hhhmmm look the worlds top movers and shakers are talking about Iraq
Davos focus turns to Iraq, ME: World: News: News24
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hhhmmm look the worlds top movers and shakers are talking about Iraq
Davos focus turns to Iraq, ME: World: News: News24
Books : dhrgham on Thursday, January 25, 2007 2:22 PM-BT
The highest bids for the sale of the bank dollar versus the high purchase
Dargham of Muhammad Ali
Badad - (Voices of Iraq)
Recorded presentations sale and purchase of dollars from the Iraqi Central Bank to a big rise today, Thursday, where the volume of demand 101 million and 510 thousand dollars against 65 million yesterday.
Such purchase orders between 15 million and 110 thousand dollars in cash, 86, 400 thousand dollars in the form of remittances outside the country covered by the bank fully exchange rate hit 1292 dinars low three Nfat yesterday on the exchange rate of 1295 dinars.
Contrast today's meeting witnessed a higher offer to sell the dollar for over a year, where the banks of the 14 participating in the auction, bids for the sale of ten million dollars bought by the bank in full at the exchange rate reached 1290 dinars.
He explained to Mr. Yasiri, one dealing with the bank that offers sales will rise with time because of the entry of the Ministry of Finance of the auction to sell the dollar for the dinar, which is needed to bridge the components of the budget.
Translated version of http://www.aswataliraq.info/?newlang=ara
Davos Notes: We Get to Hear Iraqis Discuss Iraq (For a Change)
Davos Day 2 kicked off officially at 8:45 a.m. -- late enough for the networking breakfasts to be digested -- with a panel entitled "Iraq: United for Stability." Moderated by Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations, the panel included Iraq Vice-President Adil Abd al-Mahdi and former Iraqi president Adnan Pachachi.
The top takeaway was al-Mahdi's embrace of the proposal to hold a regional forum of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran. Without reducing tensions and establishing regional partnerships, al-Mahdi argued, stability will be impossible to achieve. He stressed non-interference in each other's affairs as essential to the success of these partnerships.
The proposal makes room for the participation of interested parties -- which of course is code for the United States. The problem is, America has steadfastly refused to talk with Iran. And without the presence of Iran, a neighborhood forum would be utterly meaningless.
Al-Mahdi also disclosed that a new law ensuring the equitable distribution of oil profits to all factions in Iraq was in "an advanced stage." No one mentioned how shocking is the fact that so long after those purple fingers were raised, this foundation for peace still isn't the law of the land.
During the discussion, Pachachi was asked what would happen if American troops are withdrawn. He suggested that the UN should send a multi-national force. Given how Bush's meager coalition has been made even more meager by so many members withdrawing or reducing their troops, it was easy to share Richard Haass' skepticism that this could happen.
While talking to Haass last night at a reception given by Rick Levin, the President of Yale, I asked him what he thought the Democrats in Congress were actually going to do about Iraq. "They are trying to triangulate," Haass said, "and come up with a proposal between the president's escalation and a specific timetable for troop withdrawal."
Isn't it time to acknowledge that when it comes to Iraq, "triangulation" is the equivalent of Solomon's New Way Forward proposal of splitting the baby?
The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Davos Notes: We Get to Hear Iraqis Discuss Iraq (For a Change) | The Huffington Post
Trade fair of Iraqi products
Azzaman, January 25, 2007
The Ministry of Trade is to hold a trade fair specifically for products made in Iraq.
Azzaman in English
The four-day exhibition, to start April 25, is to show that Iraqi industry is still alive despite mounting violence and lack of security, a ministry statement said.
It said companies from the private, mixed and state sectors will be taking part.
“It will be a show in which all sectors will demonstrate their goods and products,” the statement said.
The statement said the ministry wanted the fair to signal to the world and Iraqis in particular the face of the new Iraq.
“The general aim of the fair is to reconstruct a new Iraq and encourage investment by Iraqis,” it said.
USAID allocates $9.9m for Iraqi microfinance organizations
MENAFN - 25/01/2007
(MENAFN) Officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that the agency has allocated $9.9 million to set up or develop sustainable Iraqi microfinance firms, Iraq Economy reported.
USAID also helped to establish three local microfinance organizations in the north, west and center of the war-torn country. The U.S agency assisted the Iraqi founders in registering with the NGO office, awarded each a start-up grant of $250,000 in loan capital, provided staff training and individualized technical assistance, and worked with local U.S. military civilian affairs teams, which support initial operational costs.
Microfinance operations throughout Iraq support lending to around 17,000 clients with a total portfolio of approximately $19 million.
MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: USAID allocates $9.9m for Iraqi microfinance organizations
No-show Iraqi MPs force parliament to stand still
Email Print Normal font Large font Damien Cave, Baghdad
January 26, 2007
Page 1 of 2 | Single page
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AdvertisementMAHMOUD al-Mashhadani, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, read a rollcall of the 275 elected members with the intention of shaming the no-shows.
Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister? Absent, living in Amman and London. Adnan Pachachi, the octogenarian statesman? Also gone, in Abu Dhabi.
Others who failed to appear on Monday included Saleh Mutlaq, a senior Sunni legislator; several Shiites and Kurds; and Ayad al-Samaraei, chairman of the Finance Committee, whose absence led Dr Mashhadani to ask: "When will he be back? After we approve the budget?"
It was a joke barbed with outrage. Iraq's Parliament in recent months has been at a standstill. Nearly every session since November has been adjourned because as few as 65 members made it to work, even as they and the absentees earned salaries and benefits worth about $A154,000.
Part of the problem is security, but Iraqi officials said they also feared that members were losing confidence in the institution and in the country's fragile democracy. As chaos has deepened, the Parliament's relevance has gradually receded.
Deals on important legislation, most recently the oil law, now take place largely out of public view, with the Parliament — when it meets — rubber-stamping decisions. As a result, officials said, vital legislation involving the budget, provincial elections and amendments to the constitution remained trapped in a legislative process that processed almost nothing.
US officials long hoped that the Parliament could help foster talks between Iraq's increasingly fractured ethnic and religious groups, but that has not happened either.
Goaded by US leaders, frustrated and desperate to prove that Iraq can govern itself, senior Iraqi officials have clearly had enough. Dr Mashhadani said the Parliament would soon start fining members $A500 for every missed session and replace the absentees if they failed to attend more than a quarter of the time.
Some of Iraq's more seasoned leaders say attendance has been undermined by a widening sense of disillusionment about the Parliament's ability to improve Iraqis' daily life. The country's dominant issue, security, is controlled almost exclusively by the US military and the office of the Prime Minister.
Every bombing such as Monday's, which killed 88 people at a central market, suggests to some that the Parliament's laws are irrelevant in the face of sprawling chaos and the Government's inability to stop it.
No-show Iraqi MPs force parliament to stand still - World - theage.com.au
lock those *****s up and let them get er done.
Encouraging signs in Iraq
Greg Richards
Nibras Kazimi has a column in today's (Thursday January 25, 2007) New York Sun titled "Turnaround in Baghdad." His thesis is that we are making real progress in Iraq:
The wider Sunni insurgency - the groups beyond Al Qaeda - is being slowly, and surely, defeated.
Kazimi is a skeptic about the reputation of Geneeral Petraeus, seeing severe flaws in the execution of his two previous assignments in Iraq, but nevertheless thinks that he may reap the benefit of progress that is already evident. He thinks the turning point came in the fall:
Last October, my sources began telling me about rumblings among the insurgent strategists suggesting that their murderous endeavor was about to run out of steam.
Read the whole thing.
Is there any other evidence to support Kazimi's scenario? We here at AT have been pointing to the remarkable surge in the value of the Iraqi dinar that started at about the same time and has continued right through today. Since the September/October period, as can be seen in the chart, the Iraqi dinar has gained about 14% in value, a very large move for a currency.
Following an initial slide in value, the dinar had been essentially flat since its introduction by the Coalition Provisional Authority in October 2003. So the move since September represents a real change in its status. Why has it advanced in value? One reason is doubtless the increase in the interest rate - the Policy Rate - by the Central Bank of Iraq from 12% in September to 20% recently.
But this cannot be the whole reason, nor even the principal reason. Why? Because if there were real fear that the regime would fall, this would be nowhere near sufficient inducement to buy the dinar, which will be worthless if the regime does fall. What the increase in the value of the dinar very likely represents is a "voting with their feet" of the participants in the economy and an increase in the need for dinars for transactions within Iraq.
This increase in value coincides with Kazimi's hypothesis of a turning point in the military situation in October. Of course, there can be no guarantees on any of these points. But we, as citizens, want to strive to assemble our own mosaic on Iraq and not be panicked about the future when we may, after considerable sacrifice and effort, be finally cresting the peak of the hill there.
American Thinker Blog: Encouraging signs in Iraq
Voices of Iraq: Maliki-Parliament
Posted by: saleem on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 07:36 PM
Maliki-Parliament
Maliki: Baghdad security plan not to exclude an outlaw
Baghdad, Jan 25, (VOI) – Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday called upon lawmakers to extend the emergency law as "a necessary step to carry out Baghdad security plan."
Al-Maliki said in a speech before a parliament session on Thursday "we appeal for all politicians, for the sake of a unified Iraq and for the safety of the country, to keep politics away from the implementation of the new security plan."
"The new plan was worked out and will be implemented by the Iraqi forces with a support from the Multi-National forces."
The Prime Minister who said the plan will not be influenced by politics promised that the plan would observe human rights once it was carried out.
"All security forces were instructed to respect the dignity of Iraqis and rights of the citizens," al-Maliki added.
The premier said "the plan aims at restoring security and order in Baghdad so that no outlaw will be excluded from punishment."
"For the plan be fruitful, I call upon the parliament members to extend the emergency law," al-Maliki said.
Over the past year, the parliament used to extend the emergency law for thirty day each time in Iraq except for Kurdistan region.
Maliki-Parliament :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq
Interesting,
As we all know, there is a lack of commitment within the Iraqi government, and to think that shaming those who failed to attend will work is pathetic. Most of those who are not attending are busy leading their militia and attacking the opposite sects, Sunnis and Shiites, so how could you shame these individuals into showing up for important votes which will serve the poor. Heck, I would bet most are illiterate, as has been pointed out, so they cannot even read the docket on parliament votes. (g)
What they need to do is not fine them $400.00, give each what they really strive for, a one way ticket to martrland, after all, this is what these terrorists strive for, so I think they should get what the deserve. Think about it, they are earning more than most American families combined, and they can't get their butts to a parliament meeting once a month to vote is pathetic.
We heard of the reshuffle from Maliki months ago, yet we have seen nothing to date, just about what we would expect having seen the announcement of 10K dinar and never seeing it happen. Sure makes you wonder about these people, are they all illiterate, or is it intentional torture of the poor which motivates no action. I think they have learned the American Democracy system just a little to well, after all, our politicians are also way out of touch with the poor and middle class, so same old same old is how I see it.
Good luck to all, Mike
New US strategy on Iran emerges from Davos
Anatole Kaletsky
The real value of Davos is in making connections - not just in the sense of networking and schmoozing with important people, but also in relating seemingly disparate events and ideas. Overtly the main themes at Davos today were terrorism and Iraq – and the story, as presented publicly by Iraqi and US politicians and officials, was all about wresting back control of Baghdad from terrorists, with al-Qaeda and Shia death squads bearing equal blame. In contrast to American officials, who simply repeated President Bush’s mantra that "failure is not an option", Iraqi politicians have a more realistic and nuanced view.
As Abd Al-Mahdi, the Vice-President, noted privately after his appearance at a plenary session: "The Americans actually have two options: either they stay or they withdraw. But we Iraqis don’t have any options. If we don’t succeed on ending the violence with the present strategy, we just have to be patient and keep trying. Unlike the Americans, we don’t have an exit strategy from Iraq." The same was true, he noted, of Iraq’s neighbours Iran, Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. This was why Iraqi politicians were constantly urging President Bush to start talking to Iraq’s neighbours and warning the White House that any military attack on Iranian nuclear installations, whether by America or Israel, could spill over catastrophically into Iraq.
Why, then, did President Bush refuse to start talking to Iran and Syria, as recommended by the Baker-Hamilton commission? Why instead did he seem to be increasing military tensions with Iran? Iraqi officials wouldn’t speculate on this beyond the obvious remark that "firmness from America could be a way of bringing Iran to the negotiating table". But delving beneath the surface of this self-evident objective, three strands of a more interesting and hopeful strategy begin to emerge in conversations with Middle Eastern analysts and politicians at Davos.
Start with the premise that America is indeed being tough on Iran in order to strengthen internal opposition to the extremist confrontational policies of President Ahmadinejad. The purpose is not necessarily to trigger the removal of Ahmadinejad, but rather to shatter Iran’s present grandiose delusions of regional hegemony and bring Iran into negotiations from a position of relative weakness, rather than its present perceived strength.
Three strands of policy are now being directed to achieving this internal shift in Iranian politics. The first is, obviously, the US effort to reduce violence in Iraq – or failing that, at least to mount a show of strength against the Iranian-backed Shia militias and to remind Tehran that America retains its capacity to deploy overwhelming military power.
The second is the sabre-rattling over Iran’s nuclear programme, especially the semi-public threats of Israeli bombing, perhaps even with tactical nuclear weapons. America’s announcement that two aircraft carrier battle groups will move to the Gulf within a month or so are clearly a reminder that Washington still has plenty of firepower to attack Iran directly or to back Israeli bombing – and also to protect international oil shipments through the Gulf against Iranian retaliation. These deployments and public warnings do not necessarily suggest that an actual attack on Iran is likely but rather that America wants Iran to realise that it is playing for very high stakes in its confrontation with the West.
The third strand of America’s Iranian policy is less visible, but may well turn out to be more important. The idea is to thwart Iran’s threatened hegemony with an economic pincer movement consisting of financial diplomacy on one side and energy policy on the other. The main responsibility for this strand of policy rests not with America or Israel but with the third member of the unlikely new anti-Iranian alliance: Saudi Arabia.
The financial diplomacy consists not just of the sanctions against Iran agreed last month by the UN Security Council but also in the donors’ conference for Lebanon in Paris this week. The toughened UN sanctions are beginning to have some impact on Iran’s domestic economy and on its ability to do business and raise money internationally. Meanwhile, the Lebanon conference is demonstrating that the US-Saudi coalition can easily match and exceed the financial subsidies channelled by Iran to Hezbollah, Hamas and its other regional proxies. In doing this the Saudis’ involvement is crucial because of their ability to spend large sums of money without the budgetary and political oversight faced by Washington. At best, Saudi open-handedness would persuade key players, not only in Lebanon but also in Iraq and Syria, to desert the Iranian camp. At a minimum, Saudi efforts to buy support in the region would tempt Tehran into a bidding contest which the Iranian economy could simply not afford.
This brings us to the final and most interesting strand in the anti-Iranian policy nexus: the price of oil. Iran’s economy depends entirely on oil sales, which account for 90 per cent of exports and a roughly equal share of the Government’s budget. Since last July, a barrel of oil has fallen from $78 to just over $50, reducing the Government’s revenues by one third. If the oil price fell into the $35 to $40 range, Iran would shift into deficit, and with access to foreign borrowing cut off by UN sanctions, the Government’s capacity to continue financing foreign proxies would quickly run out. Iran has reacted to this threat by calling on Opec to stabilise prices but, in practice, only one country has the clout to do this: Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, in a highly significant statement, Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi Oil Minister, publicly opposed Iranian calls for production cuts to halt the decline in prices. Mr Naimi's pronouncement was cast as a technical matter unconnected with politics, but it seemed to confirm private warnings by King Abdullah that his country would try everything to thwart Iran’s hegemony in Iraq and throughout the region, whether by military intervention or more subtle economic means.
This policy was spelt out with surprising precision in an article by Nawaf Obaid, a senior Saudi security adviser, in The Washington Post: "King Abdullah may decide to strangle Iranian funding of the Iraqi militias through oil policy. If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half, the kingdom could still finance its current spending. But it would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today's high prices. The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funnelling hundreds of millions each year to Shiite militias in Iraq and elsewhere."
This article attracted huge attention in the Middle East and Washington, but was hardly noticed in the financial markets and the business community. But that was when the bulls still thought that they commanded the oil market and most analysts believed that the only direction for oil prices was up. Maybe they should think again.
New US strategy on Iran emerges from Davos - Economics - Times Online
Press Gaggle by Tony Snow
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Kansas City, Missouri
10:42 A.M. EST
MR. SNOW: Welcome, everybody, to this morning's gaggle. I have with me Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt, and Kate Baicker from the National Economic Council.
Before we begin, let me just -- a couple of comments on developments in Iraq. The Prime Minister today has given an address -- we don't have a full translation yet, but as you probably know from your own reporting, at least three basic and important points:
Number one, he has once again made it clear that there's going to be no safe haven for those committing acts of terror within Baghdad, regardless of whether they're Shia, Sunni, Kurd, Arab, you name it.
Secondly, he has told the Council of Representatives that he wants the Council, during its current legislative session, which just has a couple more weeks to run, to pass a hydrocarbon law and also de-Baathification reform. As you know, those are two hugely important political benchmarks.
Number three, he also talked about the fact that in certain neighborhoods within Baghdad people have been pushed out of their homes, quite often by advocates or practitioners of sectarian violence. He says that the government is determined to allow those people back into their homes, and to push out what he referred to as the squatters.
So you had a very assertive address on the part of the Prime Minister. We certainly welcome that, because it demonstrates the kind of vigor we've been talking about and that the American people expect, and also responds specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing, in terms of the aims of and the determination of the government of Iraq.
And with that, I'll take questions.
Q Tony, could you talk about the Post support today on possible $7 billion to $8 billion increase for Afghanistan money?
MR. SNOW: Secretary Rice will be talking about it tomorrow, but we are, in fact -- and the President has discussed previously that we may be increasing our commitment in Afghanistan, and we will be.
Q Is that amount correct?
MR. SNOW: I think the amount is basically correct. Again, I'll let the Secretary confirm it tomorrow. But it's certainly in the ballpark.
Q It's for a wide -- not just military, it's for a wide range of initiatives, across a bunch of fronts, right?
MR. SNOW: Correct, but it will have a military component.
Q Do you have a comment on the resolution that got passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday?
MR. SNOW: No real surprises. Senator Hagel was the only Republican to vote for it. He was a co-sponsor, however, so you expect him to sign on to his own resolution. The President understands that people have political concerns. What he has said is, let's give this chance -- this plan a chance to work. You've already seen significant action, I think, since the President -- well, significant action since the President announced the way forward in the sense that Muqtada al Sadr has told members of the Mahdi army to stop wearing black and to put their arms down, and he's also instructed members of his political party to return to the political process.
We have seen assertive action on the part of Iraqi forces and joint Iraqi-U.S. forces within Baghdad taking on terror. You've seen what the Prime Minister had to say today. I don't want to attribute that specifically to the President's announcement of a way forward, but it is clear that a sign of American determination not only builds confidence but also activism on the part of the Iraqi government. And we continue to believe that it's important to make it clear to the Iraqis that our job is to help them build capability, and we'll do it.
Q Republicans on the panel were critical of the plan, like Voinovich and Lugar. Are you worried about the party splitting over Iraq?
MR. SNOW: No. What we want to do is, again, let members of the party -- and we know they will -- take a look at what happens as we proceed with the way forward. They know that five brigades are going into Baghdad, they know that 4,000 Marines are headed to Anbar, they know that there has been significant military improvement within Anbar, and they have all said things that we agree with: Number one, we cannot fail in Iraq. Number two, they support the troops. Number three, they want Iraqis in the lead.
We believe that the President's plan is the best way to achieve those objectives. We've also said, if you've got a better proposal that will achieve success in Iraq, help Iraqis get swiftly into the lead, and will demonstrate support for American forces, let us hear it. You have a patriotic obligation and you can do the whole nation a service.
Q Do you expect Iraq will dominate the meeting tomorrow with the House Republicans?
MR. SNOW: I don't think so. In fact, I don't expect it at all. I'll be talking to the House Republicans before the President does, but I think what House Republicans are looking for is they're going to want to talk about issues that came up in the State of the Union address, too, because that is going to play a significant role in politics over the next few months. So we'll talk about health care, we'll talk about immigration, we'll talk about energy, we'll talk about education, and we will talk about working together on Iraq, as well.
The fact is everybody in both Houses knows that we are going to proceed with the way forward, and they will have an opportunity to see results on the ground. And we also have no delusions, Americans want to see results on the ground, as well.
Q As the debate unfolds, though, are you hearing anything on Capitol Hill that you see as responsible -- you said that you'd be open to the debate -- anything that you can latch on to and perhaps move on yourselves?
MR. SNOW: I think at this point I really would resist talking about "latching on to," because it gives a sense of a sense of desperation, where, in fact, the President approaches this as a Commander-in-Chief. And as a Commander-in-Chief, it is his obligation to figure out how to succeed in Iraq. This is not a political exercise, this is an exercise in leadership.
To the extent -- we continue to look for each and every avenue towards success -- diplomatically, economically, politically and militarily. I think at this juncture, what we have are members expressing concerns -- perfectly understandable. We expect that. But also we understand that members of Congress will keep a keen eye out for what happens in the region and how events continue to unfold.
Q How aggressively is the White House lobbying members, particularly Republicans, on the resolutions?
MR. SNOW: Not particularly. We're talking with them, but we understand that members have concerns and they want to express them.
Q Have you asked Warner whether he will withhold negotiation with Democrats for a united resolution? Are you speaking with him about limiting any changes he might make to his resolution that might be more attractive to other Democrats?
MR. SNOW: No, certainly we've had conversations with Senator Warner. We're trying to take his temperature on what he intends. But I think any conversation about what he intends to do you probably ought to leave up to him. I'm certainly not going to speak on his behalf.
All right, thanks.
Press Gaggle by Tony Snow
Baghdad Bombs Kill at Least 22; Maliki Vows Crackdown (Update1)
By Robin Stringer
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bomb blasts killed at least 22 people and wounded 40 in Baghdad as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned there will be nowhere for militias to hide under the U.S.-Iraqi security plan for the capital.
A car bomber killed at least 18 people and wounded 20 in the central district of Karrada, hours after a motorcycle bomb left four dead and 20 injured, state television said.
``Any place used for terrorist operations will be targeted,'' al-Maliki told lawmakers today at a televised meeting of the Council of Representatives that followed the first blast. ``It doesn't matter if it's a school, a house or a mosque.''
The U.S. is deploying 21,500 more soldiers and Marines in Baghdad and al-Anbar province, and Iraq's army is moving three extra brigades to the capital. The plan was announced Jan. 10 by U.S. President George W. Bush. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a nonbinding resolution approved yesterday, said sending more U.S. troops is ``not in the national interest'' and demanded Iraqis make political compromises to end the violence.
Bush's spokesman today welcomed what he termed a ``very assertive address'' by the prime minister.
``It demonstrates the kind of vigor we've been talking about and that the American people expect,'' Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush traveled to Missouri. Maliki's remarks also respond ``specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing, in terms of the aims of and the determination of the government of Iraq,'' Snow said.
`Political Benchmarks'
Snow also cited Maliki's comments urging Iraqi lawmakers to pass a law governing the distribution of oil revenue and overhaul rules intended to rid the government of people loyal to former dictator Saddam Hussein. Both are steps that Bush has said must be taken for continued U.S. support.
``Those are two hugely important political benchmarks,'' Snow said.
The Karrada market attack came shortly after rockets struck the fortified Green Zone, where embassies and government buildings are located, the Associated Press reported.
On Jan. 22, a twin car bombing at a Baghdad market killed at least 75 people and wounded 150 others. Yesterday, in raids to crack down on militia groups in the capital, Iraqi and U.S. forces killed 30 alleged insurgents and arrested 35 suspects.
A booby-trapped car killed two women and a soldier in the northern city of Mosul, President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said in a statement on the party's Arabic- language Web site. The blast targeted an Iraqi army patrol and injured four other soldiers and a civilian, the PUK said.
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed two men and a woman in the western city of Fallujah, in al-Anbar province, Agence France-Presse reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Robin Stringer in London at [email protected] .
Last Updated: January 25, 2007 12:50 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...XXw&refer=home
Iraqi Parliament paralyzed by no-shows
Deepening chaos hamstrings lawmakers
By Damien Cave Published: January 24, 2007
BAGHDAD: Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, the speaker of Parliament, read a roll call of the 275 elected members with a goal of shaming the no-shows.
Ayad Allawi, the former prime minister? Absent, living in Amman and London. Adnan Pachachi, the octogenarian statesman? Also gone, in Abu Dhabi.
Others who failed to appear Monday included Saleh Mutlak, a senior Sunni legislator; several Shiites and Kurds; and Ayad al-Samaraei, chairman of the finance committee, whose absence led Mashhadani to ask: "When will he be back? After we approve the budget?"
It was a joke barbed with outrage. The Iraqi Parliament in recent months has been at a standstill. Nearly every session since November has been adjourned because as few as 65 members made it to work, even as they and the absentees earned salaries and benefits worth about $120,000.
Part of the problem is security, but Iraqi officials also said they feared that members were losing confidence in the institution and in the country's fragile democracy. As chaos has deepened, Parliament's relevance has gradually receded.
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Deals on important legislation, most recently the oil law, now take place largely out of public view, with Parliament — when it meets — rubber- stamping the final decisions. And as a result, officials said, vital legislation involving the budget, provincial elections and amendments to the Constitution remain trapped in a legislative process that processes nearly nothing. U.S. officials long hoped that the Parliament could help foster dialogue between Iraq's increasingly fractured ethnic and religious groups, but that has not happened either.
Goaded by U.S. leaders, frustrated and desperate to prove that Iraq can govern itself, senior Iraqi officials have clearly had enough.
Mashhadani said that Parliament would soon start fining members $400 for every missed session and replacing the absentees if they failed to attend more than a quarter of the time.
Some of Iraq's more seasoned leaders say attendance has been undermined by a widening sense of disillusionment about Parliament's ability to improve Iraqis' daily life. The country's dominant issue, security, is controlled almost exclusively by the U.S. military and the office of the prime minister.
Every bombing like the one Monday, which killed 88 people at a central market, suggests to some that Parliament's laws are irrelevant in the face of sprawling chaos and the government's inability to stop it.
"People are totally disenchanted," Pachachi said by telephone rom Abu Dhabi. "There has been no improvement in the security situation. The government seems to be incapable of doing anything despite all the promises."
Though the Constitution grants Iraq's only elected body wide powers to pass laws and investigate, sectarian divisions and the need for a two-thirds majority in some cases have often led to deadlock. Sunni and Shiite power brokers have blocked efforts to scrutinize violence connected to their own sects.
"Parliament is the heart of the political process," Mashhadani said in an interview at his office, offering more hope than reality.
"It is the center of everything. If the heart is not working, it all fails."
The Monday attendance actually surpassed the 50 percent plus one needed to pass laws. It was the first quorum in months, caused in part by the return of 30 members loyal to the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, whose end to a two- month boycott created a public relations blitz that helped attract 189 members.
But the scene in the convention center auditorium where Parliament meets only underscored the rarity of the gathering. It seemed at times like a reunion. At one point Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, who is head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq and a Shiite rival of Sadr, arrived late — after being marked absent. He spent the first five minutes waving and nodding at colleagues, some of whom he apparently had not seen in months.
Parliamentary officials refused to provide attendance lists for every session, fearing retribution. They said all sects and regions had members who often did not come.
Each representative earns about $10,000 a month in salary and benefits, including money for guards. Yet on Monday, members from Baghdad neighborhoods to small towns in the hinterland — Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians and Turkmen — were all on the list of no-shows that Mashhadani read aloud.
The largest group of absentees consisted of unknown figures elected as part of the party lists that governed how most people voted in the December 2005 elections. Party leaders in Baghdad said they had urged their members to attend but emphasized that for many Parliament had become a hardship post.
Iraqi Parliament paralyzed by no-shows - International Herald Tribune
by Scott Sullivan
US Should Attack Kurds on Oil Sabotage
January 25, 2007 12:15 PM EST
Many foreign governments have meddled in Iraq’s internal affairs over the years, as the US and Iran are doing today by supporting the Kurds. No government, however, has ever had success in playing the Kurdish card. So says KGB officer Pavel Sudaplatov in his autobiography, Special Tasks. Sudaplatov, for twenty years, was the KGB’s Director of Special Operations Forces and one who also played the Kurdish card, without success.
The Kurds are unworthy partners because they trust no one; they will never compromise on the core issue of an independent Kurdistan; they are willing to destroy several Middle Eastern states on the way to that goal; and, finally, they are ready to sacrifice, without hesitation, the interests of any foreign partner who blocks the way to an independent Kurdistan.
In other words, while President Bush rests easy at night in the belief that the US has earned at least one reliable ally in the Iraqi mess, i.e., the Kurds, he could not be more mistaken.
These pessimistic thoughts on Kurdish perfidy come to mind as Iraq drafts a national petroleum law (see the excellent assessment by Steven Mufson, “Iraq Struggles to Finish Oil Law”, WP). Iraqi adoption of a National Petroleum Law would be a giant Iraqi step away from civil war. President Bush’s faith in a new democratic Iraq would be vindicated. This should be a no-brainer, correct?
Wrong. Iraq’s national petroleum law will never see the light of day. Despite extensive Iraqi negotiations and “agreement” on all the major issues, as reported last week in the media, an adviser to the Kurdish authorities was quoted in the Washington Post on Friday (1/18) as saying the details of an agreement have yet to be clarified.
To quote this unnamed Kurdish authority: “Outstanding issues include how much oil revenue will go to the central government; a charter for the new national oil company; (AP) — the role of the oil ministry; and the principles upon which the new commission could reject regionally negotiated contracts. Also unsettled is whether the commission will require a simple majority vote or a two-thirds vote to reject a contract's terms. Those provisions must all be part of one package with the petroleum law, Kurdish leaders said.”In short, nothing has been decided on Iraq’s national petroleum law, and nothing will ever be decided, thanks to the Kurds. For the Kurds, Iraq no longer exists. Besides, why should the Kurds give way when they have all the leverage over President Bush? (See “No Exit Plan for US Forces in Iraq,” Iran-Watch.com, 24 January 07.)Prediction: Muqtada al-Sadr, who believes in a unified Iraq, is on the right side of Iraq’s national petroleum law, whereas the Kurds are not and never will be. President Bush is attacking in the wrong direction. Without Iraq’s National Petroleum Law, Bush’s plans for Iraq are Dead on Arrival.
US Should Attack Kurds on Oil Sabotage by Scott Sullivan
I LOVE THIS RIDE - BUT DANG IT - THIS RIDE COULD HAVE BEEN OVER IN NOVEMBER IF THEY HAD JUST SHOWED UP FOR WORK!!! AND RIGHT NOW WE ALL WOULD BE AT THE LAUGHLIN PARTY!!!
PS. I FIX'N TO FLY OVER THERE AND FARM JIG ON THEIR HEADS IF THEY DON'T GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!!
US hopes Maliki can soothe concerns in Congress
Thu 25 Jan 2007 18:39:41 GMT
By Tabassum Zakaria
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 25 (Reuters) - The White House expressed hope on Thursday that a vow by Iraqi's prime minister to crack down on militants would help soothe concerns in the U.S. Congress after a key panel rebuffed President George W. Bush's troop increase plan.
Bush spokesman Tony Snow said the administration welcomed what he called an "assertive" address by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday, two days after the U.S. president implored Congress to give his Iraq strategy a chance.
Rebuffing Bush, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a non-binding resolution on Wednesday opposing his decision to send 21,500 more troops to fight in the increasingly unpopular war.
Maliki pledged to parliament to leave militants, Shi'ite and Sunni alike, nowhere to hide in Baghdad, where sectarian violence has added to Americans' doubts about his Shi'ite-dominated government's commitment to reconciliation.
Snow said Maliki also addressed "two hugely important political benchmarks" by telling Iraqi lawmakers he wanted them to pass a hydrocarbons law and de-Baathification reform in the current session.
"A very assertive address on the part of the prime minister," Snow told reporters aboard Air Force One traveling with Bush to Missouri. "We certainly welcome that because it demonstrates the kind of vigor that we've been talking about and that the American people expect."
"And (it) also responds specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing in terms of the aims and the determination of the government of Iraq," he added.
Snow said there were "no real surprises" in the Senate panel's vote on the Iraq resolution, and pointed out that Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel was the only Republican to vote for it. The measure now goes to the full Senate for a vote expected as soon as next week.
In the closely divided Senate, lawmakers were struggling to find compromise language that a majority could support. Some Republicans criticized as too partisan Wednesday's resolution that deemed a troop increase against the "national interest."
Bush has made clear he will not abide by any resolution opposing the troop build-up, and Vice President Dick Cheney said in a CNN interview "it won't stop us."
But a bipartisan vote would carry strong symbolism for a U.S. public weary of a war that has claimed more than 3,000 American lives and killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said it was "delusional" for Cheney to suggest, as he did to CNN, that the administration had achieved "enormous successes" in Iraq.
Despite that, Democratic leaders have stopped short of threatening to cut off funding for the troop build-up, mindful that would allow Bush and his allies to accuse them of abandoning the troops as the 2008 presidential race gears up. (Additional reporting by Donna Smith, Susan Cornwell and Matt Spetalnick in Washington)
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/Cris...-R5-Alertnet-3
KRG Oil Deals to Go Through Baghdad
The spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said that potential oil deals and projects in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region must be forwarded to the parliament in Baghdad.
"Once drafts and proposals are submitted, they will be reviewed and discussed for approval at the parliament where representatives of the Kurdish list can offer their suggestions and comments regarding the proposed plans," said the Iraqi Minister of Oil.
"Oil revenues from across the country will be kept in a special treasury box to be handled by the central government for later distribution to the country's regions, depending on the size of the population in each region," added the Minister.
In a recent statement, Kurdish authorities said they had not been informed by the central government of the new legislation regarding oil revenues. Iraqi Kurdistan Region had earlier been given the authority to negotiate contracts and sign them, according to Kurdish officials.
KRG Oil Deals to Go Through Baghdad
Petraeus: More troops support new strategy
by Sgt. Sara Wood, American Forces Press Service
Published: Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:42 AM CST
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - President George W. Bush's pick for command of Multi-National Force- Iraq supports the new strategy for Iraq and emphasized that additional U.S. forces are essential in accomplishing the mission there.
"If we are to carry out the Multi-National Force-Iraq mission in accordance with the new strategy, the additional forces that have been directed to move to Iraq will be essential, as will greatly increased support by our government's other agencies, additional resources for reconstruction and economic initiatives, and a number of other actions critical to what must be a broad, comprehensive, multifaceted approach to the challenges in Iraq," Lt. Gen. David Petraeus said Jan. 23 at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Petraeus, currently the commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, was nominated Jan. 17 to be promoted to general and take over command of MNFI from Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who has been nominated to become the Army chief of staff.
The new strategy for Iraq shifts the U.S. focus in Iraq to securing the population and creating secure conditions to enable the Iraqi government, Petraeus said. Solving security problems will not be the ultimate solution for Iraq, he acknowledged, but the Iraqi government cannot deal with the political issues it must resolve while violence in Baghdad creates life-or-death situations for citizens every day.
"The objective will be to achieve sufficient security to provide the space and time for the Iraqi government to come to grips with the tough decisions its members must make to enable Iraq to move forward," Petraeus said. "In short, it is not just that there will be additional forces in Baghdad; it is what they will do and how they will do it that is important."
When questioned directly, Petraeus said he would not be able to do his job as commander of MNFI without the additional 21,000 troops Bush has pledged to Iraq. Deploying these additional forces will make it difficult to increase time between deployments for troops who have already been burdened by the War on Terror, he said, but plans are under way to sustain increased force levels.
The increase of 92,000 in the overall strength of the Army and Marine Corps, which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Jan. 11, will also help alleviate this strain, he said.
"Our ongoing endeavors in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere are people-intensive, and it is heartening to know that there will be more Soldiers and Marines to shoulder the load," Petraeus said.
The coalition will continue to transition control of Iraqi forces and provinces to Iraqis, and the U.S. advisoe effort will be reinforced, Petraeus said. The focus on security in Baghdad will require that U.S. and Iraqi commanders become familiar with the areas they are operating in and work together to establish a permanent presence in areas where violence has been eliminated, he said.
In addition to overcoming security challenges, success in Iraq depends on actions in political and economic areas like governance, the distribution of oil revenues, national reconciliation, improvement in the capacity of Iraq's ministries, the establishment of the rule of law, and economic development, Petraeus said. To bolster progress in these areas, all agencies of the U.S. government need to step in and provide assistance, he emphasized.
"Our military is making an enormous commitment in Iraq; we need the rest of the departments to do likewise, to help the Iraqi government get the country and its citizens working, and to use Iraq's substantial oil revenues for the benefit of all the Iraqi people," he said.
The situation in Iraq is serious, and it will take time for the new strategy to be effective, Petraeus noted. The additional U.S. forces will need time to deploy to the region, become familiar with the situation, and set the conditions for successful security operations, he said.
"The only assurance I can give you is that, if confirmed, I will provide Multi-National Force-Iraq the best leadership and direction I can muster; I will work to ensure unity of effort with the ambassador and our Iraqi and coalition partners; and I will provide my bosses and you with forthright, professional military advice with respect to the missions given to Multi-National Force-Iraq and the situation on the ground in Iraq," Petraeus said to the committee.
If confirmed, this assignment will be Petraeus' fourth deployment of one year or longer since the summer of 2001; three of those deployments were to Iraq. Petraeus led the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul during the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, served as the first commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq from June 2004 to September 2005, and commanded the NATO Training Mission-Iraq from October 2004 through September 2005. As commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, he oversees the organizations that educate Army leaders, draft doctrine, craft lessons learned and help units prepare for deployment.
Petraeus acknowledged that the command of MNFI will be a heavy burden, but he said he is ready to take on the position. Not only is he eager to serve again with America's deployed troops, he said, but he feels an obligation to help the Iraqis, who are struggling to lead normal lives while their government forges a way ahead that will be anything but easy.
"Hard is not hopeless, and if confirmed, I pledge to do my utmost to lead our wonderful men and women in uniform and those of our coalition partners in Iraq as we endeavor to help the Iraqis make the most of the opportunity our Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have given to them," he said.
Leavenworth Lamp - News
No offense intended. Maybe I am having a bad day or something. Maybe I'm beyond tired of waiting. Maybe it's getting to me. One thing for sure, I meant no offense to you. It just seems lately with all of the rumors looking promising and then not panning out, I am beginning to wonder if maybe Munnybags might be on to something about a slow painfull dragged out reval. I guess I am just feeling the financial pressure a lot these days.
Have you ever thought about it? One day today I am poorer than a churchmouse. Then bingo they flip r/v switch and suddenly I am a multimillionaire. I am longing for the days after they flip the r/v switch but stuck with the reality of the days before they flip the switch.
Once again, sorry if I offended you,
Your fellow dinaraholic, dinargang member,
worf
PS I like your thinking better than mine. Do you mind if borrow some?
thanks,
Right you are Mike. And so another Iraqi "work week" (acutally should be just "week" as no work is ever done) goes by with absolutely no progress in any way, shape or form unless arabs killing each other is considered progress!! It is indeed time to get rid of the illiterates (which means the vast majority of them) and Maliki. All the news originating from Iraq sounds like a broken record. Perhaps Worf is right.
great post Mike[OSW]...it is past time to get rid of all these illiterate people in the Parliament....and maybe Maliki needs to go to....he seems to be big on words....but small on doing it....and if they are making that much money to be in parliament or government,they should be there every day to vote on important issues....while they off somewhere leading their own Militias against their own people,most Iraqi's are suffering...get rid of the lot,before their people lose faith with the entire idea of democracy.....they have a goldmine right there in front of them but are too stupid to act upon it.....IMHO...Pat
No offence taken. I was just surprised that you were endorsing the slow drip RV. I can understand how you feel. When I feel that way I usually take a one week hiatus from the forums. I've found that there are actually other things on the internet besides dinar forums. :noserious
Its a recycled article....
The banking and business community to show considerable interest in the proposal equality dinar dollar
The banking and business community to show considerable interest in the proposal equality dinar dollar
Source : Newspaper Conference -- 29/06/2006
Finance Minister announced the Iraqi statement Zubaidi, «that the ministry and the Central Bank are considering a proposal to lift the value of the Iraqi dinar, and return to normal».
And Heymann told the minister to the concerns of the banking and business community, as well as citizens, fear of the Iraqi market due to the pressure of the implications of such a measure might lead to some sort of instability in trade exchanges, in estimating the value of the dinar exchange rate of foreign currencies, including the dollar. He described the High Director of the Bank of Credit Iraqi Fuad bono statement by the Minister of Finance «very important», on the one hand the equality of the dinar dollar, pointing out «that is pleasant to the hearts of Iraqis, who are looking to restore the strength of the Iraqi currency, as it was before the 1990s of the last century, he wondered whether the national economy in its current capable of the transition to equal dinar dollar»? Bono, however, has often including the Minister Zubaidi on the support and backing of the World Bank proposed this, and said : «The current study data make it wait to give a definitive opinion on the subject.
The Director of the Bank of High Assyrian International Investment Zuhair Al-Hafiz, «Zubaidi minister that the proposal needs to pause and carefully take into account the implications of the security situation on the Iraqi economy, which make it unable to absorb any defects that might affect the business dealings in the absence of a proposal under advisement.
He asked Acting Director of the Bank for International Investment Basra Badi intellectual : «Is the international debt reduction for Iraq and the increase in liquidity resulting from the rise in oil prices, enough to take such a decision, such as»? He added, «What is important in this connection to take into account a study that may result from the decision of equality dinar dollar, the repercussions on the local commercial transactions, and how to avoid any disruption to transfers of traders and banks.
Translated version of http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNewsAr.aspx?id=1597
Cheers!
DayDream
Question is, how? These people for better or worse were elected. I am afraid they (the Iraqis and us) are stuck with them until the next election unless they can hold a no confidence vote and run a general election again. Only problem with that is the s.o.b.s running the place would never vote for it 'cause they would be voting themselves out of their own plush, gravy job.
Are you kidding? Where else can you make 124k a year, not show up for work, and blow up your fellow countrymen all at the same place and at the same time? Either that or make your 124k a year and live in another country never bothering to report for work? Unfortunately, I afraid we are stuck with them. Maybe the American military can place them on house arrest and not let them leave until their work is finished. :eek: :fryingpan In any case what a sorry group of humanity imo. :fryingpan
GGGEEESSSHHHH !!!! I don't mean to sound so negative!!! Maybe we are about to r/v!? Maybe this is the final storm before the clouds break and the sun shines through? I sure hope so. This ride has sure been awful bumpy lately. :wigged:
worf
i take exception with the phrase "current rumors looking promising". i think realistically the fil-ici-hcl-all need to be enacted b4 any rv. until we see those laws passed and enacted-we will continue to see a slow rv. all rumors are appreciated and there certainly has been more and more corroborating statements with ea rumor. there certainly is an excitement in the air from here to there about this. its gonna come and this year. i have moved off of my 2008 position to 2007. that says a lot coming from me.
Hey Marek!
Thank you for the bringing back the "Thank You" button!
I'll put it to good use! :bow: :bow:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on warmly welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's vow to hunt down militants under
President George W. Bush's new plan to clamp security on Baghdad.
But Democrats in Congress, who have resisted the troop-surge component of the new plan to quell raging sectarian strife, demanded to know why a billion-dollar US economic aid pledge would be more successful than previous efforts.
Maliki said earlier Thursday in a speech to the Iraqi parliament that there would be no safe haven for militants under the new security plan.
"This is a very positive step," said David Satterfield, who works for Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice as US coordinator for
Iraq.
"Only through facts on the ground, tangible evidence of action against all those pursuing violence, can the government of Iraq establish the credibility at home, abroad and here in the United States that it needs to chart a successful future," Satterfield told the Senate Foreign Relations committee.
Maliki said earlier that "all those who break the law will be hunted down," as Iraqi lawmakers gave their unanimous blessing to the plan drawn up by US and Iraqi security forces.
But the US plan, and the fact that it places the onus on Maliki and his government to tackle sectarian strife and stifle militias, has sparked extreme skepticism in the Democratic Party-controlled Congress.
Democrats, and some Republicans, have tabled a sheaf of resolutions in Congress opposing the plan, seen by some analysts as a last-ditch attempt to pacify Iraq. On Wednesday, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution condemning the plan to send an extra 21,500 troops to the war-ravaged nation.
And in a sign of the stiff task facing US and Iraqi troops, insurgents earlier unleashed new bombings on busy market areas of Baghdad and in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah that left 10 people dead.
Bush said when he unveiled his new plan this month that he would ask Congress to provide an additional 1.2 billion dollars in economic and reconstruction aid for Iraq. The Iraqi government has pledged to add a further 10 billion dollars of its own funds.
The Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Democratic Senator Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), however, asked the administration to ensure that the latest huge aid pledge would have more of an impact than previous US injections of funds into Iraq.
"I hope that we will hear today some concrete details of why these funds will achieve better results than we have been able to achieve before," Biden said.
The
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the official US auditor, reported earlier this month that botched budgeting left more than six billion dollars piled up in Iraq which should have been spent on rebuilding.
In one stunning example, Iraq's oil ministry had spent only four million dollars of the 3.6 billion dollars budgeted to repair the crumbling sector, the GAO said.
The Iraqi government's new security measures earlier even won the backing of MPs loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army has been targeted in a series of raids by Iraqi and US forces against militias blamed for the violence.
Under the new Iraqi-US plan, around 35,000 US troops and about 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen will be deployed to secure Baghdad.
US welcomes Iraqi PM's vow on militias - Yahoo! News
Voices of Iraq
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:
البرلمان-جلسة
Parliament-meeting
كتب: nakr2004 في يوم الخميس, 25 يناير, 2007 - 07:56 PM BT
Books : nakr2004 on Thursday, January 25, 2007 7:56 PM-BT
مصدر : البرلمان قرر عقد جلسة السبت لمناقشة ميزانية 2007
Source : Parliament decided to convene a meeting on Saturday to discuss the 2007 budget
من سانتا ميخائيل
From Santa Mikhail
بغداد-(أصوات العراق)
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)
قال مدير المكتب الاعلامي لرئيس مجلس النواب اليوم الخميس ان رئيس المجلس محمود المشهداني قرر عقد جلسة للمجلس يوم السبت المقبل لاستكمال مناقشة موازنة عام 2007.
Director of Information Office of the President of the House of Representatives today, Thursday, the chairman of the Council, Mahmoud Almshahadani decided to convene a meeting of the Council next Saturday to complete the discussion of the budget 2007.وأضاف السيد مهند عبد الجبار في اتصال هاتفي مع وكالة أنباء (أصوات العراق) المستقلة أن" هناك مشروعا يدرس من قبل اللجنة القانونية للمجلس لعرضه في الدورة التشريعية الثالثة التي تبدا في اذار مارس ينص على استبدال قادة الكتل الذين لم يحضروا جلسات المجلس مطلقا."
He added Mr. Muhannad Abdul Jabbar in a telephone conversation with the News Agency (Voices of Iraq) Independent that "there is a study by the Legal Committee of the Council for presentation at the third session of the legislature which begins in March provides for the replacement of leaders who did not attend the mass meetings of the Council at all."
Translated version of Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq
__________________
Just IN case You Haven't all been informed the SHOUT BOX IS BACK!
Great to see the forum returning to the good old days. Thanks to all the people who bring us the updated news and the great discussions. To Webster and all the other Aussies out there - Happy AUSTRALIA DAY. Have a great day in this wonderful country down under.
Actually, this seems to be a compromise. The central Iraq gov't can review the contracts already negotiated by the Kurds including allowing them into this review process, then give the thumbs up or down. The funds will be collected by the central gov't, then distributed to regions proportionally by population.
If the Kurds negotiated a good contract, there's no need for any change as long as the funds flow as stated above, so they won't necessarily have to start over from scratch with these. The Kurds have the opportunity to be involved in future contract negotiations, which is nice because they are the local experts regarding environmental and other local potential impacts of future contracts.
The Kurds also shouldn't balk on the distribution of funds, as this is the previously-agreed upon method for disbursement of funds from the central gov't.
"who's on first " was performed by Abbott and Costello not Laurel and Hardy