Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Did'nt I see a post a while ago about the FOREX not going to be up & running until next spring so they could cummunicate & transfer electronicly? Mean anything? O yes, I was one of you that ran to the bank & bought another mil today too!

Originally Posted by nventr

Did'nt I see a post a while ago about the FOREX not going to be up & running until next spring so they could cummunicate & transfer electronicly? Mean anything? O yes, I was one of you that ran to the bank & bought another mil today too!

another misinformation article. ive read an article within the last two weeks that indicated they were all ready at the isx for electronic trading. the banks are all ready and trained in it as well. there is atm machines going up all over iraq daily. they had the banking overhaul last month so thats all done and ready for international activity.

just like they said the investment law wouldnt be ready until 'by the end of the year' as theyve done about everything else. we see that is a catchall phrase they are partial to.

US Commander Says Iraq Violence to Continue, But Also Cites Progress
By Al Pessin
Washington
12 October 2006

Pessin report (Real Media) - Download 499k
Listen to Pessin report (Real Media)



General George Casey
The commander of coalition forces in Iraq says the high level of violence in the country is likely to continue for the 'next couple of months,' but there is progress toward stabilizing the country at the same time. General George Casey spoke to reporters at the Pentagon after meeting with President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

General Casey says he, his deputy and Iraqi officials are constantly reviewing their strategy and tactics, but he offered no specific plan for how to end the current wave of violence. "The operational strategy to deal with the increases in violence is something that I'm working very closely with Pete Chiarelli. The broad strategy, where we are working to bring the levels of the insurgency down as we bring the Iraqi security forces up, I believe, is still a valid framework for what we are doing there in Iraq," he said.

U.S. casualties in Iraq remain high, but General Casey said the violence has largely shifted from an anti-US insurgency to sectarian violence. Still, the general says he still believes Iraq is not in a civil war. "If you add the intensities of Ramadan and the fact that the new government is just standing up, this makes for a difficult situation that's likely to remain that way for some time. That said, violence and progress coexist in Iraq, and we shouldn't be distracted from the positive things that are going on there, amidst all the violence," he said.

Among those 'positive things,' General Casey cited progress in developing the new Iraqi Army and police forces, reforms in the Interior Ministry and the development of provincial governments so that two have already taken control of their areas and several more will do so by the end of the year. He also said the new prime minister is working hard on his national reconciliation effort.

General Casey disputed an article published in a British medical journal this week estimating that 655,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in fighting since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. He said the highest figure he has seen is 50,000, and other U.S. officials noted Wednesday that coalition forces work hard to minimize civilian casualties while the various insurgent groups target civilians deliberately.

The general also noted that 80-to-90 per cent of the violence is within 50 kilometers of Baghdad. Still, he said the level of violence in Iraq is too high. "We shouldn't try to sugar-coat this. The levels of violence over the last few weeks are as high as they have been," he said.

Earlier, President Bush re-stated his determination to stick with the U.S. mission in Iraq, and he also said he is open to changing tactics if General Casey feels the need to. The two men met Wednesday morning. "What's important for the president is when I open up that door in there and General Casey walks in, he feels confident to tell me what's on his mind, Jim. 'Here's what's going right and here's what's going wrong and here's what we're doing about it.' And so, for those folks saying, you know, 'make sure there's flexibility,' I couldn't agree more with you," he said.

General Casey did not say what he told President Bush, or whether he has any major tactical changes in mind. But he noted that he cancelled his plan to begin substantial U.S. troop withdrawals by the end of this year. He also said recent efforts to reduce the violence in Baghdad have been successful, although they have not worked as quickly as he would have liked.

"We are not comfortable with the levels of sectarian violence in Baghdad, and neither is the Iraqi government. We're working with them to take measures to deal with that. The plan that we have in place in Baghdad has affected the levels of sectarian violence in Baghdad, (but) not as quickly as we would have liked," he said.

General Casey says the coalition and Iraqi forces are facing a multi-faceted enemy, ranging from Shiite militias to fighters who want the U.S. forces out to Sunni extremists who are supported by the Al-Qaida terrorist network. And he repeated administration complaints that Iran and Syria have been supporting some of those elements.

The general said he does not need more U.S. troops, at least for now. But he added that it is difficult to determine whether more troops would have a significant impact on the violence outside the specific area where they were deployed. Some members of congress and other experts have called for sending more troops, but U.S. officials have said sending more troops could inspire more violence.

VOA News - US Commander Says Iraq Violence to Continue, But Also Cites Progress

Violence for a couple months . . .until after the money starts to flow and hopes and dreams come back to the people of Iraq

U.S. Army plans for current Iraq troop level to 2010
Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:02 PM ET



By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army is planning on the basis that it may have to maintain current troop levels in Iraq until at least 2010, its top general said on Wednesday.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker said the United States was in a tough fight with insurgents in Iraq but his plans did not mean it would necessarily need to keep the present level of 15 combat brigades there for the next four years.

Including those brigades, numbering about 3,500-4,000 soldiers each, the United States has about 141,000 troops in Iraq.

"We don't know what's going to happen but I'm telling you we're looking at our force and how we would continue this level two (troop) rotations beyond (now), so that's beyond 2010," he told reporters at the Pentagon.

"It's tough, there's no question about it, but I think we're doing well," Schoomaker said of the war.

"This is not a prediction that things are going poorly or better. It's just that I have to have enough ammo in the magazine that I can continue to shoot as long as they (commanders in Iraq) want us to shoot," he said.

Schoomaker's comments came less than four weeks before the November 7 election, in which President George W. Bush's Republican party's control of Congress is at stake, and the war has been a central campaign issue.

Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he had hoped to cut troop levels by two brigades this year but abandoned that plan due to ongoing violence.

U.S. commanders have said current levels will now have to be sustained at least through next spring as U.S. troops battle the insurgency and sectarian attacks.

More than 2,750 U.S. troops and at least tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died since the March 2003 invasion. About 40 U.S. troops have been killed this month alone.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Army had to plan for a variety of scenarios but he and the president decided on troop levels with commanders on the ground. "General Schoomaker, and the Army, does not set force levels in Iraq," he said.

TOUGH NUT

Schoomaker said the United States would not lose militarily in Iraq but ultimately it would be up to Iraqi authorities to solve the country's problems. The U.S. role was to help prepare Iraqi forces for that challenge.
"In the end it's going to be theirs and they're gonna have to deal with it," he said. "Anybody that thinks that victory is the absence of violence doesn't understand the nature of what it is."

At a news conference with Rumsfeld, Casey said he hoped Iraqi forces would control six or seven provinces by the end of this year, up from two now. He said he believed he had enough U.S. forces at present but did not rule out asking for more.

"It's a tough nut -- whether or not bringing in more troops, more U.S. troops, will have a significant long-term impact on the violence," he said.

Casey said attacks in Iraq were as high as they had ever been, and 90 percent of the violence takes place in five of Iraq's 18 provinces, which are home to just under half the country's population.

The U.S. military said roadside bomb attacks in Baghdad reached an all-time high last week. One week last month also saw the war's highest number of suicide bombings.

Asked if he would want those numbers to be far lower after more than three years of fighting, Schoomaker said: "Of course. I mean, we would like everything to be rosy here."

He continued: "You know, I wish there wasn't three (U.S.) school shootings in the last two weeks, OK? Or how many murders took place down here (in Washington) or, you know, how many cattle were rustled in Wyoming, you know, last night. I wish all that stuff would go away but it isn't, it's life."
http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...1_%5BFeed%5D-9

Troops until 2010 . . .makes me wonder if Iraq will be a future base in the region for our troops rapid response should the need arise

Originally Posted by ozizoz

Violence for a couple months . . .until after the money starts to flow and hopes and dreams come back to the people of Iraq

Good find OZ,
Been wandering where you were. Hadn't seen you for awhile

Have we had any news on the distribution of smaller denoms? What is the US Distribution Unit up to? Where are they billited these days?

Enquiring minds want to know

Originally Posted by ronbo

Good find OZ,
Been wandering where you were. Hadn't seen you for awhile

With SGS's super postings . . .there isnt much news for me to post here that she hasnt gotten to first.

Ive been around . . .alot of reading . . .spent the afternoon talking with my not so X, X . . .good news all around- we're gonna try and work things out thru the Holidays . . .now I need the reval to pay for it :) Thanx for asking about me Ronbo

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

another misinformation article. ive read an article within the last two weeks that indicated they were all ready at the isx for electronic trading. the banks are all ready and trained in it as well. there is atm machines going up all over iraq daily. they had the banking overhaul last month so thats all done and ready for international activity.

just like they said the investment law wouldnt be ready until 'by the end of the year' as theyve done about everything else. we see that is a catchall phrase they are partial to.

On the Iraqi exchange rate news, third from the top it always showed something like “Will the Dinar r/v?” and the answer was always “Not Likely” or something like that. That is no longer there and has been replaced with: “Betting Millions on Iraqi Money”, the Tom Lane ABC article that we have all read I am sure. Is there any significance to this or am I grasping at straws?? BTW the rate is 1,470.2.

Iraqi Dinar Exchange Rate Daily News

Lifted this from IIF posted by fproano a few minutes ago:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow this is a strange little story, Why did she DEMAND one Dinar? whats does she know I don't! Do they have a one dinar? I have never seen one.

Six weeks in a war zone

I followed her as she made her way to another woman in a booth that I thought had said Airport TAXI. Turns out it said Airport TAX. "One dinar," the woman demanded. "American money?" I asked. "No," she said. "One dinar." I pulled out a dollar bill and handed it to her. She took it and gave the documents to the other woman, who put a stamp on my boarding pass.
__________________
Sorry can't get link for rest of story to work here!

Originally Posted by ozizoz

Troops until 2010 . . .makes me wonder if Iraq will be a future base in the region for our troops rapid response should the need arise

I would say after pumping over 300 Billion $ into that ungrateful pithole we damn well better have a HUGE military base established there forever so we can keep a close eye on Iran.