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

Originally Posted by Treater

So in other words your trying to impress someone(s), and the idea of it making you look stupid is so shameful that you feel you need someone to blame? BTW: It is not hard at all to see through your reasons.

And so that someone (who you choose to take this out on) is a CARING WOMAN (and I stress woman, because you obviously do not understand or care that it is expressly frowned upon in our society to curse at, and abuse WOMEN) ...so anyway a WOMAN who so selflessly contributes her energy to our intrest, and cares about OTHER people, and is respected by all the decent members of this forum, and you feel the need to ABUSE her because you are insecure emotionally????

Where is your manners?

Thank You Treater. Well said.

Hows this for a scenario?

October Surprise=National Debt Eliminated!!!!



Cheers!
DayDream

25 October 2006 (Al-Mada)

The inspection committees in the Department of Labor and Social Security in charge of monitoring the implementation of the retirement and social security law for workers visited (22) projects, insured and uninsured.

Also, the executive committees responsible for monitoring the application of the law of collecting government debts made 12 field visits to follow-up the Civil Service projects of the Department. During these visits (958) thousand dinars were collected and the income of the Department of the current leases for Baghdad governorate reached (4) million, (739) thousand and (250) dinars.

An official source said that the inspection committees in charge of the application of the law regulating industrial services had visited (3) search centers for industrial projects and made sure of practicing the profession.

Translated by IRAQdirectory.com Team

Department of Labor collects more than four million dinars rent for their projects | Iraq Updates

25 October 2006 (Christian Science Monitor)

In the US search for enemy No 1 in Iraq, with Saddam Hussain detained and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi buried, Moqtada Al Sadr appears to be taking the lead. Recent clashes between US and US-backed Iraqi soldiers and Al Sadr's Shiite militiamen, leading up to the spectacular show of force by his followers in their southern stronghold of Amara last week, has catapulted him to the rank of principal threat to Iraq's stability.

It's a convenient notion, but misguided. The Al Sadrist movement cannot be reduced to its armed militia any more than the matter of militias can be reduced to its Al Sadrist version. His movement reflects a deep social divide among Shiites, while the proliferation of militias is more symptom than cause of Iraq's collapse.

The Iraq war brought to the fore a plethora of new actors and social forces. Of these, none is more enigmatic than Al Sadr.

Unlikely heir

Although he comes from a prestigious line of Shiite clerics, he was the most unlikely of heirs. Following the US invasion, Al Sadr and his followers were dismissed as irrelevant; the US and its Iraqi allies considered his behaviour inconsistent, his judgment erratic, his discourse inflammatory, and his followers a mob of fanatics. Three years later, the enormity of that miscalculation is plain. Al Sadrists play a key part in government and parliament. The young imam enjoys a cult-like following among Shiite masses. His Mehdi Army may have emerged bloodied from its early confrontations with US forces, but it is still standing - no small achievement given the disparity in forces.

As with so much else, the US got things wrong because it listened to those who said what it wanted to hear - in this case, former Shiite exiles who viewed Al Sadr at best as insignificant, at worst as a dangerous intruder. But while the exiles came from one social order, the war ushered in another.

The ensuing upheaval emboldened the more disadvantaged, impoverished Shiites. They did not feel represented by the exiles any more than by the traditional clerical leadership, both of whom the US co-opted. The intra-Shiite division is not really about ideology, politics or theology. It is, above all, about social class.

The US helped build a political process that made it easy, at first, to exclude Al Sadr. It was not so easy to cut him off from his social base. Because he was one of them, Al Sadr found ready support among poor Shiites. They identified with his subordinate family status and the vexations he endured, while his lack of education made them feel better about their own.

Based in popular aspirations more than clerical tradition, the Al Sadrist movement is more social than religious. It articulates the frustrations, hopes and demands of many who have no other representative and who remain marginalised in the post-Hussain order.

Dispossession

The Mehdi Army can be properly understood only in this context. Mehdi Army members make up for their dispossession and exclusion in various ways. They find employment as security personnel for ministries under Al Sadr's control, borrow ministry cars to carry out their missions and get involved in racketeering and impose their own moral standards.

In all this, the Mehdi Army differs little from the vast array of militias that have sprung up since the war. The state has failed to redistribute resources and ensure basic security, so private militias have stepped into the void, providing alternative means to acquire goods and services, gain protection or - most perniciously - mete out their version of justice. As more armed groups compete for a limited share of wealth and power, one turns against the other and their leaders - Al Sadr included - see their control gradually slip away.

That has been the case in recently. The Mehdi Army's actions belie Al Sadr's appeals to his followers not to respond to "US provocations" and not to "fall in the trap" of a new cycle of open confrontations. Most notably, sectarian killings by Al Sadrists contradict what Al Sadr claims he stands for - the unity of Iraq.

What's the right response? Paradoxically, the most pressing step - dismantling the militias -should not be the first one.

Instead, Iraq and the US should focus on limiting the militias' role to protecting civilians in places where government forces cannot. Meanwhile, they must take strong action against political assassinations, sectarian attacks or attempts to overrun government offices, as happened last week in Amara when Al Sadr forces attacked police stations.

Al Sadr is distracting US policymakers and it may be comforting to designate him the latest public enemy No 1. But the real issues that warrant attention are the social grievances that he echoes and the failings of the Iraqi government that feed the growth of armed militias.

Neither problem can be addressed by military means, by prematurely pressing the Iraqi government to disarm the militias or by singling out the Al Sadrists. There has been enough misdirection in this war already. Let's not choose the wrong target again.

Robert Malley is Middle East programme director and Peter Harling is a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.

Containing a Shiite symbol of hope | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

actually, i noticed a couple smirks on his face when mentioning whats yet to come so to speak. i dont know why everyone here got a negative vibe from it, i was actually thinking he was doin a good cheshire cat impression myself. i think the cat is damn near out of the bag.

Sky News over here in the UK had a blip on the text scrolling along the bottom saying "Bush warns Americans to be prepared in regards to Iraq for sacrafices yet to come" gotta admit with what I've heard lately on the news and seen in papers over here (yes I know not to put much stock in western media)<---but when seen and heard on a daily basis....I dont think it looks good and if these reports of dividing the country or overthrowing the current Govt come to pass I wouldnt hold much hope on this investment "pulling into the station" for some time REALLY REALLY hope im wrong

Telecom, (The National Mobile Telecommunication Company - Ticker: NMTC), has mandated BNP Paribas to arrange for a $ 1billion, three year revolving credit facility, with an extension option of two years.

BNP Paribas will act as the sole underwriter, arranger and bookrunner in connection with the facility. The facility will be syndicated to a select group of relationship banks.

'We are very pleased with BNP's trust in our company. Their willingness to underwrite and pre-fund the facility prior to its syndication is yet another proof of the soundness of our investment strategy, and the great value we are create to our shareholders across our Kuwait and international operations. We intend to use the facility to finance our continued growth and expansion of our business,' said Faisal Hamad Al Ayyar, chairman of Wataniya Telecom.

'Wataniya Telecom has a sound investment track record; its financial and operational strengths make it an attractive partner. We have already been contacted by a number of interested regional and international banks that are willing to participate' said Bruno Pezzy, Director of Media and Telecom Finance of BNP Paribas.

Wataniya Telecom manages investments and operations in Kuwait, Tunisia, Iraq, Algeria, the Maldives and Saudi Arabia, and serves approximately nine million customers in those countries. In September 2006, Wataniya International, Wataniya Telecom's wholly owned subsidiary, won the bid to build and operate the second mobile telecommunications network in Palestine.

Wataniya Telecom granted $1 billion facility | Iraq Updates

Washington, 25 October 2006 (TradeArabia)

Iraq must take more responsibility on security and political issues, a senior White House adviser has said.

Dan Bartlett said that Baghdad needed to "take a step forward on very difficult issues".

He said "benchmarks and milestones" would be used to track Iraq's progress, but these were not linked to deadlines or threats to withdraw troops.

The remarks follow growing calls from senior officials and politicians for US and British troops to be withdrawn.

Mr Bartlett also said that White House thinking had never been properly described by the phrase "stay the course".

"What we aren't doing is sitting there with our heads in the sand," he said.

"It is important that the Iraqi government take a step forward on very difficult issues, both on the security front and on the political front," he said.

He told Fox News the US strategy must be to press Iraq to take more responsibility but to do so in a way that did not weaken the new government.

The comments echoed those made recently by James Baker, the co-chair of a commission charged with reviewing the government's Iraq policy.

He said that Washington needed to chart a policy between "stay the course" and "cut and run".

US says Iraq must improve policy | Iraq Updates

25 October 2006 (USAID)

On Oct. 10 the Parliament of Iraq passed a new investment law which opens the Iraqi economy to investors globally.

The new law provides foreign investors with adequate legal protection and with the ability to repatriate capital and profit. It offers opportunities to apply for significant exemptions from taxes and duties for 10 years and possibly longer, and it highlights the need to facilitate the process of obtaining necessary licenses and permits.

"It is great to have the new law, which gives us a clear frame and solid ground for promoting investment in Iraq," a senior official at the Iraq Investment Promotion Agency (IIPA) said.

"We are expecting positive reactions by foreign investors, who have been interested and enthusiastic about doing business in Iraq. It is very beneficial for our agency and for the country."

The agency was established early this year with the support of the USAID-funded IZDIHAR project, which has also provided substantial technical assistance and counseling in the preparation of this law.

In a significant institutional development, the law establishes the National Commission for Investment (NCI), attached to the Office of the Prime Minister and headed by a Chairman with the rank of minister. NCI will be responsible for overseeing and executing Iraq's investment policy.

New law aims to open Iraqi economy to foreign investors | Iraq Updates

Baghdad, 25 October 2006 (Gulf News)

The US ambassador to Iraq urged local leaders on Tuesday to work harder towards security goals, while Russia's foreign minister warned that Iraq could break up if there are no urgent steps to pin national unity.

Success in Iraq was still possible and could be achieved in "realistic timetable", ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said at a joint conference with US commander in Iraq George Casey.

Casey said that Iraqi forces should be able to take over security responsibility within the next 12 to 18 months.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei said that "If there is no start to efforts towards unity, this situation could become reality."

The US military ahs said it was reviewing strategy in Baghdad, where US reinforcements have failed to stop rising violence. Pressure is also mounting on US President George W. Bush to change his policy.

The White House has said it will not implement dramatic changes of its strategies. Bush had insisted that the United States will not leave Iraq "until we get the job done".

Opinion polls on Tuesday showed that majority of Americans and Britons want their troops pulled out this year. Only 30 per cent of Britons said they want troops to stay, while four out of five Americans believe the war in Iraq cannot be won

Iraqi leaders urged to step up security | Iraq Updates

25 October 2006 (Middle East Times)

Iraqi oil minister Hussein Al Shahristani urged Japan Monday to provide vital investment and aid loans to his war-torn nation.

"The oil industry is important for the reconstruction of Iraq," the Iraqi minister told Japanese trade minister Akira Amari during a three-day visit to Tokyo, as quoted by a Japanese government official.

"But investment is not sufficient," the oil minister was quoted as saying. "We would like Japanese companies as well as Japanese official loans to come to Iraq."

Amari, who arrived in Japan Sunday, said that his ministry is now selecting projects to be financed with a package of $3.5 billion loans to Iraq, which was announced by Japan in 2003.

Tokyo is now considering supporting three projects - reconstruction of oil refining facilities as well as the building of pipelines and liquid petroleum gas-related facilities, the official said.

Japan, a key donor to Iraq, has so far offered $6 billion in debt waivers and $1.5 billion in aid grants to Baghdad.

The last of Japan's 600 troops in Iraq returned home in July, completing the nation's first military mission since World War II to a country where fighting is under way.

Oil minister seeks Japanese investment | Iraq Updates