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

Suleimaniya receives nearly 400,000 liters of kerosene


About 400,000 liters of kerosene reached Suleimaniya from Iran, with different amounts expected to be brought in to the city on a daily basis, stated local media.

Thirteen tankers, each carrying 30,000 liters of kerosene, arrived in Suleimaniya at a cost of $90 per barrel, said Suleimaniya Governor Zana Muhamed Salih.
Source: The Kurdish Globe




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Posted on Monday, December 18

Iraq executes 13 men convicted of crimes

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi authorities executed 13 men by hanging Tuesday after they were convicted of murder and kidnapping, lining them up in hoods and green jumpsuits with their hands bound behind their backs.



Television images showed two men standing together on a gallows with nooses around their necks. Several of them stooped, and one had his arm around the shoulder of another as the hooded men stood in a row shortly before they were hanged.

The footage also showed a bearded man without a hood as he listened to an official tell him his appeal had been rejected and the sentence was death. "OK," the prisoner said impassively. LOL

Iraq executes 13 men convicted of crimes - Yahoo! News

Bank robbery details included in story.

Originally Posted by trinka

i don't understand what I have gotten into?

Just keep reading and reading and reading pages and pages of posts just like we do and you'll find out soon enough what this is all about. I take it you have invested in dinar????? Good luck and welcome to the forum!

الثلاثاء, 19 ديسمبر, 2006 - 10:23 AM BT

Iraq-Women (Feature)
Iraqi women foot the bill for their nation's plight
By Monther Hamad Zahi
Baghdad, Dec 19, (VOI) – Thirty-year-old Malak Saleh has never imagined there would come a day when she has to support her family of 14, all of them unable to work, after their father was killed in one of the car bombings taking place in Baghdad on nearly a daily basis.
Malak has never thought that Iraqi women would become one day the victims of their country's tragic reality.
"We have never thought that the situation would become this bad or that the citizens of one nation would be engaged in sanguinary conflicts. Unfortunately the days brought about this appalling hell burning us all," Malak told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Umm Ali was shocked by the death of her son in clashes in the central Baghdad district of al-Kifah after he went out to buy some things for his wedding place as he was getting ready to tie the knot.
"Do the people involved in fighting realize that many innocent Iraqis are paying the price?" wondered Umm Ali, adding "most families are now thinking of leaving their houses to live in neighboring countries."
A report issued by women's rights organization in Iraq, a body advocating the rights of Iraqi women and releasing monthly reports in this respect, pinpointed "90-100 married Iraqi women are widowed daily as a result of acts of violence and sectarian killings."
"There are currently 300,000 widows in Baghdad alone and eight million all over Iraq, which means that widows make 35% of Iraq's total population, 65% of the total number of Iraqi women and 80% of married women," the report said.
Dr. Hoda al-Aanbaki, a women's rights activist, said "the main problem faced by widows in Iraq is poverty. Due to this tough condition, most families had to sell their furniture just to keep the wolf from the door, while others had their children drop out from school to work."
Aanbaki criticized the "brutal practices confronting Iraqi women."
"Occupation troops and even Iraqi security agencies tend to detain women in a bid to press their husbands for instance," she said.
Aanbaki appealed to "all humanitarian organizations concerned to intervene and force decision makers in Iraq to stop detaining infants with their mothers in Iraqi jails and refrain from arresting suspects' relatives, particularly wives, to press them." She termed this behavior as "shameful and has nothing to do with civilized human behaviors."
Miaad Ali, a widow mother of four, urged "the Iraqi government to provide jobs for the women who have lost their husbands in acts of violence and offer lucrative payments that would guarantee them and their families a decent life."
"I live with my four children on 75,000 Iraqi dinars (roughly 54 dollars), which is a scanty income to subsist on," said Ali, adding "there are much worse widows than me."
The women's rights organization report denounced "rapes committed against Iraqi women in American jails, the recent of which was the rape of a young woman after she was detained with her family in Kirkuk by U.S. forces in July. Released afterwards, the young woman was slain by her own family as a victim of honor killing."
The Iraqi woman's tragedy is really vivid and her sufferings augmented as a citizen, a woman and a mother responsible for supporting her family in a country where killing is thriving and the stench of death overwhelming all places to increase the number of widows every day, and even every hour.
AE

We're all holding plenty of Iraqi dinar - but what we're all invested in is OIL. Maybe we aren't holding any shares in the world's biggest oil companies, but DINAR IS OIL - nothing but OIL.

You'll hear people complaining about the war in Iraq being about nothing but oil - and how right they are - after all, it's all they've got (and it's only good for burning!)! Would you go into a furniture store and complain that all they're selling is furniture?

One of these days, when we've cashed in our oil shares - Iraqi Dinar - we should decide to never again complain about the price of gasoline at the pump. When our "gas guzzling" 4X4's are sucking back "Texas Tea" like a drunken sailor - enjoy the experience - savor every moment!

Every gas station should become a special place and a special reminder that not so long ago - we STRUCK IT BIG IN OIL![/SIZE]

MarketWatch - 2 hours ago

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/stor...56F6D156450%7D

Iraq constitution reform vital to oil companies,despite oil law

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Major international oil companies are unlikely to begin investing in Iraq for at least another year even if a new hydrocarbon law is passed in January, politicians and analysts warn.

In addition to improved security and a new hydrocarbon law, what's needed is a reformed constitution, Iraqi politicians, analysts and insiders say. Only an amended or new national constitution, they say, would create the necessary legal framework for international majors to start making deals to develop the country's vast oil reserves.

The escalating sectarian violence in Iraq continues to represent a bloody barrier to investment. In a report released Monday, the Pentagon concluded that an average of almost 960 attacks a week were waged against Americans and Iraqis this past summer and autumn, the largest number recorded since the Pentagon began issuing the quarterly reports in 2005, the New York Times reported.

But if a unified legal structure could be created, companies could sign deals and begin to work on project plans. They could wait out the violent spasms in the hopes of stability ahead, or even mitigate the risk with private security. Western oil companies have a history of working in battle zones such as Nigeria and Sudan.

Companies such as ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.LN), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and CononcoPhillips (COP) have say currently, the country is too much of a security and legal quagmire for them to invest.
ExxonMobil would be interested in participating in Iraq, said spokesman Len D'Eramo. But only "after the establishment of a constitutional rule of law, a certain tax and regulatory regime, and a stable and safe working environment, and if the Iraqi people decide that they want international oil companies to partner with them in developing their resources."

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Sharistani said late last week the government expected to pass a new hydrocarbon law in January, which has been widely seen as a necessary step to enable the first national oil deals since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.

Legal Contradictions
But currently, Iraq's constitution is almost completely at odds with the draft hydrocarbon law on one fundamental issue: who has the authority to award exploration and development contracts. "No reliable, well-known oil company has the courage according to the constitution to come to Iraq for investment," Iraqi Vice President Tariq Al-Hashemi said last week during a presidential visit here.

"There are major loopholes in the constitution...and there is a clear-cut contradiction in the authorities between the regions and the central government," Hashemi said. The vice president said he urged President George W. Bush to support his drive for a new constitution.
Because of the contradiction, some say a new hydrocarbon law will be essentially futile unless the constitution is changed to support it.
Even if an oil company did sign a contract with the central government, the deal would be on shaky legal footing, said Mishkat Al-Moumin, ex-Iraqi Environment Minister and former law professor at Baghdad University.
"If anyone wanted to legally object, they would win the case, because (the hydrocarbon law) will be based on the old constitution," Al-Moumin said.
Saad Rahim, a top energy analyst and Country Strategies Manager at PFC Energy, said the constitution's loopholes "certainly make it possible for companies to interpret it in a manner that they can go ahead and invest."
Many smaller companies, such as Norway's Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO.OS) and Houston-based Calibre Energy (CBRE), have signed potentially lucrative deals with the Kurdish Regional Government on massive prospects in northern Iraq because of its relative safety. The central oil ministry says it view the contracts as invalid, but that it has little authority to enforce its position, and it's constitutionally debatable.

"One of the big reasons majors are holding off right now is precisely this worry that if they were to go ahead and invest under what they see as a legitimate opening, that could later then be challenged on the grounds of the constitution," Rahim said.

Investment Prospects
Iraq's oil sector needs up to $20 billion to raise crude oil production to 3 million barrels a day from below 2 million barrels a day at present.

The country has huge reserves, third only after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
"Many companies feel that they can at least mitigate security concerns to a large extent," said Rahim, whose consultancy regularly provides risk assessment to international oil majors. "A lot of the hesitation is really about what is the lack of clear legal structure behind any investment."

"They wouldn't feel comfortable even with a hydrocarbon law," Rahim said.
Unlike the smaller independents, most of the large internationals are eyeing the bigger oil prospects further south in Iraq. Signing on with a regional government, they fear, would jeopardize their chances of getting into a bigger deal if they offended the central government.

The formation of a new political alliance block of both Sunni and Shia "moderates" might calm the sectarian violence and pave the way for a new constitution, said Louay Bahry, an adjunct scholar at the Washington-based Middle East Institute and a former political science professor at Baghdad University.

The Sunni Iraq Islamic Party is trying to form an alliance with the Shi'ite Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Arab nationalists, Baathists and small Kurdish parties. The alliance is in an effort to centralize power, unify Iraq and sideline the radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army has been responsible for much of Iraq's sectarian violence.
The move toward a coalition is an attempt by Iraqis "to get together those like-minded people who want to move the process forward and deal with some of the tough issues that they have before them," said Scott McCormack, the U.S. State Department's top spokesman.
Centralization Versus Regionalism

Earlier this month, the Iraq Study Group recommended that the U.S. support centralization of power in Iraq and warned against regionalism.
Both Bahry and Rahim believe a new constitution that reduces regional authority might initially promote provincial separation, although it would be essential to longer-term stability in Iraq. But Al-Moumin believes increased international and domestic political will for a stable, unified Iraq has weakened the regionalists' position. Like the Kurds in the north who want to form their own autonomous state, al-Sadr wants to create a southern, Shi'ite province.

Rahim noted that Turkey's shared border in northern Iraq gives it the ability to block exports of oil from Kurdish Iraq, which would undermine any Kurdish stance toward separation. If the Kurds wanted to develop nearby oil reserves, their likely export route would be through Turkey. Turkey opposes Kurdish separation from Iraq because it fears that its own Kurdish population may join a national movement.

The U.S. State Department has suggested support for a revised Iraq constitution. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice said the constitution "may in time need to be revised," she said in a recent interview. A department spokeswoman on the Iraq desk who declined to be named said oil companies had expressed concern that, "there needs to be one hydrocarbon law, rather than competing central and provincial government laws." "In terms of specific issues, oil companies have indicated they're seeking a single, commercial legal environment with clear, enforceable rules," the spokeswoman said.

If the Bush Administration supports the drive for a new constitution, it would take at least six months to a year for the process, including ratification, to be accomplished, Rahim, Bahry and al-Moumin said.

"What we need is a comprehensive, brand-new strategy for everything," starting with a new constitution, Iraq Vice President Al-Hashemi said.

Iraqi National Police, Cavalry calming tensions in al Doura
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
By Spc. Alexis Harrison
2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs



Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team patrol the streets of al Doura during Operation BAGHDAD — Shaky beginnings in Baghdad’s south central al Doura neighborhood are starting to shape up, as Cavalry Soldiers work with Iraqi National Police to calm tensions between a divided populous.

Task Force 1-14 is one of many units from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division making the neighborhood a safer place to live. They work hand-in-hand with companies from 1st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, and have done so since August.

"It's taken a lot of work and a lot of effort to get to where we are now," Peterson said. "It was very rocky when we first showed up. We had to build our relationship," said Lt. Col. Jeff Peterson, commander of TF 1-14.

Peterson said joint missions with the policemen for nearly six months included patrolling the streets, cordon and search operations and raids. The team work is paying off now, Peterson said.

"Over time, we just keep getting better and better and more efficient,” he said. “There's been a marked improvement in the last month."

Most recently, the troops and police conducted Operation Achilles Dec. 10. Peterson called it a parallel approach to the ongoing struggle between the anti-Iraq forces and Coalition Forces.

"It (Operation Achilles) was unique," he said. "(In) the first phase of the mission, we developed some of our own targets, so we did a unilateral operation to conduct raids. Subsequent to that, the NP came and did a medium-scale clearing operation which they planned and organized."

Peterson's troops came into the operation with specific objectives in mind. They were after several high-value targets wanted in connection to ongoing sectarian violence.

The policemen had different objectives. They received information on a weapons cache inside one of the local mosques.

The police raided the mosque and found exactly what they were after: several electronic, roadside bomb initiators, pipe bombs, plastic explosives and assault rifles.

Peterson said that the company of police he worked alongside during the operation was some of the best he's worked with since his unit began these operations.

"Maj. Hayder is one of the stronger leaders in the battalion," he said.

Along with the cache, police found several of the men they were after.

The mission was over. Weapons were taken off the street, and the Iraqi National Police showed how valuable they are to the community. Peterson said it was a very successful joint mission with the police alongside his team.

"When they partner with us, I think they do very well. They searched houses thoroughly. They were on time, in uniform ready to go. They interacted with the Iraqi populous in a professional manner. They were respectful of the property as they went through the home. They were respectful of the families. I thought it was a very successful operation," Peterson said.

He explained how important it was to have the Iraqis in the lead during missions like Achilles.

"With these operations it is very important to find caches, terrorists and detain them, but just as important is that the NP develop their relationship with the Iraqi people," he said. "They need to prove that they are trustworthy, professional and that they will conduct themselves in a professional manner."

The partnership between the Iraqi National Police and Coalition troops is a key to securing a peaceful future for the Iraqi people, Peterson said.

"It's been a long time and a lot of work, but right now it's all about partnership moving toward transition,” he said. “I think the partnership is the critical piece of getting the situation in Iraq to where it needs to be so Coalition Forces can depart. It's just going to take some time and commitment."

MiTTs learn from Iraqis as they teach
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
By Spc. Alexis Harrison
2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs



Members of the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment’s Military Training Team (MiTT) provide security for their Iraqi counterparts during a recent operation in Baghdad.FOB PROSPERITY – One of the benefits of teaching Iraqi Soldiers is the opportunity to learn from them as well. Military Training Teams, while providing instruction and mentorship for the Iraqi Army, are also learning as they go.

The MiTT of the "First Team's" 2nd Brigade Combat Team works a seemingly endless schedule to ensure 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division runs the way they should be. They lay the foundation, point them in the right direction and the Iraqis do the rest.

Although the training team is relatively new, they do well, according to First Sgt. Joseph McFarlane, the top noncommissioned officer for Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, and a Traverse City, Mich., native. Several of his troop comprise the team in charge of training and observing the Iraqi troops.

McFarlane said immediately following a “left-seat/right-seat ride” with his counterparts from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID, he and his team hit the streets of Baghdad with the Iraqi Army.

Early into a patrol Dec. 7, the team went onto Haifa Street in city’s center. The team hadn't even dismounted for more than a few minutes before the action began.

The IA received reports of a suspicious vehicle, and spotted it almost immediately. They stopped the car and found four weapons being illegally transported by the occupants: two AK-47 rifles and two pistols.

As the event unfolded and the MiTT observed how the IA was handling the situation, shots rang out. One narrowly missed the team's officer in charge, Maj. Chris Norrie.

The Barton, Vt., native hastily took cover as did the rest of his team.

"A sniper round hit a stone pillar about 20 feet behind me," Norrie said. "I was thinking … we just got here!"

The team and their Iraqi counterparts seized the weapons, detained the men and weren’t too surprised by the sniper fire. McFarlane said they'd been shot at the last four times they'd been out on the streets.

The team from the "Darkhorse" Battalion kept moving with the IA. They then drove to a trailer under a bridge where an Iraqi intelligence officer reported the location of a weapons cache.

Team members kept an eye on their surroundings while the IA went to work. They'd already been shot at once, but this time they came away unscathed. Sgt. Jay Mayhle said sometimes it's good to get shot at.

"It's gotta be scary out here or you lose your edge," said the Pittsburgh native. "Sometimes it bothers you, but you have to get out and get the blood pumping and get the adrenaline rush. It helps you focus."

Army engineers improving electricity in Iraq
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
By Mohammed Aliwi
Gulf Region South


Local villagers watch as an Iraqi contractor crew sets a new electric tower in place for the Al Mazraa Tower Project in North Babil, a project to increase electrical capacity and better power transmission in the region.AN NASIRIYAH — Despite obstacles, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making significant progress improving electrical production and distributing power equitably throughout the country.

With Iraqis purchasing more appliances, the country’s increasingly-high demand for electricity and sabotage of power lines, there are significant challenges involved.

USACE engineers oversee the building, refurbishing and upgrading of the electrical power systems, including generation, transmission and distribution countrywide, according to Lt. Col. Anthony G. Reed, resident engineer for the Karbala and North Babil resident offices of the Gulf Region South District (GRS).

“The Babil Province has awarded 24 electrical distribution networks and several substation projects in 2006. Ten of these projects have been completed and 14 are still under construction,” he said.

Reed believes every project helps improve the flow of electricity to Iraqis, and therefore even the smallest amount of progress is worthwhile.

Most projects focus on distributing electricity from one town to another, and to the outlying neighborhoods. Some of these neighborhoods have never had electricity before, he said.

“Due to the fact that the projects are focused on distribution, they really don’t reduce the number of blackouts created by power generation source failures. However, the electrical feeders do help people get electricity when they have the power coming to them,” he explained.

An Iraqi electrical engineer with the Babil Residence Office, requesting anonymity, said their new projects included “two 132,000 volt overhead lines and three 33,000 volt overhead lines.”

“We supervised three 33,000 and 11,000 volt substations in Babil, four electrical distribution networks in Al-Mahweel and Al-Imam districts, and four electrical distribution networks, which were installed in Al-Iskanderia area north of Babil,” the Iraqi said. “All the projects GRS executes are to improve the distribution networks in the residential neighborhoods and businesses. It also improves the ability of the transmission feeders to handle the transmitted power between the 132kv substations.”

The Iraqi electrical engineer explained that electrical transmission lines were a target for sabotage by terrorists in the Hilla, Karbala and Najaf areas.
Maj. Kevin J. Stoll, the Babil resident engineer, also blamed sabotage for contributing to power outages in areas of the country. When insurgents attack the infrastructure, they are basically attacking every Iraqi.

But despite insurgent efforts, the USACE will continue to work hard to provide electricity for all Iraqis.

Originally Posted by mewannapeg

REGIONAL FX HEADLINES Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Inflation-fighting move attracts dinar speculators



Inflation-fighting move attracts dinar speculators
An unexpected bright spot has appeared in this war-ravaged Iraqi capital: The national currency is strengthening against the U.S. dollar.

The dinar appreciated last month to about 1,400 dinars to the dollar, near its two-year low, triggering a dinar-buying frenzy among currency traders.
''I had people call to sell $150,000, $100,000. I had to tell them I didn't have that many dinars,'' said Alaa al Shemry, deputy manager at the Beirut Exchange Co., where he sat last week, watching a man sell dollars for the blue 5,000-dinar notes adorned with waterfalls and desert fortresses.

Economists and investors say the dinar's rise is temporary and largely driven by the Iraqi Central Bank, which is buying the currency as it seeks to raise interest rates to combat rampant inflation. But that hasn't stopped currency speculators from seeking to cash in.

A.F. Alhajji, an associate professor of economics at Ohio Northern University who has studied the Iraqi economy for 15 years, received e-mail from Middle East currency speculators urging him to buy Iraqi dinars, similar to messages he got after the dinar was issued in 2004 at a rate of 4,000 per dollar.

Alhajji says he watched teenagers in Jordan and Saudi Arabia respond to the e-mail, buying up the currency.

''They seriously think they can gain money by buying Iraqi dinars. This has become like a fever over there,'' he said.

And not just over there.

In Danbury, Conn., Jeff Pasquarella is buying billions of Iraqi dinars for customers through his currency-trading Web site, Bet-OnIraq.com, which sells the Iraqi currency ''because liberty breeds prosperity.'' EDinar Financial in Los Angeles and other similar companies have popped up from Nevada to Wisconsin.

At Dinar Trade in Brentwood, Tenn., sales dropped off during the past few months but picked up again during the last two weeks as many of the 54,000 customers took a renewed interest in the dinar, an employee said. The company expects the dinar to appreciate 10 percent to 20 percent in value, he said.

''Picture Iraq as a company selling stock,'' the Web site says, ''Each dinar you purchase represents a share in Iraq's bright future.''

Some economists say they are surprised at the dinar's rise, given Iraq's economy is still in shambles, with trade and major industries such as agriculture and oil crippled by the ongoing conflict.

Electricity in the capital is so sporadic that the Iraq Stock Exchange — which is preparing to switch from white erasable to electronic boards on the trading floor — can still only count on two hours of power a day. Two weeks ago, three car bombs exploded in markets near the Central Bank of Iraq, killing at least 68 people, injuring 111 and destroying 22 businesses, police said.

The dinar's price is determined at street-side foreign exchanges and daily dollar auctions at the Central Bank. Each weekday except Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, traders from 30 state-run and private banks arrive at the Central Bank in downtown Baghdad, each bearing an envelope listing the amount of dollars they wish to buy and a bid price. Bank managers confer and set the price.

The central bank is widely believed to be forcing the exchange rate down to 1,000 dinars per dollar, in line with the Saudi riyad, and the Jordanian and Kuwaiti dinars.

Ahmed Salman Jabouri, the deputy Central Bank governor who oversees the foreign exchange market, said Iraqi banks were buying up dinars, reversing a recent trend.

Under a multiyear agreement with the International Monetary Fund, part of the nation's reconstruction effort, Iraq is required to increase its dollar reserves and bring inflation down to 15 percent. During the past two years, the bank's dollar reserves about doubled, record show, and now total about $11 billion, while inflation is up 50 percent this year, Jabouri said, citing Iraqi government statistics.

An IMF report last May showed inflation of 58 percent during the previous 12 months, compared with 32 percent the year before.

Economists and investors put inflation even higher, at 70 percent to 80 percent, and the Central Bank has predicted inflation will increase 15 percent this year.

A Western official in Baghdad said the Iraqi government is doing all it can to fight inflation.

''They're basically meeting their targets,'' he said. ''I think this is actually a good thing for Iraqi consumers.''

Others say the currency's rise amid the sectarian civil war is the result of the bank's dysfunctional money management.

''Given their history with money in Iraq, they should never have had a central bank,'' said Steve H. Hanke, a professor of applied economics and co-director of the Institute for Applied Economics and the Study of Business Enterprise at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

He said Iraq should replace the central bank with the currency board it had before, or adopt a foreign currency.

Hanke called the dinar's rise ''both very dangerous and the worst of all possible worlds,'' because it is not curbing inflation.

''This is a major train wreck waiting to happen,'' he said.

Molly Hennessy-Fiske is a reporter for Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.

-- mcall.com

Inflation-fighting move attracts dinar speculators

We've read this article several times - it must be very popular with editors! I love the way it leaves us with the dire warning, saying how dangerous it is to raise the exchange rate because it's not curbing inflation. They've been raising the rate for about 6 weeks? Why is this guy working for a university, even John's Hopkins? If he can curb a country's inflation in 6 weeks, he should be a rich, pampered consultant advising the world's central banks!