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

(Voice of Iraq) - 24-08-2006

Loan from the World Bank to Iraq worth 005 million dollars

Baghdad-Mohammed Al-Yasiri
Riyadh Ghraib and met with Minister of municipalities and public works Ziad Badran Director of the Office of the World Bank in Amman, the two sides discussed the prospects for cooperation, grants and loans to Iraq.
The minister stressed during the meeting the need to activate the loans and grants for projects agreed upon in Iraq and accelerate the implementation process and in particular that Iraq today need to help all our friends, in this circumstance is difficult and that the near future will witness our great economic movement of reconstruction and investment wide.
For his part, announced the Director of the World Bank for providing a soft loan of $ (500) million dollars paid over (40) years old to contribute to the rehabilitation of infrastructure and service in Iraq and the readiness of the World Bank to train the size of Iraq and develop their managerial and technical to enable them to supervise and make an effective contribution to the project a Lte evaluates the World Bank in Iraq. He also announced the opening of the World Bank office in Baghdad contributed to a narrowing of viewpoints and shorten the time and the activation of loans and grants to Iraq. On a related attended kindergarten Ghraib minister of municipalities and public works and training workshop involving a number of technicians and engineers in the Ministry of Municipalities established Bank j He said during his workshop that Iraq needs the expertise to contribute to the process of reconstruction and commended the efforts of the World Bank and the services it provides.

Newspaper (time)

(Voice of Iraq) - 24-08-2006

Baghdad time
The Iraqi Foreign Minister Hushiar Zibari yesterday, Wednesday, on Iraq's intention to expand diplomatic representation in the world, pointing out that there was a plan to open some 30 embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide. Zibari said in a press conference held in Baghdad that "the changes and transformations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will begin during the next phase of the expansion of Iraq's diplomatic representation abroad." He said : "We plan to open approximately 30 embassy or mission in the world so that we can re-representation of Iraq to what it was in the best of times." The Zibari, "This number will grow more," pointing out that "there has been an interest and a desire by many foreign countries to communicate with Iraq." On the other hand, The Iraqi minister, "Iraq will see in the near future the increase of foreign representation in Baghdad," saying that "there are several requests from foreign countries expressed their desire to represent a lasting and continuous in Baghdad."
Zibari called on Arab states to "take the lead in opening their embassies in Iraq" citing the opening of the embassy in Jordan last week with the visit of the Prime Minister of Jordan to Baghdad.
He said "the Arab countries should emulate Jordan initiated to nominate Ambassador in Baghdad to cover the actual presence on the ground in the capital."
Zibari stated that "a number of States and important players in the Iraqi arena submitted applications to open consulates in Basra and Kurdistan."
He added : "We have opened consulates in Iran and our Consulate in Turkey and the consulate in Jeddah Baladhav to our embassy in Riyadh and our representation in Riyadh."

Here is some very very interesting news. This is a Q and A of some of the questions we all have been asking.

(QOUTE: Dr. Hawrami: Indeed, I am very pleased with the responses and comments, as they indicate support and serious interest in the Act and in the accompanying production sharing contract (PSC) model. Therefore, I am now confident that the Draft Act will be seen as being fair, clear and investor friendly, hence in due course I will proceed to the next step to get it approved by the Kurdistan Region’s parliament. We will then be able to expedite inward investment to Kurdistan, which should provide significant benefits to the people in Kurdistan as well as to the rest of our people in the Federal Iraq.

Q: What is the process now and are you still aiming for September?

Dr. Hawrami: Firstly, we need to deal with the comments received (work on that has already started), then we need to get the Arabic and Kurdish versions updated and reviewed. These matters may take another two or three weeks, so by around mid-September the Draft Act should be ready for presentation to the Parliament. The Draft Act is expected by the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, so it should not take too long to be formally approved.

Q: Are you going to wait for the approval of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament before inviting companies for potential contracts?

Dr. Hawrami: No, we have already started the process. We need to have discussions and time for negotiations with the interested companies, so by the time the Act is approved we should be in the position to sign a number of new contracts.)

Kurdistan Regional Government

Just click on the scrolling articles on top of the page KRG Natural Resources Minister responds to comments on draft Kurdistan Petroleum Act. Is the article you are looking for.

Originally Posted by neno

Real Quick. I just got home and need to catch-up. But let me just say this.4 Different times today on the Radio, exspecially NPR News, They said in a report that the Iraq Government Officals have stated that the sectiarn and Insurgent Violence has almost Halted. They sould have control of Baghdad shortly. And Security is almost there.

Hey neno, if a Bush hating, bleeding heart liberal organization like NPR reported this it can only mean one thing...there ain't no bad news left to report!! LOL

danny

Originally Posted by danny51

Hey neno, if a Bush hating, bleeding heart liberal organization like NPR reported this it can only mean one thing...there ain't no bad news left to report!! LOL

danny

danny51. Presicelly. You took the words right out of my mouth.

Iraqi Army To Take Full Control of Troop Division

8/21/2006


Coalition will provide support only if Iraqi army requires it, U.S. general says

By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – A significant shift in the Iraqi army’s command and control structure will occur September 3 when it will take full control of its 8th Army Division.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Dana Pittard, who is in charge of the Iraq Assistance Group, told reporters via videoconference August 21 that this is more than a symbolic development. Any support that coalition units might offer after this transition first would have to be coordinated through the Iraqi army’s Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC), he said.

The Iraq Assistance Group oversees the teams of coalition military and police advisers currently embedded with many units of the Iraqi security forces. Pittard, who served as a combat commander in Iraq from 2003-2005, recently returned to Iraq to head the assistance group.

The 8th Iraqi Army Division will be the first to take this step of operating on its own, Pittard said, and it will establish the path for the rest of Iraq’s army to follow. It is a significant development, he said, because the army unit no longer will be under coalition tactical control. Sustainment assistance still will be readily available from coalition forces if needed, but following the transition, all military orders will be issued by the IGFC.

This is all part of the overall U.S. military mission to help stabilize Iraq, Pittard said, and to “set the conditions for the Iraqi people and the government to be successful.”

U.S. military advisers, at this stage, are not pushing Iraqi army units to fight because they already are doing that very well, he said.

Pittard suggested that much of the Iraqi army will achieve a high state of responsibility and readiness by the end of 2006. Still, reduction of U.S. forces will depend on the operational situation in December, he said. Even after some U.S. units depart Iraq, some embedded military advisers might be left behind, according to his assessment.

Pittard also was asked about ongoing problems with private Iraqi militia forces. Some 20 different militias are being tracked in Baghdad alone, he said, “and any illegal armed group will be disarmed” as part of a new capital security plan.

Pressed about the problem of divided loyalties within the ranks of the police, Pittard said the Interior Ministry already has dismissed some police officers for their ties to militias. The ministry is doing its best, he said, to clean up the situation and U.S. officers are supporting that endeavor on a broad scale. (See related article.)

Instituting a regionalization plan for Iraq’s national police, he said, must wait until there is greater stability in Baghdad. Pittard also said shortages of officers will be addressed in the coming year.

Plans for Iraqi national police units are unfolding in two key phases. There is an initial inspection planned of each police battalion by the Ministry of Interior, with coalition support, that is to be completed by October 1 when officers will be issued new blue uniforms. This will be followed by nearly a month of training for eight national police brigades outside the capital. Those completing the training will be authorized to wear another new uniform. (See related article.)

For additional information, see Iraq Update.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: USINFO - The United States Department of State)


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Iraqi forces detain hit squad leaders

8/22/2006


Mon Aug 21, 2:51 AM ET

Iraqi security forces detained two suspected death squad leaders, one of them accused of torturing victims at a Shi'ite mosque, in a raid in southern Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said.

The two men "exercise control over all death squad cell activity" in three Baghdad neighborhoods, including the notoriously violent Doura district, the military said.

"One of these individuals also allegedly controls a Baghdad husseiniya (Shi'ite mosque) where he tortures and kills Iraqi citizens," their statement said.

Iraqi troops supported by U.S. advisers captured the men during a raid on a house in the southern Rasheed district, part of a U.S. and Iraqi crackdown on death squads that American officials say are fuelling sectarian violence ravaging Baghdad.

Washington has poured thousands of troop reinforcements into the city in recent weeks, after the surging violence frustrated plans to start withdrawing some of the 130,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq before the end of the year.

The violence, much of it blamed by U.S. officials on Shi'ite death squads, poses the greatest threat to the three-month-old government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose national reconciliation plan has so far failed to contain sectarian tensions between Shi'ites and minority Sunnis.

Sunnis accuse militias controlled by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr of carrying out many of the killings, a charge he denies.

The U.S. military said in a separate statement that a raid on one of Sadr's offices in northwestern Baghdad on Friday had found rockets, one rigged with a makeshift bomb, a mortar, bomb-making materials and assault rifles.

It did not say whether any arrests had been made. U.S. forces have targeted leaders of Sadr's Mehdi Army, based in his Sadr City stronghold in eastern Baghdad, in recent operations.


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Iraq mission not complete

8/23/2006

By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com

Washington - Returning from a visit to Iraq, Rep. John Salazar today reiterated his belief that U.S. troop withdrawals should be based on conditions there and not on the calendar.

"Our troops are very committed. They are very proud of what they are doing," said Salazar, D-Manassa. "Everyone I talked to felt their mission was not complete."

Salazar traveled to Iraq, Kuwait and Germany last week along with other House members on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Salazar's comments today came as President Bush spoke on the need to stay committed in Iraq.

Salazar, a military veteran, disagrees with many fellow Democrats - including his brother, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. - who are calling for a troop withdrawal timetable.

"This administration's Iraq policy has been an unmitigated disaster and has set us back in the war on terror," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said in response to Bush's speech. "Our troops are stuck in a civil war. The violence is worse than ever."

John Salazar, who flew by helicopter into Fallujah to meet with troops, said he believes they want to stay until their work is done. He said he didn't get the sense that they are frustrated, and talked of wounded military members in hospitals who wanted to return to help their units.

But Salazar also conceded he has conflicting opinions about what the future holds for Iraq.

Reflecting on his previous trip to the country 18 months ago, "I am more optimistic in some respects that we are turning control over to the Iraqis," Salazar said, citing improved numbers of trained Iraqi security forces. "But at the same time I am not as optimistic when I see the sectarian violence that's breaking out."

Salazar met with Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who repeated what he said the first week in August that the hope of troop reductions by year's end is diminishing, and that civil war is possible.

Salazar believes some of that violence will ease as American troops eventually pull out. "We're seen as occupiers," he said. "Once Iraqis are in control, I believe there'll be less violence."

Salazar said he wanted to find out more about what's needed to help veterans of the war. Many will need treatment for post traumatic stress disorder, he said.

And Congress, he added, needs to fight for more funding for that and the latest prosthetic technology, given the grievous injuries suffered by some fighters.

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Khalilzad: Baghdad key to Iraq's future

8/23/2006


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned Wednesday that "Iraq faces an urgent crisis in securing its capital."

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed column titled "The Battle of Baghdad," Zalmay Khalilzad wrote that Iraq's security depended on stopping sectarian violence in Baghdad.

"The Battle of Baghdad will determine the future of Iraq, which will itself go a long way to determining the future of the world's most vital region," he wrote. "Although much difficult work still remains to be done, it is imperative that we give the Iraqis the time and material support necessary to see this plan through and to win the Battle of Baghdad."

Khalilzad stressed the importance of the capital, saying it represents the "microcosm" of the nation, home to one-fifth of Iraq's population, and the country's "financial and media center."

"Violence in Baghdad has a disproportionate psychological and strategic effect," he said.

Khalilzad wrote the column six months after the February 22 attack on the Shiite Askariya Mosque in Samarra ignited ruthless Sunni-Shiite violence that spilled into the diversely populated capital.

He blamed the deterioration of security in the capital since those attacks on "competition between Sunni and Shiite extremists to expand their control and influence throughout the capital."

"This cycle of retaliatory violence is compounded by shortcomings in the training and leadership of Iraq's National Police," he said.

Although progress has been reported, with successes like the killing of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the handover of Muthanna province to Iraqi forces, violence has increased, he said.

Last month, 558 violent incidents were recorded in Baghdad, "a 10 percent increase over the already high monthly average," he said. "These attacks caused 2,100 deaths, again an increase over the four-month average," he added.

Sectarian violence was the cause behind 77 percent of the casualties, "giving rise to fears of an impending Civil War in Iraq," Khalilzad said.

"It is clear that the people of Baghdad are being subjected to unacceptable levels of fear and violence," he said.

Economic support funds totaling $500 million from Iraq's government and $130 million from the United States will aid the effort to stabilize the capital, he said.

The Iraqi unity government's plan to secure peace in Baghdad calls for job creation and training, an expansion of local government and "improved services, such as medical care and trash and debris removal," Khalilzad said.

For the longer term, the plan will implement a program to demobilize unauthorized armed groups and review the de-Baathification process, by referring those accused of crimes to the judiciary while reconciling with the rest, he said.

Khalilzad cites a poll from the International Republican Institute, a nonpartisan group, that shows public opinion favors ethnic and religious reconciliation, despite the fighting.


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Oil majors manoeuvre for prime position in Iraq

8/23/2006

By Peg Mackey

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's top oil companies are manoeuvring intently to win a stake in their oilfield of choice when Iraq finally opens to multibillion dollar investment.

From a safe distance, multinationals are poring over data from Iraq's most promising oilfields and some of its older workhorses to gain the edge when the bidding begins.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has signalled the race for oilfield deals worth $20 billion (11 billion pounds) could start this autumn. But oil men, noting a lack of security and investment law, are under no illusion that drilling is imminent.

"We've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes and are ready to act quickly -- but under the right conditions," said a senior Western oil executive.

"At this stage, there is an effective short list of key oilfields and players. It's been a natural selection."

Iraqi officials are at pains to insist their country's oilfields, home to the world's third largest reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran, have not been assigned in advance.

They want a transparent process where the best bid wins and are fully aware of the desire of the majors -- Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, Total and Chevron among them -- for Iraq's cheap and easy-to-produce oil.

"Of course we know what they are interested in," said a top Iraqi oil official. "The problem is when can it happen?"

ACCESS OUTSIDE IRAQ

Over the past three years, scores of firms have signed up for technical studies and training programmes that grant them regular access to oil ministry officials outside Iraq, which is on the brink of civil war.

Iraqi officials are using the experience to identify potential partners. A few have not passed muster.

"Those who've got acquainted with us will be in a much better position when we open up," said the Iraqi official.

The majors are scrutinising data on some of the biggest gems in the south, vital to Iraq's future oil wealth, and have made recommendations on production policy for certain fields.

Some have a wealth of information gathered when Iraq was under a decade of United Nations sanctions. Total was in line for Majnoon and Bin Umar, ENI and Repsol were interested in Nassiriyah and Shell was keen on Ratawi.

Their spade work may give them an edge, but Iraqi oil officials say the final competition will be wide open.

When fully tapped, it is these southern fields as well as West Qurna and Halfaya that should boost production by 3 million barrels per day (bpd). (For table on Iraq's investment prospects, please click on

Now relentless sabotage and mismanagement following decades of war and sanctions have left Iraq struggling to pump 2 million bpd after reaching close to 3 million bpd prior to the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Multinationals are helping to trouble-shoot at the North and South Rumaila oilfields, as well as at other problem fields currently ensuring the country's production and exports.

"The past three years have not been wasted," said an executive at an oil major. "But we won't put our money on the table and our people on the ground until we see more clarity on investment and a vast improvement in security."

WORTH THE WAIT

Those scouring the globe for oil are willing to wait patiently for an opportunity in Iraq, home to 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. Each company is out for itself, but alliances are expected to emerge.

"Most likely there will be consortia chosen to take care of the big oilfields," said Shamkhi Faraj, Director General of Marketing and Economics.

"And the majors, because of their expertise and investment capability, stand a better chance of leading some of them."

Iraq's oil minister is hell-bent on moving swiftly to lure foreign cash to rebuild and power the country's economy.

A meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on September 11 will provide a venue for further discussions, but a major breakthrough is not expected.

"Shahristani may elaborate on our position, but we can't do serious business," said a veteran Iraqi technocrat. "There's no law and order and we're still working on an investment law."

Only small firms, such as Norway's DNO have dared to venture into Iraq. Executives from major oil companies are concerned by greater uncertainty over resource ownership.

"There are so may opposing political interests. It will be hard to get things done when the country is so fragmented," said Saadallah al-Fathi, a former official at Iraq's oil ministry.

Chaos at the ministry of oil and a steady draining away of technocrats with international exposure is also a worry.

"Many good people are retiring, leaving or -- given the dire security -- getting killed or kidnapped," said Muhammad-Ali Zainy of the Centre for Global Energy Studies.

"Iraq will have to bridge the gap -- perhaps with consultants or the help of other national oil companies."


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