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

I just love good news from the Kurds.

Three world companies are competing to initiate implementation Koya refinery in Koyasanjaq, Kurdistan region with more than $800 millions.

The technical and engineering cadres have resumed its works in Baji refinery after a halt lasts for more than two weeks because of the military operations their.The Eng. Ahmed al-Shama', the Oil Undersecretary said that three world companies are vying now to implement the project of building Koya refinery in Kurdistan region, referring that vying world companies are US coalition, Canadian Coalition and English-US Coalition in addition to one of the competitor local companies.
Source: Al Sabaah

Sorry about the repeat...we must have hit the button at the same time....

Surgery in Israeli Hospital saves a Kurdish & Iraqi girls


Two girls from Kurdistan and Iraq who suffered from severe congenital heart defects have been saved by surgery at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon as part of the Save a Child’s Heart program. Santa Maria, six, a Christian Kurd, arrived via Jordan in early September with her mother.

She was diagnosed by an American physician in Iraq who contacted the voluntary organization. Senior pediatric cardiologist Dr. Akiva Tamir studied her medical file and agreed that she would undergo free surgery by Dr. Leon Sasson, Save a Child’s Heart’s primary surgeon.
A serious kidney defect was detected, leading to another operation to eliminate the need for dialysis. Both operations were successful.

Hawara, two, from Basra, came with her father in early November. Sasson operated on her as well, and she is recovering nicely. Upon their discharge, the girls and their parents will stay in the Save a Child’s Heart hostel in Azur with children from Zanzibar, Ethiopia and Nigeria, together with volunteer doctors and nurses from abroad training to take care of them.

Source: Jerusalem Post




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Posted on Sunday, December 24

US invites Sunni leader for talks
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor



Doha: The US administration in Iraq expressed willingness to start immediate dialogue with Sunnis regarded as opponents to the American occupation in Iraq, a Sunni leader told Gulf News.

Harith Al Dhari, head of Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq said he has agreed to meet Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, upon a request from the diplomat to discuss ways to end the violence in Iraq.

Al Dhari left Baghdad three months ago to take part in a Shiite-Sunni reconciliation meeting held in Makkah and to explain the Iraqi issue to leaders in a number of Arab and Islamic countries.

The prominent Sunni leader, who was on the 'wanted list' of the current Iraqi government for what it claimed was Al Dhari's role in supporting terrorism, did not disclose the timing and the location of the meeting. He said it might take place this week anywhere in the region including Iraq. He said he did not fear arrest in Iraq although the government issued an arrest warrant a few weeks ago.

New strategy

He said the meeting, which was the first of its kind since he was put on the wanted list of the government, will not negotiate any issue that gives the American presence in the country any kind of legitimacy.

Al Dhari pledged to tell the US envoy that the US forces should leave Iraq before discussing any kind of settlement there. "It seems they [the US administration] wanted to hear advice from different parties in Iraq before finalising their new strategy in the country. I will tell them again what I have told them at the beginning of their occupation of Iraq some four years ago. I will ask them to leave Iraq immediately and unconditionally," he said.

He refused to call the current violence in Iraq a sectarian war between Shiites and Sunnis and said there are no sectarian divisions in Iraqi society, but the violence the Iraqis are witnessing is a result of the American occupation to Iraq.

"Eighty-five per cent of people in Iraq representing different sectarian and ethnic backgrounds are willing to see an end to the American occupation to Iraq. People blame Americans for instigating sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shiite. It is a legitimate struggle against the occupation and will never stop before the liberation of Iraq," he said.

"The majority who reject the occupation include Shiite, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and all other components of the nation," he said.

Practical solution

Al Dhari said a small group of Iraqis, who came with the occupiers to rule the country, are the ones who promote sectarian war and are requesting the US to stay in Iraq.

He said demanding an immediate withdrawal of the US forces from Iraq is the most practical solution to end the violence. "I guarantee that fighting will stop the moment the US forces leave Iraq. Those, who came with the occupiers and have asked them to stay, should leave the country along with the Americans or face a fair trial for treason," he said.

He said the trial of traitors is not another round of revenge, but a fair punishment for those who were behind the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

Al Dhari said beefing up the foreign troops in Iraq is not the solution and if the US administration was sincerely seeking a way out, they should leave immediately.

"I guarantee that the fighting will stop the moment the US forces leave Iraq. Those who came with the occupiers and asked them to stay, should leave the country along with them or face a fair trial for treason."

Oil: Fuel for Iraq’s Insurgents


Sunday, December 24, 2006

Newsweek - By Michael Hastings

On the way to a surprise visit in Baghdad in October, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided to talk to reporters about oil. "We believe that oil has to benefit the Iraqi people as a whole," she said at a press gaggle en route to the Iraqi capital. In a whirlwind of meetings over the next two days, she pushed the oil topic again and again with leaders on all sides—Sunni, Shiite and, most prominently, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, to whom she reinforced her feelings that "oil needs to be a unifying factor, not one which will help to make the country less unified." In other words: please stop fighting and share.

Yet Iraq's sectarian fighting is, to an extraordinary degree, about the very issue of sharing oil. The country's political future and its energy future have converged. The side that wins in this burgeoning civil war gets control, in theory, over some $35 billion a year in oil revenue, making up 90 percent of the Iraqi budget. The side that loses—well, they fear they won't get anything at all. And Iraq's daily spasms of violence are closely tied to maneuvering over the future control of oil, as well as rampant oilfield corruption. Oil monies skimmed off the top are said to be funding the insurgency, say U.S. officials.

Of the competing plans to resolve the conflict, all depend on oil. Calls for a federated Iraq, broken up into three states, are hampered by fears of which state gets the most oil. The answer is well known—the Shiites in the southern region have more than 80 percent of Iraq's proven oil reserves. Kurdistan, in the north, has access to the fields of Kirkuk, which have been pumping petroleum since the 1920s. And the Sunnis, the minority that once dominated and profited from Iraq's black gold, are stuck in the middle with a desert and lots of sand, underneath which oil experts expect there is oil, but no fields are anywhere near being developed.

Oil was supposed to be Iraq's savior, with Bush administration officials promising that profits from oil revenues would pay for reconstruction. It was the Oil Ministry, almost alone among government buildings, that the U.S. forces protected after the fall of Baghdad.

But it's turned out to be another factor in the country's rapid decline. Regular insurgent attacks on the pipelines and oil facilities—the first three years saw at least one attack a week on average—have meant that production is only now reaching prewar levels. Iraq still has to import a majority of its fuel. Nearly four years into the war, the country has had four oil ministers. A recent study by economist Colin Rowat at the University of Birmingham revealed that if you factor out foreign aid, Iraq's GNP is actually $27 billion less than it should be because of the war. And all these factors will come to the fore in early 2007, when the Iraqi Parliament is supposed to pass the country's new "hydrocarbon law," legislation that would spell out who gets the oil money now and who profits from any future discoveries.

The hydrocarbon law, though crucial, is beset by sectarian backstabbing. Each side has written its own draft of the law—there are at least three currently floating around—and the Kurdish draft is the most professionally done, says a Western diplomat who advises Iraq's Oil Ministry. Barham Salih, a Kurd and Iraqi vice president involved in the bill, says his goal is to make Iraq the Arab world's first "petro-democracy"; the Kurds have already cut a deal, independent of the central government, with a Norwegian firm to start test-producing oil in the first quarter of 2007. Another key player involved in writing the law—Finance Minister Bayan Jabr—is considered one of the worst sectarian offenders. He was pushed out of running Iraqi's Interior Ministry in June 2006 because Shiite death-squad activity ballooned under his watch.


The infighting has also produced a big controversy over what has not been spent on much-needed investments. According to the Western diplomat, in 2005 to 2006 some $3 billion wasn't spent from the Oil Ministry's budget, and $4 billion to $5 billion wasn't spent in 2003 to 2004. Jabr is also accused of squirreling away funds for southern Iraq. "We have to take the power away. We have to pry their hands from the power," says the Western diplomat.

Indeed, the squabbling over Iraq's oil laws has kept the biggest international oil companies out of the country. U.S. and Iraqi officials say they're the force that is needed to fix Iraqi oil, but without a legal framework—which they hope the hydrocarbon law will provide—the companies haven't dared make significant investments. According to a U.S. official, who asked to remain anonymous as a condition for the interview, there have been at least 43 memorandums of understanding signed between Iraq's government and international oil companies. The MOUs are a way for firms to test the temperature of the country with a contract that says "let's cooperate in the future," allowing them to make technical studies of the production potential in a nation that holds the world's third largest oil reserves, many of them largely untapped.

These firms, says the Western diplomat, include all the "big boys," like ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total. He says the oil companies have already worked with the Iraqi government to do independent analyses and R&D. British Petroleum recently handed over its yearlong reservoir study of the Rumailah field to Iraq's Southern Oil Co. It's BP's first piece of work in Iraq in more than 20 years. The Rumailah field, referred to as one of the world's super oil-fields, is still capable of producing more than 1 million barrels a day. Shell is currently working on an evaluation study in Kirkuk—a city that still regularly sees massive car bombings between Kurds, Sunnis and Turkomans, who all lay claim to the town's ownership. "Major oil companies are very interested," says Catherine Hunter, senior energy analyst at Global Insight in London. "But they're only dipping their toe in the water."

On a recent trip to Japan to drum up support from outside investors, Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani told reporters that international companies were the only way Iraq could meet its official target: it aims to attract $20 billion in investment and increase output to 6 million barrels a day by 2012. He said Iraq currently produces just under 2.5 million barrels a day, but added, "We are determined to increase that to 4 to 4.5 million by the end of 2010. But we are also determined to go beyond that by cooperating with international companies."

He blamed the production declines on sabotage, but said the ministry is learning to cope. "We've managed to get it to be repaired on an average of within 48 hours," he said.

For now, Iraq continues to punch well below its potential weight in global oil markets. At about 2.5 million barrels per day, it contributes just about 2 percent of global output. Iraq's oil affects global prices minimally on a day-to-day basis, says Vera de Ladoucette, senior vice president of Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Paris. And over the last three years, Iraqi oil officials have consistently overestimated how quickly they can bring back production. Yes, there's no doubt about Iraq's future potential. Analysts say the country could contribute up to 8 percent of global oil output by 2020 if all goes well—which means a lot better than it has done in 2006. But that is probably expecting too much.

With Akiko Kashiwagi and Silvia Spring

‘Santa’s Helper’ delivers gifts to foreign nationals at Taji
Sunday, 24 December 2006
CAMP TAJI — One of the toughest times during a Soldier’s deployment is the holidays, but Soldiers are not the only ones who are homesick and miss their loved ones. Spc. Nicole Daly, a motor vehicle operator, for the 1157th Transportation Battalion, Wisconsin Army National Guard, attached to 15th SustainmentBrigade, 1st Cavalry Division, often sees the smiling faces of the men who work at the “bag farm,” a bulk fuel re-supply point where the fuel containers look like oversized bags. These employees are third country nationals who are from the Philippines, saidDaly. “They celebrate Christmas just like you and me; they even have Christmas tree competitions and give gifts,” Daly said. “I know that they all have families back home and they all want to be home just like everybody here wants to be home for the holidays. They work hard there for 15 hours a day.” The large influx of care packages to the 1157th gave Daly’s squad leader Sgt. Dominic Renteria, a motor vehicle operator, the idea to give away the extras. That is when she took the idea and ran with it – sprinted with it, in fact. “We have a lot of care packages that we get from people all over the place. We have rooms full of stuff and there’s no way we can use that in nine months,” said Daly. “I got the idea to put together smaller care packages and wrapping them and giving them to the third county nationals there – giving it to them so that they can celebrate Christmas, too.” Daly put up fliers in the mail room for boxes of all shapes and sizes and received a good response. She then filled those boxes with crossword puzzles, books, DVDs, coffee mugs, candies, cookies and more. Some of them even have baseballs and squirt guns, she said. With a total of 60 boxes, the cost to gift wrap all of these was extremely high, soDaly, the battalion’s area beautification specialist, decided on another method. “I got brown packaging and I drew pictures on the outside of every box. They each have their own personalized card [too]. We work with them every day so we know [all their names],” she said. Along with the 60 care package gifts, Daly has gathered up enough Christmas stockings so that every one of the base camp workers will get one. Before coming to Iraq, Daly did not dabble much in charity work. “I think this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve never been [involved in] charitable things,” she said. There is a first time for everything, and for Daly, being able to bring cheer to someone else’s life brings with it her own feelings of joy. “That morning when we get there and they’re expecting it to be like any other day… It will probably be the first gift they’ve gotten in months,” she said. “To be able to be that person who can hand them that gift – moments like that make it worthwhile.” Along with bringing Christmas cheer to the third-country nationals working at the base camp, Daly also works as her unit’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation representative. She feels it is her job to keep her fellow Soldiers’ spirits high this holiday season. “We have our Christmas party on Christmas Day and I’ll be setting up for that,” she said. “I’m the motivator. I have to put out the word and make people want to go. A lot of people want to sit in their rooms and just be alone. My part in it is making them want to go, making them want to get up and get out of their room and make the best of the situation.” (By Spc. Nathan J. Hoskins, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs) In other developments throughout Iraq:

Patrol nets weapons cache
Sunday, 24 December 2006
Pfc. Shea Butler
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment




Staff Sgt. Kason Fark, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, searches locals in a Baghdad neighborhood while the Iraqi Army searches the surrounding area. Official U.S. Army photo.CAMP LIBERTY — Before sunrise, a company of Soldiers donned their protective gear, passed their lucky horseshoe around to be kissed by each individual, loaded their vehicles, waited for the word to move out, and hoped for some luck before their mission to a Baghdad neighborhood.

The mission for the Soldiers of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was to provide operational oversight to Iraqi Soldiers as they searched a neighborhood after receiving intelligence from locals about anti-Iraqi forces in the area.

Troops from Company D had more than luck on their side. They had days of preparation to make sure their mission would run successfully.

The Soldiers started basic maintenance on their vehicles and weapons two days before the mission. They sat through rehearsals and briefs to get a good grasp on their mission and intentions, said Capt. Darren Fowler, commanding officer, Company D.

Upon arrival to the neighborhood, Soldiers met their Iraqi Army counterparts and the search began.

Going through people’s personal property can be a difficult and dirty mission.

“I was impressed with my Soldiers’ professionalism throughout the mission,” said Fowler, a native of Union, S.C.

The thorough search of houses, vehicles and people paid off for both American and Iraqi uniformed personnel. Together they found what they were seeking.

Soldiers found three weapon caches, two shaped charges and some improvised explosive device-making material, Fowler said.

This isn’t the first time D Company has searched this area, but Fowler said it was one of the biggest stashes of insurgent weapons they have found. He said missions like this one help deny insurgents the ability to operate and build confidence between the locals and Iraqi security forces.

“We are out here so insurgents don’t have a safe haven,” said Pfc. Joseph Roco, a gunner and native of Glenwood Spring, Colo. Taking the weapons off the streets doesn’t just immobilize insurgents, he explained. It also protects the locals living in the area.

It is a joint effort to protect the Iraqis and to disable anti-Iraqi forces.

Cooperation between the IA and Coalition Forces is getting better, Fowler said. Successful missions like this one prove that cooperation is working, he added.

“It was an overall good mission,” Fowler said. “We brought everyone back safe and we found caches."

Trainers tell Gates they’re pleased with progress
Sunday, 24 December 2006
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service


Iraqi Army Soldiers patrol the streets of Adhamiya, while U.S. Army Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment provide security. Embedded trainers say Iraqi forces are making excellent progress. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeffrey AlexanderBAGHDAD — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates learned from a U.S. Army officer working closely with Iraqi forces that Iraqi units are gaining confidence in their abilities and are doing more to empower noncommissioned officers.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bob Morschauser, commander of Task Force 2-15 in the Mahmudiyah area, along with a half dozen soldiers in his unit, ate breakfast with Gates and U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, here this morning.

In a news conference a few hours later, Gates told reporters he was impressed and encouraged by what he heard from the soldiers. He said he was particularly encouraged by the trust the soldiers described developing between American and Iraqi troops.

“Their admiration for the Iraqi soldiers that they’re working with and their belief that this partnering -- where the Iraqis take the lead and where the Iraqis significantly outnumber the American soldiers … -- they’re being very successful," Gates said.

The U.S. soldiers “described these Iraqi soldiers as being very brave and very willing to be aggressive,” Gates said.

“I found all of that very encouraging, in terms of the overall strategy as we move forward, of the Iraqis taking the lead with us in a support role,” he said.

Gates touted the value of having larger units working closely with Iraqis rather than the smaller teams that have been the norm until recently. “It’s a unit that brings all kinds of resources to help the Iraqis, not just the training, but intelligence and so on, and (the U.S. soldiers of TF 2-15) seem to think that that’s really the way to go,” he said.

The secretary said he would seek further advice from senior commanders, “but certainly this unit felt the way they were doing it was working, and they seem very content with it.”

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said he was encouraged by progress among Iraqi military leaders. “I was impressed this time with the growing confidence in the Iraqi leaders in themselves and in each other,” Pace said during the news conference.

Morschauser said he briefed Gates on “the importance of continued training and support of the Iraqi army, and the definite improvements that we have seen over the past three months.”

Morschauser’s 400-man task force is embedded with the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division. The American soldiers are spread throughout the brigade and in each battalion. They live and work with their Iraqi counterparts.

“They do everything together basically,” he said. “We support everything they do. We’ll do training, and then when we’re doing operations, we’ll be there to support them during planning phase, preparation, and then we’re out there during execution; we’re side by side with them.

“And we’ll slowly step back over the next five or six months and let them continue to take the lead,” he added.

The commander said he believes Task Force 2-15 is the largest embedded training team assigned to an Iraqi unit and that other teams will soon follow this lead. He said he’d like to see continued partnering on this level. “So far it’s working pretty well,” he said.

Since his unit has been embedded with this Iraqi unit, Morschauser said, he has seen significant improvements in how well they execute military “tactics, techniques and procedures.”

More importantly, the Iraqi unit is gaining confidence in their abilities. “They’re gaining confidence rapidly, Morschauser said. “When we first came in, we were doing a lot of their planning for operations, … now they’re starting to take the lead in their planning and preparation.

“It’s a great thing to see,” he added. “It really is.”

Morschauser said he believes the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, will be able to handle all their own missions within a year.

One challenge in bringing Iraqi units up to speed is in getting them to properly use noncommissioned officers. “It’s a very officer-centric army, and what we’re trying to do is to push them to get them to use their noncommissioned officers more,” Morschauser said. “They’ve got some great noncommissioned officers, the just don’t utilize them as well as we do.”

He said many older officers resist such a change, “but there are definitely moderates,” he added. “You see some enlightened officers.”

Iraqis assumes control of Najaf
Sunday, 24 December 2006
By Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Beach
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs




Iraqi police officers march in formation before a crowd of hundreds during the Provincial Iraqi Control ceremony in Najaf, Iraq, Dec. 20. Among the honored guests were Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, An Najaf’s governor As’ad Abu-Galal al-Taai, Multinational Force – Iraq’s deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski, and Multinational Division – Baghdad’s deputy commanding general, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks.NAJAF – The security and governance of nearly 1 million An Najaf citizens was officially transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control in a ceremony here in southern Iraq Dec. 20.

“Today we are saying no to sectarianism, and no terrorism, and yes for peace, and yes for freedom, and yes for democracy,” said As’ad Abu-Galal al-Taai, the governor of An Najaf province, to a crowd of several hundred Iraqis gathered in the city’s soccer stadium for the ceremony.

In June 2005, Iraq’s Prime Minister announced a joint decision between the Iraqi government and Multinational Forces – Iraq to systematically hand over security responsibilities to Iraq’s provinces to provincial civil authorities under the control of each province’s governor.

“This is a terrific success for Iraq,” said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, deputy commanding general - support for Multinational Division – Baghdad. “It is a major step forward in improving security and strengthening the authority of Iraq.”

An Najaf is the third of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be transferred to Provincial Iraqi Control and is Iraq’s fourth largest province. The coalition transferred full Provincial Iraqi Control to the provinces of Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar earlier this year. Since then, local police and military forces have had full responsibility for security with little coalition assistance.

“I am proud of you as we assume control of our destiny,” said As’ad. “With the help of the people, we will have security as promised by the constitution and the elections. This is a day of celebration.”

For three-and-a-half years, the Iraqi people in An Najaf worked alongside coalition forces training, equipping and mentoring the police and army to take responsibility for the security and enforcement of rule of law.

“Transferring the security for An Najaf is an indication of the increased capability of the Iraq police and the Iraqi army,” Brooks said. “Their capabilities grow every day, and civil governance will take the lead for providing the provinces security enforcement needs.”

Najaf , the provincial capital of An Najaf province, is approximately 100 miles south of Baghdad. It is home to one of Islam’s, especially Shia’s, holiest sites -- the Imam Ali Shrine. The shrine is the burial site of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph. Every year, nearly one million Shia Muslims make a pilgrimage to Najaf. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims.

“More pilgrims will be able to enjoy An Najaf’s religious sites through it’s protected roadways and airport,” said Brooks. “In turn, this will continue stability and increase the quality of life for all residents.”

Shia religious activities were severely restricted under Saddam Hussein’s regime and observances such as Ashura have only recently been allowed thanks to the democratically elected Iraqi government. Ashura is a Shia religious ceremony mourning the death of Imam Ali, held each year at the conclusion of the Hajj season.

With the change in status, coalition security forces are helping local police and the Iraqi military take full control of security in the region.

“I am proud of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army, as they now assume full
responsibility for all law enforcement and security activities in the An Najaf province,” Brooks said. “It will be the citizens of An Najaf who must also work with the police to maintain and build upon safe communities, and to enjoy the blessings of peace. The future of Iraq depends on its people.”

Sorry if this was already posted. If I read this correctly, Iran and other countries will be banned from trading with one another. If Iran can't export their oil, that will make Iraq even more important to the worlds economy with their oil supply. Wouldn't this make the dinar worth even more than we expected???



Solidarity key to success of Iran sanctions
The Yomiuri Shimbun

The international community finally stood up to Iran over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment activities when the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a sanctions resolution against Iran on Saturday. This decision was unavoidable, and certainly justified.

Instead of bowing to international demands to halt enrichment, Iran has defiantly widened and accelerated its nuclear program. The Security Council was left with little alternative but to pressure Iran with sanctions to force the Islamic state to halt its nuclear activities.

The resolution obliges Iran to end enrichment and reprocessing activities as well as the construction of heavy water reactors. It bans U.N. member countries from trading or transferring materials and technologies to Iran that could contribute to its nuclear and missile development programs.

The resolution also requires all member states to freeze financial assets owned by individuals and organizations involved with Iran's nuclear and missile development.

The Security Council resolution gave Iran 60 days to comply with the demands. Should Tehran fail to come into line, the resolution warns the world body would take "further appropriate measures."

===

Ominous signs


All eyes will be on just how Iran will respond. In a sign that does not bode well, Tehran immediately rejected the resolution and issued a statement insisting the country "will continue its peaceful nuclear activities."

Should Iran remain defiant, the international community will need to stand united. A unified, strong response will increase the resolution's effectiveness.

This point comes into sharp focus when considering the differing views and stances taken by major countries during the tough negotiations that eventually resulted in the resolution being approved. Whether all the key players can stay on the same page from now on remains a serious concern.

A draft of the resolution, compiled by Britain, France and Germany, sought to impose an embargo of a wide range of items, ban travel by individuals involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs, and freeze the assets of such individuals and organizations. The United States supported this tough draft.

However, Russia insisted the scope of embargo items should be narrowed and punitive measures should be deleted. China stood with Russia on this point.

The European countries and the United States were desperate to get a resolution approved, so they were forced to relent and the final resolution was reduced to a watered-down version of the draft.

===

Iran advancing N-program


China and Russia have close relations with Iran, particularly with regards to nuclear plant construction and securing oil resources, so their softer line toward Iran was hardly unexpected. But Beijing and Moscow have left themselves open to criticism that they made light of the threat Tehran's nuclear development poses to the international community by placing priority on their own economic interests.

According to a report compiled last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran has completed a second centrifuge cascade, expanding its nuclear development activities. It is forging ahead with the construction of a heavy water reactor that could produce material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons, and has yet to fully disclose information on its nuclear program.



This situation cannot be left unaddressed and allowed to fester.

The Middle East is awash with destabilizing factors, including the war in Iraq, the political crisis in Lebanon and the Palestinian issue. Add Iran's opaque nuclear development to the mix, and a nightmare scenario looms.

The international community must keep an eagle eye on Iran's next steps. Should the need arise, the United Nations must not hesitate to consider additional sanctions.


(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 25, 2006)

(Dec. 25, 2006)

December 24, 2006


Iraqis mark Christmas at their peril







By Nancy Trejos
The Washington Post

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Nouri Dawoud has one of the most dangerous jobs in Baghdad. He sells Christmas trees.


Dawoud has been selling trees at the same corner in the Karrada district every Christmas season for the past 10 years. At 77, he is not ready to abandon his spot.
He may have no choice. Christmas was once enjoyed by Christians and a few Muslims in Iraq. Now, they fear celebrating it. These days in Baghdad, even buying a Christmas tree can lead to getting killed.
On Monday, one week before Christmas, Dawoud was the only tree vendor on his street, which in times past had become Christmas tree row in early December. His colleagues, he said, were too afraid to join him.
Dawoud is a Muslim, but he has lived among Christians in the mixed Karrada district for years. "We are brothers," he said, expressing a tolerance that is increasingly rare in Baghdad.
For centuries, including under the rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Christian minority coexisted with Muslims. Hussein's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, was a Christian, one of an estimated 600,000 to 1 million people of the faith living in the country before the U.S.-led invasion overthrew Hussein in 2003.
Since then, militant Islamic groups have waged a campaign against Christians.
In recent years, churches have been bombed, and priests, ministers and worshippers have been kidnapped or killed. The violence has led many Christians to flee the country. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 44 percent of Iraqis seeking asylum in Syria are Christians.
At no time is the exodus more evident than Christmas. Hidden behind barbed-wire fences and blast walls, churches do not advertise their Christmas services.
On Monday, Dawoud sold three trees. On Tuesday, he sold 10. In years past, he said, he would sell 20 or 30 in one day.
Then a man walked up. He picked out a tree, paid for it and left in a matter of minutes. He acted just like a thief, Dawoud said after the man was gone.
"When they steal, they look over their shoulders and hide," he said. "That's what they're doing now when they buy trees."



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