Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Iraq's Rebuilding Planned at Nearly $120 Billion

Iraq's coffers are bulging with oil money, yet some Baghdad residents go without electricity for much of the day and others get drinking water tainted with sewage.

"They don't need more money," said Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. "But they are having a difficult time, apparently, spending the money that they have."

Bowen Wednesday is on efforts to rebuild Iraq's shattered nation — a program now expected to spend $117.79 billion.

Aided by money from a postwar record in oil production, Baghdad itself is now set to spend an amount almost equal to the U.S. share, the report says. That is, as of the end of the quarter on June 30 the U.S. has appropriated $50.46 billion, the Iraqis are contributing $50.33 billion and international donors have pledged $17 billion.

Bowen said that on a number of fronts, Iraq made progress in the last quarter toward standing on its own — a key to bringing home U.S. troops.

Amid improved security, the Iraq economy has continued to expand and essential services to residents have improved somewhat.

"But they remain uneven and are not adequate to meet current demand," the 270-page report said. "Improved security across the country has helped reduce attacks on oil pipelines, and the electricity sector's expanded operations and maintenance programs have helped increase production."

The government of Iraq still struggles to develop effective water and sewer services.

"Emblematic of this struggle is the fact that two-thirds of the raw sewage produced in Baghdad flows untreated into rivers and waterways," the report said. Sewage water is mixing with tap water in several areas of Baghdad, experts say.

The Iraqi government also is still far from its goal of achieving political reconciliation; and it lacks some skills to run the government, the report says.

"They obviously have made enormous economic progress by virtue of improving their oil sector and they've made significant security progress," Bowen said in an interview.

"However on the governance and political front, there are still hurdles," he said, naming the need to pass an oil law and hold provincial elections.

And they are still having trouble ****uting their budgets at the national level and particularly in the provinces.

"For progress to really occur across Iraq, they're going to have to remedy that," Bowen said.

There was no figure available for how much of the allocated Iraqi money had been spent. Of the $17 billion pledged internationally, only $2.5 billion had been disbursed. And at of the end of the quarter, the U.S. had spent $33.28 billion of the more than $50 billion Congress appropriated, Bowen said.

He said American taxpayers did not always get their money's worth.

One success story was a $34 million project that built a system of ditches, berms, fences and other security to protect pipelines from attacks.

"The success of the program is evident in the fact that there have been no successful attacks on northern oil lines this year," the report said, noting that contributed to the increased oil production.

The Iraqis have refused to take over control of some of the facilities built for them, forcing the U.S. to "unilaterally transfer" hundreds of projects without formal agreement and increasing the risk that the U.S. investment will be wasted, Bowen said.

Some of the projects were rejected because they were incomplete, some because they didn't meet Iraqi expectations and others because the Iraqis deemed them unnecessary, Bowen said, recommending a new U.S.-Iraqi agreement for such transfers.

Other details in the report said:

- The quarter's oil production averaged 2.43 million barrels a day, the highest reported since the reconstruction program began five years ago, but below prewar levels of 2.58 million.

As of June 30, the United States had spent $1.86 billion on rebuilding the oil industry.

• Average daily electricity production for the quarter was 12 percent higher than the same time last year and the second highest quarterly average since the start of the war. Still, publicly available power, which is provided virtually without fees, only meets about 55 percent of increasing demand, forcing people to buy power buy power from private generators run by neighbors or small businessmen.

The United States has spent nearly $4.62 billion in this sector.

• Only 47 percent of people in rural areas use drinking water supplied via pipes to their homes. Only 20 percent of families outside of Baghdad province have access to working sewage facilities.

The United States has $2.4 billion in the water sector.

• Despite better security, "violence continues to pose a deadly threat to personnel involved in reconstruction activities." The State Department reported that 15 U.S. civilians died in Iraq this quarter. Since the beginning of the U.S. reconstruction effort, 271 U.S. civilians have died in Iraq.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraq's Rebuilding Planned at Nearly $120 Billion

Iraqi trucks banned entry to Jordan

Conditions imposed by Jordanian authorities prevent Iraqi trucks from entering the kingdom despite an oil deal signed between the two states, a Jordanian newspaper said on Tuesday.

"The conditions set by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which ban Iraqi trucks entry, is an obstacle to the activation of the agreement that allows the kingdom to import Iraqi oil at preferential prices for three years," the independent daily al-Ghad (Tomorrow) newspaper quoted an under secretary at the Iraqi Ministry of Transport, Bankin Rikani, as saying.

In June, Iraq and Jordan agreed to renew an oil agreement signed in 2006 for three years with the same terms, under which Jordan can import Iraqi oil at preferential prices. The announcement was made following talks between Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Nouri al-Maliki in the capital Amman.

"There are Iraqi transport companies that expressed their willingness to transport oil, but Jordanian conditions preventing truck drivers from entering their territories to unload their trucks have discouraged Iraqi companies, which found it financially not worthwhile," Rikani noted.

Meanwhile, the newspaper quoted unnamed sources from the Iraqi transport department as saying that Iraqi trucks are not legally banned from entering the country. Some trucks are banned entry for security reasons though, they said.

Iraqi trucks banned entry to Jordan - Middle East News

U.S. official denies entry into oil projects in Iraq

denied Richard Perle, former adviser to the U.S. Defense Department's health press reports spoke of their quest to enter the project to explore for oil in Iraq, according to the newspaper Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

The newspaper explained that it had obtained documents indicating that a group of international investors led by AK Turkish International is seeking to convene a deal to implement a project to explore for oil near Irbil, confirmed that a representative from the American Group ****utive Chairman confirmed that Pearl was nothing in this project.

However, Perle sent a letter to the electronic newspaper Wall Street Journal denied the totally reject any involvement with the subject.

It should be noted that Pearl had been among the most influential figures in the Pentagon during the period that preceded the planning and e.x.e.c.ution of military operations that led to the overthrow of former Iraqi regime in 2003.

Translated version of http://www.aljeeran.net/economic.html

Iraq's Kurds have to Choose
They can have a secure co-existence or control of Kirkuk, but not likely both

Kurdish parties have become kingmakers in Baghdad, and they know it. As no federal government can work without them, they are pulling every available political lever to expand the territory and resources they control, trying to build the foundation of an independent Kurdish state.

But even more than territory, they need security. If everyone acts quickly and wisely, that understanding could help resolve one of the Iraq war's thorniest issues.

No one was more surprised than the Kurds themselves by the speed with which former peshmerga guerrillas moved into senior positions in the new Iraqi government: the President, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, deputy army chief of staff and many less visible but pivotal spots, especially in the security and intelligence services.

With the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a party Iran created, the Kurds are working steadily to hollow out the central government so it won't be able to attack the Kurdish population ever again, and to maximize prospects for an independent Kurdistan.

They are also pressing for control of Kirkuk, whose oil fields contain 13 per cent of Iraq's proven reserves. But this two-edged approach risks freeing other centrifugal forces that could shred the fragile country altogether.

What the Kurds really need - and they should admit it publicly - is long-term security within recognized boundaries.

Once U.S. forces leave, the Kurds' enemies in Turkey, Syria and Iran, as well as Baghdad, could easily use local proxies to make life hell in and around Kirkuk. Monday's suicide bombings, which killed 61 people in Kirkuk and Baghdad, underscore the volatility of that region. But with U.S. forces still present and friendly, the Kurds have an uncommon opportunity to make deals that will be both beneficial and durable.

Time and again the Kurds have seesawed on whether to accommodate and fight for minority rights in Baghdad politics, or to rebel, secede and retreat beyond the Hamrin mountain chain, the northern ridge they consider their border.

The 1958 revolution, the 1968 coup, the 1980 Iran-Iraq war and the 1990 invasion of Kuwait all led to negotiations on the fate of Kirkuk. But the talks repeatedly collapsed into chaos and vicious attacks that killed thousands of Kurds. A bloody Kurdish internal split made things worse in the 1990s.

The Kurds claim a continuous presence in Kirkuk and see it as vital to the economic leverage they need to resist central government pressure and, eventually, to support a statehood bid. Their alliance with U.S. forces, aided by Turkey's 2003 refusal to grant transit rights, let the Kurds solidify their control of the area, smoothed some of their internal differences and led to a constitution that, in effect, gives them veto power over much legislation.

But despite their political strength in Baghdad, the Kurds' minority status in Iraq prevents them from forcing implementation of other laws they like, such as Article 140 of the constitution, which lays out a path for formal control in Kirkuk. Arabs in the region have not been removed (a process referred to as "normalization"); many displaced Kurds have not returned because of continuing insecurity; nor has there been a census or a referendum, all of which was supposed to happen by December of last year. The Baghdad government has excelled in dithering, and Kirkuk is now in limbo, profoundly backward, unhappy and divided.

Much parliamentary wrangling centres on federalism as it relates to the division of power: How much power should regions really have vis-à-vis the federal government? Should new regions be allowed? If so, how and how many? Who has the right to manage the country's oil fields? How will revenues be shared? Turkey, Syria and Iran observe and pull their allies' strings in Baghdad to block any tilt toward Kurdish preferences.

The result is a central government that is steadily unsteady, which the major players seem to prefer to any firm resolution, at least for the time being.

Some Kurdish maps show a Kurdistan that reaches through Syria and Turkey to the Mediterranean, but no Iraqi Kurdish politicians believe that is realistic. By acknowledging that their real need is for long-term security, and that they are unlikely to gain exclusive control over Kirkuk, they could instead win the right to develop oil and gas fields within the Kurdistan region under federal legislation that would allow them to draw international investment and to use export routes through Turkey.

They could also secure a regional boundary that Iraq and neighbouring states might accept with guarantees of inviolability. In turn, they should agree to deal with the endemic corruption and indifference to social needs that is undermining their own local authority.

The Kurds must choose between endless strife and a compromise that could buy them peace for a generation or more. Their dream of independence, if not fully realized, at least would not die.

The window of opportunity for compromise agreements is open, but it is closing fast. Once a new U.S. administration begins withdrawing its forces, whether by "aspirational" target dates or a final deadline, the opportunity will have passed. The time for the Kurds to negotiate a real future for themselves is right now.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraq's Kurds have to Choose

Political atmosphere is moving towards sorting out the issue of provincial council elections law .. Talabani and Barzani agree to intensify consultations to resolve contentious issues

Search President Jalal Talabani, with the head of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani yesterday, Saturday, the political situation in Iraq and discuss developments in the course of events and developments on the political map, especially after the passage of the law of provincial council elections are unconstitutional or illegal in the House of Representatives.

He said a presidential statement that the two sides agreed on the need to intensify discussions and consultations with the actors and work together to resolve contentious issues outstanding between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region, renewed emphasis on the need to respect the constitution and the agreements signed between the parties involved in the political process and the government so as to reflect the consensus and harmony Iraqi National desired And the development of the political process to build a new Iraq.

On a related, the deputy coalition of Kurdistan, Abdul Bari Zebari to visit President Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan province to Baghdad was prepared for a long time. He told Zebari (long) yesterday, Saturday, that Barzani will address in his meetings with officials in Baghdad various topics of interest to the political process in Iraq, including Iraqi-American Convention and the law of oil and gas, explaining that the district councils election law is one of these topics to be discussed. Zebari added that the Platform for Action Territory Chief intensive and will meet various politicians in Baghdad, pointing to the possibility of his meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

He returned Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday, Saturday, from a European tour that included Germany, Italy, during which a number of signed agreements. Details of Al-3

To decide the House of Representatives at its meeting yesterday, Saturday, the formation of a joint parliamentary committee between the provinces and Legal Committee to study the veto made by the Presidency of the Republic Act provincial council elections.

With the Kurdistan Alliance bloc returned to the meetings of the House of Representatives yesterday, Saturday,. The coalition MPs have announced their rejection of the law and withdrew from the meeting supported that MPs vote on the Supreme Islamic Council, and some other members by what they saw as encroachment on the Constitution and veto of the agreements reached between some political alliances.

The deputy said Khalid Chuan told about the Kurdistan Alliance (long) yesterday, Saturday,:

the chairman of the Council, Dr. Mahmoud scene read out to members of Cassation decision announced by the Presidency of the Republic and transmitted the resolution to the Commission to study the paragraphs that have been challenged to submit its report within 48 hours to Parliament.

He pointed out that Sichuan Committee will also include some deputies not represented in the committees of provinces, legal, in a reference to the involvement of some members of parliament to discuss the Turkmen amendments.

At the level of moves to reach a solution between the parliamentary blocs on the district councils election law passed in Parliament last Tuesday, revocation of the Presidency, the House of Representatives member from the Kurdistan Alliance bloc Abdul Khaliq zinc to new discussions began between the Kurdistan Alliance bloc United Iraqi Alliance to find new wording for article 24 of the election law and provincial assemblies elections governorate of Kirkuk.

He added zinc in a press statement yesterday that there are other parliamentary want to reconsider Article 24 of the Act also provided that the United Nations projects on average to resolve problems in this law.

He pointed out that the zinc all parliamentary blocs will discuss this law as well as for the regions and governorates affairs in the parliament after it returned from the Presidency, in the light of these discussions will be presented again to vote. He stated that in case of voting on the law as it stands, the Presidency may have vetoed again, since the Constitution guarantees the Presidency to reverse laws twice and then pass the law from the parliament immediately after the voting.

By another source revealed in a parliamentary bloc the United Iraqi Alliance told (long) for a rapprochement of views between all parties on the formula provided by the United Nations, said the source who refused to reveal the same, the atmosphere is moving towards sorting out the crisis and the outcome satisfactory to all parties in dispute.

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Update.......

Kurdistan regional government allocates 461 square feet for the Kurdistan Gas City

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced today that a 461 million square foot site for the Kurdistan Gas City has been designated for development by Gas Cities LLC, a joint venture between Dana Gas PJSC and its partner Crescent Petroleum, following extensive surveys that have been completed on potential sites within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Kurdistan Gas City will include industrial, residential and commercial components in an integrated city, with an expected initial investment in the basic infrastructure estimated at 3 billion US dollars.

To that, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum announced that they will start to provide the Kurdish region with natural gas in the next few weeks. The primary supplies are expected to reach 150 million cubic feet per day to rise to 300 million feet by the beginning of next year.

Kurdistan regional government allocates 461 square feet for the Kurdistan Gas City | Economics News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Electricity is increasing citizens after processing achieved the highest production

A spokesman of the Ministry of Electricity, Tuesday, the ministry reported yesterday (Monday), the highest production of electric power since the ninth of April of the year (2003). He pointed out that the results of these citizens see a rise during the next few days.

He said Aziz Sultan Al Shammari of the Independent News Agency (Voices of Iraq), Tuesday, "The Ministry of Electricity registered yesterday (Monday), the highest production of electric power since the ninth day of April of the year (2003), by six thousand mega watts", alluding To be "preserved today (Tuesday) at the same level of production, would be reflected positively on the citizens during the next few days."

On the ninth of April of the year (2003), is the date of entry of foreign troops led by the United States of America to Iraq, and taint the previous regime, which was headed by Saddam Hussein.

Al Shammari explained that the increase "was due to the closure of the maintenance and rehabilitation of several units, in addition to providing sufficient fuel to operate the stations, bringing the production capacity considerably."

The production of electric power to Iraq arrived in about nine thousand mega watts, before the invasion of Kuwait in the summer (1990), as was the limits of five thousand mega watts before (9) in April of the year (2003).

He added the official spokesman of the Ministry of Electricity that "Baghdad and other regions will see the results of this increase on the hours of processing, in the coming days, especially after the ceremony visit (Imam Kazim's Shrine)," pointing out that the ministry was equipped Kazimiya city (north of Baghdad) at about continuous electricity for days Visit, to contribute to the success and providing services to millions of visitors Almrkd Sharif."

A spokesman for the Baghdad command of Major General Qasim Atta was announced during a press conference earlier in the day, the end of ceremonies commemorating the death of (Imam Mousa Kazim's Shrine) and visit the grave, without the occurrence of "any security incidents in the last day of the visit is boycotting the Karkh and Rusafa" in the capital. He explained that the estimates indicated that "nearly four million people participated in the ceremony of the visit."

Sotaliraq.com -

Kurdistan Alliance stands ready to share administrative power in Kirkuk

A spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front, Salim Abdullah al-Juburi said the alliance of Kurdistan expressed his willingness to share power within the administrative transition until elections in Kirkuk.

The Nation said in a press statement that the Kurdish bloc also agree on the issue of postponing the local elections in Kirkuk, adding that the point of contention now is limited to the guarantees could be granted to the Arabs and Turkmen during the electoral process.

The Nation believed that if it was agreed that some items of the law could be voted on at a meeting Wednesday.

For his part, expressed on the Kurdistan Alliance MP Abdul Khaleq zinc coalition ready to postpone elections in Kirkuk.

He added that the zinc Kurdistan Alliance bloc accept sharing administration in Kirkuk but will not agree to share power by adopting the principle of quotas within the province.

Translated version of http://radionawa.com/(X(1)A(IwcF_uAoyQEkAAAAZGQ5NGQwYjAtNjYxYS00NWVkLWF hODMtMzY4ZjI1YjZhNjc2EBH7e5HFrul8Wky2I3Hg7j6JglQ1) )/Ar/NewsDetailN.aspx?id=13421&LinkID=109&AspxAutoDetec tCookieSupport=1

House of Representatives held its vote on the supplementary budget

Council will hold the Iraqi parliament, on Wednesday, its usual to vote on a number of draft laws notably the supplementary budget bill.

A statement by the Chamber of Deputies received the Independent News Agency (Voices of Iraq) a copy of which was the third meeting that the session will "vote on the supplementary budget bill and voting on the bill first amendment to the law of the supreme body of the Hajj and Umrah No. (23) and in 2005 to vote on the bill the second amendment to the law College forward greatest number (19) for in 1997. "

The meeting also will include "vote on the bill Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism and vote on the draft Law on the Ministry of Environment and vote on the bill of Medicine and the Justice vote on the bill reward trainees in vocational training centres of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs."

It is scheduled to take place during the meeting also "second reading of the draft law amending the Welfare of Minors Act and the second reading of the draft law of competition and preventing monopoly, the second reading of the bill the second amendment to the Law of the People's Medical Clinics No. (89) and in 1986 for the second reading of the bill the second amendment to the law include people with medical professions The number of health (6) For in 2000 and the second reading of the bill into law on the Iraqi private security companies. "

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Perle Linked to Kurdish Oil Plan

Influential former Pentagon official Richard Perle has been exploring going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan, according to people with knowledge of the matter and documents outlining possible deals.

Mr. Perle, one of a group of security experts who began pushing the case for toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein about a decade ago, has been discussing a possible deal with officials of northern Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, including its Washington envoy, according to these people and the documents.

It would involve a tract called K18, near the Kurdish city of Erbil, according to documents describing the plan.........