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

After the failure of the experience of pricing.
Source : Al-Sabah - 13/10/2006
Many complain of low-income phenomenon of the rise in prices of fruits and vegetables, wondering about the reasons behind it, especially since this is an agricultural products mainly in the daily diet of the people. The trade sector fruits and vegetables had witnessed the experience of (pricing), which lasted fifteen years and ended in failure.




Some underscores the difficulty of pricing these materials as it is not compatible with the laws of free trade. With others blame the farmer and the office in Aloh. I wonder whether an outcome and knows the reasons for the rise in the prices of fruits and vegetables, for example, if you tour between Allawi and agricultural departments specialized?.
In "Aloh" everything seems at first glance fundamentalist Valbdhah put up large quantities But it is clear that each vendor set of Bakalin accustomed to buying it.
And even if delayed their attendance to Aloh he knows what they want and get the quota reserved for them once attended. Aloh divided into a series of offices, which include all of them, selling or "Aloji" In the front of each painting refers to the daily price change some figures after the middle of the day sometimes.
Says Mr. Hadi Srih's Office for the sale of fruits and vegetables :
Subject-market prices to supply and demand and depending on the type and quality of the crop, His Aloh take grocer price of the crop as "Stock Exchange" for the day if the quantity of tomato few example, if the price and increased the value of the crop price, as well as for other kinds of vegetables, which depend on the same economic base associated with the principle of supply and demand.
Another phenomenon may not unnoticed by unrelated to the profession that is the phenomenon of weight manipulation. As long as we keep silent grocer He knows when to buy the goods that the writer has added two kilograms to the weight of the real article, he knows deep inside that he recovers from citizens through increased pricing. Valbaea always trying to sell the highest price and steals in weight from the grocer to the satisfaction of the farmer against farmer's commitment to this market place and the seller over the granting of the seller a percentage of return on sales of 4% added to the sales commission and the satisfaction of the grocer procurement as the prices set by the vendors he wants to turn the satisfaction of the seller does not lose Alaght e with him, because he lost in the case of his relationship with the seller, it means that he has lost good products and rare.
* There is talk about the manipulation of prices. Who sets the price usually is responsible unstable? We asked Hadi Sereh, he answered :
Farmer - is the reason the President in the current price manipulation and unstable to a certain extent it is selling as the mood and even if the conditions stable, or sometimes to calm somewhat, it is trying to fabricate excuses to increase the price of the crop and before completing Hadi drove his record preserves the names of farmers who deal with him and he indicates the name purchase of saying : for those already provided financial assistance for the purchase of seeds and fertilizers and gave them bags and the amount to millions of dinars However, some sell at his ranch in the singular, and others sell to others higher than the price agreed upon in principle, When I see him in Alloh and ask him about the fate of the crop has been adversely affected or say I Bath and I am now the guest of the crop, and I am not for sale. How I was controlling the peasants after that. Sometimes the grocer agreed with the farmer to buy the entire quantity of the highest price and tell me Take the 4% net and clamored for permission to live in market anarchy because of the absence of a mechanism for the deal and the responsibilities that contribute somewhat to the stability of the market to a certain extent, The exploitation and extortion commonplace daily and is the only aggrieved citizen, and not any other person of dealers in the market and I am one of them, We all reject the loss.
The Iraqi export product
Karim Khanjar-grocer-spoke to us about the reasons for the high prices of fruits and vegetables as seen, and he said : accustomed as no surprise that prices in the daily price Aloh Every day, depending on the nature and extent of the security situation or the availability of fuel scarcity in addition to the mood of the peasant sector and the office, modalities to raise prices, millennium has become more than an outlet for the export of their goods across the border, which is not only cost some simple procedures and the sale price is better than the price of the local market. Worse still, some owners of offices and farmers turned to contractors to flood the market with imported oil and emptying them of the local crop and benefit from the quality and the quality of local crops and the imposition of the price difference to exporters to the local market.
* What is meant by the difference in price on exporters and how to deal with it?
- Some owners of offices and trading crops local farmers to neighboring countries for lack of many types of fruits and vegetables which can be cultivated in those countries, for example, the sale of these fruit sophistication (Abu big pill) to the Gulf States. and to Syria, in turn import their program named (watermelon Egyptian), who is originally from seed production to lower-quality foreign products and the quality of the Iraqi program, When a sale of the product in the domestic price of their wares to take "watermelon" Egyptian plus quality teams and quality of the Iraqi paper.
* Are there other crops - program to be issued, of which have an impact on the local market?
- Most crops that are exported to overseas Iraqi fruit such as oranges, lemon, pomegranate, and prosperity, The melons and vegetables are tomato, potatoes, cucumbers. Observers of the market noted undoubtedly orange disappearance of the Iraqi market in the last season, while dumped imported orange trees, as well as lemon.
* The fact that you are competent to sell fruits and vegetables and direct contact with citizens about the impact of high prices of agricultural products on the living situation of citizens, especially in the stage in which we live?
- Because of the current security situation in the country and the lack of control over border crossings and the lack of a mechanism to regulate the marketing and sale by the Ministry of Agriculture, leaving things to the chaos and traded people's food, the prices will continue to rise gradually and lasting and even in the case of non-availability or shortage of this crop, or that it crashes to the price can not go below it, but could rise to the highest price in the case of scarce or lacking in the local markets. This, of course, have a great impact on citizens and especially those of limited income or ordinary people engaged in acts do not come good financial returns for themselves and their families.
Pricing loss to the community
Dr. Jamil Skinner, an economist in the Ministry of Agriculture :
- Fruits and vegetables from the clamor difficult it is subject to the principle of supply and demand phrase any other commodity, the materials are not the monopoly of smuggling and perishable materials, The experience for 15 years in price since the mid-1970s has proved a failure, and the current market for the best farmer and the consumer.
But the policy of dumping the local market imported crops and the lack of product Iraqi led to the rise in prices and the burden on the citizens in these difficult circumstances, What do you say?
- In both cases, pricing loss to the community, because it is difficult to put quotation is the fact balance in the demand or real balance of supply and whether it should be in this situation that I daresay production beyond the village in Zakho and beyond the village in Basra, Why produce and what the quality and quantity of production and this can within the means available. Add to this the problems associated with the pricing of fruits and vegetables accompanied by the scarcity or sold in the shadows or restricted the sale of hotels, restaurants and the reluctance of farmers for the production of various crops and other problems in the experiment, which we knew 15 years ago.
Q : So what is best in your opinion, pricing or leave the market to the principle of supply and demand?
- Pricing abolished in 1996, and the strange thing is that the pricing is a request to cancel and that person is me personally! After the Iraqi experience has proved its failure in this area and because the Iraqi market is moving towards free trade or entry in the World Trade Organization, the principle of pricing is not consistent with the laws of free trade. I believe that the principle of supply and demand at the present time best seller and the consumer in terms of impact, positively or negatively, in terms of higher and lower prices, depending on the availability of the article or scarce.
Q : What role and the role of the Ministry of Agriculture?
- Now is for the Ministry of Agriculture had no role in the wholesale markets "Allawi" because ownership has been given to the Secretariat of Baghdad since 1986 and became responsible for the organization and management of these markets to the private sector. In addition, there are markets of the General Union of cooperation is responsible for letting the organization and method of work within.
The Weird!
Dr. Abdul Hakim, the official agricultural economy in the ministry, speaking on the pricing of agricultural crops, saying :
- We are responsible for only priced cereal crops such as wheat, barley, a high sun flower oil and grain maize as we buy at subsidized by the state. Play the role of mediator between the farmer and the Ministry of Agriculture in addition to what is provided by the State of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and seeds to farmers at subsidized prices.
Q : What about the rest of agricultural crops such as fruits and vegetables?
- When they were lifting the price of fruits and vegetables in the 1990s, the ministry did not intervene in the matter and is still the case until now because the country was moving toward a market economy have become members of the WTO, these conditions have to halt the state's intervention in the market. Nevertheless, we support the agricultural inputs such as machinery and equipment, but, alas, many of these goods were not supported in the agricultural production but go to trade in markets example : machine agriculture for farmers sold the vegetables at 10 million dinars carry farmer in turn sell them on the market at a price of 20 or 25 million dinars and merchant in turn sell them abroad at a price 30 or 35 million dinars since the price is already abroad is 40 million dinars. Thus, for the rest of the equipment and machinery used in agriculture Vosalena result is that we support the finished product, this now only applies to cereal crops example wheat bought at a very high from the farmer and we sell them cheaply in the ration card as well as maize bought at a high price and sold the vegetables together for Mel poultry production cheaply as background material in the production of fodder "Alika" As for fruit crops and vegetables matter confined to fertilizers, seeds, which are sold at subsidized prices to farmers with the quota as fixed amount of land cultivated and leave the determination of the prices of the principle of supply and demand imposed by the market. and I think that the issue of determining the prices of fruit and vegetables, or a specific mechanism for the marketing process is difficult and unsuccessful at the present time Experience has shown previous failure in spite of the different conditions than today's.
* Will the price continues to increase in light of the principle of supply and demand?
- Because of the current circumstances experienced by the country of electricity blackouts and the scarcity of fuel and security conditions inappropriate, It is natural that there be a rise in prices and instability in the local market. eight production and marketing process needs to hand Organization even though subject to the principle of supply and demand in order not to become a citizen at the mercy of the producer or seller of the product and feels that it has a responsibility in facilitating the process of production. to ensure the safety and quality of production through the provision of some of the requirements necessary for this process and this in turn helps to stabilize prices in the markets to a certain extent and relatively stable, may be subject to the rise and the slight decline does not affect the consumer unlike the ongoing process at the present time.
Engineer Jassim Mohammed Hashemi agricultural Guide in the Ministry of Agriculture talked about the price policy of agricultural commodities in Iraq, saying :
- Is the vital link between pricing and marketed consumer and producer of agricultural commodities, we did not find, at any time, it might be priced absolute disparity in prices during periods of seasonal production in the production of any agricultural commodity, with the emergence of certain discrepancies in the prices sometimes even during the day between the morning and evening. This disparity reflects the nature of agricultural commodity and Psychotropic many affected by what is happening change in the specifications, One of these psychotropic appropriate harvesting and packages prepared for the transfer of agricultural commodity as well as the means of agricultural commodities in the market and these effects may be positive for the consumer, especially when the price reduction and a negative input at the market forced the seller to sell the product concerned to avoid damage suffered a bigger loss in all cases va n pricing system that restricted market can bring to the reduction of prices, but we have encountered in the 1980s has been imprisoned more than (170) A single trader of agricultural commodities because of the sale price to be outside, it commodity and factors affecting supply, which justifies the format specifications defined mainly to the exchange rate, There is another effective interaction demand and supply of agricultural commodities may be flexible supply at certain times, but the demand with the price is flexible and is due to the level of consumer income and weather conditions, taste and professional life, customs and traditions, and others.
* Consumer and producer and marketed. Whichever is more benefit from the liberalization of agricultural commodity?
- If the prices linked to cost of production of agricultural commodity means the total cost of production plus the cost of the market and marketing services, excluding profit if any, this association in the cost price, which contains acceptable profit margin and Assistant to develop production and improve the standard of living of the product and marketed And the consumer drives the economy of the community toward growth and prosperity and economic and social well-being, An important factor helping to free agricultural commodity pricing of assessments or to be determined by market demand factors and supply factors and that the important factor is summarized information marketing, This information is great impact on the production, marketing and consumption of agricultural commodities as the producer obtains information which found local prices for agricultural commodities, which helped him to take important decisions in the organization of farm and the production of agricultural goods in the light of the prices they expected to be obtained and the agricultural policy one e-cultivated farms in the country depends mainly on marketing information contained market situation and energy Khazneh (refrigerated and non-refrigerated), and the demand for the manufacturing and packaging of agricultural commodities and the need to export agricultural goods to the neighboring markets and global level and the local and global prices for commodities agricultural, further information with a direct influence on the revenues of the product marketed, and the consumer as well as the competition of alternative goods and commodities in the domestic and global markets is the vocabulary consists marketing information and rely on this information for marketing for a commodity research and market each and every society has research market information affecting the marketing of agricultural commodities, They reached traders, consumers and producers to the appropriate decisions for them and help them to develop appropriate policy for their production and marketing and consumption, it can not succeed while restricting prices.

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Iraq end their preparations for the assumption of two million barrels of oil a day from Iran
Source : Newspaper Conference - 13/10/2006
A source in the Wasit governorate yesterday, Wednesday, from the end of the preparations in Zorbatiyah outlet for receiving shipments of kerosene imported from Iran, and of two million liters per day. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said "the Wasit governorate receives daily two million liters of kerosene (paraffin across the border outlet Zorbatiyah (east Wasit governorate) after the completion of the performing readiness to accommodate portable carrying those amounts." It was Iraq and Iran have had a change in their contract and for supplying kerosene from Iran to Baghdad through the performing mentioned. The media source in the Ministry of Oil had said in a press statement last week that there were not integrated in the outlet Zorbatiyah prevented implementation of the commitment between the two sides, without referring to the nature of those proceedings. The source explained that "the Iranian side demanded that Iraq deliver kerosene to the Wasit governorate instead of the city of Baghdad and that the difficult security conditions experienced by Baghdad." He added : "The tables and the Iraqi oil ministry operating Wasit governorate by creating new Kut warehouse for the storage of those quantities and provinces for processing later. " He pointed out that such a repository would be a temporary repository of oil from Iran until the completion of his transfer to the fuel depots in the capital Baghdad and other governorates The source expected the arrival of oil supplier to Iran over the next couple of days to be stored in a warehouse Kut and transports hoses d direction of the city of Baghdad by Iraqis carriers allocate amounts contracted amounts of the contract with Iran is what has happened from the agreement between the two sides also.

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Through joint visits between the two parties to determine requirements and the exchange of experiences
Source : Kuwaiti homeland - 13/10/2006
Diplomatic sources said Iraqi reliable and economic told »« homeland that Iraq will be signed with Kuwait in the coming months a cooperation agreement to jointly develop oil fields in Iraq to meet the needs of the oil products, especially auto fuel and kerosene, two articles which Iraq suffers from a lack of Amaddadathma.
The sources said that the Iraqi Oil Ministry had prepared a plan for the construction of new oil refineries in the various governorates, pointing out that the plan includes building a refinery in the Koya Koysanjak Iraq's Kurdistan Province a production capacity of 70 thousand barrels per day and build refineries in the region of Mesopotamia Indian province of Babil south of the Iraqi capital, capacity is expected to reach 140 thousand barrels a day in Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar governorate in southern Iraq capacity is expected to reach 3 00 thousand barrels per day
»The sources said that Iraq will shortly cooperation agreements with each of Kuwait, Syria and Iran to develop oil fields« common.
On the other hand, the Executive Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the KPC Hani Hussein, in a statement to Al Watan »« »that participation will be limited to the technical aspects only and will not exceed more than that of their non-participation«.
His »there is between us and the cooperation of the Iraqi side and the technical center for the possession major refineries in Kuwait and our employment position in this aspect is the involvement of art and did not ask us to engage with them as partners in these refineries«
In response to a question about the quality of substantive participation Hussein confirmed that it is restricted to joint visits between the two parties to determine the extent of the needs required to have in addition to the exchange of expertise and access to work in Kuwaiti refineries and watching some units outstanding in the refineries and how to manage it.

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Source : Reuters - 13/10/2006
Airline source said on Friday that Iraq pumping one million barrels of oil through the northern pipeline to Turkey from Kirkuk since Wednesday. And on Wednesday, Iraq began exporting oil via pipeline for the first time since the third of September.

The source said that the quantity of oil stored in tanks at the Turkish port of Ceyhan to 1.4 million barrels Friday, a rise of about 300 thousand barrels when it resumed pumping oil on Wednesday. The source added, "still pumping constant rate of 18 thousand barrels per hour."

The sabotage attacks led to the survival of the line stalled since most of the time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Iraq depends entirely dependent on exports from the southern port of Basra. Oil is the main source of foreign currency in Iraq, which needs to rebuild its economy after years of sanctions and war.

The total Iraqi exports 1.64 million barrels a day in September of last September, including the 1.6 million barrels of Kirkuk crude from Iraq was able to pump through the pipeline in late August and early September.

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Originally Posted by DayDream

13 October 2006 (Anchorage Daily News)

Could a concept from Alaska resource management -- sharing the wealth directly with individual citizens -- help achieve peace in Iraq?

Billionaire and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes thinks so. He is the latest prominent figure to suggest Iraq follow the model of Alaska's Permanent Fund, including the annual dividend the fund pays to all residents. Directly sharing some of the oil wealth would give everyone in Iraq a stake in reconstructing a peaceful country.

The idea hasn't gotten a lot of traction since it was first floated three years ago, which is too bad. Iraq desperately needs a way to unify what is a violent and fractured country. Sharing oil wealth directly with individuals would show Iraqis that their lives can be made better by living in peace, instead of fighting neighbors over religious doctrine and the spoils of oil production.

Direct cash payments would also help contain the corruption that's rife in Iraq. Instead of relying on tribal or family connections to steer money their way, Iraqis would be entitled to an equal share of the benefits from oil production, and they could get it immediately. They wouldn't have to sit around and wait for the government to supply them with the public services from oil revenue, such as electricity, clean water, schools, roads, communications and health care.

Those are all important services that Iraq desperately needs. The necessary investments will eat up a large share of Iraq's oil income. At the start, it won't be easy to set aside some to supply citizens with cash payments or to build a savings account.

But Iraq is a country with plenty of oil. If it regained its prewar production of 2 million barrels a day, it could sell $100 million a day worth of oil, or $36 billion a year (assuming $50 a barrel oil), before expenses. That should be enough to fund generous reconstruction and reinvestment in oil fields, while sharing some with regional governments and paying immediate cash dividends to individuals. A payout of $100 per person a year -- a significant amount in an impoverished country -- would cost only $2.6 billion, less than one month's oil production.

Once Iraq had dealt with its most urgent reconstruction needs, it could begin shifting some oil money into savings. As those savings grew, they could finance larger payouts to individual citizens, just as Alaska's Permanent Fund has.

While religious strife is driving much of the violence, the dividends could help quell a contributing economic undercurrent. Iraq's Sunnis, the minority that ran the country under Saddam Hussein, predominate in an area with little oil. Most of Iraq's oil wealth is in the Shiite south and Kurdish north. Dividends to all citizens would give Sunnis an immediate and lasting stake in rebuilding nationwide oil production. Sharing national oil revenue with the Sunni region is another way to encourage them to support a unified, peaceful Iraq.

Three years of conventional military operations have not been enough to pacify Iraq and lead it toward democracy. It's time the United States embraces nonmilitary measures that could defuse violence and build support for a unified, civil society. Sharing oil wealth with citizens is worth a try.

BOTTOM LINE: Sharing oil wealth directly with Iraqis might help promote peace. It's worth a try.

Cheers!
DayDream

No doubt, this would fuel a spirit of cooperation with the Iraqi people but I thought that this was already part of the overall plan. If it is not then, I don't think anything will work apart from this. All Iraqis must benefit directly from the oil revnues or there will always be resentment.

Having said that, I also think that more should be and could be done militarily to eliminate the violence from the insurgents. I think that everyone being pacified through a share in the oil revenues can go a long way in squelching the violence and I think this should be done immediately but at the same time perpetrators of crime and violence must know that it is not in anyway to their advantage to take matters into their own hands and that doing so will result in their death with no benefit to loved ones left behind.

Frankly, I can see how a revalue should and could make all the difference but at the same time it's hard to see how they will revalue before the insurgency is dramatically reduced. This is a major impediment to all progress to peace and prosperity in Iraq.

I am ever hopeful for a revalue soon but I'm concerned that it may be delayed indefinitely as long as the insurgence are permitted to continue their disruptive obstructions.

Originally Posted by Pippyman

Just curious as to why they HAVE TO "have the value changed by the time they start handing out the cheques"? Believe me I definately want you to be right... but just because these cheques and cards arent really worth much to us they are at least worth a little to the Iraqis.
But I do see what you are trying to say. I just wanted to ask if there is more that you may know here or you are just making an assumption that the value of these items are sooooo worthless to the Iraqis that a rise in the dinar is only option for the Iraqis to accept these items? Thanks!

youre absolutely right. they dont HAVE TO do anything actually. they can hand out those six dollar cheques monday and put up with the people revolting against the govt for giving it out, for as they say prices will increase right away but wont reduce when the six bucks is gone.

i see this as a sure way to goad their civil war into a higher bracket now that theyve gotten a better handle on things from going door to door in the cities and flushing out the bad seeds. one step forward and two steps back. yeah, why not??

Originally Posted by Adster

A lot of good things happening for sure. I'm not convinced tomorrow/Monday is the day personally. We'll see, we can only hope.

so they are going to hand out undervalued cheques??

Originally Posted by DayDream

13 October 2006 (Anchorage Daily News)

Could a concept from Alaska resource management -- sharing the wealth directly with individual citizens -- help achieve peace in Iraq?

Billionaire and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes thinks so. He is the latest prominent figure to suggest Iraq follow the model of Alaska's Permanent Fund, including the annual dividend the fund pays to all residents. Directly sharing some of the oil wealth would give everyone in Iraq a stake in reconstructing a peaceful country.

The idea hasn't gotten a lot of traction since it was first floated three years ago, which is too bad. Iraq desperately needs a way to unify what is a violent and fractured country. Sharing oil wealth directly with individuals would show Iraqis that their lives can be made better by living in peace, instead of fighting neighbors over religious doctrine and the spoils of oil production.

Direct cash payments would also help contain the corruption that's rife in Iraq. Instead of relying on tribal or family connections to steer money their way, Iraqis would be entitled to an equal share of the benefits from oil production, and they could get it immediately. They wouldn't have to sit around and wait for the government to supply them with the public services from oil revenue, such as electricity, clean water, schools, roads, communications and health care.

Those are all important services that Iraq desperately needs. The necessary investments will eat up a large share of Iraq's oil income. At the start, it won't be easy to set aside some to supply citizens with cash payments or to build a savings account.

But Iraq is a country with plenty of oil. If it regained its prewar production of 2 million barrels a day, it could sell $100 million a day worth of oil, or $36 billion a year (assuming $50 a barrel oil), before expenses. That should be enough to fund generous reconstruction and reinvestment in oil fields, while sharing some with regional governments and paying immediate cash dividends to individuals. A payout of $100 per person a year -- a significant amount in an impoverished country -- would cost only $2.6 billion, less than one month's oil production.

Once Iraq had dealt with its most urgent reconstruction needs, it could begin shifting some oil money into savings. As those savings grew, they could finance larger payouts to individual citizens, just as Alaska's Permanent Fund has.

While religious strife is driving much of the violence, the dividends could help quell a contributing economic undercurrent. Iraq's Sunnis, the minority that ran the country under Saddam Hussein, predominate in an area with little oil. Most of Iraq's oil wealth is in the Shiite south and Kurdish north. Dividends to all citizens would give Sunnis an immediate and lasting stake in rebuilding nationwide oil production. Sharing national oil revenue with the Sunni region is another way to encourage them to support a unified, peaceful Iraq.

Three years of conventional military operations have not been enough to pacify Iraq and lead it toward democracy. It's time the United States embraces nonmilitary measures that could defuse violence and build support for a unified, civil society. Sharing oil wealth with citizens is worth a try.

BOTTOM LINE: Sharing oil wealth directly with Iraqis might help promote peace. It's worth a try.

Cheers!
DayDream

this is why they sent over a special delegation from alaska a few months back.

Oct. 13, 2006, 10:47PM
Finessing Iraq: Bush gets backup from Baker, again
By HELEN THOMAS

Former Secretary of State James Baker is riding to the rescue of President Bush. So what else is new?

Baker has been there many times before for the Bush family — to pull their chestnuts out of the fire.

This time it appears he is being called to help President Bush finesse his way out of the Iraqi debacle and save face.

Smooth-talking Baker is a master at resolving tricky situations, and he does it with a smile.

He is the Republican co-chairman of a bipartisan panel, called "The Iraq Study Group," created last March with a nudge from Congress.

The group is working on a report on Iraq that may offer an exit plan as an alternative to the president's widely touted "stay the course" policy. But it won't be released until after the November election. Naturally!

Ultimately, the report may get Bush off the hook in the no-win situation in Iraq. At a news conference Wednesday the president reiterated his pledge not to "get out (of Iraq) before the job is done."

But Bush said he was prepared "to change tactics" if Baker's team recommends a switch. The word "tactics" may be a rhetorical device to help ease an inglorious U.S. exit from the war, now nearing its fourth year.

In an interview on Sunday on ABC-TV, Baker said in his usual manner of lawyerly obfuscation: "I think it's fair to say our commission believes that there are alternatives between the stated alternatives — the ones that are out there in the political debate — of 'stay the course' and 'cut and run.' "

The phrase "cut and run" has become the president's favored jibe at Democrats who urge a pullout from Iraq.

Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, is co-chairman of the group. One can only hope that its report will have a major impact on the floundering administration, which has to contend with growing American casualties in an unpopular war and rising discontent among its own loyal Republicans in national polls.

Unfortunately Baker flatly rejected a quick withdrawal from Iraq on grounds that "you would see the biggest civil war you've ever seen." Well, what does Baker think is going on in Iraq right now?

Meantime, Bush has rejected as "just not credible" a report of public health researchers that there have been more than 600,000 Iraqi civilian casualties since the U.S. invasion in 2003.

Bush is seeing some of his own party leaders turning off on the war. Sen. John Warner, R-Va. Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, returned from a trip to Iraq last week and said there might have to be a "change in course in three months."

Baker, a skilled Texas political operative, had served as chief of staff in the Reagan administration and as secretary of the Treasury before becoming the nation's chief diplomat in the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush, father of the president and Baker's close, lifelong friend.

Baker is well-schooled in Middle Eastern politics. In his 1995 memoir, Baker recalled his 1991 warning not to take Baghdad and topple Saddam Hussein after the successful Persian Gulf War, fearing it would provoke a civil war that would take U.S. forces a long time to quell. For the same reasons, the previous President Bush decided against a full-scale invasion of Iraq after liberating Kuwait.

But the current President Bush preferred to take the word of the neocon advisers who told him the invasion of Iraq would be a "cakewalk."

Both Baker and the senior Bush are vindicated in their view by the on-going chaos in Iraq. But they have not sold the present president, who has indicated the war will go on after he has left office.

On Wednesday, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, said that the army is planning to keep its current level of troops in Iraq through 2010.

Baker has come through for Bush in the past, helping to persuade the Supreme Court to halt the Florida vote recount in the presidential election in 2000. For his efforts, a second Bush won the presidency.

Meantime, U.S. officials in Baghdad and Washington seem bent on trashing the Iraqi government, blaming it for not bringing the aggressive militias under control and indicating Iraqi officials are not up to the job of running the country.

That's what I call chutzpah. We invade and tear up a country; install our style of government in Baghdad and then criticize them for weaknesses and mistakes. Is that our passport out of Iraq?

What's more, those who play ball with us, such as Iraqi Vice President Amir al-Hashimi — who lost three siblings by assassination this year — pay a heavy personal price.

If Baker's group does not find a way to extricate U.S. troops from the Iraqi quagmire, the American people surely will.

Thomas is a Washington, D.C.-based columnist for the Hearst Newspapers. ([email protected])

Finessing Iraq: Bush gets backup from Baker, again

Sotaliraq.com

The results of the fierce and absolute agreement on federalism

(Voice of Iraq) - 10 - 14-2006 | This issue was sent to a friend

The results of the fierce and absolute agreement on federalism

Network news Najaf special -
One of the participants in the meeting included Vice Iraqi Parliament and the absolute benefit of the Sunni year and the Secretary-General Harith al-Dhari that it was agreed that the impact of consecutive meetings held mostly in Ramadi to work on not allowing for federalism in Iraq, which aims to divide Iraq.