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

Originally Posted by cigarman

hey day dreamer do you have the link for the last article you posted?

Translated version of http://www.iraqipresidency.net/index.php?language=arabic

A baby never learns to walk first,
First they learn to crawl, then they learn to walk, THEN they learn to RUN
LOOKS LIKE IRAQ IS LEARNING TO RUN

(Voice of Iraq) - 10-16-2006 | This issue was sent to a friend

Political / America / Bush / Iraq
White House denies forcing the government Maliki time-control violence
Washington-10-16 (KUNA) -- White House today denied that the American administration had committed the Iraqi government headed by Nuri al-Maliki notice specified time to control the increasing violence in the country or the loss of American support. He said White House spokesman Tony Snow, in a meeting with reporters here that President Bush stressed during the telephone call he held with Iraqi Prime Minister to Washington full support for his government's efforts to eliminate violence in Iraq. He added that "the President stressed his commitment to the democratically elected government in Iraq also encouraged the Iraqi Prime Minister to ignore rumors that the American government was seeking to impose a timetable on the government." He pointed to Snow said, "The two leaders reaffirmed the need for strong leadership and coordination proximity between Iraqi security forces and the coalition forces." The news reports have suggested that the United States develop specific period of two months for the government to control the Maliki increasing violence in Iraq and dealing with the sectarian violence or the loss of any American support them. The increase of violence in Iraq and the loss of control is the position of the Republican party in the Congressional elections scheduled for the 7th of next month, prompting President Bush to address the American public opinion in a series of letters to emphasize that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror and withdraw from the Iraq will be the security of the United States at risk. And President Bush had last week stressed his willingness "to listen" to any new strategies to enable the United States to complete its mission in Iraq, but he stressed that the American forces will not withdraw before achieving their mission there.


Sotaliraq.com

The prime minister,,, a statement ... Longer file militias

(Voice of Iraq) - 10-16-2006 | This issue was sent to a friend

The name of God the Merciful
The Republic of Iraq


Prime minister
Media Bureau

Monday 16 / 10 / 2006
Statement

Longer file militias of the key issues under consideration by the government of national unity paramount importance has been used military force against the militias outside the law in a number of governorates and was determined to confront the armed groups by all means political or military and would not hesitate to strike at anyone who tries to disrupt security in a year for the country and the threat of civil peace.
The formation of militias subject of the Special Committee and the ministerial committee charged with reforming the flaw in the security services, step process in the framework of efforts exerted by the government to deal with this serious phenomenon.


Sotaliraq.com

Sure sounds good about the FIL and Hydrocarbon Law. Hopefully they will enact both soon and we will have our R/V.
LIT

If this has already been posted - delete please.

Political Council for National Security in permanent session

(Voice of Iraq) - 10-16-2006

Political Council for National Security in permanent session to follow up on important issues

The security file holds political meetings of the Council of the national security

Under the supervision of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Jalal Talabani, in the presence of his eminence al-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the United Iraqi Alliance list and the State of the Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Mahmoud Almshahadani and Mr. Tariq Al-Hashmi, Vice President of the Republic, Dr Ibrahim Jaafari and heads and representatives of the political blocs. Political Council held a national security meeting yesterday evening and continued until late, discussed the issue of the security file, in many respects, raised the views of the extensive debate to discuss ways to establish security and stability in the country. Continue Political Council for National Security held its sessions in the open to discuss the security file and the files of other Iraqi task order to develop solutions to the country's conditions and the requirements in the current circumstances.

The Vice-President, Dr. Adel Abdalmahdi had affirmed in a meeting yesterday that the political council of national security in the circulation during its meeting, the day before yesterday, Saturday, most important issues, The foremost security file, as well as the political consensus and the link between security and political file, in addition to considering steps to be followed to coordinate with the multinational forces to provide security and stop the bloodshed and violence in the country.

And Dr. Abdalmahdi in a joint press conference after the meeting, , which was held at his residence in Baghdad that "the political council of national security in the case of the lasting effect on yesterday, Sunday, and the coming days, in order to follow up on important issues, and not left without a suitable solutions. "

Stressing on the need to develop radical solutions to some outstanding issues between the Iraqi forces and the multinational force, He said that "the solution is to put the security and strengthen the role of the police, army and intelligence in addition to the role of multinational forces."

For his part, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih on the need to do a draft national reconciliation, launched by Prime Minister Al-Maliki, and applied on the ground, He pointed out the need for cooperation among all the serious political blocs in the parliament and the government and said that the Iraqi street is the urgent need to restore security, and not allow the extremists to abduct political position "and also stressed that" the credibility of the political project has been questioned by the Iraqi citizens who are new twist in his life. "

For his part, the Speaker Dr. Mahmoud Almshahadani out that if it was to achieve what will be agreed at the Mecca will therefore Anoka Sat positive on the Iraqi street. With regard to federalism, Almshahadani said that the topic provided in the Iraqi Constitution, and that "each of the parties had a point of view, some people believe that the time is ripe for the application of federal, Others are the opposite view "explaining that there was an agreement to re-examine some of the articles of the Constitution in accordance with Article 142, within the time ceiling-year, and that the principle of consensus used by the political parties in the event of disagreement. In the same context, Deputy Prime Minister Alzobai peace "that the draft national reconciliation opened the door to dialogue with the tribal elders of Anbar, and that there are efforts to restore security in the city. The government in the Diyala make the same efforts and work towards easing the situation there. "

THAT SOUND GOOD TODAY!!!!!!!!!

OK, I thought the laws had to be approved before they were ratified? Reading the article it puts completed behind the items as they were passed not ratified, but they say ratified. Someone please explain, I'm reading they all have been passed and awaiting ratification.

Originally Posted by cigarman

OK, I thought the laws had to be approved before they were ratified? Reading the article it puts completed behind the items as they were passed not ratified, but they say ratified. Someone please explain, I'm reading they all have been passed and awaiting ratification.

That's how I read it to - All Passed!!

WOOOOOOOOTTTTT!! ????

The eleventh and last in a series of IRIN stories examining the obstacles Iraq faces in implementing its government’s plan to reconcile different sections of Iraqi society. Click on the following link for an overview of the series: Iraq reconciliation series overview

Of the US $65 billion pledged to Iraq for aid and redevelopment since March 2003, only $20.5 billion has been spent on that purpose, according to the government. Some $35 billion has still not been disbursed to Iraq by donors while billions have been lost to corruption and billions redirected to security.

“About 15 percent of the total money invested in the country by the US government and other donors for reconstruction projects is missing without explanation. Each day the international debt of Iraq will increase because of corruption,” said Judge Radhi al-Radhi, head of the Commission on Public Integrity, which is tackling corruption.

He said around $4.5 billion has been pilfered from state coffers.

Decisions about how and where the money is spent in Iraq are sensitive and complex. Any request for funds is drafted by the Prime Minister’s office and then must be approved by parliament. A commission of government officials, US officials and other organisations’ and donor representatives have to check each request.

Nonetheless, some $1 billion is said to have been stolen by Iraqi defence ministry officials, according to a report in 2005 presented by Stuart Bowen, director of the US Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

The US administration has also been plagued with accusations of misspent money. In February 2006, Robert Stein, who held a senior position in the Coalition Provisional Authority, admitted to stealing more than $2 million in goods and cash, as well as taking bribes in return for contracts.

In charge of overseeing infrastructure funds in south-central Iraq in 2003 and 2004, Stein now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

In addition to reconstruction money lost to corruption, at least $3 billion has been redirected to security because of the continuing insurgency and sectarian violence. This does not include separate funds invested in fighting terrorism, such as the $5 billion Iraqi Security Forces Fund.

“The money used in security issues was used in training local security forces, [and buying] equipment, armaments, concrete barriers, bullet-proof cars, bodyguards for senior officials and other requirements. This cannot be neglected. Security has to keep going more than any reconstruction, as it is the base of development,” said Ahmed Marouf, budget officer and Ministry of Planning assessor.

Donors holding back

Of the $20.5 billion that was spent as intended, $14.5 billion was spent on reconstructing buildings and infrastructure, $3.5 billion was spent on humanitarian aid and emergency relief, and $2.5 billion was spent on elections, Marouf said.

Despite the billions spent across the country, many Iraqis say that they have seen little improvement.

Donors continue to withhold the rest of the money pledged until the Iraqi government establishes procedures to stop corruption and find qualified people to dispense funds.

At the International Donors’ Conference for Iraq, held in October 2003 in Madrid, 73 countries and 20 international organisations pledged a total of $32 billion in aid for the reconstruction of Iraq, including $21 billion from the US alone. Of those pledges, nearly half has not yet been disbursed to Iraq.

The money goes into the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. The US Agency for International Development is the main partner and administrator of those rebuilding projects.

Separately, the US has also allocated $19.6 billion to the Development Fund for Iraq for investments in governance. Of that, $10.5 billion has still not been disbursed.

Other sources pledged an additional $13.6 billion in assistance. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund pledged $5.5 billion in lending programs, of which they have given $1.8 billion so far.

The remaining investments were from 37 bilateral donors who pledged $8 billion collectively. The main donors - Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and Canada - have so far disbursed $2.5 billion.

“Many other projects have been developed so far with international NGOs and with the addition of government support of millions of dollars that have come from the country’s oil revenue,” said Marouf.

Oil revenue

Iraq’s main source of revenue has traditionally been from oil. During former president Saddam Hussein’s rule, revenue from oil represented about 90 percent of the total economy.

However, security problems and constant attacks on oil pipelines by insurgents have seriously hampered the extraction and distribution of oil.

“Each pipe attacked means millions of dollars lost a day, which directly will reduce funding for investments on Iraq’s reconstruction,” Marouf said.

Nearly 650 attacks on Iraq's oil infrastructure were reported from June 2003 to June 2006, causing a massive loss of revenue from oil exports at a time when international prices have been high. The cost of repairing all three years of damage to the nation's primary source of income totals more than $13 billion.

“This money alone would be enough to repair and build hundreds of schools and hospitals countrywide, but has been lost because insecurity is so common in our country,” said Professor Salah Abdu, an economist at Baghdad University.

as/ls/ed





[ENDS]

Originally Posted by cigarman

OK, I thought the laws had to be approved before they were ratified? Reading the article it puts completed behind the items as they were passed not ratified, but they say ratified. Someone please explain, I'm reading they all have been passed and awaiting ratification.

Here's Dictionary.com's definition of "Ratify":

rat-i-fy [rat-uh-fahy] - verb
1. to confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction: to ratify a constitutional amendment.

2. to confirm (something done or arranged by an agent or by representatives) by such action.

So, knowing the above, I would tend to think that those items awaiting ratification have indeed been passed... But I suppose it's possible that Iraq has another definition for Ratify.

Originally Posted by cigarman

OK, I thought the laws had to be approved before they were ratified? Reading the article it puts completed behind the items as they were passed not ratified, but they say ratified. Someone please explain, I'm reading they all have been passed and awaiting ratification.

Everywhere in the news it was stated that it would be passed at the end of the year.

After Rice visit we have seen a few articles, not much, that it was under the parliament (also stated in a press briefing of the 6th of october).

I think they have kept this one behind closed doors as far as possible. This law is the key to the big oil fields and the key to the big foreign investment.

I personally think that this could be the last piece of the puzzle that was needed for a RV.

We expected the RV earlier but something was holding them. There might be a big chance that the HCL and FIL implementation are directly connected with a RV.

That could be a reason that they kept it behind close doors, to prevent further speculation.