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

10 November 2006 (AP Worldstream)

U.S. soldiers strolled through neighborhoods in troubled north Baghdad, poking their heads into storefronts and delivering the same message all day: Donald H. Rumsfeld's departure does not mean American forces will abandon efforts to stabilize the capital.

Yet, as they walked the dangerous streets Thursday, the soldiers carried with them their own and varied opinions of the war and the man who ran it from the Pentagon.

Spc. Wayne Thimas, a 32-year-old with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, said Rumsfeld's departure meant nothing to him.

"It's kinda weird, but this is just another day for us. Nothing changes here. You hear explosions and gunshots, you feel the explosions, and you don't even flinch _ it's just another day in Baghdad," Thimas said.

Sgt. David Alberg, a 22-year-old, said the hard-driving Rumsfeld wouldn't be missed:

"I don't think you'll find many people around here who have anything good to say about him. Last summer people were really upset when two days before we were supposed to leave for Kuwait (en route home), he extended us another 120 days."

Ammar Kajjo, a 34-year-old Kurd under contract as an Army interpreter, found a middle ground.

"I think history will remember him as the engineer of the Iraq war, and a lot of people don't like him because of it. For some reason, for the American people, the positive sides of the war don't sell," said Kajjo, who lives in Florida.

The 172nd Stryker Brigade's chief, Col. Al Kelly, sought out Iraqi opinions on Rumsfeld as he gave wintergreen Lifesaver candies to children near a Shiite mosque where troops recently uncovered a large hidden weapons cache. Posters of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr covered a cement barrier around the mosque.

"How are you feeling today? Did you hear the news about Rumsfeld? What do you think about it?" Kelly asked residents.

"I'm curious about what they're thinking today. It's a leading question that gets to deeper security issues, and the reassurance they get from us being out here today is a byproduct," he said.

Soldiers waded through a busy outdoor vegetable market in Hurriyah, a formerly Sunni neighborhood now dominated by Shiites. It's part of a crescent of Shiite dominance stretching from Sadr City in Baghdad's northeast across the Tigris River to neighborhoods like Hurriyah in the west, where U.S. forces have seen increasingly sophisticated attacks.

A man selling live carp from the Tigris held one up for the soldiers, its mouth gaping. The owner of a fruit stand flagged down the soldiers to tell them he had heard the news but didn't think a new defense secretary would make much difference here.

"His resignation won't affect the situation in Iraq or the United States, and it won't affect Washington's support for the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki," said 55-year-old Abdul Zahra Kabi, wearing a red-checked Arab headdress and sitting on a wood crate.

"I don't think it will either," Kelly said.

In these neighborhoods where anti-American sentiment runs high and sectarian vendettas run even deeper, any shift in U.S. policy _ perceived or real _ could set off a surge in killings. Rumsfeld's resignation had the potential to set off a violent response, but U.S. troops said they were determined to prevent it.

"It would be a problem if the new guy wants to leave Iraq soon," said Kamel Tahar, 48, the town council chief in Salam, just north of Baghdad. He was referring to President Bush's nominee to succeed Rumsfeld, former CIA director Robert Gates.

"We look at you as the freeing forces of Iraq, and your presence is still needed," he told American soldiers overseeing the unloading of food aid at a community center in Salam. "I don't think it's (Rumsfeld's resignation) the right step, but it's probably related to the Democrats' victory."

Members of the 172nd Strykers, part of the Army's 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry unit, chatted with Tahar over tea at the community center, where they were flooded with requests from Iraqis.

One woman needed a rare medicine for her son, a man complained a relative was unfairly detained, and others said the community center needed a conference room. Many residents rattled off unfinished business for America in their neighborhoods.

While many soldiers said the U.S. elections didn't mean much to their daily lives, many Iraqis _ whose infrastructure has been pummeled and access to electricity severely diminished _ knew of the Democratic takeover.

"It doesn't matter who's in power, because Americans enjoy democracy. It's not a matter of who's in power, the country will stay the same," said Said Haki Ismail, 60, who shared tea with the U.S. forces.

Asked whether he thinks Iraq can one day emulate American democracy, Ismail said: "Human nature is democracy, but ours was cut from us for so long. We're born with rights, and if you can't enjoy democracy, you'll feel like a slave."

But as he stuck his head into barber shops and bakeries across north Baghdad, Kelly knew he faced danger as well as Arab hospitality.

"There's not an (Iraqi) official that I deal with on a daily basis, like any of these neighborhood council guys, that would not just as soon see me dead. But they know I can bring money into their communities, projects and stuff _ that's why they tolerate me and need me here," he said.

In a city where sectarian differences have spiraled into bloodlust, being tolerated was sufficient for Thursday.

With or without Rumsfeld, U.S. troops tell Iraqis they can stabilize Baghdad | Iraq Updates

Baghdad, 10 November 2006 (NINA)
Iraqi Dinar's exchange rate made a slight increase on the Central Bank's auction for the third successive day, on Thursday. The US Dollar exchange rate was 1465 Iraqi Dinars on Thursday, whereas it was 1466 Iraqi Dinars on Wednesday.

ID exchange rate climbs | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by pipshurricane

BAGHDAD, Iraq, 10 November 2006 (Associated Press)

President Jalal Talabani said Thursday that he had been assured by Democrat congressional leaders during a recent visit to Washington that they had no plans for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Talabani, a Kurd whose post is ceremonial, said Democrats also backed the idea of placing U.S. troops in bases while putting Iraqis in charge of security in and around cities.

``They all told me that they want the success of Iraq's democratically elected government and continued support for the Iraqi people to defeat terrorism,'' Talabani said about his trip to the United States in late September as many were predicting the Democratic congressional triumph in Tuesday's midterm elections.

``One of them (a Democrat leader) told me that any early withdrawal will be a catastrophe for the United States and the world,'' Talabani, speaking from his northern hometown of Sulaimaniyah, told the Dubai-based Al-Jazeera satellite broadcaster.

Asked whether the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld meant a collapse of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq, Talabani said, ``I know George Bush as a clear and strong man who does not bow down to blackmail.''

The ``Americans made big mistakes in Iraq,'' he said, including the rejection of its leaders hopes to form an interim Iraqi government immediately after the March 2003 invasion rather than occupying the country for more than a year.

Speaking about foreign fighters who are known to play a major role in the insurgency that killed thousands of Iraqis as well as U.S. troops, Talabani said the country was subject to a ``foreign invasion.''

He said thousands of non-Iraqi fighters had been killed. Al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, recently acknowledged that more than 4,000 fighters from his group have been killed.

``We are being subjected to a foreign invasion, and we don't have enough forces to fight this invasion,'' Talabani said, suggesting that U.S. troops need to stay.

The Iraqi government and U.S. officials accuse Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq, a claim that Iraq's western neighbor denies, claiming it is impossible to control the long desert border.

``All Arab countries have terrorists in our country, hundreds each, and also there are others from Muslim countries too,'' Talabani said.

He added that ``200 fighters used to enter the country every day and now it is about 30 a day.''


Iraq President Says Democrats Reassuring | Iraq Updates

I'm not convinced Gates will do any better than Rumsfield. There's no way the Dems will pull out the troops until it's seen as a 'success' however long that will take. Look for them to claim the glory too once the reval happens and Iraq is stabilised etc......

End of the day this is in Iraq's hands, they need to r/v, not the Americans.

Originally Posted by Dinar Duchess

Would someone just recap on what about the serial numbers, i cant find it. thanks

Here ya go DD...

Originally posted by wciappetta

Interesting info about the Serial numbers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought I'd share this little diddy with you folks tonight. It comes from a reference site for Islamic Banknotes --Items that made News in 2003


Iraq

The new and much anticipated issue of notes from Iraq has been released into circulation on 15 October 2003. There are currently six notes on issue. They are in the denominations of 25,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1000, 250 and 50 dinars. (The serial number prefixes use the 'abjad' sequence of the Arabic alphabet, but the first letter, alif, is not used. This suggests that a lower denomination may yet appear, or was considered but ultimately not issued.)
The notes have bold colours but in most ways are disappointing. They use images from old series, which can be understood, but they do not exactly project a bright new future in the manner that a completely new series of designs might have done. The only new design appears on the front of the 25,000 dinar note, which shows a Kurdish farmer. This appears to be a politically brave move! Details of each note follow:

News Page (2003) of the Reference Site for Islamic Banknotes

You see, the telltale signs of what is coming has been staring at you everytime you looked at your stash. From the very beginning they left room in the serial number sequence to add the lower denoms in the future. It's coming....

http://www.rolclub.com/iraqi-dinar-d...tml#post133158

Cheers!
DayDream

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

IS ANYONE ELSE HERE EXCITED?????????????

Hello SGS I'm sitting here in cold Norway fighting the flu. (sniffle sniffle)

Well to bee frank. I,m so excited my hart allmost stop.

I got an uppdate from Ompus yesterday An i'll copy and paste the uppdate for you all to see.

I woul appericate your thoughts on the section highlighted in red.

Dear Ompus / FreeDinar members,

As you know, we did cancel the conference call tonight. However it was not due to lack of rumors, as many are going around.

I have been personally asked by several members and friends as to my opinion as to what will happen with the Dinar now that the elections are over, and could this hurt the Dinar. Although this is just speculation on my part, I have to say no. I think that it’s just possible that it could speed up the process in Iraq if they think that a democratically controlled government in the U.S. could pull out and leave them to fend for themselves. I don’t think that this will happen, but I think it sent a wake-up call to the Iraqi Parliament to “get the move on” so to speak.

We will continue with our suspension for the time being. Next week is a big week in regards to all the rumors, and although we usually don’t feed into them too much they are hard not to notice and get excited about.

If you were on the call last week you know that trade negations with European Union and Iraq begin on November 20th. Keep in mind that with the value of the Dinar at an all time low, it would be ill advised for Iraq to enter into any trade deals until they get their purchasing power back. Here is a LINK to the meeting. If you happen to be in Brussels on the 20th, the meeting starts at 8am.

We finally know what happened during the meeting with the IAMB on October 31st in regards to Iraq regaining control of their oil revenues. Here is a briefing of the meeting LINK. After reading the last two paragraphs we believe that Iraq has taken control with the IAMB watching closely until the mandate is up.

Many of you also have been asking about what tax consequences if any we will be looking at when it comes time to sell. This is not our area of expertise, and we know that if you call the IRS five times you will get five different answers. Our accountant and tax advisor has told us that we will be facing either “income tax” or “capitol gains tax” depending on how long we hold on to our Dinar. However, when told about the conflicting answers from the IRS, he advised us that if we are told something different by an agent with the IRS that is more favorable, to make sure we record the call and get their name and ID number. This can be used later if we follow their advice and later we find out it was wrong.

We have also been asked as to if Iraq has begun distributing the 10K checks to their citizens. We have sent out several emails to some of our contacts in Iraq and are awaiting their response. We don’t believe they have, but will let you know what we hear.

The last bit of news I would like to pass on is the fact that Chase Bank here in Phoenix is no longer selling Dinar. We have called several branches, including the one closest that we know was selling and they are no longer. When asked for a reason we were given none. Take it for what it is, but we still think we are on the verge.

Best Regards,

Dan Fadden
CEO
Ompus / FreeDinar

Originally Posted by DayDream

Here ya go DD...

Originally posted by wciappetta

Interesting info about the Serial numbers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thought I'd share this little diddy with you folks tonight. It comes from a reference site for Islamic Banknotes --Items that made News in 2003


Iraq

The new and much anticipated issue of notes from Iraq has been released into circulation on 15 October 2003. There are currently six notes on issue. They are in the denominations of 25,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1000, 250 and 50 dinars. (The serial number prefixes use the 'abjad' sequence of the Arabic alphabet, but the first letter, alif, is not used. This suggests that a lower denomination may yet appear, or was considered but ultimately not issued.)
The notes have bold colours but in most ways are disappointing. They use images from old series, which can be understood, but they do not exactly project a bright new future in the manner that a completely new series of designs might have done. The only new design appears on the front of the 25,000 dinar note, which shows a Kurdish farmer. This appears to be a politically brave move! Details of each note follow:

News Page (2003) of the Reference Site for Islamic Banknotes

You see, the telltale signs of what is coming has been staring at you everytime you looked at your stash. From the very beginning they left room in the serial number sequence to add the lower denoms in the future. It's coming....

http://www.rolclub.com/iraqi-dinar-d...tml#post133158

Cheers!
DayDream

lol@memory fails in the middle of the night

yeah, what DD said!!

Trade Ministry offers aid to more than four thousand families be displaced

A spokesman for the Ministry of Trade Mohammed Hanoun, "The Ministry has started to provide urgent food aid to more than four thousand Iraqi family has deserted be displaced from their homes forcibly result of armed operations." He added Hanoun, in a statement to the newspaper (Middle East) in its issue today, Friday, that "the assistance provided to these families in various parts of the country and by the municipal councils." He pointed out that "the ministry is seeking to address the situation of the hot spots through a variety of sources, including materials to be equipped with the ration card."

(9:23 Baghdad time)

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Amri says there militias under the control of Cabinet

Head of the Defense and Security Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Hadi Al-Ameri, "There are many militias in Iraq. where there are militias under the command of the ministries of oil, health, in addition to the 33 other ministry. " He added Amri during a meeting with a number of representatives of the Iraqi community in London that "this is the militia forces of private security firms, which are not under the control of Iraqi forces but the minister who guarded." At the same time pointing out that "failures in addressing the security file by the multinational forces and blunders caused the deterioration of the security situation."

(9:19 Baghdad time)

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Voices of Iraq : Mosul-oil derivatives
AM BTBooks : umneah on Friday, November 10, 2006-11 : 56 AM BT
Khmolh crisis : oil derivatives on the road to a solution
Ibrahim Relief
Mosul - (Voices of Iraq)
Dureid Mohammed announced Khmolh governor of Nineveh today, Friday, that the crisis of oil derivatives on the road to a solution after it signed the Oil Ministry with the Syrian side of the import of oil products from Syria.
He said Khmolh News Agency (Voices of Iraq) Independent today that "derivatives will include petrol, oil, gas and Alcazwail."
He added, "The trucks will enter Iraqi territory Syria and store the fuel needed to maintain the surplus in stores (Alowaeleh (f) and Wadi stone) in Mosul."
He pointed out that the "products will be at two million liters per day of each type, The outlets would be opened processing of agents and citizens. "
He added that the completion of the repair and maintenance of the Baiji refinery will have an impact on solving the fuel crisis in the province.
The Baiji refinery supplying the province of Nineveh, around 10% of their needs.

Cheers!
DayDream

The Wasit warns of the non-implementation of its recommendations

Council warned Wasit governorate all government departments and companies contracting with non-compliance of the directives and recommendations of the Board. He said Council member Fadil Jasim correspondent for Radio (Tigris), "The Council unanimously adopted a resolution to punish the constituencies of Atltzm Under his direction and on the need to provide the required services to citizens." He pointed out that "the reason that led the Council to this decision is of complaints received from citizens and the people's committees which have criticized the performance of some government departments in providing services."

(8:58 Baghdad time)

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