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

StateSide:Buzz
Laura Bush Blames Media, Provokes Fuss
Criticizes News Media's Iraq Coverage as Unfairly Negative
12/15/2006 9:44 PM ET

"But I do know that there are a lot of good things that are happening (in Iraq) that aren't covered. And I think the drumbeat in the country (U.S.) from the media, from the only way people know what's happening unless they happen to have a loved one deployed there, is discouraging and you know -- I know that the facts are not as discouraging." -- First Lady Laura Bush

Blogs and Web sites are buzzing with pro and con comments regarding First Lady Laura Bush's claim in an NBC interview broadcast Thursday that the reality on the ground in Iraq is "less discouraging" than reported by the western news media.

Here's the relevant transcript excerpt from the interview with NBC's Nora O'Donnell:

O'DONNELL: I know you read the newspapers. You know some of the discussion out there is that the president is going to dismiss the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group and not take the fruit salad, as James Baker has called it, and pick and choose.

BUSH: Well, I don't know what that is but I'm sure that he will pick and choose because that -- it's important for him to do that, to pick the ones that are most effective, that the generals think are most effective, and he'll do that.

O'DONNELL: Let me ask you then, finally, just about public opinion when it comes to the Iraq war. NBC News -- we have a new poll out we sponsor with The Wall Street Journal, and the numbers showed two out of 10 Americans now approve of the president's handling on Iraq; seven out of 10 -- less confident that the war will be successful.

BUSH: Well, I, you know, I understand why those polls are like that, because of the coverage that we see every single day in Iraq, and it is not encouraging coverage, for instance -- for sure. There's no doubt about it. But I do know that there are a lot of good things that are happening that aren't covered. And I think the drumbeat in the country from the media, from the only way people know what's happening unless they happen to have a loved one deployed there, is discouraging and you know -- I know that the facts are not as discouraging.

O'DONNELL: But there are a lot of deaths every day.

BUSH: Absolutely, there are, and people do know that and see that, but there are also good things going on that people don't have the chance to see.

O'DONNELL: What are some of those good things that people should know about?

BUSH: Schools that are being built; parts of the country that are peaceful; and people are trying to rebuild their lives in a large part of Iraq. And we hear that, we hear that from friends, we hear that from Iraqis, we hear it from our troops who are there, and -- so, I'd like to see the media get a little bit more balanced view of it.

O'DONNELL: And we do know that our men and women over there do want support over there and we do --

BUSH: Sure, absolutely. And I know the American people support our troops, and that's what I hope our troops also see when they see the coverage of it, the way the American people support them. And I know they'll see it over the holidays, because many, many Americans will be reaching out to our deployed troops in a lot of different ways: by sending Christmas presents, by sending Christmas cards, by letting our troops know that we are with them. And I hope our troops get that message over the holidays.

(endit)

NEWS MIDDLE EAST
Al Jazeera to launch documentary TV
The channel aims to spread the spirit of hope and the culture of communication among civilisations

en years after the launch of the 24-hour Arabic news channel, Qatar-based Al Jazeera Network is set to launch a documentary channel on January 1, 2007.

This will be the first international Arab documentary channel that broadcasts from the Middle East to an Arab audience.

The channel will feature a wide range of documentary films that will analyse political, historical, scientific, artistic and tourist issues in the Arab world, Africa, the Caucuses and Asia.

The channel will also present a variety of programmes, such as Inside Israel and In the heart of China.

"The channel will mainly focus on what has been called grey areas and cases," Tawfiq Founi, director of Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, said.

"We will look at stories that are distorted or ignored by the Western media on the grounds that they are marginal and insignificant from a Western standpoint, even though these issues are a priority for Arabs and Muslims."

The establishment of the documentary channel is based on the interest in man, his environment and the interaction between them, the channel said in a press release.

The channel seeks to introduce the Arab world and its varieties to an international audience and it hopes to present stories "truly" and "objectively".

Obstacles

Although the channel says its media coverage will focus on the cases of Arabs and the less-fortunate societies, it will not confront Arab governments.

"Obstacles are actually a part of any media coverage. We do not wish to face obstacles. If we wanted to, we would challenge them as much as we could," said Founi.

"We do not want to reveal information on regimes ... . We want to present the rich Arab situation. We are a documentary channel that seeks to fill educational gaps.

"Obstacles will always be there, this is the nature of journalism".

The channel's programmes editorial philosophy aims to spread the spirit of hope and the culture of communication among peoples and civilisations.

Looking ahead

The channel has plenty of plans and ambitions, starting from choosing programmes made by local and international producers or other TV channels that have a similar editorial orientation, Founi said.

Documentary Channel also aims to produce exclusive programmes, whether by in-house production units through co-ordination with the other Al Jazeera channels, or in co-operation with freelance producers, who have current contracts with Al Jazeera to cover Africa and Asia.

Founi said: "Our future plan is to have partnership with producers of production companies and TV channels whose editorial styles comply with Al Jazeera's.

"Our objective behind these future plans is to change the way of dealing with the reality of people and their environments in the Arab world, Africa, Asia and the so-called southern world".

"Dealing with these areas is usually based on a political or tourist agenda. However, we tackle these areas and the Arab world by focusing on the people who live there."
Source: Al Jazeera

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

Here ya go


Experts felt that the Iraqi economy, the economic phenomenon of inflation, which has begun to increase, and had reached a frightening threat to the elements of the Iraqi economy, it is one of the most prominent events in the country during 2006
.They emphasized in the opinion poll : 'The inflation rates in the countries of the world if they rise, they will rise to varying fractional, the push governments to adjustments and changes in the economic decision, but the phenomenon in Iraq have taken another form foreshadowing, in the case unleashed, to the disruption of all the productive sectors'.
وقال.He said the economic expert Dr appearance Mohamed Saleh : 'The phenomenon of serious inflation experienced by the Iraqi economy is one of the most serious economic phenomena because they are still continuing without any finding radical solutions to eliminate or control them effectively', pointing out 'that part of a State policy to eradicate this phenomenon was to raise interest rates and other measures to prepare procedures for the control and not destroy it'.
.He explained : 'The things that could be considered high profile events during 2006 is the movement of the Iraqi government fruitful for rescheduling the debt of commercial banks and foreign private sector to the government, with a bill of international Batafah equivalent conditions of the Paris debt, or 20 billion dollars'.
اما ".Dr Mohammed Halter from the Center for Economic Studies, said the Iraqi 'is the phenomenon of economic inflation prominent economic phenomena in Iraq in 2006, they began to grow from the beginning of the year, and continued without taking effective steps to stop or reduce the rate of growth emerging in the eyes of the men of power and decision, which means that a serious economic crisis the country if steps were not taken effective getting quick. "
.He explained : 'The decision by the current Iraqi government to raise the prices of fuel increased by 125% compared to prices last year, the significant effect in raising the prices of foodstuffs, consumer goods and others, the creation of the appropriate environment for the growth of the phenomenon of inflation economic', pointing out that : 'This did not come from the vacuum, but to the pressure brought to bear on Iraq by the bank and the IMF to reduce its debt, in exchange for the lifting of fuel prices, but he has not yet seen the negative side, which can live make Iraqis result of international resolutions negatives more than positives'.
اما.The Sands Dr. Jassim Abdul professor of international economics at the Faculty of Management and Economics in Baghdad explained : 'The decline in the dollar exchange rate dramatically increased during recent weeks, a phenomenon which should be then because of the economic implications could be reflected positively on the value of the Iraqi dinar'.
.And she said : 'The expectations optimistic prediction for the rehabilitation of the Iraqi economy deteriorating comes coinciding with the work balancing the in 2007, and it is just the expectations of must be backed up by the State to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar versus foreign currency', adding : 'that the Iraqi government own bread reins of things to eradicate the phenomenon of inflation Economic through ongoing work to develop plans and programs to reduce the value of foreign currency about the the Iraqi dinar', and should be recalled that the rate of inflation during the last year ranged "global 25 and 30 per cent, while arrived up in the the current year to 77%

and again we see the quote " to reduce the value of foreign currency". now we all know how they are going to do that, the question is when. Just look at the projected budget for Iraq in 2007, they now state 44 billion in US dollars, that is over 53 trillion dinar, which they can't support as I don't think they have that much currency printed. Even with projected oil revenues, thi can't be counted on right now because of production interuptions by people blowing up wells and do to smuggling. They can't print a bunch more dinar, as this would decrease the value, right? It is simple economics....less dinar in the market...the more in demand it is...the more it is worth. Lets hope big things happen soon....waiting for my big payday....and all of yours.

Iraqis Face Challenges Finding Work, Stabilizing Lives

In addition to the attacks and sectarian clashes that dominate the headlines in the worldwide media, the average Iraqi is also struggling with a difficult financial reality -- trying to find and keep a job, conducting everyday business and planning a future for their children in a nation wracked by uncertainty and violence.

"I think the daily life in Iraq was good in the beginning of the process of Iraq freedom," said Segvan Hassan, a 26-year-old Kurd who works as a trainer and supervisor at Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission. "After a few months it gets bad. Now it's [at its] worst."

Iraqi street merchantHassan's sentiments appear to echo those of other Iraqis, many of whom speak of the same growing frustrations: the cost-of-living increase has exceeded their salary growth rate, unemployment rates are high, lack of infrastructure forces reliance upon expensive generators and oil for electricity, and security concerns can make work a risky business.

Ayub Nuri, a 27-year-old Iraqi, is enrolled in a master's program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. A native of Kurdistan, he has traveled throughout Iraq as a journalist. According to Nuri, an Iraqi teacher would make the equivalent of $90 a month, but rent for a one-bedroom house is likely to be $300 a month.

"What about food, what about clothes, what about shoes, what about everything else?" he asked. "People are really depressed and disappointed."

The United Nations Development Program in 2005 published a survey on living conditions in Iraq taken between April and August 2004. Compared to the median per capita household income in 2003 which was roughly $255, the 2004 median income fell to $144.

One of the contributing factors to the drop in per capita income has been the steady rise in unemployment in nearly all parts of the country.

Under Saddam Hussein's regime, the government was the primary employer, particularly for those with college degrees. Baath Party members, in particular, were apt to earn higher salaries or have better opportunities. Today, estimates for the unemployment rate range from 20 percent to 60 percent, according to the Iraq Study Group's report.

Fueled by the high unemployment rate and continuing attacks in the southern parts of the country, large populations of Iraqis have left their homes in search of work, causing economic problems in parts of Iraq, such as Kurdistan, where there are more jobs and security.

"The bad situation going on in other parts of Iraq has made thousands leave the southern and center to come into the north to get employed," says Nuri. "There is a competition between people who come from other parts of Iraq and the local people for housing. The local people can rarely afford to rent. Thousands of laborers sleep in the street or in the park because the hotels are full."

Many Iraqis also express concern that foreign goods have flooded their markets, driving down prices and making it more difficult for local companies to compete.

"Brick, tailoring, textile factories have closed down because the Iraqi market has been occupied by cheap foreign foods or clothes," according to Nuri. "The government does not ban foreign things, does not supply factories with electricity or other goods. [Infrastructure] breaks damage the local industry and hundreds or thousands lose jobs."

At a farmers' market in Dahuk, the northern-most Iraqi province bordering Turkey, a 28-pound bag of potatoes from Iran sells for $3.33, a 55-pound bag of Syrian tomatoes sells for $2; a two-pound bag of local onions sells for 40 cents, which comparatively would make a 28-pound bag sell for $5.60.

Eric Nigh, vice president of corporate development at the Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce in Baghdad, attributed the cost-of-living problems in Iraq to bad security and infrastructure, as well as to the fact that living standards have increased.

Once Saddam's regime fell, the market became flooded with goods that were previously inaccessible, creating a desire for a higher standard of living, according to Nigh.

To repair some of these problems, the U.S. government launched a number of programs aimed at repairing the shattered economy.

The Agriculture Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq has poured money and resources into the North of the country, hoping to repair the fragile agriculture business, the second-largest industry and employer behind petroleum.

In Dahuk, American agronomists have introduced T-trellising, drip line irrigation and new cultivation technologies in an effort to revitalize grape cultivation. ARDI also has donated $28.9 million to a tractor repair and renovation program.

USAID and the former Coalition Provisional Authority also have funneled more than $40 million to microfinance programs, which enable the very poor to take out small loans to start new businesses.

These programs have had some positive results. In 2006, the Southern province of Wasit harvested and shipped more than 110,000 tons of wheat and 90,000 tons of barley, a record crop for the province and four times larger than 2005's combined 48,000 tons, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Iraqi construction workersIn addition to development programs, the United States is encouraging private sector development and foreign investment, through organizations such as the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, in hopes of transitioning the country's economy to a free market one. Under Saddam, most major industries were state controlled.

"We support Iraqis moving forward in many areas," said June Reed, a senior adviser with IRMO. "We look at it in many layers, taking a very broad view -- investment laws, the new security law. There are a variety of laws that have helped transform this very command control economy to a market-based one."

Reed said she believes that Iraq needs to fully embrace the global marketplace if the country is to compete, advocating that the unsteady state seek to join the World Trade Organization.

"It not only requires liberalization for certain laws and a free market, but it also provides specific protection if outside economies are dumping into your economy, you can take action," she said.

For free market advocates like Reed, it is about returning Iraq to its pre-Baathist days when there was a "robust, mercantile society with strong banks, and a full and open market competitive in a variety of industries."

But according to some Iraqis, returning to the past system will not be easy since many Iraqis have never known the culture of banking at all.

"Many know that there is something called a bank but are unaware of how it works and they do not trust it at all. People who have money, they keep it at home," said Nuri, the Iraqi journalist living in New York.

Reed noted that the number of deposits has "increased substantially" since the U.S. invasion, but that it is a "far cry" from everyone having savings and checking accounts, let alone credit cards.

But no matter how enthusiastically Iraqis embrace the free market, the struggle for stability remains the major stumbling block for many trying to live day-to-day in Iraq.

"I would prefer to be poor and safe, not to be rich and be afraid I'm being attacked for my money," said another Iraqi student living in New York City, who wished not to be identified for fear of repercussions against his family still living in Iraq.


-- By Stephanie Taylor, Online NewsHour

Originally Posted by Offshore-Wealth.com

Interesting,

Yes, Maliki could be gone sooner than expected. As to impeachment, all that has to be done is have the majority vote him out and agree on replacement, and this has been in the works by groups, and judging from all the no shows for votes, I think the majority of members are feeling just a little bit insecure in their positions at the moment.

When you see Bush and Rice meeting wih other leaders in Iraq, sure makes you wonder what is really going on behind the scenes. We heard Sistani mentioned as he holds one of the biggest sticks in his hands, so this is what I see happening. The Kurd's also want more representation, and they deserve it in my opinion as the are true leaders in Iraq, just look what they have contributed, all the major drafts of laws implemented to date, and they were first to enact them in Kurdistan, so hopefully they will have more positions when reshuffle is announced. Should be an interesting week with holiday as behind the curtain activity will surely be active.

Happy New Year to All, Mike

hi mike,

if maliki does go will this not set back any planned rv back further.
will take a while to get a suitable replacement,

many thanks alan

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

Thanks! But this find goes to sallyl, i just translated for her........

Well, both of you many thanks for finding and translating!

I love these kind of statements, it's telling what they are up to!

Hope we see it soon!

How one mobile phone made Saddam's hanging a very public execution - World - Times Online

Saddam: The execution


How one mobile phone made Saddam's hanging a very public execution
Ned Parker and Ali Hamdani

Those close to him said he had wanted to die with dignity. Within a day, a million people had seen an illicit film of his last moments

Read Ned Parker’s blog from inside Iraq

The final image of Saddam Hussein was on jerky unedited footage filmed by an anonymous onlooker standing at the foot of the steps beneath the gallows. The video showed the noose around his neck as he recited the shahada, or last testimony. Before he could finish, he dropped through the floor to the sound of the trapdoor crashing open. After a few seconds of confusion the footage ended with a close-up of the dictator’s twisted head.

None of the images was part of the “official” footage filmed from the top of the gallows, which was aired on Iraqi state television and beamed around the world. In Iraq the other footage, which was filmed on a mobile phone, was being swapped on handsets for 20p and soon spread around the world on the internet.

At the height of his power Saddam had always had himself filmed in military uniform with shiny epaulets or standing on a balcony firing a gun — an image that would play again and again on state television in homage to his self-declared greatness. Just before sunrise on Saturday, a witness to the former Iraqi President’s death filmed his ignonimous end using the phone. Hours later the grainy, darkly lit footage was on the internet.

In a former military intelligence building, now an Iraqi prison, Saddam was sandwiched between two stout men in black hoods who guided him to the gallows. He bundled himself in a dark overcoat to warm himself in the December cold in Baghdad and stood on an elevated platform with its rusty metal bars. Beneath the coat was the white shirt and black blazer and trousers that he had worn throughout his trial on charges of crimes against humanity.

The two hangmen lifted the thick hemp noose over his neck and Saddam stood passively, his piercing brown eyes indicating a flicker of fear.

“Ya Allah [Oh God],” he said. The room’s 15 witnesses roared back: “Peace to be upon Muhammad and his followers. Peace be upon Muhammad and his followers.” Their voices rose in glee and some added a rallying cry belonging to the followers of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militia movement has helped to fuel Baghdad’s current sectarian bloodletting. “And quicken his [the Mahdi’s] appearing and curse on his enemy,” and then one zealous spectator shouted: “And support his son Moqtada Moqtada Moqtada.”

Ignoring the baying crowd, Saddam, whose dyed black hair was askew, pretended that he misheard the young cleric’s name, whose movement in its violence is reminiscent of Saddam’s own ruthless Baathist cells that paved his way to power. Saddam smirked at his tormentors.

A voice shouted back: “Long live Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr”, the name of the ayatollah who helped to found the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa party and was murdered by Saddam in 1980.

“To Hell,” another spectator bellowed. The scene had begun to resemble a medieval execution or a wild hanging in Texas. “Please stop, the man is being executed, please stop,” one witness shouted over the clamour. Saddam peered down at the mob and then recited the shahada. His skin was wrinkled; he looked tired and knew the end was near.

“God is great and Muhammad is His prophet,” he said and started to repeat the phrase intended to ensure one dies a good Muslim and goes to paradise. But the trapdoor opened and his body plummeted. His neck snapped.

“Peace be upon Muhammad and his followers,” some shouted. “The tyrant is gone,” another cried. Pandemonium reigned in the shadowy room. A voice interjected: “Leave him for eight minutes. No one pulls him down. Leave him for eight minutes . . . .Everyone back please, everyone back.” Saddam’s body swung beneath the trap door, eyes partly open, and his neck crooked, like his many nameless victims. He swung like the corpses of those who had been executed in his name in prisons across Iraq throughout the Baath party’s 35-year reign.

Those close to him said he had known for months that the end was coming and had no illusions that he would survive. But he wanted his dignity. The man whose vanity led him to portray himself as the defender of the Arab world was determined to get the better of his adversaries. He refused their offers of cigarettes and a last meal of chicken. When the hangmen took Saddam into an unheated room before Judge Munir Haddad, one of the nine judges who had upheld his death sentence on Tuesday for the killing of 148 Shia villagers from Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a 1982 assassination attempt on his life, the man did not panic and chastised his enemies.

“I read the death sentence to him and asked him if he wanted to say anything or has any final words. Then he said: “I commend you to adhere to liberality and to beware of the Persians,” Mr Haddad told The Times. Mr Haddad asked him if he had any final request and Saddam asked him to hand his Koran to the son of Awad al-Bandar, the former judge who had also been sentenced to death for sanctioning the killing of the Dujail villagers. Mr Bandar’s son, Badr, has served on the defence team for Saddam and his six co-defendants. Saddam then went readily to the execution room. “He looked very calm and quiet and wasn’t shaking or afraid at all and was walking very normally but his face became pale when they took him to the other room but he was very calm,” Mr Haddad said.

To his family and his team of lawyers, his final hours were an outrage. From the moment, the appeals court announced on Tuesday that it had upheld his death sentence, it had been a dash to the execution chamber. The defence and his family claimed that they had not been notified by the Iraqi Government or the Americans of his death and learnt of it only from television. Repeated requests to see Saddam by his attorneys and daughter, Raghad, were rebuffed.
In Amman Raghad and her sister, Rana, stayed up through the night, watching the news, reading the Koran and praying, Rasha Oudeh, Raghad’s personal secretary, told The Times. When a news channel reported at 5.30am that Saddam had been led off to the gallows, the women prayed for their father in Baghdad, “They called on God to help him and to give him strength,” she told The Times.



Until the Americans transferred Saddam by helicopter from his prison in the Baghdad airport compound to the green zone he did not know when his end was coming, members of his defence team said. He knew that it would be soon, but thought it would come after the Muslim Eid holiday. He had even scheduled an appointment with his lawyers for this Friday. On hearing the appeals court ruling on Tuesday, Saddam had asked to see his half-brothers for what could be the last time. One of them, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, had also been sentenced to death in the Dujail trial.

Next, his defence team sent him one of his lawyers, Wadud Fawzi. Mr Fawzi would meet him again on Thursday and then leave for Amman not knowing Saddam would be killed the next day. Under Iraqi law, they believed, the state could not kill him until after the Eid holiday. But at the moment Mr Fawzi headed off for Amman, Mr al-Maliki was secretly embarking on his own campaign to kill Saddam before the Eid holiday started at sunrise on Saturday.

The move had come as a surprise even to members of Mr al-Maliki’s Government. On Tuesday night, Basam Ridha al-Hussaini, who was in charge of Saddam’s file for the Prime Minister, had left a meeting with US court advisers, in which all sides had agreed that Saddam would not be killed until January 10. The Americans were already unhappy that the appeals court had upheld Saddam’s death sentence only three weeks after receiving written arguments from the defence. But Mr Hussaini was sure that nothing would happen until January and headed off on a short vacation to Dubai. On Thursday Mr al-Maliki decided to push through the execution despite the Americans’ objections.

“The American Government didn’t want to see the verdict to be certified by the Iraqi High Tribubal so soon, neither to have an execution so soon, but Mr al-Maliki insisted that the execution take place as soon the verdict was certified by the appellate chamber, That was his call. It shows his courage and his decisiveness that he went ahead and took the matter into his own hands despite that fact it was a logistical nightmare to do it,” Mr Hussaini told The Times. “The Americans were hoping that the Iraqi government would take more time to execute Saddam... But again we wanted to do it our own way. It’s an Iraqi matter,” Mr Hussaini said.

The Iraqi Government was afraid that Sunni insurgents would do something rash like take school children hostage to halt the proceedings or that international pressure against the death penalty would prove insurmountable. “Mr al-Maliki didn’t want to take any more chances of pressure from human rights groups, or even surrounding Arab countries and European countries. We knew the dictator better than anyone else. This was not revenge. This was justice for Iraq and justice needed to be served by putting the rope around Saddam’s neck and putting an end to this,” Mr Hussaini said. The Americans and the Iraqis negotiated the matter all through Friday.Nothing was certain until a late-night meeting between US embassy officials and the Prime Minister’s office, Mr al-Maliki’s confidante, MP Sami alAskari, told The Times that evening.

In their final meeting on Thursday, Mr Fawzi found his client at peace and looking towards his legacy. “Saddam told me, ‘I have to face it because that’s why I’m a leader, the leader has to fight and bear everything and that is what makes him a leader’,” Mr Fawzi told The Times yesterday. He had even rejected his lawyer’s plea to appeal to the Vatican to save him. “What would I say to Iraqis, Arab, and Baath comrades if I negotiate for my neck?” Saddam told Mr Fawzi. The two conversed some more. Mr Fawzi read to him a Baath Party statement condemning his death sentence and Saddam was happy.

Then he talked about President Bush’s push to revise his Iraq strategy. “They will never be successful in these reconciliation calls because the Americans are failing to knock on the right doors. If they want it to work they should negotiate with the Baath Party as an organisation and sit with its leadership and negotiate, otherwise they will never achieve any improvement in the situation,” Saddam said.

He assured his attorney that he was at ease with his destiny. “I feel very comfortable and if God wants me to die I will die but I’m relieved that I built Iraq and ensured its unity.” The two men said goodbye not knowing it was for the last time. Saddam handed him a cigar. “I’m still keeping it and will keep it for ever, a souvenir from Saddam,” Mr Fawzi said. On Friday, his attorneys would be shocked by the announcement that they should send someone to receive Saddam’s personal belongings. The end was only a matter of time. His legal team did not call the Iraqi Government. They believed it was futile.

All that was left was to pick up his belongings.

They included books by the Muslim philospher Ibn Khaldun and the Arab poet Ibn al-Muttanabi; an unfinished manuscript of Saddam’s autobiography; poems by Saddam; some essays he had written about the Baath Party; some jackets; and a few suits.

Saddam had also asked to send a message to his family written in pink candle wax, but a US military officer had refused, Mr Fawzi said.

Excellent article for the new year!!!



Iraq on the right path

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/Navariedn...tid=1839729411

"An American businessman with links to major parts of Iraq told me another story of Iraq. While he admits that there is daily killing and destruction in Iraq, there is also construction, development, progress and freedom. Here are some of his facts: Slowly but steadily, "80 per cent of Iraqis are creeping (back) to (normal) life." "
Um Qasr, in the southeast extremity of Iraq on the Persian Gulf" which was deserted by the spring of 2003 is back to normal. "It is back in business as a port with commercial and military functions. "Hundreds of families have returned - joining many more who have come from all over Iraq."
"The boom in Um Qasr is part of a broader picture that also includes Basra, the sprawling metropolis of southern Iraq"
Very few media report about good news from Iraq. "Newsweek has just hailed the emergence of a booming market economy in Iraq as "the mother of all surprises," noting "Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are." The reason, of course, is that Iraqis know what is going on in their country while Americans are fed a diet of exclusively negative reporting from Iraq."
The growing dynamism of the Iraqi economy is reflected in the steady increase in the value of the national currency, the dinar, against the three currencies in direct competition with it in the Iraqi marketplace: the Iranian rial, the Kuwaiti dinar and the US dollar, since January 2006."
"No doubt, part of the dinar's strength reflects the rise in Iraq's income from oil exports to almost $40 billion in 2006, an all-time record. But oil alone does not explain all, since both Iran and Kuwait are bigger exporters than Iraq."
"The fact that civil-servant salaries have increased by almost 30 per cent, with a further 30 per cent due to come into effect early next year, also has helped boost demand.
But a good part of the boom is due to an unexpected flow of foreign capital. This has been facilitated by the prospect of a liberal law on direct foreign investments, which exists only in such free-trade parts of the region as Dubai and Bahrain . None of Iraq 's six neighbours offers such guarantee for the free flow of capital to and from the country."
"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the number of private companies in Iraq has increased from a mere 8,000 to more than 35,000 this year. Each week an average of 60 new companies spring up in Iraq 's booming areas. A good part of the investment in southern Iraq , including in Um Qasr, comes from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates."
"Whatever happens, Iraq is Iraq ," says a Kuwaiti businessman, building hotels in the south. "Iraq will always remain the country with the world's largest oil reserves and the Middle East's biggest resources of water."
"One hears similar comments from local and foreign businessmen investing in real estate in Najaf and Karbala. Over 200 million Shiite Muslims regard the cities as holy. Najaf and Karbala have always been dream destinations for pilgrims. Under Saddam Hussein, however, few foreign pilgrims were allowed. With the despot gone, pilgrims are pouring in-and with them the fresh money."
"That good business is possible in Iraq is reflected in the performance of new companies, most of which did not exist three years ago. One privately owned mobile phone company is expected to report revenues of more than $500 million this year, a sevenfold increase in three years. Another private firm marketing soft drinks has seen profits double since the end of 2003. The number of luxury cars imported has risen from a few hundred in 2002 to more than 20,000 this year. The leading export of Iraq is producing nearly $41 billion in revenues."
But what about continued attacks of insurgents and terrorists?
"Most foreign investors coming to make money in Iraq shrug their shoulders. "Doing business in any Arab country is always risky," says a Turkish investor who has set up a trucking company and a taxi service. "In some Arab countries, you risk nationalization or straight confiscation by the ruler. In other Arab countries, you must give a cut to one of the emirs (and princes). Here, you face possible terrorist attacks. But such attacks are transitory."
"The relatively low cost of labour is another attraction to investors. Wages in Iraq , where unemployment is (still) over 30 per cent, are less than a quarter of the going rates in Kuwait . Nevertheless, the Iraqi boom appears to be attracting some Iranian labourers from areas close to the border-people who come in for a few days to make some money before returning home."
"Although Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's government has slowed down the pace of privatisation, the foundations of the command economy created by Saddam continue to crumble."
"The transition from a rentier economy-in which virtually the whole of the population depended on government handouts-to a free-market capitalist one entails much hardship for some segments of society. Many pensioners and some civil servants find it hard to make ends meet as prices rise across the board. The end of government subsidies on virtually everything-from bread and sugar to gasoline and water-is also causing hardship."
"But, judging by the talk in teahouses and the debate in Iraq's new and pluralist media, most people welcome the switch to capitalism and regard it as an exciting adventure.
"Since 2003 the salaries of average Iraqis have risen in excess of 100 per cent. In addition the Iraqi government has slashed the income tax rates from 45 per cent to just around 15 per cent. That has resulted in the average Iraqi family being able to develop long term nest-eggs (we call them IRAs)."
"Gasoline is only .56 cents a gallon. It wouldn't be that high except that Iraq decided to payoff some of its debt to the World Bank and are using energy profits to do so.
In addition much of the formerly centralised organisation of the economy has been turned over to private sector endeavours and while some government sectors have seen a spike in unemployment, private sector unemployment is hovering around 30 per cent. High to you and me, but still better than in the Saddam era."
The more and more Iraqis are taken on the board of development, the less they would listen to warlords and terrorist groups. Insurgents are not recruited among the 70 per cent of peaceful and diligent Iraqis; they are recruited among the 30 per cent jobless and retainers of the old regime. I'm confidant and millions of Iraqis with me that the course of development will prevail."

I know this has been posted before but I did not remember seeing the bit about raising the value of the dinar 10% at the end of 2006..... Hmmmm..... Now we know why they just stopped at where they did. 10% was part of their plan.....


Dinar at 2-year high vs. dollar

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Iraq central bank buys up currency to fight inflation



"BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq's dinar currency has risen to a nearly two-year high against the U.S. dollar, as the nation's central bank tries to fend off skyrocketing inflation by buying up the currency with dollars at its daily auctions.
Most of the money the Iraqi government earns is in U.S. dollars because oil exports are the main source of its income, and the bank has about $14 billion in foreign assets, said Mudher Qassim, the Central Bank of Iraq's director of statistics.

On Thursday, the last day of the work week in Baghdad, the central bank led the way at its daily currency auction, which saw 25 million U.S. dollars sold by about a dozen banks, the central bank said. Even larger amounts of dollars were sold during 10 of the auctions in November.
“Our goal is to reduce inflation, which is now running at about 50 percent, by improving the dinar and thereby making imported goods cheaper,” Qassim said in a telephone interview, adding that more than 80 percent of all Iraq's tradable goods are imported, he said.

In a report in August, the International Monetary Fund also said inflation was escalating in Iraq. The 12-month rate of inflation ended 2005 at 31.7 percent, but inflation then accelerated, with 12-month inflation reaching 58 percent in May 2006, the report said.

Iraq's Central Bank also is trying to fight inflation by raising interest rates. In November it raised its key policy rate to 16 percent from 12 percent. Wednesday's report from the bipartisan U.S. Iraq Study Group said that by the end of 2006, the bank will raise rates to 20 percent and appreciate the dinar by 10 percent....

“The dinar has steadily increased against the dollar because of the central bank's efforts to stabilize the currency and control inflation,” said Hussein al-Uzri, president of the state-owned Trade Bank of Iraq.

“Iraqi consumers get oil and food that is government subsidized, so the rise in the dinar won't have an immediate effect on them and the economy. It will take some time. But as Iraqis realize the value of the dinar is rising, they will stop immediately exchanging their currency into dollars,” he told The Associated Press. "

The Iraqi dinar rose 12.5% after penalty


:Mohamed thanked wrote :
.The exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar in Kuwait during the last two days, he developed against the background of the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, where the exchange rate grew from 200 million Iraqi dinars to 225 million of which is a growth rate of 12.5% during the short period of time. .He said dealers in the exchange market to 'Al-Qabas' to make sure that as soon as the execution of Saddam initiated many of the exchange to speculation in the Iraqi dinar has reached the rate of one million when the execution on satellite channels to 260 million Iraqi dinars to one.

Translated version of http://www.alqabas.com.kw/Final/NewspaperWebsite/NewspaperPublic/