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

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

Translated version of http://www.asharqalawsat.com/

trac, did ya look at the story page underneath where there are blog entries by people? pretty interesting stuff they got to say.

haha, i'm embarrassed to say, i didn't read the article, i just saw the headline and that pic and it made me wonder.

Theft and extortion of banks unchecked
1.15 million Dollars Robbed from Rafidain Bank
24/11/2006

The banker, Fouad Al-Hasani, President of the Iraqi Banks Association and the Executive Director of the Iraqi Credit Bank whom the Kuwaiti National Bank owns 85% of its shares, described the condition of the sector in Iraq as very difficult, and the performance of banks has become absolutely exceptional, which requires exceptional protection in light of the daily fears of workers being exposed to risks in the absence of effective precautionary measures to be provided by the authorities concerned.

Al-Hasani talked about the continuous robberies, extortion and kidnapping against Iraqi banks without any practical deterrent to stop those committing them, and most of them are members of gangs that have become a daily threat to the security of the citizen, the State and its institutions. He referred in this connection to the unknown armed robbery last Friday at a branch of the governmental Rafidain Bank in Bratha at Utteiffia north of Baghdad, killing three members of the Iraqi police and one of the members of the protection of installations; then they broke into the bank and stole 650 billion Iraqi dinars ($ 1.15 million) after they broke the safe using oxygen gas, as the investigations revealed.

Al-Hasani explained that the Iraqi Banks Association has a full visual of the necessary procedures needed to protect the sector "we look for more effective actions taken by the security institutions to protect the sector. The Association has prepared a report in this regard and its content was discuss with several bodies especially institutions relevant to the sector; on top of which: the Ministry of Finance and the Central Iraqi Bank, where duty requires assume full responsibility in the protection of government and private banks alike and to serve the goal of protecting public and private funds ". He added that several banks had "been subjected to acts of armed robbery and theft of funds and assets during the first days of the recent war on Iraq. The lawlessness increased after the recurrence of such incidents despite the imposition of strict security escorts on banks ", but Al-Hasani pointed to the need to adopt unconventional measures to protect the sector commensurate with the nature of the worsening security situation in the country.

Cheers!
DayDream

Iran's first private bank to open branches in Iraq
24 November 2006 (BBC Monitoring)

Talking to a correspondent of Mowj news agency on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 74th branch of Modern Economic Bank [Persian: Bank-e Eqtesad-e Novin, Iran's first private bank] in Orumiyeh [West Azarbayjan Province], the manager of the provincial branches of the bank has said: Two branches of the bank will soon be opened in Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah and the opening of braches in the UAE is under consideration.

Gholamreza Jalili added: Modern Economic Bank gives priority to the opening of branches abroad and this trend will gain momentum in line with a planned schedule.

Jalili said: The current capital of Modern Economic Bank, which became operational in 1381 [2002] with a capital of 200bn rials, stands at 2,500bn rials.

The head of provincial branches said: Out of 74 branches of Modern Economic Bank, 30 are in Tehran and the rest are in 28 provinces.

Iran's first private bank to open branches in Iraq | Iraq Updates

Business dialogue to facilitate Iraq business growth
24 November 2006 (PortAl Iraq)

On Oct. 30, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing membership opportunities for American representatives to join the U.S. Section of the newly-established U.S.-Iraq Business Dialogue.

According to the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (IIRTF) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Business Dialogue is a bilateral forum to facilitate private sector business growth in Iraq and to strengthen trade and investment ties between the United States and Iraq.

The Sections will advise the U.S. Department of Commerce and Iraqi Ministry of Trade on private sector views of Iraq's business environment and make recommendations for ways to enhance Iraq's commercial development.

The application deadline is Dec. 5. For further information, review the Federal Register Notice.

Business dialogue to facilitate Iraq business growth | Iraq Updates

Summit outlines strategies for microfinance industry in Iraq
24 November 2006 (PortAl Iraq)

The Iraq National Microfinance Summit organized by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded IZDIHAR project Nov. 14 to 15 in Erbil attracted more than 100 participants to a discussion of the role of microfinance in economic development and job creation in Iraq.

The audience included Iraqi and international microfinance practitioners, private sector partners, government officials, international financial institutions and USAID representatives.

"The Summit for the first time brings together all the stakeholders to take stock of the industry as it exists today," IZDIHAR Chief of Party Baljit Vohra said at the Summit. "Microfinance, as defined in Iraq, creates employment and self-employment opportunities. We look forward to the deliberations of this summit helping to outline a strategy for this sector that will lay the foundation for a thriving microfinance industry in Iraq."

"Given the unique environment in which microfinance institutions operate in Iraq, there are no real precedents to draw on for guidance. This Summit assisted donors in formulating practical programs with realistic expectations for microfinance in Iraq," USAID's Greg Howell said.

Summit outlines strategies for microfinance industry in Iraq | Iraq Updates

Sorry if already posted...

Shiite group warns it will suspend political participation if Maliki meets Bush

Posted 11/24/2006 6:12 AM ET

BAGHDAD (AP) — Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday threatened to boycott parliament and the Cabinet if Iraq's prime minister meets President Bush next week, a lawmaker said.
Bush was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday and Thursday in Amman, the Jordanian capital. The Sadr bloc in parliament and government is the backbone of Maliki's political support, and its withdrawal, if only temporarily, would be a severe blow to the prime minister's already shaky hold on power.

"If the security situation and services don't improve, and if Mr. prime minister does not cancel his meeting with Bush the criminal in Jordan, we will suspend our membership at the Council of Deputies (parliament) and government," Qusay Abdul-Wahab, an al-Sadr follower, said.

The politicians said U.S. forces were to blame for Thursday's bombings in Sadr City that killed more than 200 people because they failed to provide security. (OUR FAULT??? X-Cuse me...but didn't Malaki order our troups out of there?!!)

"We say occupation forces are fully responsible for these acts, and we call for the withdrawal of occupation forces or setting a timetable for their withdrawal," Abdul-Wahab said.

Al-Sadr's followers hold six Cabinet seats and have 30 members in the 275-member parliament.

If they boycott...how do you think this will effect all the laws we are waiting on to be passed?

Cheers!
DayDream

Iraq can learn from the lessons of Saudi Arabia
24 November 2006 (The Daily Star)


While the United States debates what to do about the disaster in Iraq, I have been pondering a disaster that hasn't happened - in Saudi Arabia. There are some lessons in the Saudi story that may help clarify the Bush administration's choices as it nears crunch time in the region.

First, some background: Ten years ago, Osama bin Laden declared war on the US to "expel the infidels from the Arab peninsula." One theme of his August 23, 1996, fatwa was that for all its military power, America was weak. It had fled from terrorist attacks in Beirut, Aden and Somalia, and it would flee Saudi Arabia, as well. Bin Laden said of his terrorist cadres: "These youths love death even as you love life."

The truth of those words became clear on September 11, 2001, when 15 Saudi-born terrorists led a suicide attack on the symbols of American power. And in some ways, Al-Qaeda's game plan has worked: America's botched occupation of Iraq triggered a ferocious reaction there, and now the American public is losing patience with the war, just as bin Laden would have predicted.

Given these setbacks for America, it's easy to forget that bin Laden has failed utterly in his strategic goal in the 9/11 attacks, which was to topple the ruling monarchy in his home country of Saudi Arabia. The oil kingdom, the real prize in the region, is stronger and more secure than it was five years ago.

Saudi Arabia is not exactly a rock of stability today, but its gains are highlighted in a recent study by Nawaf Obaid, a clear-headed Saudi analyst who advises his government. He noted that since May 2003, Saudi security forces have foiled over 25 major terrorist attacks; they have captured or killed 264 Al-Qaeda operatives and arrested another 845 people with links to Al-Qaeda. Of the 26 terrorists on the Saudi most-wanted list, all but one have been captured or killed.

Perhaps more important, the Saudis have begun to crack the network of religious extremists that gave Al-Qaeda a platform. The Saudi Ministry of Interior, once a hidden source of support for the jihadists, now oversees what Obaid calls an "ideological re-education program" supervised by religious scholars and university professors. More than 400 people have been released from this program, Obaid says.

The House of Saud, the mysterious clan that rules the oil kingdom, is also steering a steadier course under King Abdullah. Almost unnoticed last month, the Saudis announced a new council to oversee the transition to the next generation of leadership. As with many aspects of Saudi governance, the details are murky, but the plan appears to provide a stable legal framework for selecting a successor to the current king and crown prince - easing the danger of a future political crisis.
The Daily Star - Lebanon - The Middle East's Leading English Newspaper

What are the lessons in Saudi Arabia's move back from the brink of potential disaster? The most important is that the Saudis decided to take charge of their own security, rather than relying on an America that many in the kingdom resented. After 2003, the Saudis realized they faced a deadly terrorist threat and began to fight it aggressively: They focused on national solutions; they reduced the visible, humiliating presence of American troops; they pursued political reforms; they increased oil production.

How does this apply to Iraq? Like the Saudis, the Iraqis will have to save themselves, working within the authentic political framework of their culture, religion and region. The more we try to substitute our will for theirs, with more American troops or exhortation, the more we enfeeble them. As in Saudi Arabia, we must move slowly but deliberately out of the spotlight and into the shadows with a sustainable mission of training and advising Iraqi troops.

What will contain the Iraqi civil war, in the end, is that none of the regional powers can tolerate a shattered Iraq - not Iran, not Syria, not Saudi Arabia, not Jordan, not Turkey. Nor do most Iraqis want a dissolution of their unitary state. The Iraqis will restabilize their nation when the "nationalist forces" - including ones we don't like, such as Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army and the Sunni insurgency - make common cause under a regional mandate.

Only America can broker the regional conference that will allow a political transition in Iraq. That's our leverage now - diplomatic clout, more than military power. If the neighboring powers can help apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding in Iraq, America can begin to step away.

Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.

Iraq can learn from the lessons of Saudi Arabia | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by DayDream

Sorry if already posted...

Shiite group warns it will suspend political participation if Maliki meets Bush

Posted 11/24/2006 6:12 AM ET

BAGHDAD (AP) — Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday threatened to boycott parliament and the Cabinet if Iraq's prime minister meets President Bush next week, a lawmaker said.
Bush was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday and Thursday in Amman, the Jordanian capital. The Sadr bloc in parliament and government is the backbone of Maliki's political support, and its withdrawal, if only temporarily, would be a severe blow to the prime minister's already shaky hold on power.

"If the security situation and services don't improve, and if Mr. prime minister does not cancel his meeting with Bush the criminal in Jordan, we will suspend our membership at the Council of Deputies (parliament) and government," Qusay Abdul-Wahab, an al-Sadr follower, said.

The politicians said U.S. forces were to blame for Thursday's bombings in Sadr City that killed more than 200 people because they failed to provide security. (OUR FAULT??? X-Cuse me...but didn't Malaki order our troups out of there?!!)

"We say occupation forces are fully responsible for these acts, and we call for the withdrawal of occupation forces or setting a timetable for their withdrawal," Abdul-Wahab said.

Al-Sadr's followers hold six Cabinet seats and have 30 members in the 275-member parliament.

If they boycott...how do you think this will effect all the laws we are waiting on to be passed?

Cheers!
DayDream

DayDream, this is going to be interesting.


Al

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

the article:


you dont see him here. go away with those cameras!!

(isnt it against some law that the president and the vice-president cant be out of the country at the same time???) hmmmm

Yes, it has something to do with the "separations of powers act", or something like that.

they are like children, whining because someone is going over and playing with someone elses toys and they cant. stfu already!