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

By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 18, 2:13 PM ET



KIRKUK, Iraq - A voice crackles through a two-way radio as U.S. soldiers patrol the dusty streets of this northern Iraqi city: A roadside bomb has exploded downtown, and there are casualties.

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It's a routine call across Iraq, but one thing is different in Kirkuk: The voice on the radio is Iraqi, not American.

Iraqi forces are gradually taking the lead in policing Kirkuk, where sectarian violence is scant compared to places like Baghdad 156 miles south. The transition gives the American troops training them hope that they are closer to going home.

U.S. soldiers transferred authority to one Iraqi unit in Kirkuk in early autumn, and two others are scheduled for mid-January. By the time the Army's 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry heads home to Hawaii next summer, about half the Iraqi forces in Kirkuk — army and police — will be under Iraqi command, said Lt. Col. Michael Browder, a 45-year-old Clarksville, Tenn., native in charge of training the units.

"They're in the lead, but they still have on their training wheels," Browder said with a wry smile. He left this week to lead a mission organized and executed by Iraqi forces, going after a suspected terrorist group south of Kirkuk.

The city's ethnic diversity — a mix of Kurds, Sunni Arabs, Christians and Turkomen — helps insulate it from the Sunni-Shiite conflict battering other Iraqi cities, the capital especially.

But Kirkuk is not without violence. In the past three months, the city has seen about 20 car bombs that have killed or wounded 300 people — mostly Iraqi police and civilians, said Col. Khattab Omar Aref, commander of the Kirkuk police's best-trained group, the Emergency Services Unit.

Aref, 50, has survived six assassination attempts — including one in which a suicide bomber jumped onto the windshield of his car and exploded himself.

"Kirkuk is my life, and I hope the rest of Iraq can use our example. We're the only ones who do attacks on the terrorists and not the other way around."

The Iraqi army is made up mostly of Shiites, so ethnic and sectarian balance is a concern in places like Kirkuk.

"I organized my men so that when we go out, we make sure there are Kurds, Christians, Arabs and Turkmen on each patrol," said Col. Samir Taher Rashid, 43, who commands Iraqi police on Kirkuk's north side. "I support federalism in Iraq, and in my units too."

He is referring to the potential division of the country into three mostly autonomous regions — Kurds in the north, Sunnis in the center and west and Shiites in their homeland south of Baghdad.

U.S. officials say Kurds, who claim they are majority in Kirkuk, are more comfortable with the ways of democracy after 15 years of self-rule in the north since the first Gulf War.

"They've had a 10-year head start in getting themselves organized and looking at how a democratic type system can work. They've had the ability to see beyond what the Iraqis right now are facing — the violence. They've seen that there can be a better way of life," Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of the Army's 25th Infantry Division, said in an interview this week.

But U.S. and Iraqi officials say the key to their success in Kirkuk is that citizens here see themselves as Iraqis first, and members of ethnic or tribal groups second.

"All the people came under my command — Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. I told them they must work together as brothers," said Aref.

"We are all policemen, and the reason we became police is to save our city," he said in an interview at his office, where ornate gold-embroidered curtains hide sandbagged windows. A photo of him shaking hands with outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hangs prominently under a crystal chandelier.

Wind whips across Kirkuk's dusty plains, crisscrossed by verdant riverbeds, and it carries the acrid smell of oil byproducts burning at facilities on the horizon. It's a reminder of what could make this city prosper once violence recedes.

"It's not the time for retribution or payback — there's too much to lose," Browder said.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have established a telephone hot line for Kirkuk's residents to report insurgent activity or government corruption.

"They're not able to mount large scale terror operations because someone would tell on them here," said Capt. Rob Wolfe, a 37-year-old company commander from Amarillo, Texas.

Wolfe logs time every day sipping tea with Iraqi police commanders, going over training plans and listening to their concerns. He believes such "soft" training pays off.

"These guys are heroes to their people. Some of them came from Kurdish peshmerga militias and they've been fighting all their lives for their country," he said. "They're certainly not going to stop now."

Originally Posted by _Apollo_

I know that many people here don't believe what our good friend Dr. Qaddouri has said in the past, but he still maintains the same position that you have posted. He has been frustrated from day one with what is going on over there and the lack of movement.

However, with the recent activities of the CBI, his prediction of the revaluation may have been right on all along, albeit just a little later than originally thought.

Hey, what’s 12 months? That’s just more time to acquire more real friends prior to your wealth. Because I'm sure they will be coming out of the woodwork after!

Dan

I just hope he raised his r/v projections up a bit. Last time I heard him speak he was thinking some where around .01 if memory serves me correct. Hopefully now he can at least project .30 or higher now ( or can't he?) or is he still thinking the .01 area? It's always a pleasure to hear your views, I hope you continue to join us and give your prospectives. I for one really appreciate it.

worf

I stole this from OLDSKIER at IIF...I"m going to PM him for a link...anybody seen this one before??

"Speculating the current raise in the dinar"

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

Somthing I stoled form somwhere else ....I do that alot ....

'seem to suggest that they have finally come to some kind of agreement' - Yes they have the CBI has elected to utilize a crawling peg.

"Crawling peg"
An automatic system for revising the exchange rate. It involves establishing a par value around which the rate can vary up to a given percent. The par value is revised regularly according to a formula determined by the authorities.

Par Value as it pertains to the IMF: Articles of Agreement: Schedule C - Par Values Has anyone looked at this--Articles of Agreement:Schedule C - Par Values?

Now what is the Par Value Iraq determined for its currency? Anyone remember the Art IV consultation and the excitement concerning the LoI after the Art IV? This may be why:

1. The Fund shall notify members that par values may be established for the purposes of this Agreement, in accordance with Article IV, Sections 1, 3, 4, and 5 and this Schedule, in terms of the special drawing right, or in terms of such other common denominator as is prescribed by the Fund. The common denominator shall not be gold or a currency.

Hey WM Knowles--what do you think about this??

Cheers, Tracy

Originally Posted by _Apollo_

I know that many people here don't believe what our good friend Dr. Qaddouri has said in the past, but he still maintains the same position that you have posted. He has been frustrated from day one with what is going on over there and the lack of movement.

However, with the recent activities of the CBI, his prediction of the revaluation may have been right on all along, albeit just a little later than originally thought.

Hey, what’s 12 months? That’s just more time to acquire more real friends prior to your wealth. Because I'm sure they will be coming out of the woodwork after!

Dan

Another month that helps kick in long term cap gains! My year is up now.

Originally Posted by CharmedPiper

I found this link on my desktop and was reading it and re-reading it and I need an opinion. Is this reading approved on November 12, 2006 for distribution next Sunday which would be tomorrow November 19, 2006. Could we have mis-interpretted the dates all along and this event has not happened yet but is due tomorrow..

Next Sunday the distribution amounts violated in Babylon

Guinness Mesopotamia : Hilla / Amir Muhammad

Start Rafidain Bank branch Babel next Sunday regardless grant feast that had been endorsed by the Council of Ministers to grant citizens the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, said Mr. Hakim Hussein Jabr director of Rafidain Bank /

Babylon saying this grant will be disbursed as of next Sunday, approved in 2006 / 11 / 12 for three months as a the agenda for stabilizing agents by the names and the date of payment of the grant families so that all citizens receiving and continue to exchange up to 2007 / 1 / 31, adding the purpose of getting rid of the fraud had been organized special restrictions of each family as a special Bank

Translated version of http://nahrain.com/d/news/06/11/10/nhr1110f.html

WOW!! SURE DOES LOOK LIKE YOU'VE STUMBLED ON TO SOMETHING GIRL. I REALLY WASN'T EXPECTING TO GET ALL EXCITED AGAIN THIS LATE IN THE DAY BUT IT SURE LOOKS GOOD!

Displaced Iraqis 'lack amenities'


A majority of the internally displaced people in Iraq lack basic facilities such as clean water and electricity, a study suggests.

Many of those questioned had only limited access to food and healthcare.

The overwhelming majority of displaced people say they left home after being targeted because of their religion.

The study is being conducted by Iraqi employees of the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration in all 15 governments of Iraq.

It reveals that since February, 240,000 people have been displaced and their number is rising by 9,000 every week.

Information released so far shows that Kirkuk is one of the most difficult regions, but right across the country people give the same reason for displacement - persecution because of religious orientation accompanied by threats to their lives, abductions and assassinations.

The IOM study reveals that the exodus accelerated after the bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra last February.

People flee to areas where they feel safer among people of the same religion.

But there is little infrastructure to support them.

In the Kirkuk region, 64% said they had received no public rations or other food assistance, and 54% were getting water from open or broken pipes.

Almost half said they could not afford medical assistance, and 70% of children had not been vaccinated.

The UN children's agency, UNICEF, has this week begun a mass polio immunization campaign across Iraq.

In Najaf, three-quarters of displaced people have no access to food rations while in Muthanna, 60% lack access to clean water.

Since the Samarra bombing, the IOM has been distributing emergency food, medicine and water to newly displaced people.

But it says as there is no sign of an end to the violence in Iraq, it needs a further $20m to continue its operation. (Source: BBC.com)

Originally Posted by SeaRayaWaitin'

Oh..come on now....this is why everyone gets so excited about information that is incorrect. Iraq has NEVER said this. If you are referring to the article where they said '148 to the dollar'...that could mean any number of things. Geez.

When I first saw that article I was sure it was a misprint too. However we did have our Arabic instructor look at the paper in its original form (which is still 148).

His first reaction was that he was saying that the Dinars real value was 1.48. However, he looked at us and said that it can't be right because he knows that the value is 1480 (at that time). But again, he still says that it reads funny and wasn't sure what to make of it. He even said that it could be 148:1.

We also learned that our "English" numbers are the old version of Arabic numbers.

Learn something new everyday..

Dan

November 19, 2006

A FORMER Iraqi prime minister who is tipped to return as a “strongman” leader if Baghdad’s faltering government falls has challenged the American-led coalition’s objective of creating a western-style democracy even though the country is in turmoil.
Iyad Allawi, an ally of the United States and Britain who ran the first Iraqi government after the fall of Saddam Hussein, said that elections were no solution when the overriding problem was a security crisis caused by militias who had infiltrated the police and were killing with impunity. The slaughter has triggered an exodus of middle-class professionals.

“Iraq was not and is not ready for elections,” Allawi said in an interview last week.

With sectarian violence spiralling out of control and the government of Nouri al-Maliki unable to stop it, Allawi said that various political groupings were discussing alternatives.

These included the possibility that Iraq’s parliament might now be forced to override the results of last January’s elections and appoint a new administration of technocrats with free rein to confront the militias head on if necessary.

Maliki has repeatedly promised to disarm the death squads but has failed to curb the powers of the Mahdi army headed by Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi’ite cleric, or the Badr organisation, the armed wing of one of the leading political parties, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Maliki depends heavily on the support of Sadr and SCIRI.

Allawi believes that if the militias refuse to halt their violence they should be wiped out. “We need to have a strong core of military and police loyal to the country with a clear cut leadership who can implement law and order in the country and take the militias out — by force if necessary, if dialogue fails,” he said.

He also warned that a crackdown would require a radical overhaul of the security forces and the establishment of a new police service capable of commanding trust. The current forces lacked a strong chain of command, he said, and most of the people in them owed their allegiance to particular political leaders rather than the country as a whole.

Allawi’s comments coincided with growing speculation that the Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by James Baker, the former US secretary of state, will conclude in its report next month that stability and security are the most important objectives, rather than an American-imposed ideal of democracy.

One idea circulating in Washington is to let a “strongman” impose order, allowing US forces to hand over responsibility for security to the Iraqis and begin a staged withdrawal. George W Bush recently had to reassure Maliki that he was not seeking to unseat him, but he has gone on to define success in Iraq as “a government that can defend, govern and sustain itself”, toning down his prodemocracy rhetoric.

Iraqi politicians have held discreet meetings in recent weeks to discuss a change of government, including talks in Dubai. Allawi denied taking part but confirmed that he was aware of the Dubai talks and others in Baghdad and Amman. Some are understood to have been conducted with the knowledge of American officials.

Asked whether he would be willing to lead a new government, Allawi said he had found his premiership “so lonely” — but hinted that he could be ready to “give it a final try”.

Sipping water in the sitting room of a west London hotel, Allawi, 61, said the current crisis could be not be allowed to continue. Last Tuesday more than 100 people were kidnapped in broad daylight from an education ministry research institute by Shi’ite militiamen wearing police uniforms. On Wednesday 105 people died violently, 54 of them tortured and shot.

“Things cannot be left as they stand now,” said Allawi.

The present government needed help to be strong but if it could not do its job, new people should be appointed to senior posts or a fresh administration formed, he said. Otherwise violence, extremism and sectarianism would escalate and institutionalised militias would end up controlling every region of the country and even the judiciary

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...2460035,00.html

Originally Posted by goldraker

November 19, 2006

A FORMER Iraqi prime minister who is tipped to return as a “strongman” leader if Baghdad’s faltering government falls has challenged the American-led coalition’s objective of creating a western-style democracy even though the country is in turmoil.
Iyad Allawi, an ally of the United States and Britain who ran the first Iraqi government after the fall of Saddam Hussein, said that elections were no solution when the overriding problem was a security crisis caused by militias who had infiltrated the police and were killing with impunity. The slaughter has triggered an exodus of middle-class professionals.

“Iraq was not and is not ready for elections,” Allawi said in an interview last week.

With sectarian violence spiralling out of control and the government of Nouri al-Maliki unable to stop it, Allawi said that various political groupings were discussing alternatives.

These included the possibility that Iraq’s parliament might now be forced to override the results of last January’s elections and appoint a new administration of technocrats with free rein to confront the militias head on if necessary.

Maliki has repeatedly promised to disarm the death squads but has failed to curb the powers of the Mahdi army headed by Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shi’ite cleric, or the Badr organisation, the armed wing of one of the leading political parties, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Maliki depends heavily on the support of Sadr and SCIRI.

Allawi believes that if the militias refuse to halt their violence they should be wiped out. “We need to have a strong core of military and police loyal to the country with a clear cut leadership who can implement law and order in the country and take the militias out — by force if necessary, if dialogue fails,” he said.
He also warned that a crackdown would require a radical overhaul of the security forces and the establishment of a new police service capable of commanding trust. The current forces lacked a strong chain of command, he said, and most of the people in them owed their allegiance to particular political leaders rather than the country as a whole.

Allawi’s comments coincided with growing speculation that the Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by James Baker, the former US secretary of state, will conclude in its report next month that stability and security are the most important objectives, rather than an American-imposed ideal of democracy.

One idea circulating in Washington is to let a “strongman” impose order, allowing US forces to hand over responsibility for security to the Iraqis and begin a staged withdrawal. George W Bush recently had to reassure Maliki that he was not seeking to unseat him, but he has gone on to define success in Iraq as “a government that can defend, govern and sustain itself”, toning down his prodemocracy rhetoric.

Iraqi politicians have held discreet meetings in recent weeks to discuss a change of government, including talks in Dubai. Allawi denied taking part but confirmed that he was aware of the Dubai talks and others in Baghdad and Amman. Some are understood to have been conducted with the knowledge of American officials.

Asked whether he would be willing to lead a new government, Allawi said he had found his premiership “so lonely” — but hinted that he could be ready to “give it a final try”.

Sipping water in the sitting room of a west London hotel, Allawi, 61, said the current crisis could be not be allowed to continue. Last Tuesday more than 100 people were kidnapped in broad daylight from an education ministry research institute by Shi’ite militiamen wearing police uniforms. On Wednesday 105 people died violently, 54 of them tortured and shot.

“Things cannot be left as they stand now,” said Allawi.

The present government needed help to be strong but if it could not do its job, new people should be appointed to senior posts or a fresh administration formed, he said. Otherwise violence, extremism and sectarianism would escalate and institutionalised militias would end up controlling every region of the country and even the judiciary

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...2460035,00.html

Too bad this guy didn't get in office when they replaced Jaffari. He definitely understands what it will take to end all this killing....

Originally Posted by _Apollo_

I know that many people here don't believe what our good friend Dr. Qaddouri has said in the past, but he still maintains the same position that you have posted. He has been frustrated from day one with what is going on over there and the lack of movement.

However, with the recent activities of the CBI, his prediction of the revaluation may have been right on all along, albeit just a little later than originally thought.

Hey, what’s 12 months? That’s just more time to acquire more real friends prior to your wealth. Because I'm sure they will be coming out of the woodwork after!

Dan