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

Blackwater bounces back from crime probe

The U.S. State Department has renewed a contract for the Blackwater private military company to protect American diplomats in Iraq, officials said.

The company's contract renewal comes after an investigation into several of its guards suspected of taking part in a September shooting that killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Investigations by the FBI, the State Department and the Pentagon have not led to any U.S. charges against Blackwater personnel.

"We cannot operate without private security firms in Iraq. If the contractors were removed, we would have to leave Iraq," said Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management.

It is reported some Blackwater employees may still face legal difficulty, as a federal grand jury is still examining evidence linked to the killings.

In a separate case, an ex-Blackwater guard reportedly may face charges for alleged involvement in the 2006 fatal shooting of an Iraqi guard.

In a third incident, two ex-Blackwater employees were sentenced to non-jail punishments after entering guilty pleas on weapons charges.

Blackwater bounces back from crime probe - UPI.com

Disagreements mar truce deal between government and Al Sadr men

The Iraqi government and representatives of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr have announced that they had struck a deal to halt weeks of fighting in a Baghdad slum. But disagreements over the content of the accord cast doubt on whether it would end the bloodshed.

The extent of the deal between the government and Al Sadr's supporters, which was brokered by lawmakers and was scheduled to take effect on Sunday, quickly became murky.

Under the terms announced by the cleric's lead negotiator, Shaikh Salah Obeidi, Al Sadr's Mahdi Army militia would set aside their weapons and allow the government to pursue individuals wanted for attacks, provided that there is a warrant.

In return, the government would stop what he called "random" raids and open blocked roads into the cleric's Baghdad stronghold, Sadr City.

Obeidi said the document made no mention of the government's demand that the militia disband and surrender its medium and heavy-grade weapons, points the cleric's representatives are not prepared to discuss.

But Ali Dabbagh, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, said all sides had agreed that only the government is authorised to maintain an army and impose law.

"The government has the right to raid and search any place that is suspected to contain heavy and medium weapons," he said in a statement.

Obeidi also said the agreement allows only Iraqi forces to conduct raids in Sadr City, not the US military. But Dabbagh said that the deal did not address the role of foreign troops, a point underscored by Hadi Ameri, a member of the ruling alliance's negotiating team.

'US will keep bombing'

"There is no point that prevents the Americans from performing military operations in Sadr City," Ameri said. "The US forces are and will continue bombing ... the places that are launching mortar rounds or rockets at their bases and/or the Green Zone."

Even if the discrepancies can be ironed out, it remains to be seen whether the gunmen who claim allegiance to the cleric in Sadr City will honour the accord.

The US military publicly maintains that those fighting in Sadr City are members of breakaway factions who have disregarded a unilateral ceasefire declared by Al Sadr in August. But commanders privately concede that the uprising in Sadr City has become more widespread in recent weeks.

The US military said it had not been informed of Saturday's truce.

Disagreements mar truce deal between government and Al Sadr men | Iraq Updates

Maliki Attends Iraqi Parliament Session

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki attended today’s Iraqi parliament’s session to clarify the details of the military operations in Mosel.

On Sunday, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mahmud al-Mashhadani, demanded the Iraqi PM to attend the session of the Iraqi Council of Representatives on Monday.

PUKmedia :: English - Home

Provincial Council Elections will Influence Implementation of Article 140, Official Says

Today the allied Kurdish political parties in Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including Kurdistan Toilers Party (KTP), Kurdistan Social Democratic Party (KSDP), Islamic Group in Kurdistan/Iraq (Komal), and Kurdistan Islamic Union held a meeting in Erbil.

“The parties discussed the issue of provincial councils elections in disputed areas between the Iraqi federal government and the KRG, including Kirkuk, Mosel and Dyala and preparations to those elections have been discussed during the meeting,” Secretary General of the KTP, Kadir Aziz told the reporters, indicating that time is running short for the required preparations by Kurdistan region for the provincial elections.

Secretary General of the KTP indicated that the results of these elections will influence the Kurdistan region, particularly regarding the implementation of article 140 of the Iraqi constitution and the destiny of the disputed areas.

As it has been decided in the meeting, these parties agreed to run as one list in the elections. The Supreme Council of the Kurdistan Region Political Parties, which includes these parties as well as PUK and KDP, will convene in the coming days for this purpose.
PUKmedia :: English - Home

Economic conference on monetary policies in Iraq

An expanded economic conference will be held on Monday morning in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to discuss monetary policies and means of curtailing inflation, the chairman of the Iraqi Businessmen Union said.

"The conference, held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday in the Baghdad-based Qasr al-Rasheed Hotel, will tackle the monetary policies and means of repairing the financial system and managing inflation in Iraq in an attempt to assess the economic situation…," Ragheb Reda told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq, (VOI).

"The conference attracted the direct attention of the government. The prime minister's advisor for economic affairs, Abd al-Hussein al-Anbaki, supervises the conference and a number of officials from economic departments and organizations and businessmen take part in it," Reda explained.

Among the issues on the conference's agenda are the government's support for the private sector and the problems facing production sectors in the country, Reda added, noting that more than 85% of the industrial projects in Iraq have stopped working since the 1980s, forcing local markets to depend on imported goods, rather than home-based manufactuing.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq needs "economic Knights' Assault"- Minister

Iraq's Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation said that it is time for "economic Knights' Assault and Lion's Roar" in the country, in reference to the military operations that were launched by security forces in the Iraqi provinces of Basra and Ninewa.

"Iraq needs economic Knights' Assault and Lion's Roar, in addition to the decisive political and security decisions taken by the government with regards to Basra province. The Iraqi government must formulate a vision for the next 20 years," Minister Ali Baban told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq, (VOI) on the sidelines of a three-day conference on provincial development in the capital Baghdad.

The meeting held on Sunday between the Ministry of Planning and provincial departments, the second of its kind in two months, was meant to establish a framework for managing the departments' performance, the minister noted.

The minister said that the country is suffering from a stumbling foreign policy and a lack of strategic approach.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced last month the commencement of a security operation codenamed Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault) in the port city of Basra, Iraq's second largest province and an oil-hub, 590 km south of Baghdad, which he said targeted "outlaws."

On Saturday, the commander of Ninewa operations, Staff Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal, declared the commencement of Operation Lion's Roar with the aim of tracking down al-Qaeda operatives, following the arrival of "substantial" military reinforcements from Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

Karbala prepares for first Gulf exhibition for investment in Iraq

Karbala city will host the first Gulf exhibition for investment in Iraq in late July 2008, with the participation of over 100 Gulf and Egyptian companies, a member of the Iraqi Businessmen Union in the city said on Monday.

"The city will host an industrial and trade exhibition, where major companies from Egypt and Gulf countries will participate," Haidar Abdul Wahab told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq¸ (VOI), noting that 100-150 investment, business, reconstruction and industrial firms have initially agreed to take part in the event.

The exhibition, entitled 'The First Gulf Exhibition for Investment in Iraq', will be supported by the local government, which has vowed to provide security for the participating delegations, Abdul Wahab added.

Karbala, Iraq's second holiest Shiite city after Najaf, lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

Cairo hosts 2nd Iraq Business, Investment Conference

The Egyptian capital will host the second Iraq Business and Investment Conference (IBIC) this Thursday with the aim of discussing Iraq's main economic issues and the role of businessmen in the economic process, the head of the Iraqi Businessmen Union said.

"The second conference, which will be attended by Iraq's Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, is crucial for future economic development and projects carried out by businessmen from outside and inside Iraq," Ragheb Reda told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq¸ (VOI).

Among the issues on the conference's agenda is the role of private business and companies in boosting the Iraqi economy, Reda explained.

"The conference will also tackle the role of Iraqi businessmen in the establishment of development projects…Invitations have been sent to over 600 Iraqi, Arab and international experts in the field, including representatives for economic organizations and government projects, businessmen and traders," Reda added

The first IBIC was held in Dubai in 2007 with the participation of prominent Iraqi and Arab figures. One of the recommendations of the Dubai conference was to support the Iraqi economy by all means.

Aswat Aliraq

PM urges Parliament to allocate $5 billion to rebuild Iraq

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday urged the Parliament to allocate $5 billion for reconstruction and strategic projects in the country.

"We have a responsibility to rebuild what has been destroyed by terrorist operations and to compensate the aggrieved persons," al-Maliki said in his speech before the Parliament.

"We need $5 billion (1 U.S. dollar= 1,221 Iraqi dinars) to finance strategic projects in the country and to achieve progress in reconstruction operations, particularly in the field of education, which was harmed by the former regime's policies," the premier told the Parliament, which held its regular session on Monday under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

Al-Maliki revealed a project worth one-billion-dollars, which aims at sending 10,000 Iraqi students to study abroad.

"We also need $250 million to develop universities, which has been at a low level among prominent universities," al-Maliki added.

In his speech, al-Maliki stressed the importance of building Iraq on "constitutional and legal pillars," highlighting the respect for the state's authority and law.

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Higher demand for the dollar in daily Auction

Demand for the dollar was up in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Monday, registering at $69.120 million compared to $35.400 million on Sunday.

"The demand hit $8.470 million in cash and $60.650 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,200 Iraqi dinars per dollar, stable for the third consecutive session" according to the central bank's daily bulletin which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

The 12 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell $1.300 million, which the bank bought at an exchange rate of 1,198 dinars per dollar.

Speaking to VOI, Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that the increase in the overall demand for the dollar was expected on Monday, where the central bank usually changes its exchange rate and most foreign remittances are made.

“The increase was made only in remittances while the cash decreased in the past two sessions,” he added.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq