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

8-30 2006

Abdul Albattat Basra.
Chairman of the Economic Development Council in Basra that the Board approved the opening of a free trade zone in Basra International Airport at a cost of $ 40 million, with funding from the United Kingdom.
He spoke in an interview with Al (time) yesterday (to the project will include the construction of hotels and the headquarters of the companies and markets and banks as they will become the trading, contracting and open investment, thereby contributing to recover the national economy).
On the other hand, said the Chairman of the Committee on Education in the Council that an agreement had been posted on a new university in the province.
He explained Habib l (time) yesterday (to the choice of a region located on the road to Zubair of an area of more than 400 dunums this purpose), pointing out that (this choice has been after a meeting of the Committee mandated by the Board and upon the book of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research).
With respect to drinking water crisis in the city, said Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Hamid ages Alzalmi that (more than one reason for drinking water much occasionally.
He l (time) yesterday that [is well known that water Basra reached draft heresy in the Governorate of Dhi Qar cut hundreds of kilometres away, which allows access excesses of many of the citizens of the areas undergoing such as throw animals dead or rubble and the like. as well as the fact that most of the water purification plants in Basra old and needed maintenance Standing There are also deserves to know where is the question of security escorts and protections water plants in Basra since no one policeman for 19 water station in the city).

Sotaliraq.com

29 August 2006
Coalition Helps Iraqis Build Strong National Defense

Officials highlight advisers' role supporting Iraqi army, police, border guards
By David McKeeby
Washington File Staff Writer


Washington – Iraqi security forces are building a modern national defense while simultaneously defending their country from attack, thanks to support from coalition advisers embedded with Iraqi army and police units, top U.S. military officials say.
The Iraq Assistance Group, headed by Army Brigadier General Dana Pittard, oversees 3,000 U.S. and allied advisers embedded with Iraqi forces as part of 11-15 member military transition teams spread across the country’s 10 army divisions; police transition teams working with all 27 national police battalions; and border transition teams working alongside their counterparts in Iraq’s Department of Border Enforcement.
Appearing via videoconference at an August 28 Pentagon press briefing, Pittard said, “The embedded transition teams are truly making a difference here in Iraq.”
As a sovereign nation, Pittard explained, Iraq’s ministries of Defense and Interior control the security forces. The advisers, drawn from all branches of the military, help their Iraqi counterparts as they plan and execute security operations.
“Over the past three years, the Iraqi army has been rebuilt from the ground up as a modern and effective fighting force,” Army Major General William Caldwell told journalists at an August 28 press briefing in Baghdad, Iraq. “As we continue to make progress toward defeating insurgents and terrorists, we're doing so because of the fact that the Iraqi security forces are in fact taking the lead more each and every day.”
COALITION’S TRANSITION TEAMS ADVISE IRAQI FORCES
Beginning in late June, approximately 7,000 personnel from Iraq’s army and its national police force surged into the capital, supported by 3,000 coalition troops, under “Operation Together Forward,” a campaign to stem a tide of insurgent and terrorist attacks, sectarian violence and other criminal activities, the coalition spokesman said.
The Iraqi-planned and -led strategy to hold, secure, and help rebuild the city’s neighborhoods already is producing results, Caldwell said, announcing a 50-percent decrease in attacks in August compared to the previous month. (See related article.)
At the same time, coalition advisers repeatedly note that the Iraqi Security Forces are only three years old and, while progressing rapidly, Iraq’s army, police and border patrol units continue to experience “growing pains.”
Recently, Pittard said, 100 Iraqi soldiers from the country’s southeastern Maysan province refused to be deployed to support Baghdad security operations.
Iraqi authorities are investigating the incident, which Pittard attributed to the Iraqi military’s tradition of homogenous, locally based units running counter to the new Iraq’s vision of a rapidly deployable force with ethnically integrated units that broadly reflect all Iraqi people.
“The Iraqi army is supposed to be a national army,” said Pittard. “They were recruited regionally, and for the most part they’ve been operating regionally. So that’s where the difficulty is.”
POLICE UNITS OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
In the long term, maintaining domestic security will be the responsibility of the Iraqi police, making their institutional development essential to the country’s future. In March, coalition officials pledged an increased focus on developing Iraqi law enforcement, designating 2006 as “the year of the police.” (See related article.)
Since then, the Interior Ministry forces – which include both Iraqi National Police and border guards – have reached 92 percent of their planned strength of 188,000 personnel. (See related article.)
But while thousands of officers have demonstrated their commitment to serve and protect the Iraqi people, the police also have faced numerous incidents of policemen linked to corruption, organized crime and militant groups involved in sectarian violence, prompting distrust among many segments of the Iraqi public. (See related article.)
Coalition advisers are helping Iraqi police units regain the public’s trust, Pittard said, and they support the Interior Ministry as it works to regain public trust by investigating officers suspected of operating outside the law.
Among the coalition troops deployed to Baghdad, said Caldwell, were five U.S. military police units, whose 180 members were embedded with Iraqi officers at all 100 police stations in the city. In addition, 150 more international police observers were brought into the capital with “Operation Together Forward,” joining 550 already on location to monitor police performance.
Caldwell also reported that police transition teams recently initiated the “Quick Look" project to evaluate the leadership, training and capabilities of personnel in all 27 national police units. When completed in late September, the teams’ assessments will be used in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s plan to rotate national police battalions out of service and provide them with additional, unit-specific training.
IRAQI BORDER GUARDS “A WORK IN PROGRESS”
Given the focus on Iraq’s army and police to meet immediate security threats, Pittard said the country’s border guards remain “a work in progress. (See related article.)
But, he said, coalition advisers are working closely with their Iraqi counterparts to address logistical shortfalls in food and fuel deliveries necessary to maintain field operations for extended periods.
“Our border transition teams … are certainly assisting them in many ways,” he said, “I believe that the transition teams on the border will continue to make a huge difference there.”
The general said he sees a long-term job for coalition training teams with the Iraqi forces. “Our major mission is to help develop and support the Iraqi security forces, and of course to advise them. … U.S. forces will be here as long as the Iraqi government wants us here,” he said.
“But I'll tell you … after the majority of U.S. forces leave, we'll still see some level of advisory teams that'll still be here. In fact, I feel like we'll be the last men standing at the end of the U.S. presence here.”
A transcript of Pittard’s briefing, along with a video link, are available from the Multinational Force – Iraq Web site.
A transcript of Caldwell’s briefing, as well as slides (PDF, 11 pages), and a video link, are also available from the Multinational Force – Iraq Web site.
For more 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)

PAGE TOOLS

As pipeline blast kills looters
29/08/2006
Source: Yahoo News

Iraq's prime minister declared that a four-month-old fuel shortage was over, on the same day 36 people were killed when a disused pipeline exploded as they attempted to siphon off fuel.

"We have controlled the fuel crisis in the country through immediate tactical solutions and putting in place a strategic plan to end the crisis for good," Nuri al-Maliki told reporters at the oil ministry in Baghdad.

Iraq is home to some of the world's largest reserves of untapped crude oil, but in the chaos following the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein its ageing and infrastructure has struggled to keep up with domestic demand for refined fuel.

Long petrol queues are a constant feature of life in Baghdad and are themselves vulnerable to sectarian bomb attacks on civilians.

A defence ministry official said the pipeline that exploded outside the town of Diwaniyah had not been used since 2003 but still contained some fuel and that local residents often cut holes in it to siphon off petrol.

Maliki denied allegations that his own government's officials were to blame for much of the shortfall in petrol supplies, and pinned the blame on insurgents targeting his coalition government.

"The factors causing such crises are not linked to corruption but to terror -- which inflicts damage on the pipelines -- and to the official left behind by the former regime," he said, pledging to deal with an "iron fist".

"One of the solutions we have adopted is to increase production in the Iraqi refineries, while raising funds to import petroleum products from neighbouring countries," he said, referring principally to Iran.

Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said he had set up an emergency team to protect oil facilities from trespassers and militants.

"The ministry has drafted plans to halt all smuggling, an action behind all causes of fuel shortages," Shahristani said.

A recent audit recorded that smugglers linked to Iraqi political parties stole and re-exported between 10 and 20 percent of Iraq's fuel imports last year, costing the country 4.2 billion dollars (3.3 billion euros).

Meanwhile, motorists in Baghdad pay up to 1.40 dollars per litre for fuel on the black market, while the official, subsidised rate is only 20 cents.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=1952

Hey NENO, I'm agreeing with you on the r/v and the peg and it would be great if it happened in AUGUST HA!!!!!!! All the way i'm ready!!!!!

hay mike OSW good to here from you. your posts are to few this days my frind.

Tue 29 Aug 2006 2:41 PM ET

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Iraq's government has resolved a dispute over the sharing of oil revenues across the country but differences remain over who will hand out lucrative oil contracts, a senior Iraqi official said on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said the contentious issue of oil revenues was resolved during recent negotiations for a new law to regulate Iraq's oil and gas industry.

"Remarkably we have been able to settle oil revenues," said Salih in a video conference from Baghdad with reporters based in Washington.

Salih, the most senior ethnic Kurd in the cabinet, did not provide details on how oil revenues would be distributed or which areas would get the most money.

President George W. Bush said in June that the new Iraqi government should set up a trust fund to share the country's oil money with its people.

"We have the danger of oil turning into a divisive issue that everyone will fight over. By agreeing to share the revenue we have the potential of turning oil into a unifying element in Iraq society," Salih said.

There has been some dispute, particularly among those who live in the oil-rich regions of the north and south of Iraq, over who controls oil fields and their revenues.

TENSIONS

The semi-autonomous Kurdish regional government in the north has signed oil deals with foreign companies, bypassing the central government and raising fears such agreements could fuel tensions that have pushed Iraq close to civil war.

The Sunni Arab community, which is concentrated in resource-poor central Iraq, fears it will be left behind as the Kurds, as well as the Shi'ites in the oil-rich south, cash in on exports and exploration deals.

Salih said there was still a dispute over who should be responsible for handing out new oil contracts that will develop Iraq's vast oil fields.

"I believe we will be able to bridge the gap," he said.

Iraq straddles the world's third-largest oil reserves but the sector has been undermined by decades of underinvestment, war, sanctions and mismanagement.

Salih said he expected the new hydrocarbon law, which the government discussed in an "economic retreat" last week, would be presented to parliament before the end of the year.

This new law, he said, would restructure the oil industry and provide a positive environment for badly-needed foreign investment.

Iraq wants up to $20 billion in investment to boost its oil production but multinationals eyeing Iraq's oil fields are waiting until a new investment code with a legal and regulatory framework is in place.

Iraq's oil sector has been hit by repeated attacks and many foreign oil companies are also nervous to invest because of the dangers to their staff.

Salih, who argues that restored prosperity will rein in the violence, said an improved investment environment would have a dramatic impact on boosting oil production.

Currently Iraq exports 1.7 million to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and Salih said production was about 2.2 million to 2.5 million bpd, with plans to double that by 2010 to 4.3 million bpd.

By 2012, he anticipated restructuring and investment would push up production to 6 million bpd.

"If we get the politics right and the right type of investment environment we will be able to reach those targets a lot earlier," said Salih.

Pre-war output was just under 3 million bpd and exports were around 2 million bpd.

Tuesday August 29, 2006 5:31 PM

By BARRY SCHWEID

AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - While acknowledging an uptick in violence in the past few days, one of Iraq's deputy prime ministers said Tuesday that attacks overall are declining.

Barham Salih also predicted that by the end of the year, half of the country's provinces will be controlled by Iraq's security forces.

Salih said violence had dropped by half during the past month, but that terrorists and remnants of the deposed government of Saddam Hussein remain a challenge to the government.

U.S. support will continue to be important even after Iraqi security asserts itself, he said.

``We are building a the State Department during a video news conference from Baghdad.

According to the Pentagon, Iraqi security controls one province, Muthana, which was turned over in July.

Salih said Iraq would accelerate revival of its oil industry, which is second only to Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves, even though facilities could become terrorist targets.

There is a risk of violence, he said, ``but that should not be an inhibiting factor.''

Reporting on preparations for Iraq's 2007 budget, Salih said agreement had been reached that oil revenues would be controlled by the central government and then shared by the country's regions.

The deputy prime minister said Iraq is projecting 1.7 billion to 1.8 billion barrels a day for export, and production of 2.2 billion to 2.5 billion barrels overall.

Production is expected to double to 4.3 billion barrels by 2010, he said.

All along I had thought that the CBI had the banks keeping their books at .31USD which is 31 cents but lo and behold it wasn't. It was actually .31ID which is $3.10. How about that. Can anyone sing we're in the money.lol


Ah! yes! But on instruction from the CBI. And it's .31 ID That's three dollars to the dinar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I would to inform all the stockholders of Baghdad Bank that the report of the managing council 2004 was prepared according to the demands of Central Bank of Iraq to balance US dollar price to0.310 ID instead of its real value (1460) ID per 1 US dollar, so, the report and general budget do not necessarily reflect the actual situation of Baghdad Bank and the volume of economical incoming indexes, so, this report was issued in order to meet the demands of the rules and instructions."

page & click BALANCE...2004

Originally Posted by cigarman

All along I had thought that the CBI had the banks keeping their books at .31USD which is 31 cents but lo and behold it wasn't. It was actually .31ID which is $3.10. How about that. Can anyone sing we're in the money.lol


Ah! yes! But on instruction from the CBI. And it's .31 ID That's three dollars to the dinar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I would to inform all the stockholders of Baghdad Bank that the report of the managing council 2004 was prepared according to the demands of Central Bank of Iraq to balance US dollar price to0.310 ID instead of its real value (1460) ID per 1 US dollar, so, the report and general budget do not necessarily reflect the actual situation of Baghdad Bank and the volume of economical incoming indexes, so, this report was issued in order to meet the demands of the rules and instructions."

page & click BALANCE...2004

I just got back from a 4 day weekend, WOW!! Cig, this is from 04, and I am not very savvy an this stuff, could you enlighten me?....PPPPPleaaaase

Wow these last three post by you guys ("ph" & cigarman) are Fabulous. Indeed Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih is saying and clarifing so mush in these two articles. Then Cigarman comes with this News. I have alway thought with the riches that are with in Iraq, that the sky is not even a limit for this country. Awsome Guys.