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The first business and investment in Iraq has enormous investment opportunities

9/4/2007

Witnessed in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the business and Alastasmaralaol in Iraq, which concluded last Thursday with a number of Iraqi officials and representatives of Arab and foreign companies to discuss investment opportunities in Iraq.

He said Nizawalmitmer: that the huge investment opportunities worth billions of dollars. And Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi, in his speech during the conference that Iraq is thirsty for investment and provide opportunities for capital with different sizes. He said Abdel Mahdi risk that investors who enter the Iraqi market before others will be the biggest beneficiaries, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

He Abdelmahdi that violence that has ravaged Iraq can not be an obstacle to investment, pointing out that all areas are not exposed to violence the same percentage. He noted that investments in some countries that have experienced waves of violence did not stop, recalling in particular Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Algeria. Estimated Abdel Mahdi cost hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild Iraqi infrastructure and the volume of investments available to global corporations. For his part, Minister of Industry and Minerals Fawzi Hariri that his ministry is determined to open its institutions and the 65 partnership with the Foundation for Arab and international investments estimated volume of investments Natioukahbenho four billion dollars.

He pointed out that the volume of investments offered by the Ministry during the conference, estimated at more than 51 billion dollars also said: that the ministry is studying the draft rehabilitation Iraqi petrochemical company through investments may exceed $ 2 billion. The conference witnessed, which was attended by about 300 representatives of Arab and international companies, in addition to dozens of officials Iraqis, the search expanded in investment opportunities in the areas of agricultural and construction in addition to the economic environment in the free zones and new laws that stimulate investments in Iraq.

وکالة الفرات العراقية للانباء

Baath Party dissolved calls for the prime minister Allawi

9/4/2007

Time magazine said that the American President Aluserayalaspg Iyad Allawi enjoys the support of the dissolved Baath Party, led by Alija league.

The magazine reported, quoting a leading role in the Baath Party resides in the Jordanian capital, called Abu solution to the party under the leadership of Alija league welcomes work alongside Allawi, because he saw him as a person and nationally away from sectarianism, de****e the fact that the party may not agree with Allawi in all its decisions, which by 2004, but they do not complain that it represents the interests of all Iraqis, regardless of their race or their community, as saying.

وکالة الفرات العراقية للانباء

Is the government able to overcome Maliki current political crisis?

9/4/2007

Kazem Habib
Political writer-Germany

When the government formed Maliki wish you and wished them a lot of people in Iraq, success and address the problems of large outstanding overcome adversity and become severe suffering people of Iraq in all its components, de****e feeling procedure, which was and I am left many Iraqis also that the government based on sectarian quotas and infrastructure will be unable for solving the problems of society on the basis of free and equal citizenship. Political bottleneck has emerged in the past year a real depth of the political crisis, economic, social and cultural rights and move the already existing differences stronger than previous years. In light of this development emerged three versions of practices in the political arena in the framework of the Iraqi forces involved in the ongoing political process.

1-first version crystallized in the most sought Prime strong existing Iraqi national to the formation of a political alliance aimed at toppling the government distorted Maliki without contribute Dr. Iyad Allawi directly address the acute crisis. Not enough to make the list mentioned in a memorandum from February 2007 to the Prime Minister and awaiting their answer was living abroad. It seems to me that the President and many of these existing taken his ability to solve problems and Ttelbesh individual inclination and desire unruly in the Cabinet, as it believes the extraordinary ability to resolve the internal crisis, although it was at the top of the political power, while exacerbating financial corruption and career, particularly among some government ministers, as well as conflicts The conflict continued penetration Baathists Associated armed terrorist forces inside the sensitive organs of the State, including the charge of the security cabinet. We have frozen existing membership in the Council of Ministers and then withdrew from the government after the withdrawal of hope crash compatibility list before then. He criticized the Iraqi Communist Party this position and the minister continued to exercise his work, and then issued a legitimate national party. As Dr. Mahdi Hafidh withdrew from the list of Iraqi protest at individual Allawi and the new alliances. It appears that three of the five representatives refused to list others abide by the decision of existing and started work involved in the cabinet meeting.
2-second version crystallized in a serious attempt from the list of the Iraqi Accord to push the government and restrict the sharp angle of the pressure towards approval of a set of demands which agreed to some of the President and Prime Minister, but some had as unfeasible demands for the two and sound logic, which can while implementation of the majority community to raise against the government, allowing the crowd of terrorists detainees return to the practice of terrorism. It seems clear that the list of nuclear consensus between the political process exercised by, among other forces within wants to shift towards the armed opposition, as some involved in this much or that others are threatened so! There is no doubt that some Arab countries and conduct sectarian role in this position Almitrgerg.
3-third formula adopted list of the Kurdistan Alliance and the proposal put forward by Mr. President and Mr. President of the Kurdistan region, which called for a coalition of five parties currently participate in the government and agreed with them to protect the government from falling and pushing them towards the implementation of the program put forward. The possible formation of the coalition, which put a quartet included some of the most important points made in the memorandum of agreement, the Iraqi, but not all, and refused to join the Islamic Party to this Agreement.

There is no doubt that there are other forces working with all seriousness at the military and political to spread chaos in the country for placing government-Maliki in a corner can only resign, a sectarian armed militias that find support and support from outside Iraq involved in the assassination of Governors of Diwaniyah, Samawah in the past two weeks.

Supposed to note the existence of an ongoing call for the convening of an international conference to address the problem experienced by Iraq since the current intervention in Iraq is not locally but regional and international, and that the case already internationalized presence of foreign forces in Iraq. The new raised this issue and the Foreign Minister of France, which rejected the parties participating in government and some of the parties and political forces and some Iraqi officials as well.
But over the situation difficult and complex manifestations of the internal conflict going on in the United States about the situation in Iraq on the situation of Iraq itself.

President of the United States of America live domestic and some different problems arising from the situation in Iraq, which faces a claim does not withdraw from Iraq, but to work to bring down Maliki. It is not confined to Aldemaqati Party, but also by deputies from the Republican Party. Since the start of George Bush endorsed the initiative of Mr. President and wished him success in his quest and while the Quadripartite Agreement here President Bush on the agreement made between the four parties first, hence the involvement of the Vice President in his capacity as Chairman of the Islamic Party of functional signing a new convention include objectives and tasks to be implemented.

The President of the American administration still supports the government-Maliki, but invested formulas first and second hope of increasing pressure on the government to accelerate Maliki towards reconciliation on one hand, and accelerate the adoption of laws agreed with the other hand. In the midst of this political chaos and conflicting views, which threatened to destabilize the actual Maliki government, especially that the forces of regional and international paid towards the resignation of the Ministry of Maliki, an active coalition of Kurdistan after the arrival of Mr. Massoud Barzani to Baghdad and back without the Quadripartite Agreement of compatibility and the Islamic Party was the first agreement. Then accelerate and expand the negotiating process with the head of the Islamic Party, Mr. Vice President, which helped to accelerate the agreement contains a series of five urgent tasks to be implemented and which were mostly in the memorandum of agreement, but the new wording.

Will pay this new agreement to maintain the direction of the government and continue to work, especially among the successes have been achieved in the military in Baghdad, but not in Basra or Kirkuk or Mosul or the south and Karbala, where conflicts continue unabated and led to the killing of Governors of Diwaniyah, Muthanna and the main occupation of the police station in Basra in the wake of the withdrawal of British forces and handed over to the Iraqi police, to the fierce battles in Karbala and fall of many of the dead and wounded! The complexities of the situation in Iraq can help Maliki to continue ruling. But Maliki government would fail to address the problems of Iraq has done nothing to take a range of measures and the fundamental task at the present stage, including:

1-hard work and responsible for achieving agreed with most of the Iraqi political forces on a common platform, and not with four or five parties and the survival of the strong liberal and democratic Arab far as cooperation and joint action, de****e the weakness and disintegration, which endure. This can be done via a conference widely each Iraqi forces willing to participate and contribute to the United Nations General Bassckertirha in supporting this effort and facilitate his investigation, and perhaps suggest alternatives accept 21 by all parties, since the ability to listen and mutual bargaining calculated and accepted and the necessary no longer exists now in Iraq, and is capable of achieving calm and stability in the country.
2-Agreement on the program weakens the end sectarian approach currently prevailing in the exercise of government and state agencies, lists some existing in Iraq.
3-formation of a new government headed by Maliki based on the efficiency and capacity to exercise gear and possess a willingness to practice intellectual independence and start from the interests of Iraq and not the first place the interests of sectarian or narrow nationalism and implemented the program to be agreed upon.
4-accelerate disposal of the body uprooting the Baath, which was bad from the start and its applications were the worst because they embodied the spirit of revenge, not justice and the distinction between criminal and the innocent, regardless of membership in the Baath Party, which was written by a lot.
5-solving armed sectarian militias and the withdrawal of weapons altogether.
6-stop work on the territory of the south five years to come, and until that is complete stability in the country and then begin to study the possibility of a distribution of appropriate administrative devote far from sectarianism in the administrative organization of the country.
7-interest basic services and the fight against financial and administrative corruption and sectarian division of the State organs.
8-accelerating process of updating the armed forces and the building cleared of the elements of sectarian political affiliation, namely those unforgettable Arakitha operate according to a sectarian political crises in the face of the country and the violence it.
9 - The protection of the Iraqi border with Iran and long Syria and the Gulf of tasks are complex but very important regardless of goodwill and good promises given to Iraqi officials, as those working against Iraq is not necessarily the government, but many of the other parties.
10 - The independence of the Iraqi decision on the external forces, international or regional or Arab, is of great importance in reaching positive solutions, de****e the difficulties encountered in light of the present conditions of globalization. But this does not prevent cooperation with them to put an end to terrorism based in Iraq and fighting and spare roots and drying up the sources of financing of money, men and weapons.

وکالة الفرات العراقية للانباء

No escape from Iraq for Bush in Australia

39 minutes ago



SYDNEY (AFP) - After a surprise visit to Iraq, US President George W. Bush headed Tuesday for Sydney to face anti-war protests and a poll showing most Australians believe he is the worst US leader in history.

No escape from Iraq for Bush in Australia - Yahoo! Canada News

Iraq's Maliki back under spotlight

AFP
September 4, 2007

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's embattled premier Nuri Al Maliki was back under the spotlight Tuesday after US President George W. Bush urged him to work harder to unite the war-torn nation's bitterly-divided communities.

Maliki, who was taken aside by Bush during his surprise visit to Iraq, was holding a Baghdad meeting Tuesday of his cabinet, depleted by a series of resignations or boycotts.

At the same time, Iraq's parliament was due to reconvene after a month's recess for what is expected to be a stormy session, during which a controversial oil law, seen by Washington as a benchmark for measuring political reconciliation, is up for debate.

Maliki's attempts to bridge Iraq's ethnic and sectarian divides have, so far, failed, with 17 of 40 ministers having resigned or decided to boycott the cabinet, and unending daily bloodshed taking its toll on ordinary Iraqis.

Bush, on his way to Australia after his meeting Monday with Iraqi leaders at a desert air base in the restive province of Anbar, told reporters on his plane that he still backed Maliki's "evolving" leadership.

"My message to Maliki is: 'you've got a lot of work to do, and whatever decision is made in Washington, DC is all aimed at helping you achieve what is necessary to get the work done,'" Bush said.

He said he addressed his comments to all the Iraqi leaders at the table, but then took the prime minister aside.

Bush said the message was that: "you're my friend and ... you've made progress in your recent meetings, and now's the time to get these laws passed; you've got hard work to do, and you know that we understand that."

Washington is anxious to see political progress in Iraq before US commander General David Petraeus and US ambassador Ryan Crocker report to the US Congress, next week, on the progress of Bush's troop "surge" strategy.

Many US lawmakers, among both the Democratic and Bush's Republican parties, have been attacking the Maliki government for failing to translate the apparent security gains of a "surge" of US troops into political reform.

The government has made little to no progress on key questions of reconciliation among warring ethnic factions, sharing oil revenues, or constitutional change, the critics argue.

Iraqi lawmakers have said that the main points on the agenda for this parliamentary session is the issue of allowing members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party back into positions of authority, as well as the controversial law determining ownership of Iraq's vast oil reserves.

On August 27, Iraq's five most senior leaders led by Maliki and President Jalal Talabani pledged to resolve the disputes, which, since the US-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein, have caused bitter wrangling between Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish sects.

Washington sees resolution of the Baath party issue and the passage of the oil law as benchmarks to measure Iraq's progress toward political reconciliation, which will eventually allow a withdrawal of US forces from the war-ravaged country.

Bush has already given hint that a drawdown in US forces is being considered, arguing in Iraq Monday that if recent security advances in Anbar are consolidated, "it is possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces."

Iraq's government newspaper Al Sabah lauded Bush's visit, saying it had given a boost to Maliki's government.

"The visit builds momentum of support to the government and the political process," it said in an editorial.

"It is as if the US president and his top aides wanted to say: 'we are with you, and will continue supporting you in the face of the enemies of the new political process in Iraq, but when will your internal differences come to an end?'" the paper said.

Iraq's Maliki back under spotlight - Region - Middle East Times

Iraq confirms death sentence for 'Chemical Ali'

A top Iraqi court has confirmed the death sentence on "Chemical Ali" and two other cohorts of Saddam Hussein convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, a senior judge said on Tuesday.

"The Iraqi Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence on Ali Hassan al-Majid, Sultan Hashim al-Tai and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti," the court head Judge Aref Shaheen told a press conference.

Majid, widely known as "Chemical Ali," was the executed Iraqi dictator's most notorious hatchet man, Tai was his defence minister and Tikriti was armed forces deputy chief of operations.

The three were sentenced to death on June 24 after being found responsible for the slaughter of thousands of ethnic Kurds in the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988.

They will be hanged within 30 days in line with Iraqi law.

An estimated 182,000 Kurds were killed and 4,000 villages wiped out in the brutal campaign of bombings, mass deportation and gas attacks known as Anfal.

"Thousands of people were killed, displaced and disappeared," Iraqi High Tribunal chief judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah said after he had passed sentence in June.

"They were civilians with no weapons and nothing to do with war."
Majid, 66, was the last of the six defendants to learn his fate in the Anfal case -- the second trial of former Saddam cohorts on charges of crimes against humanity since the fall of the feared regime in 2003.

He muttered only "Thanks be to God" before being led from the court.

He and the other two condemned men are currently on trial for their roles in brutally crushing a Shiite uprising in southern Iraq in 1991, but the charges against them will be dropped once they have been executed.

Saddam's regime said the Anfal campaign was a necessary counter-insurgency operation during Iraq's eight-year war with neighbouring Iran.
It involved the systematic bombardment, gassing and assault of areas in the Kurdish autonomous region, which witnessed mass executions and deportations and the creation of prison camps.

Saddam, driven from power by a US-led invasion in April 2003, was executed on December 30 for crimes against humanity in a separate case and charges against him over the Anfal campaign were dropped.

Over the course of the trial, which opened on August 21, a defiant Majid said he was right to order the attacks.

"I am the one who gave orders to the army to demolish villages and relocate the villagers," he said at one hearing. "I am not defending myself. I am not apologising. I did not make a mistake."

Iraqi Kurds were jubilant following the verdicts but plans to execute Majid in a Kurdish province have been dropped to prevent the hanging appearing as revenge, an Iraqi government official said.

Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that the Anfal verdicts could be "flawed" as in the previous trial of Saddam over the killing of Shiites from the village of Dujail in the 1980s.

Iraq confirms death sentence for 'Chemical Ali' | Iraq Updates

Kurdistan develops its oil industry independently

The sticky-sweet smell of raw crude oil lubricates the dusty air as oilmen in orange overalls prepare to test one of the few new oil wells to be drilled in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

Then, with a gentle whoosh, a huge tongue of orange flame and dense black smoke shoots across the bare, undulating hills of this sparsely populated corner of northern Iraq.

It's a sight for sore eyes in a country where such fires are usually the result of sabotage, where the gasoline queues still stretch for blocks on end and where fierce political squabbles are delaying enactment of a law to regulate Iraq's oil industry, one of the key benchmarks set by the Bush administration to measure Iraq's progress.

But this is Kurdistan, a world apart from the rest of Iraq, and Kurdistan isn't waiting for a political solution in Baghdad to get on with the job of tapping its own potentially vast oil reserves. While Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians bicker over the new oil law, the Kurdish regional government has been busily promoting investment in its own oil fields, signing deals with foreign oil companies and moving ahead with its own, investor-friendly oil law in the regional legislature.

Taq Taq oil fields. The field is located in Kurdistan autonomous region near the town of Koya, and is about 50 miles east of Erbil and 74 miles northwest of Sulaimaniyah city.

Kurdistan is working,'' said Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdistan Regional Government's minister of oil and gas. ''If we sit down and do nothing we are not doing our job. We are doing our job for the country.''

But whether Kurdistan is developing its own oil resources for the sake of Iraq, or on its own behalf, is a question being asked by many Iraqis.

The law clearly requires a unified policy, and for any one region or province to go its own way means you no longer have a unified policy,'' said Tariq Shafiq, a former head of the Iraq state oil company who helped write the proposed national oil law.

''And if everyone goes their own way, you won't have a unified Iraq and then what kind of policy do you have?

This is not a chess game,'' he added. ''Either you are part of the family, or you are not.''

Under existing agreements with Baghdad, the Kurdistan government has pledged to pool all of its oil resources with the rest of Iraq, with the revenues to be distributed around the country, according to Hawrami.

But as long as there is no law regulating the industry nationwide, uncertainties loom over who will control Kurdistan's oil resources in the future, how they will be managed and who will profit.

Kurds have emerged as the most vociferous opponents of the current draft of the new oil law, because, they say, of amendments added to the version they had agreed to that assign management of all newly discovered fields to a state-run oil company and restrict the ability of federal regions to make their own deals with foreign firms - such as those already made with at least five foreign partnerships.

In the meantime, Kurdistan's ambitious plans for its oil industry could see the enclave transformed in a few years into a significant oil-producing region in its own right.

The Kurds' decades-old struggle against Saddam Hussein's regime left Kurdistan largely ignored in the race to develop Iraq's oil resources. Of Iraq's proven oil reserves of around 115 billion barrels, Kurdistan is known to have only between 2 and 3 billion barrels.

But Hawrami cited recent independent surveys that put the estimated, though still unproven, reserves higher, at around 25 billion barrels - a figure that would put Kurdistan ahead of the United States in terms of oil-producing potential.

Much exploration would have to be done to confirm these amounts, and much of the oil is likely to lie beneath mountainous terrain where the steep cost of recovery may make it unprofitable.

Kurdistan nonetheless is confident it will be able to produce 300,000 barrels of oil a day within the next year, a figure that will rise to 1 million barrels a day within the next 5 to 7 years, according to Hawrami.

Given that Iraq's total oil production averages 2 million barrels per day, that would put Kurdistan in the position of supplying a third of the country's total oil production - and on a par with numerous independent oil-producing countries.

Therein lies the political sensitivity of the Kurds' push to develop their oil resources. Under current revenue-sharing agreements with Baghdad, Kurdistan is to receive 17 percent of Iraq's total oil revenues, proportionate to its share of Iraq's population.

But it could soon find itself contributing more than a third of Iraq's oil revenues, a point at which it may make sense for Kurdistan to go it alone.

Kurdistan's regional government has done the math. ''Obviously, if we're producing one third of Iraq's production, it's not going to work,'' Hawrami said.

The question of Kurdish independence is acutely controversial, and Kurds insist they are not contemplating separation from Iraq. Turkey has repeatedly pledged military intervention if the Kurds declare independence.

Far from separating from Iraq, said Hawrami, Kurdistan's goal is to pressure the Iraqi government to increase its own oil production, to 8 million barrels a day, a level at which the national revenue-sharing agreements would make sense for Kurdistan - and benefit all Iraqis.

Iraq's vast oil reserves, the world's third-largest, make that technically feasible, experts say. But the absence of security in Iraq and the country's antiquated infrastructure make it unlikely any major oil companies will contribute the investment required to reach such a level in the near future. Iraq's oil production currently lags its pre-war peak by at least a third.

Shafiq, now an oil consultant in London, says he is suspicious. ''A political guess would be that the Kurds have decided to go their own way. Are they preparing for independence? It seems like they are,'' he said.

Yet there are many other obstacles to be overcome before Kurdistan can start producing oil in profitably meaningful quantities. Some of these obstacles go to the core of the reasons why independence remains an impossible dream.

Security concerns and political uncertainty have deterred major players such as Chevron, Shell and Exxon from entering even the relatively safe Kurdistan oil market, so it has been left to small speculators to blaze a trail into the still largely undeveloped Kurdish oil fields.

They include Ttopco, a joint venture between Turkish engineering firm Genel and a Switzerland-based Canadian oil company Addax, which has signed an agreement with Kurdistan to develop the Taq Taq field, a barren stretch of undeveloped hillside that is, in the words of Ttopco's general manager Can Sevun, ''floating on oil''.

It's a risky business. Ttopco has invested $200 million in drilling and exploration, with no guarantees that there will ever be an agreement on an oil law to legitimize its investment. Over the next two years it plans to spend another $2 billion on infrastructure and on drilling 30 or 40 additional wells, on the understanding that it will be allowed to reap a share of the profits.

The rewards are potentially vast. Ttopco believes the Taq Taq field contains an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil, worth around $140 billion dollars at today's prices. It is already in a position to pump 75,000 barrels of oil a day, and it expects that capacity to increase to 300,000 barrels a day by the end of next year.

The figures are meaningless without either a pipeline to transport the oil or a refinery to refine it, and both are lacking. Ttopco says it is planning a pipeline that would tie Taq Taq to the main pipeline linking the Kirkuk oilfield to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, and a small refinery to refine oil for the local market. But it does not have the resources to build a refinery with export capacity, and it is still far from clear whether Turkey would allow oil pumped in Kurdistan to be delivered through Turkey.

This is the big question mark over oil production in Kurdistan - the export routes,'' said Jill Junnola of the London-based Energy Intelligence newsletter. ''This is the issue that may force Kurdistan to make compromises to keep Baghdad happy, and to keep Ankara happy - because they need to get the oil out.''

Whether the central government will honor contracts signed before any future oil law goes into effect is another question.

Shafiq, who helped draft the law, says he does not believe the contracts will be valid if the current draft of the new law is adopted. And that would leave companies such as Ttopco high and dry.

This is our risk,'' said Sevun, a civil engineer working in the oil business for the first time. ''If they do not approve the petroleum law and they do not approve our export license then we have a problem. How to make money?''
It was a risk and it's still a risk. But for now we are happy.''

Kurdistan develops its oil industry independently | Iraq Updates

Iraqi Union of Accountants and Auditors provides training to Central Bank of Iraq

Through a training partnership developed with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), the Iraqi Union of Accountants and Auditors (IUAA) recently provided a course in International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) to CBI employees.

Thirty-four CBI employees, selected from a number of CBI departments, attended a comprehensive 60-hour IUAA course that started on July 15 and ran through mid-August. The Governor's Office, the Department of Accounting, the Internal Controls Department and the Treasury Department were all strongly represented, among several other departments. The CBI's Training Coordinator noted that the participants were nominated because they are seen to be champions for spreading the knowledge about IAS/IFRS throughout the organization quickly.

Iraqi Union of Accountants and Auditors provides training to Central Bank of Iraq | Iraq Updates

ICBG promotes financial transparency within Iraqi banking community

The Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) set an example of transparency to its shareholders by preparing its interim financial statements to June 30 in accordance with the International Accounting Standards.

The financial statements were prepared by the Iraq-cooperating firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), F.H. Al-Salman and Company, Public Accountants and Auditors and presented to the Semi-Annual General Assembly of Shareholders that took place in Amman in early August.

A number of Iraqi banks embraced the report and requested the ICBG to assist them in meeting the challenges of preparing financial statements that comply with the international accounting and financial reporting standards.

Continuing its policy of transparency, the ICBG will be issuing semi-annual financial reports in accordance with best international accounting and auditing practices.

The ICBG was established by 11 private Iraqi banks with the help and assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Izdihar project to assist Iraqi small and medium-size enterprises gain increased access to bank loans. ICBG became operational in November 2006; by early August it had issued 18 guarantees worth $358,361, which support approved loans totaling $482,816.

ICBG promotes financial transparency within Iraqi banking community | Iraq Updates

British Iraq withdrawal fuels tension with US
Analysts see mounting strains between London and Washington after British troop pull-out from Basra.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended Monday the withdrawal of troops from Basra city in Iraq, but the move will do little to ease mounting signs of tension between London and Washington.

Brown, who took over as premier from Tony Blair in June, stressed that British troops withdrawn to Basra airport remain on standby to deploy again if the security situation demanded.

"We are able to reintervene in certain circumstances. The purpose has been to hand the security over from the British army to the Iraqi security forces," he said, as London confirmed the pull-out of some 500 troops was complete.

"This is a pre-planned and this is an organised move," Brown told BBC radio.

"We will discharge all our responsibilities to the Iraqi people; we will discharge our international obligations exacted in the United Nations."
But analysts have pointed out a cooling of relations between London and Washington under Brown, who is seen as attempting to distance himself from his predecessor's cosy ties with US President George W. Bush.

Underlining the diverging policies, Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Monday to take stock of a "surge" in US forces in Iraq which has seen American troop levels boosted to record numbers.

The contrast between Bush going in while Brown defended a pull-out reflected the different stances, commentators said.

"We are seeing some tensions emerging from both sides," said Robert Lowe of London's Chatham House think-tank. "The governments are trying to keep things as harmonious as possible, but we are seeing some strains."

The cooling of ties was signalled as soon as Brown took office, when he included a number of critics of US policy in his cabinet, including former UN deputy chief Mark Malloch Brown.

The former finance minister's first trip to meet Bush at the end of July also saw a market contrast with Blair, with Brown failing conspicuously to praise Bush personally and keeping contacts on a markedly formal level.

Over the past weekend, two senior British generals blasted the United States' handling of post-invasion Iraq, with one describing it as "fatally flawed."

Washington's policy was "intellectually bankrupt," said another -- the retired General Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the British Army during the 2003 invasion.

Brown sought to downplay the significance of the remarks. "He did not stay this to me at the time and this was not part of any discussion I've had," the prime minister said.

But he admitted: "I've acknowledged that if I were able to make these decisions now, they would have been done differently... This could have been done a lot better and should have been done a lot better."

Brown said Britain could now focus on rebuilding the economy in Basra and the wider southern Iraq, where its 5,500 troops in the country are stationed.

Britain's military is being stretched by its engagements in Iraq, where troop numbers are gradually being reduced, and Afghanistan, where they are slowly rising.

Brown, who took over from Blair on June 27, has maintained his predecessor's line of refusing to set a timetable for a British withdrawal from Iraq.

"I'll make a statement when the House of Commons returns (October 8) about what we will be able to do in future," he said Monday.
"The numbers of troops are remaining roughly the same at the moment."


British Iraq withdrawal fuels tension with US | Iraq Updates