dispute.”

The KRG feels it’s been neglected for too long and, after keeping its area relatively safe, creating really the only part of Iraq where any economic development has sprouted, appears empowered to make its own oil moves.

“It’s a milestone for Kurdistan and as well in terms of the development of Iraq’s overall petroleum legal regime,” said J. Jay Park, a partner and chair of the Global Resources Practice Group at the Calgary, Alberta-based law firm Macleod Dixon. “This is one of the key steps required to create that petroleum legal regime.”

Park, who was “active” in helping Somalia draft its new oil law, represented Canada-based Western Oil Sands in its successful bid for an exploration and production sharing agreement with the KRG. He also conducts regular trainings with the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

“The oil and gas companies take decisions on investing based on attractiveness of the geology, attractiveness of the fiscal terms, and then the suitability of the legal regime, and sometimes the political regime related to that legal regime,” Park said. “I’m pretty sure that the absence of an established petroleum legal regime in Iraq has been keeping some investors away from looking at the possibilities of investing there.”

While even the most ardent nationalists agree some measure of foreign investment is needed in Iraq to modernize the sector and fix what Saddam Hussein, a decade of sanctions and war broke, many want the national oil company to stay in charge.

Tariq Shafiq, an Iraqi oil consultant now living in London, said it’s vital to have the oil sector strategy come from the center, regardless of the extent of foreign investment. He was one of three authors of the original oil law last summer. Shafiq said he now opposes the law because it was altered too much.

The Kurds have been one of the biggest proponents of pushing the federal law forward, though its demands on the contents have stalled it as much as any other faction. Shafiq said the KRG fought for local control at the expense of a national strategy.

“The issue of KRG legislating its own petroleum law puts the future of the present draft federal petroleum law and the future relationship with the KRG on a very bumpy route,” Shafiq said. “It is a serious step to fragment the country.”

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