A report concerning an Iraqi minister on television - pointing to stacks of USD and dinar - while saying that very soon these two stacks of money will be equal in value - can not seem to be verified by anyone.
I deleted the post.
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A report concerning an Iraqi minister on television - pointing to stacks of USD and dinar - while saying that very soon these two stacks of money will be equal in value - can not seem to be verified by anyone.
I deleted the post.
د. حسين جواد كاظمD. Hussein Jawad Kadhim
من المتطلبات الاساسية لعملية اصلاح الاقتصاد العراقي هي تنويع هيكل الاقتصاد الوطني، اي بمعنى آخر التخلص من الصفة الريعية للاقتصاد المحلي والمتمثلة باعتماده على القطاع النفطي. وكما تشير تقارير وزارة التخطيط والتعاون الانمائي فان الجزء الاكبر مما يتوفر في موازنة الدولة الاستثمارية للسنوات القادمة مضافاً اليها المنح والمساعدات
The world will be in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, such as electricity, water and sanitation, telecommunications, irrigation systems and drainage region, as well as health and education services. Based on that highlights the need to move towards inviting foreign capital to invest in Iraq and to contribute to the advancement of economic advancement.
Iraq possesses the proper legislative framework, which allows for the establishment and registration of foreign companies and the Iraqi joint under the Investment Law No. 39 of 2003 as a body for the promotion of foreign investment in July 2005 on the basis of (the principle of one window).
And generally can be identified legal frameworks that have been taken towards the activation and attraction of foreign investments to Iraq the following :
1 procedures allowing foreign ownership of 100% in all sectors except natural resources (ie oil).
2 ـ .Two direct ownership and joint ventures.
3 ـ Treatment of foreign companies on an equal footing with local firms.
4 level and the tax was imposed companies income tax rate of 15% maximum. As of the first of / January 2004 which is low compared to the previous resolution of this (40%).
5 In the area of customs tariff was to impose a fee on behalf of (a reconstruction) or (5%) was amended to (10%) for all imports except for humanitarian goods.
However, though these features important to the investment decision, it is not the only factor behind decisions on capital flows. Since the issue of attracting foreign investment into the country requires the availability of the institutional infrastructure and ease the administrative procedures and operational, and financial transactions tax and a sophisticated banking system that meets the requirements of investors and operate according to the market mechanism, and that most of these things are currently unavailable in the Iraqi economy, especially with the absence of political stability which is the final arbiter of investment decision.
Thus, the flow of foreign investments into Iraq required (assuming achieve security and stability) outstanding efforts at the level of transition elements in the financial sector as well as the level of public financial arrangements as well as the reform of monetary policy, exchange rate, and marketing efforts and to be distinguished foreign investment legislation and policies of economic openness in general legalized controls and restrictions established by the state to regulate this process.
Translated version of http://www.alsabaah.com/
Irish Examiner> Breaking News> Sport
Out of Iraq Now
Business Day - News Worth Knowing
جريدة الصباح - مجلس النواب يصادق على عدد من مشاريع القوانين المهمة
جريدة الصباح - هل تفشل آلية توزيع المشتقات النفطية الجديدة ؟
جريدة الصباح - المناطق الآمنة من العراق بيئة استثمارية جاهــزة
جريدة الصباح - الاستثمار الأجنبي في العراق بين الأطر التشريعية و البيئة الاستثمارية
جريدة المدى - اعتباراً من الأول من آذار.. النفط: زيادة سعر اللتر الواحد من البنزين الى 400 دينار
1. Note : * The sale price of remittances dinars (1296) / $. Sale price * cash (1309) dinars / $. * Cash purchase price (1307) dinars / $. 2. The quantity sold, the amount of cash (18.560.000) dollars and the amount of remittances (85.680.000) dollars.
im saying early next week when they said it last week would mean this past sunday 21st. that is when they passed the laws that have been waiting for awhile. so it went to parliament end of last week to be attended to this week which they certainly did. :biggrin:
http://www.menafn.com/charting/USD_IQD_3M.png
1238
Been thinking about the 1260 / 1000
I'm thinking the CBI is going to target the 1260 slowly as they are doing now then hold at 1260 for a few months to flush out the weak and then pop a reval of 1000 around September-October then January 2008 throw a big reval.
JMO no source.
all a person needs to do is read the nes and they would not sell off any of thier dinar..:fryingpan
like theses ones:wink:
statement by the Minister of Finance <very important>, in terms of equality of the dinar dollar, pointing out <that it 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
Minister of Oil and Governor of the Central Bank we met with the IMF and in one of the meetings, suggested to the the governor's must strengthen the Iraqi dinar and to return dear generous as is the Iraq history and civilization, and at least if not the Iraqi dinar equivalent to about three dollars
For his part, Sinan Shabibi governor of the Iraqi Central Bank monetary policy established by the Central Bank to support the exchange rate of the dinar supports the investment budget was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
He pointed in his presentation to the policy of the Central Bank today to the House of Representatives to raise the exchange rate is the decision of the bank, to increase the confidence of citizens in Iraqi dinars and increase the acquiring of dinars in addition to making the dinar is a store of value which contributes to the withdrawal of inflation
lift the value of the Iraqi dinar, and return to normal»
restore the strength of the Iraqi currency, as it was before the 1990s
of gold the Iraqi topic the secretariat in Switzerland, whose value amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars, and here like to note the fact that that gold is to cover the the value of the Iraqi currency
CAN I GET A WOOOOOT!! :banana: :party: :banana: :party:
Woot!
That sounds great to me :ro_emote:
Bono? From U2? :cool:
Lift the value and return to normal, normal would be smaller notes.
When they mention hundreds of billions I believe they mean of all the gold the secretariat holds, not just Iraq's gold but the amount Iraq has in Switzerland will be used to back the dinar. 4 tons I believe.
المناقصة المرقمة (1/2007)
يدعو البنك المركزي العراقي وكلاء الشركات المدرجة ادناه في العراق والمسجلين لدى دائرة تسجيل الشركات في زارة التجارة حصرا لتجهيزه بمولدة حديثة مع كاتم صوت مزود بتبريد وتهوية وبحجم (1-1.25 ميكا واط ).
www.cbiraq.orq
Tender numbered (1 / 2007) calls on the Central Bank of Iraq and the agents of foreign companies listed below in Iraq and registered with the registration of companies in the Ministry of Commerce exclusively for processing birthday interview with the Voice of fullness fitted Ptbrid, ventilation and size (1-Mika 1.25 watts).
Economy Law could help modernize Iraq oil sector
BAGHDAD , Iraq
SyriaTimes
economy
22-1-2007
A new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for "transparent and fair" competition in bids to develop Iraq`s oil wealth, the oil minister said Sunday as he sought to restore the confidence of foreign investors.
The new law, if approved, is expected to encourage foreign oil companies with their investment clout and technology to modernize Iraq`s oil sector and meet the country`s goal of doubling the current crude production of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2010.
Iraq`s proven oil reserves stand at about 115 billion barrels, the world`s third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, said new oil fields will be added as bids are submitted by foreign companies.
"The competition will be transparent and fair and companies will be chosen according to their modern technological capabilities to guarantee the highest benefits for Iraqis," al-Shahristani said at a news conference. "We will not consider their nationalities and we will ignore any contract doesn`t achieve the highest benefits."
Al-Shahristani refused to give a timeline for parliamentary action and did not say how the ministry would negotiate with foreign companies.
"The constitution states that oil and gas are for all Iraqis in all provinces and regions, and according to this conception we drafted this oil law to help promote Iraq`s unity and prosperity of its people," he said.
Last Thursday, the ministry`s spokesman Assem Jihad said the law would require that all oil revenues go to a central fund, then be distributed to Iraqis in every region and province according to population.
Actually that's incorrect. Iraq alone had $800 Billion in gold reserves....approximately 80 tons at 1980's prices. That article has been quoted with a link, several times in this forum and others....It's fact. This is where most European and MidEast countries stored their gold for currency backing, so it would be a whole lot more than 4 tons....Similar to our Fort Knox, but bigger.
I also don't see how you read the other article to mean smaller notes when they go on to mention return to the value prior to the 1990's. That's clearly in the 1:3+ range....they even specifically refer to 3+. I will agree that getting there is a different issue altogether. However, they clearly state this as their goal.
Transcript of Press Conference by IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato
QUESTIONER: Thank you. A little over a year ago, the IMF approved a $685 million loan for Iraq. I was wondering what the status of that loan, how much of it has been dispersed at this point, the status of any programs you have in Iraq, and with the ongoing violence and the hopes going forward if this could have any chance of being successful.
MR. DE RATO: Let me say that the discussions between us and the Iraqi Authorities toward completing the next review under the stand-by arrangement are right now going. So we are in the middle of seeing that review, and I cannot give you a specific date when that review will be completed.
We see as positive steps the strengthening of the dinar and certainly a more effective use of monetary policy because inflation has reached very high inflations in 2006 as you all know, and in that respect we were urging the authorities to move into tighter monetary policy. Nevertheless, of course, security considerations in Iraq are crucial. As I said before, I can't give you right now a specific date of when we will complete the review, but I can tell you we are in the middle of it. There is no disbursement because this is a precautionary program, so there have not been any disbursements by us.
D.N.O declines re-negotiations over new oil draft law-Iraq
MENAFN - 22/01/2007
(MENAFN) The Executive Chairman at Norwegian D.N.O, the first foreign company to excavate oil in post-war Iraq, said that the company will not re-negotiate its agreement with the Kurdish authorities after the approval of Iraq's new oil draft law, Iraq Directory reported.
He added that the proposed law, which considers all previous oil agreements illegal unless the Iraqi government approves them, should not be applied on D.N.O's agreement with the Kurdish authorities.
D.N.O will start production from the Tokie field in northern Iraq, which is dominated by Kurds, in the first quarter of 2007.
MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: D.N.O declines re-negotiations over new oil draft law-Iraq
U.S.-tailored Iraqi Oil Alarm for Producers, Consumers
By Nicola Nasser
Middle East 1-22-07, 9:32 am
While the Iraqis were busy counting their death toll of more than 650,000 since March 2003, the United Nations busy counting their dead of more than 34,000 in 2006 only, the Pentagon counting more than 3,070 American deaths and the U.S. treasury counting more than $600 billion of taxpayer money spent so far in Iraq, stealthily and suddenly the U.S. occupation’s oil prize rang louder than the war drums to alert the regional oil producers as well as the major world consumers to guard against the looming threat coming out of Iraq.
After listening to the monotonous and incredible U.S. lies for four years about “we are not there for Iraq's oil,” the oil truth is now unfolding. Without a decisive military victory, the U.S. occupation of Iraq seems to be about to grab its oil prize by establishing a new sharing arrangement between a major national producer and the multi-national giants, an arrangement that Washington plans to set as the model to be followed both by the oil-rich region and the world at large.
This prize has been the dream of the successive U.S. administrations; on January 18, it came one step closer to reality when Iraq's Oil Committee approved the new draft hydrocarbon law, sent it to the cabinet within a week and, when approved, will go to the parliament immediately thereafter.
The early draft of the law was prepared by BearingPoint American consultants, hired by the Bush administration, and sent to the White House and major western petroleum corporations in July, and then to the International Monetary Fund two months later, while most Iraqi legislators and public remained in the dark.
The approved production-sharing agreements (PSAs) favor investing foreign oil companies with 70 percent of oil revenue to recoup their initial outlay, then companies can reap 20 percent of the profit without any tax or other restrictions on their transfers abroad.
Iraqi Oil File Opened
Several indicators have surfaced recently that point to bringing the oil factor in Iraq back from the back burner to the forefront of the public eye. The first has been Ankara’s escalating drive to block the control of the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk by the Iraqi Kurds, lest Kirkuk's lucrative oil would be used to fund a bid for secession from Iraq that could encourage separatist Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey herself.
The second indicator is Iraq’s push forward on oil developments with Iran and Kuwait to determine control in the future of the cross-border oil fields, according to the Kuwait Times. Cross-border oil fields were contested and have been a cause of friction poisoning Iraq’s relations with its eastern and southern neighbors.
A third indicator that the Iraqi oil file is being wide opened is the Iraqi - Syrian negotiations on the sidelines of the latest visit to Damascus by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to reopen the oil pipeline between the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and the Syrian coastal town of Banyas on the Mediterranean. This pipeline was reopened in 1997 and drew U.S. disapproval; American air strikes damaged the Iraqi side of the pipeline at the start of the U.S.-led invasion. Since then Washington was reported to favor reopening a Kirkuk-Haifa oil pipeline via Jordan, which was shut down after the creation of Israel in 1948.
However the new Iraqi draft hydrocarbon law, if passed by the Iraqi parliament, would be a milestone not only to judge the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq as a success or a failure, but would more importantly determine the future network of relations between the oil-producing countries and the multi-national oil giants, to the detriment of the major consumers who will be held hostage to the whims of the American holder of the key to Middle Eastern vital oil resources.
President George W. Bush in his “new Strategy” speech on January 10 sounded ambiguous and elusive in his definition of the success he is hunting in Iraq. “A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations,” he said, adding: “Victory … in Iraq will bring something new in the Arab world.” Bush stopped short of explicitly defining success and victory as economic in framework that has an oil breakthrough at its core.
In his speech Bush referred only briefly twice to oil. A failure of the U.S. in Iraq would enable the “Radical Islamic extremists” to “use oil revenues … to topple moderate governments” across the region, he warned, and announced that “Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis,” without even a hint to any U.S. interest, because he was very well aware of the hornet nest he would unleash had he prematurely even hinted to his oil prize.
Republican-Democratic Consensus
The Republican-Democratic electoral wrangling, no matter how ferocious it was or would become over internal issues, could not overlap a “red line” consensus on never compromising the U.S. national oil strategic interests, which both parties are determined to defend regardless of how much American or non-American blood would spill in their defense.
The bipartisan Iraq Study Group Report articulated that consensus concisely in a straightforward language. It is noteworthy that Bush who ignored the essential recommendations of this report had selectively adopted recommendations 62 and 63. Recommendation 63 stipulates the US should “assist” Iraqi leaders in privatizing the national oil industry into a “commercial enterprise” to encourage investment by the multi-national oil companies.
Recommendation 62 urges the US government to help draft an Iraqi oil law that “creates a fiscal and legal framework for investment” and, in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund [IMF], to “press Iraq to continue reducing subsidies in the energy sector...until Iraqis pay market prices for oil products.” The James Baker – Lee Hamilton Report proposes to make everyday life harder for average Iraqis so that the U.S. oil industry profits.
The Bush administration, even before the 2003 invasion, planned to pass a new oil law for Iraq that would turn its nationalized oil system over to private foreign corporate control. Months after the US invasion of Iraq it was revealed that control of Iraq’s oil fields was one of the chief issues discussed in Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force meeting with oil executives in 2001.
Bush made his first public demand of the Iraqi government to pass the oil law in December. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and General George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, repeated the same demand. In July last year, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman announced in Baghdad that senior U.S. oil company executives would not enter Iraq without passage of the new law. Petroleum Economist magazine later reported that U.S. oil companies put passage of the oil law before security concerns as the deciding factor over their entry into Iraq. Passing an oil law has been also a key demand of the United States in providing further military support to Baghdad’s “national unity government.”
Iraqis in the Dark
This law has been in the works even months before the invasion, when the Bush Administration brought in Phillip Carroll, former CEO of both Shell and Fluor, to devise "contingency plans" to pump the Iraqi oil after the invasion; Carroll was made later the head of the American "advisory committee" overseeing the oil industry of the conquered land.
The U.S., the IMF and the major oil giants are using fear to pursue their agenda of privatizing and selling off Iraq's oil resources. They are taking advantage of an occupied, war-ravaged and internally divided nation to get control over as much oil as possible, on the best possible terms, and to get what they were denied before the war or at anytime in modern Iraqi history: Access to Iraq's oil under the ground, Iraqi academic and senior lecturer in Middle East economics at the University of Exeter, Kamil Mahdi, wrote recently.
Most Iraqis remain in the dark about the new oil law. Iraq's oil workers had to travel to Jordan to learn details of the law from the London-based research organization Platform. As a result, five Iraqi trade union federations released a public statement rejecting “the handing of control over oil to foreign companies, whose aim is to make big profits at the expense of the Iraqi people, and to rob the national wealth, according to long-term, unfair contracts, that undermine the sovereignty of the state and the dignity of the Iraqi people.” The statement added that this was a “red line” they would not allow to be crossed.
Washington has been unsuccessfully trying to camouflage her oil prize in Iraq since its invasion in 2003 and similarly she can hardly now smokescreen the oil factor in her escalating crisis with Iran. “Weapons of mass destruction” or “links to Al Qaeda” were not the true reasons for the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq as much as the real reason for the present U.S.-Iran crisis is not about Iran’s “nukes.” In both cases regime change was the goal, which if achieved could give Washington an access to almost 20 percent of the world's proven Iraqi and Iranian oil reserves, respectively the third and fourth largest in the world.
Iran the Next Target
Iraqi and Iranian oil reserves are targeted per se, but clinching these assets out of national decision-making would also give Washington control over about 60 percent of the world's conventional oil reserves located in essentially five countries in the Arabian Gulf region (described officially by Iran as “Persian”). Iran's close proximity to these major oil resources and her balancing power in controlling access to them have made her the second major obstacle after Iraq that could block any U.S. strategic drive to gain control over them. In 2003, about 90% of oil exported from the Gulf transited by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran.
The Iraqi bill would allow for the first foreign exploitation of Iraqi oil reserves since the industry was nationalized in 1972. The introduction of PSAs would also be a first in the Middle East. Washington wants the Iraqi law to be the rule that has to apply across the oil-rich region as well as worldwide. Most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nationally control their oil industries through state-owned companies with no appreciable foreign collaboration.
Such an arrangement was impossible to pass through during the bi-polar world order, but has become possible following the collapse of the former USSR if the American uni-polar power could rein in the remnants of the ruling national liberation movements, or could topple them. Within this context only can the invasion and occupation of Iraq as well as the U.S.-Iranian current crisis be perceived. Since 1972 and 1979 respectively the U.S. was denied the banana-republics-styled free hand over Iraqi and Iranian oil assets. Iraq was invaded and occupied while a regime change that would secure U.S. control is still in the works. Meanwhile Iran is being pressured and threatened with more sanctions and a military U.S. strike to change the regime in Tehran.
The more vulnerable regional oil producers, as well as their counterparts in central Asia, would be wiser to do their best not to allow the draft Iraqi law to pass to be the future yardstick to determine their relations with the multi-national oil giants, and to pre-empt a political and military environment synonymous to the one prevailing now in Iraq to be copied in Iran, which would inevitably lead to a gradual erosion or abrupt end to their beneficial current arrangements.
Voluntarily or grudgingly getting along with Bush’s old or “new” strategies, would never spare them. They should reconsider because Iraq was the first target and they are the next targets; Iran also should reconsider in Iraq because she is “the” next target.
Major oil consumers in China, Japan and Europe should also be alerted to avert a possible U.S. suffocating monopoly or hegemony on oil resources at a time their as well as the American demand for oil is on the rise; their economic competition or cooperation with the U.S. will only be adversely compromised by Washington’s grip on the vital mineral that is driving their industrial economies.
--Nicola Nasser is a veteran Arab journalist based in Ramallah, West Bank of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
Political Affairs Magazine - U.S.-tailored Iraqi Oil Alarm for Producers, Consumers
South Korea oil delegation to visit Iraq
A government and private sector delegation will travel to Iraq this week to seek the support of the Kurdistan Regional Government for the participation of South Korean companies in oil development projects there, the government said Monday.
The delegation will consist of 14 government and private sector officials, including from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Korea National Oil Corp. and SK Corp., the ministry said in a statement.
The officials will visit the country from Tuesday until Saturday, according to the statement.
The Kurdistan Regional Government rules over Iraqi Kurdistan, a region in northern Iraq relatively unscathed from the sectarian violence that has plagued the rest of the country.
Iraq is expected to hold international auctions this year offering 54 big oil blocks, the Korean commerce ministry said.
Earlier this month, Iraq completed drafting a hydrocarbons law that will allow foreign oil companies to start investing in Iraq's oil sector. The newly formed Iraqi National Oil Co. will oversee development.
Iraq has the world's third-biggest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Canada, but only about 10 percent of the country has been explored, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Resource-poor South Korea, the world's 10th-largest economy, imports virtually all of its oil.
South Korea oil delegation to visit Iraq
Books : dhrgham on Monday, January 22, 2007 5:11 PM-BT
إBig increase in the demand for the dollar and increase the participating banks
Dargham of Muhammad Ali
Baghdad - (Voices of Iraq)
The demand for dollar in the auction the Central Bank of Iraq at a meeting today, Monday, a big increase registered 104 million 40 thousand dollars to 50 million 755 thousand dollars at $ 54 million from a meeting yesterday, Sunday,.Such purchase orders between 18 million and 560 thousand dollars in cash and 85 million and 680 thousand dollars in the form of remittances outside the country, the Bank has full coverage at the exchange rate of 1298 dinars low two points on yesterday's exchange rate of 1300 dinars.
With the 16 banks submitted, the highest number of banks during the months participate in the meeting of one of the auction, bids for the sale of three million and 540 thousand dollars bought by the bank in full at the exchange rate reached 1296 dinars to the dollar.
He explained to Mr. Yasiri, one dealing with the bank, in a statement to the News Agency (Voices of Iraq) that the rise of independent circulation was expected with the clarity of the auction price policy and restricted to a limited number of points, so as to ensure greater stability of the market.
.Yasiri expected to remain at the level of good circulation and distinct seven days a week, stressing that he is not contained a drop to the level of circulation of over one hundred million barrier for more than two meetings per week, if it materializes, would be a quantum leap for the auction and more commitment to the Central Bank.
Translated version of http://www.aswataliraq.info/?newlang=ara
Cover the press; read in the newspapers of the day Baghdad
(Voice of Iraq) - 22-01-2007
This issue was sent to a friend
January 22, 2007
1. Fraternity
The first page
1-President of the Republic of Iraq, federal return to Iraq after an official visit to Syria, and called for dialogue with Washington.
Two-president of the Cordstan Cordstan congratulates Muslims in Iraq and the world on the occasion of the head of the new Hijri year.
3-president of the Cordstan the question of the implementation of Article 140 of the Constitution.
4 - Rally World Economic choose Mr. Barzani Najirfan among the most prominent youth leaders in the world for 2007.
5-President territory Cordstan Receives Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister federal.
6-Head of the territory Cordstan oversees the regular meeting of the ministerial and parliamentary blocs of the Democratic Party in the National Council Alcordstani Alcordstani Cordstan territory and the government.
7 - The arrival of 3200 American soldiers to Baghdad.
8-coalition Alcordstani announced welcomed the return of mass Sadri trend.
9-criticism to a new strategy for President Bush in Iraq.
10-Skinner to express the regret of the government towards the irregularity in the House of Representatives held its sessions.
11-Mr. Hoshyar Zebari, Khalilzad had PROBE developments in the security and the arrest of members of the Iranian link in Arbil.
The inner pages
One-president of the government of Cordstan at the opening ceremony of water project, the strategic city of Zakho.
2-Cordstan congratulates President of the Parliament by the new Hijri year.
3-Cordstan President of the Parliament and members of the coalition Alcordstani bloc in the Iraqi parliament denounced the meeting of the Turkish Parliament on Kirkuk.
4-Oil Minister : Oil new law considered the highest economic benefit to Iraq.
5-chairman of the pilgrimage : we offered a note of protest to Saudi Arabia for the position statement by the obstruction of pilgrims to Makkah.
Six-source Cordstani government denies knowledge of the territory Cordstan establishment of the Federal Council of oil and gas in Iraq.
7-signing of the city building (Ehfro) with a Turkish cost up to $ 300 million in Dahuk.
8-High Commission for the application of Article 140 decided to re-staff the deportees and separated and relocated to their jobs, in their regions.
2. European
The first page
1-President Talabani ends visit to Syria, and a joint statement the two sides Isaderan emphasizes improving bilateral relations and joint action to combat terrorism and uproot it.
2-Eminence, Mr. Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, welcomed the return of His Excellency President Jalal Talabani and discussed with him the results of his visit to Syria.
3-President of the Kurdistan : Kurdistani city of Kirkuk and Turkey fear threats.
4-Maliki called on the international community to stand by Iraq.
5-the House of Representatives to approve the allocation of $ 117 million of the card supply. Fifty-six new multinational reach Baghdad to help the Iraqi forces.
7-Construction and Housing is the status quo dilemma hamper projects.
8-Sadri return of the current parliament and the government.
9-signs of hope in the most heated parts of Iraq.
The inner pages
1-President Talabani return to Iraq after an official visit to the Syrian Arab Republic.
2 - The killing and wounding of 25 in the crash of an American helicopter and the explosion of two car bombs in Baghdad and Mosul.
3-Skinner denies statements made by the government on the vulnerability of Bush. Maliki threatening outlaws and declared that the security plan after days.
4-Political Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to discuss the latest situation in Iraq and the region.
5-Kurdistan Regional government denies informed of the draft bill of oil.
6-opening of the first trade exhibition in Arbil.
7 - Statement of the governorate of Kirkuk on the "Kirkuk 2007."
Eight-date next Thursday to reconsider a sentence against Ramadan. Prospective trials told (102) agents of Saddam.
9-Gates : Iraq is a crucial moment and failure is not an option.
3. New Sabah
The first page
1-frustrating process for the explosion of a booby-trapped car in the area.
2-formal announcement of the return of mass chest to the government and parliament.
3-Amerkeh force stationed in Kardag.
The inner pages
1-Damascus condemned the "terrorist attacks" against the Iraqi army and police.
2-President Talabani return to Iraq after an official visit to Syria.
3-Talabani, confirms the presence of Izzat league in Yemen and attend the wanted list.
4-America Turkey warns of the consequences of an attack on the PKK.
5-found the bodies of soldiers Amirkin and another wounded north of Hillah.
6-liberalization 3 abductees and control 110 tanks loaded with oil derivatives in Tikrit.
4. Conference
The first page
1-Damascus and Baghdad condemn all forms of terrorism.
Two-and the arrival of 3200 American soldiers to Baghdad.
3-(7) million and (600) thousand dollars, the new budget deficit.
4-Australia calls on the United Nations to play a greater role in Iraq.
Five-time next Thursday to reconsider the right Taha Yassin Ramadan.
The inner pages
1-Economists : support for oil derivatives, requires consideration of the price. 2-district councils calling for the picket today.
In addition to the three-brigade ODDS forces in Baghdad.
4 - The search for the perpetrators of the attack on the city of Karbala.
Five-official : any reservations to the oil must be made through the House of Representatives.
5. The Constitution
The first page
1-Talibani return to Iraq after a successful official visit to Syria lasted for weeks.
2-appointed commander of the plan to impose law which apply in Baghdad.
The inner pages
1-Almshahadani officially announced the return of mass chest to the government and parliament.
Two-Maliki instructed to facilitate the process of issuing passports to citizens.
3-Ahmed Chalabi, a member of the Task :1500 mid-February will be exempt from the body before uprooting the Baath.
4-Following the completion of the Army's referral of the case to the Court Shabaneh uprising.
5-diplomats following the crisis in Iraq reconsider protocols diplomacy with Iran.
6. The new evidence
The first page
One-Accord Front play the role of the son of the Americans and fool the Sadri movement to boycott the government and the parliament. Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia massing troops for the sharing of Iraq prior to his death.
2 - Allawi : the situation in Iraq wrong, and I am afraid slope towards more disaster.
3-Qaradawi slur against the Shiites in Iraq and accused of dislodging the year.
4-family tomb Tenbesh Hussein Kamel and Saddam body designed for dogs.
Five-American plan for the destruction of the Iranian air force and the rules of missiles and submarines.
6-Sunni armed factions declare a jihad against the Shiites with fire and iron.
7-provocative statements to officials in Washington, which promise to change the revival in the Baghdad government.
8-periodic attend a tribute to the memory of Saddam in the (intensity) in Sanaa.
The inner pages
1-Prime Minister attributed to take immediate action to address the weaknesses in the existing municipal services to all the labs and take a number of decisions.
2-Minister of Labor and Social Affairs announced on the distribution of subsidies through a network of social protection postal offices.
3-$ 151 million for the establishment of rehabilitation projects in the southern marshes of Iraq.
7. Evidence
The first page
One-two weeks after the liberation of Haifa Street. The impact of the martyrdom of the 20th citizen. And hundreds of families are still besieged. Palestinian snipers claim that the liberation of Jerusalem passes through Haifa Street.
2-Adviser to the Prime Minister. We are not obligated to implement the strategy of Bush and our security package.
3-Trade readying citizens quantities of the new rule flour.
4-Gurbia application of the law of the increase in the salaries of state employees.
5-Rice Anatzm fueling the conflict in Iraq through military action against Iran.
6-strict security measures on the anniversary of Ashura.
7-closure outlet Shalamjah border crossing between Iraq and Iran.
8 I-wife of the Emir and raped three women. Terrorist reveals the opinion exchange wives.
The inner pages
1-ask Bush to open direct dialogue with Damascus. Talabani : Iraqi government will submit a request to Damascus to hand them wanted to eliminate the Iraqi.
2-at the end of the Iraqi president's historic visit. Assad and Talabani confirm their cooperation to confront terrorism and support national reconciliation.
8. Middle East
The first page
1-directs close alliance with Iran, adding border posts in the south and reports on the American tendency to establish a base in Kurdistan.
2-Sadri trend due return for a promise to discuss parliamentary and claim to form a committee of five members to study the conditions.
3-Barzani : Kirkuk Kurdistani, and I will not fear Turkish threats and statements it Erdogan and Gul electoral propaganda.
4-Bush rejected an American proposal Maliki spread around Baghdad, Iraqi officials inside and in Washington reveal the hidden details of the consultations that preceded the declaration of the new strategy.
Five-way tie : 18 positive between Iraq and Bahrain in a game where the two teams sharing control of its game.
6-British official : delivering security to the Iraqis this year, but promised our departure has not been set.
7-Jordanian children trying to hang himself "sad" to Saddam.
The inner pages
1-Baghdad : 27 killed and one injured in two explosions inside the bus and an abortive attempt to introduce a car bomb to the Green Zone, killing 12 American soldiers injured.
2 - (3200) American troops arriving in Baghdad in the framework of the new strategy.
Three journalists-Iraqis have lived in the worst of them in 2006 and 74 of them were killed and 31 wounded in attacks during the year.
4 - "Middle East" live with the daily lives of young people in the capital and violence prevents Baghdad to the prison of their inhabitants.
5-Maliki tried to confront Bush requesting more powers and not forces ... The American President and his aides had come to the conviction last year of the political and security alone will not bring stability to Iraq.
6-Sadr trend end boycott of the Iraqi government and parliament amid American pressure to undermine the influence of the militias loyal to him.
7 British official :-partisan rivalry southern Iraq could lead to a dangerous instability and ruled out in an interview with the "Middle East" and the integration of entire units of the former Iraqi army to the new army.
9. Azzaman
The first page
1-(10) car hit the 10 thousand visitors element for the protection of Ashura. Gunmen wearing the uniform of the American forces caught plan Karbala and senior officials banned from entering the police headquarters.
2-committee files espionage begin work in Kurdistan. [Judge] Rzkar Secretary : Defendants and published documents form the base of the investigations.
Three-raising government support for turning $ 21 billion of debt and Shahrastani referring to a fresh rise in fuel prices. 4-Iranian infiltrators arrested in Mosul and two vice Urbian hold Tehran responsible for fueling sectarian strife in Iraq.
Five-financial deny the application of new salary scales in April.
6 - The arrival of 3200 American troops to secure Baghdad.
7-Sadri trend is for the government and parliament after two months of suspension.
The inner pages
1-Bush defends tomorrow before Congress on his plan in Iraq and the Democrats oppose sending troops and agree with the funding.
2-Iraqi forces are preparing to take over the security file in Mahmoudia.
3-arrest of Sheikh Aldlem clan member body, scientists in Tikrit, killing representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Salahuddin at the hands of a woman.
4-Gates explores Iranian influence in Basra and Baghdad and Washington Tstdrkan war of statements between Maliki and the Bush administration.
5-Jaafari confirms Iraqi security management plan.
6-Maliki calls on the international community to support Iraq in the face of terrorism.
7-Talibani : Baghdad requests from Damascus wanted on the delivery of non-political crimes.
8-retired officers : Asking the government to restore the prestige of the army. Poor training of the forces behind the continued worsening security.
10. Long
The first page
1-in the final statement of Talabani's visit to Syria. Support for the political process and the condemnation of terrorist acts
2-terrorists fire burned one oil wells south of Kirkuk
3-American forces stationed in the district Kardag Balslimaneh
4-on the first of March. Oil : an increase in the price of a liter of petrol to 400 dinars. 5-budget 2007 dinars declining by 13% to the devaluation of the dollar 6-strategic implementation of the new Bush. The arrival of 3200 American troops to Baghdad
7 in the game - the most in the Gulf to 18. Our team National tied with his Bahraini
The inner pages
1-killed nine terrorists and the arrest of 83 suspects. The martyrdom of six citizens in a car bomb explosion in the Karadah
2-5th Marine recognizes his involvement in the crime Hamdaniyah
3-bloc chest terminate its participation in parliament and the government
4-in the presence of the president of the government of Kurdistan. The opening of a water project in Dahuk Zakho
5-at the end of his visit President Talabani Syria. The signing of a number of agreements on political, economic, trade and water. And the emphasis on supporting the political process and the success of the draft interests 6-BELT one of the owners of processions Husseinieh from an assassination attempt. The abduction of a rich sweet. Diwaniyah : American forces impartial police of weapons and fired indiscriminately.
11. Morning
The first page
1-Prime Minister : Iraq on the threshold of a new stage and win Sisterhood.
2-Syria condemns terrorism and chest and back Rice apologize and Maliki affirmed the continuation of American support. Gallery political debate in the orbit of the security plan.
The inner pages
One brigade-American will deploy four brigades on the way to Baghdad. Democrats continue rivalry with the White House and Rice rejects rapprochement with Damascus and Tehran.
Two-Muslim Scholars of Iraq establish branches in southern Basra.
3 - 4, the House of Representatives approved a number of important draft laws after the return of the Sadri movement from the suspension of its membership. 4-After extended version bearing the symbol (n) four editions of passports remain valid.
5-Justice and Finance are beginning to count the duration of the political chapter to the people politically.
12. Justice
The first page
One-Maliki : fighting terrorism on behalf of humanity, we call on the world to stand by our side to defeat terrorism.
2-the House of Representatives voted to amend the laws of the building and the births, deaths and extend the work of the Electoral Commission.
3-Al Sheikh. Difficulties faced pilgrimage and pilgrims.
4-establishment of a security hot line between Baghdad and Damascus. Al-Bayati : Talabani's visit to Syria had established the two countries will serve their interests.
Five-and the Ministry of Oil completed the first phase of the memorial meters export. - 6 : Zebari calls neighboring countries to make possible assistance for Iraq to achieve security and stability.
7-Basra Governorate Council decides to open outlet Shalamcheh.
8-Tehran is prepared to consider any formal request to negotiate with Washington over issues.
9 - and the Ministry of Oil : complete the first phase of the memorial meters export.
The inner pages
One-in the presence of Mr. Hakim and the Prime Minister. The United Iraqi Alliance held an important meeting. 2-Almshahadani officially announced the return of mass chest to the government and parliament.
3-Report reveals the investigation of corruption within the range of the Ministry of Defense.
13. Orient
The first page
One-dead and wounded by an explosive device inside a bus Balkradh. The bomb explosion in Beirut Square.
2-Sadri trend : Latin flare confrontation.
3 - The killing of 20 American soldiers in Iraq on exorbitant costs, including five killed in bloody clashes in Karbala.
4-arrest of three Iranians in Mosul.
5-Taskhiri accused Israel of being behind the strife in Lebanon and Iraq : Qaradawi Iran lighted sedition calling for the Shiites in the Sunni countries.
Six-three Iranians arrested in Mosul.
The inner pages
1-at the end of the Iraqi president's historic visit. Assad and Talabani confirm their cooperation to confront terrorism and support national reconciliation.
2-Musawi : The current year will witness a third trial of the symbols of the former regime.
3-Congress undertakes bringing President Bush on the war in Iraq.
Talabani :70-4% of the victims of violence Shiites.
5-British authorities intervened to persuade Google images rules hiding in Iraq from the site.
6-AMERICAN OFFICIAL : earlier decision to withdraw American forces from Iraq will take the next president.
7-Burns (Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs) : Kirkuk issue for the Iraqis alone.
8-Turki Al Faisal : not abided by the hands of George Bush in Iraq.
14. The statement
The first page
One-Maliki called on the international community to stand by Iraq.
2-bloc boycott ends chest and declares return to Parliament and the government.
3-A committee of the distribution of housing units among staff. 4-Amrani planning for a new holy town of Karbala.
5 - who is recognized : Damascus wanted list, pending completion of the security measures for them.
The inner pages
1- وزارة الأعمار تبدأ تحضيراتها لمعرض إعادة أعمار العراق.
2-Syria supply of wheat to Iraq to meet the requirements of the ration card.
In the following the most important Honduras editorials and opinion articles for today :
One-battle of Baghdad-Falah torch - (morning)
The writer stresses that the battle of Baghdad will be the deciding factor in resolving the situation with terrorist formations which have created many of the outposts and areas of deployment and support within Baghdad, which represents advanced lines of their background outside Baghdad
And the writer says that the government of President Al-Maliki was intent on waging a battle and the freeing of Baghdad and the entire nation from the evils of terrorism and heinous crimes, and that a special security plan is about to launch and begin implementing its terms or pages with determination and national
And adds that the battle of Baghdad, which constitute pages later of the story of struggle and conflict waged by Iraqis against the terrorists and enemies of freedom and democracy, the last bet for the American President George Bush, according to the belief of many political observers, which push the American President to uphold its strategy of new and contained sending more troops and the American forces to Iraq and fight the battle against the forces of terrorism, and to conquer them in Iraq.
And the writer. The common goal between the Iraqi and American combat and eradicate terrorism in Iraq requires a high degree of coordination of military and political, whether internally or for the Iraqi neighboring states, which is in some lines of supply and support for terrorists and their organizations spade different, and also at the local level, which requires a public for the attribution of the Iraqi government to get rid of the draft murder who works for terrorists.
The new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for 'transparent and fair' competition, oil minister says
International Herald Tribune - [22/01/2007]
A new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for "transparent and fair" competition in bids to develop Iraq's oil wealth, the oil minister said Sunday as he seeks to restore the confidence of global oil companies in the national industry.
The oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, said that new oil fields will be added as new tenders will be issued according to this law for global oil companies.
"The competition will be transparent and fair and companies will be chosen according to their modern technological capabilities to guarantee the highest benefits for Iraqis," al-Shahristani said at a news conference. "We will not consider their nationalities and we will ignore any contract doesn't achieve the highest benefits."
Al-Shahristani refused to say how long the law will take to be approved by the parliament and did not release more details about the negotiating mechanisms the ministry will adopt for dealing with global companies.
The oil minister also cautioned that attacks against oil installations and employees were increasing, saying that 289 oil employees were killed over the past year and 179 others were wounded.
"The ministry is always suffering from these terrorist attacks. I call upon all honest people to cooperate with the oil ministry in order to find those who are attacking the employees of this sector and provide us with any related information," he said.
Insurgents have frequently targeted oil facilities, pipelines and employees, disrupting exports and efforts to modernize the industry.
The new law, if approved, is expected to encourage foreign oil companies with their huge investment clout and technology to quickly modernize Iraq's oil sector and meet the country's goal of doubling the current crude production of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2010.
The oil minister stressed that all Iraqis will share in the benefits amid concern by many Sunnis that they will lose out as the country's two chief oil region — in southern and northern Iraq — are dominated by Shiites and Kurds, who want regional control over oil production and revenues.
Iraq's Sunni Muslims and much of the Baghdad government want to maintain national control over Iraq's petroleum resources as was the case during former leader Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
"The constitution states that oil and gas are for all Iraqis in all provinces and regions and according to this conception we drafted this oil law to help promote Iraq's unity and prosperity of its people," he said.
Last Thursday, the ministry's spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press that the law stresses that all oil revenues will go to a central fund, then will be distributed to all Iraqis in all regions and provinces according to their populations.
Jihad added that the law provided for all oil contracts signed by Saddam's regime or by the semiautonomous northern government of Kurdistan to be reviewed and amended if needed.
Iraq's proven oil reserves stand at about 115 billion barrels, the world's third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
On a technical matter, al-Shahristani said that a new metering system to track oil and gas flows from Iraq's southern export ports has been fixed.
Iraq's economy has been severely weakened by oil smuggling to neighboring countries, a problem that could be checked in part by the presence of a metering system. The smuggling has created a fuel crisis that leads to occasional shortages even though Iraq is one of the world's leading producers of oil.
Some experts believe that oil smuggling may be funding Iraq's insurgency.
concerning the article U.S.-tailored Iraqi Oil Alarm for Producers, Consumers
By Nicola Nasser
650 thousand dead ? ? since march 2003 ------- AIN'T NO WAY
Interesting,
As for 80 tons of gold, no way, never way, never would be, this is way out there and totally impossible. We know there were articles of gold, but as was mentioned, 4 tons was all that was mentioned. We also know there were assets hidden by Saddam and his cronies, but much of the gold has already been located, and it only amounted to a couple more tons, so I doubt there will be more than 7 tons when all is accounted for.
Good luck to all, Mike
I believe we lost the archives after the DDOS attack. However, I am sure someone saved the article with the link....It was definitely $800 billion in gold reserves SPECIFICALLY for backing the Iraqi currency.
In fact SGS made a statement after the post about the fact that Iraq's currency was obviously fully backed and that the $3.22 was not arbitrary.
....Someone??? Anyone with the article please post it.
This is fact....$800 billion in gold. Translate that into 1980's prices, which ranged from $300 - $400/oz and you get approximately 80 tons.
No it's not way out there....It was posted several times....$800 billion in gold. In the 1980's that's approximately 80 tons. Today that's approximately $1.5 Trillion.
I am not speaking of the lost gold found within Iraq and elsewhere. I am speaking of gold which is stored at the Swiss Depository to back a particular countries currency. Any country today whose currency is still on the gold standard would need far more than 4 tons to so.
Anyway. I was shocked also. But I read and reread that article....Definitely $800 billion at 1980's prices.
80 tons is 160,000 lbs of gold multiplied by 16 oz per pound is 2,560,000 oz of gold multiplied by oh... lets just say $400 per oz that's $1,024,000,000.
Some one correct me if I'm wrong but that's only a little over 1 billion dollars but hey.. that's still a lot of gold.
Anyway, I don't think there is any plan for Iraq to back the Dinar with gold. Is there any country today that backs their currency with gold? I'm thinking that most all if not all countries prefer a fiat system which is much easier to manipulate.
Besides all this, Iraq has the resources to develope a very strong economy not only with its huge potential oil industry but various other industries that will do much to support the Dinar. Just my opinion.
This is all I have about the gold
Translated version of http://al-moharer.net/moh198/fouad198a.htm
Iraq is in part supporting its economy by the gold reserves
and other assets it stole from Kuwait during the Gulf War. It
is estimated by Intelligence reports that Iraq stole $4
billion in gold from Kuwaiti government coffers.
Iraq Sanctions Case
Papo2 could you post the details of that report. I was away freom my puter and home and did not get a chance to see it. Thanks BOB
RODNEY EWALT. When calculating the price of gold gold is measured by the troy ounce. 12 troy oz to the dollar. I be leave that is correct. BOB
any word if they conducted the 2nd or 3rd readings in parliment today?
You are off by 3 zeroes....It's trillion. The amount of gold was not quoted...It was the value which was stated as $800 Billion (with a "B") at 1980's prices. So I know we are talking in the trillions today.
I am not saying they will be on the gold standard, but they were then, as were most other countries in the Mideast at that time.
[QUOTE=bob1940;160411]Papo2 could you post the details of that report. I was away freom my puter and home and did not get a chance to see it. Thanks BOB
It was only about a guy who started a Dinar dealership. The hows and whys. Nothing too specific to the dinar other than it has grown in value since Sept. Nothing earth shattering.
From the WTO site.. Dated 2004, and probably already posted, but here it is again. BTW, I am still trying to determine if the Iraqi Dinar needs to be internationally traded as a prerequisite for accession into the WTO. Any help would be appreciated...Pogo
WTO NEWS: 2004 NEWS ITEMS
13 December 2004
GENERAL COUNCIL 13 DECEMBER 2004
Accession working parties established for Afghanistan, Iraq
The General Council, on 13 December 2004, established working parties to examine, respectively, the membership applications of Afghanistan and Iraq.
150pxls.gif (76 bytes)
SEE ALSO:
> press releases
> news archives
> Supachai Panitchpakdi’s speeches
Find out more:
> Accessions in general
Afghanistan was invited to attend meetings of the General Council, and as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer.
Ambassador Assad Omer, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, in thanking members, said that after two decades of conflict, his government has significantly improved the economic climate.
“The peaceful completion of our first direct presidential elections ... has heralded a new era of political stability”, he said.
Ambassador Omer said that his country hoped to re-establish itself as the land bridge for trans-continental trade.
“We believe that participation in the international trading system will lead to more trade, investment, technology transfer, employment and income growth throughout the economy”, he said.
Iraq was invited to continue attending meetings of the General Council and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies as an observer.
Trade Minister Mohammed Mustafa Al-Jibouri said his country viewed the decision as “yet another contribution on the part of the WTO to Iraq's efforts to reform its economy”.
He said that since the General Council's decision last February to grant observer status to Iraq, his government has started accession preparations in earnest, including the drafting of its Foreign Trade Regime Memorandum and the creation of a National Committee for WTO Accession.
“The new Iraq looks with great optimism at achieving political stability, economic prosperity and social development ... we believe that our reintegration into the world trading system is an essential element to fulfil those aims,” he said.
Regarding another membership request, that from Iran, the Chairman, Ambassador Shotaro Oshima of Japan, reported on his recent consultations. He said that although it was clear that a large part of the membership continued to be supportive of an early and positive action on this request, there was still no consensus at that stage to accept the request and to set up a working party for this purpose.
150pxls.gif (76 bytes)
Link WTO | News - 2004 News items - Accession working parties established for Afghanistan, Iraq
Same old song...but, nice to see a little change.
Forex Web Site "Bets" On Iraqi Dinar - Street Signs - MSNBC.com
12 minutes ago
Forex Web Site "Bets" On Iraqi Dinar
Posted By:Greg Levine
Do you feel lucky? That's the question posed by Jeffrey Pasquarella's brainchild: BetOnIraq.com -- a Web site he founded to give brave investors the chance to buy Iraq's restructured currency--the 'new' dinar.
Pasquarella told CNBC's Erin Burnett that 4,000 customers have used the site's foreign exchange service over the past three years, with the "average customer" scooping up (U.S.) $300 worth of Iraqi dinars apiece.
Little by little, the risk -- so far -- is paying off: the post-Hussein-regime currency was valued at 1,477 dinars to the Yankee greenback as of September; today, it only took 1,299 dinars to buy a dollar.:beer:
Perhaps the thrill of financial danger is as rewarding as the idea of buttressing a fledgling democracy: Pasquarella, a coin and banknote collector, declared that "if this were 1947," he'd be hungrily eyeing postwar German deutschmarks and Japanese yen...
Iraq's new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for 'transparent and fair' competition, oil minister says
International Herald Tribune - [22/01/2007]
A new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for "transparent and fair" competition in bids to develop Iraq's oil wealth, the oil minister said Sunday as he seeks to restore the confidence of global oil companies in the national industry.
The oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, said that new oil fields will be added as new tenders will be issued according to this law for global oil companies.
"The competition will be transparent and fair and companies will be chosen according to their modern technological capabilities to guarantee the highest benefits for Iraqis," al-Shahristani said at a news conference. "We will not consider their nationalities and we will ignore any contract doesn't achieve the highest benefits."
Al-Shahristani refused to say how long the law will take to be approved by the parliament and did not release more details about the negotiating mechanisms the ministry will adopt for dealing with global companies.
The oil minister also cautioned that attacks against oil installations and employees were increasing, saying that 289 oil employees were killed over the past year and 179 others were wounded.
"The ministry is always suffering from these terrorist attacks. I call upon all honest people to cooperate with the oil ministry in order to find those who are attacking the employees of this sector and provide us with any related information," he said.
Insurgents have frequently targeted oil facilities, pipelines and employees, disrupting exports and efforts to modernize the industry.
The new law, if approved, is expected to encourage foreign oil companies with their huge investment clout and technology to quickly modernize Iraq's oil sector and meet the country's goal of doubling the current crude production of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2010.
The oil minister stressed that all Iraqis will share in the benefits amid concern by many Sunnis that they will lose out as the country's two chief oil region — in southern and northern Iraq — are dominated by Shiites and Kurds, who want regional control over oil production and revenues.
Iraq's Sunni Muslims and much of the Baghdad government want to maintain national control over Iraq's petroleum resources as was the case during former leader Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
"The constitution states that oil and gas are for all Iraqis in all provinces and regions and according to this conception we drafted this oil law to help promote Iraq's unity and prosperity of its people," he said.
Last Thursday, the ministry's spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press that the law stresses that all oil revenues will go to a central fund, then will be distributed to all Iraqis in all regions and provinces according to their populations.
Jihad added that the law provided for all oil contracts signed by Saddam's regime or by the semiautonomous northern government of Kurdistan to be reviewed and amended if needed.
Iraq's proven oil reserves stand at about 115 billion barrels, the world's third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
On a technical matter, al-Shahristani said that a new metering system to track oil and gas flows from Iraq's southern export ports has been fixed.
Iraq's economy has been severely weakened by oil smuggling to neighboring countries, a problem that could be checked in part by the presence of a metering system. The smuggling has created a fuel crisis that leads to occasional shortages even though Iraq is one of the world's leading producers of oil.
Some experts believe that oil smuggling may be funding Iraq's insurgency.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3000
Bob Cesca
Unsolved Mystery: The Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law (14 comments )
READ MORE: Baghdad, Dick Cheney, Tony Snow, ExxonMobil, BP p.l.c., Virginia, McLean
Finding information about the much-discussed but barely reported Iraqi hydrocarbon law has been about as easy as finding information about which specific breed of puppy the vice president uses in his top secret ghoul smoothies. (Answer: all of them. The VPOTUS has also mentioned in private that adorable baby orangutans are "crumbelievable.") Hence, my daily search to learn more about the law has met with results ranging from brief mentions by Tony Snow to the repetition of the same information first reported by The Independent.
But TomPaine.com is now reporting that the controversial profit-sharing agreements (PSAs) have been stripped (in theory) from the law.
The PSAs, as originally reported by The Independent, would have allowed Western oil robber barons to slip into Baghdad and hork Iraqi oil for 30 years and, in the near term, the PSAs would've allowed Vice President Cheney's advisors at Shell, Exxon-Mobil and BP to keep around 75 percent of the profits.
The legislation was brokered by the financially embattled BearingPoint corporation in McLean, Virginia, and The Independent further reported that as much as $117,000 was donated to both Bush campaigns, in addition to other contributions to several ranking Republicans on the House defense appropriations subcommittee. BearingPoint's Iraq contract from your federal government? $240 million, according to The Independent.
The president's escalation plan and the passage of the hydrocarbon law, which is expected by March, are converging in a spooky yet well-lubricated coitus and all but confirms many of our suspicions that the president's most excellent adventure has, indeed, been about oil profits and his own 2004 re-election plans (see his remarks regarding war presidents). Reuters reports:
"Passing an oil law to help settle potentially explosive disputes among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian communities over the division of oil reserves has been a key demand of the United States in providing further military support to the government."
That'd be your escalation-slash-oil "coincidence." In the same article, which primarily reported on the passage of the law in the Iraqi Oil Committee, Reuters buried the following quote on page four of their story:
"If the legal problems are solved by the oil law, that's good news," said a senior Western oil executive.
"But security issues are a much bigger issue. The big money will not go to Baghdad unless it's convinced that employees and contractors won't be abducted, shot or killed."
Of course reducing the violence in Baghdad should be a huge priority... so civilians can walk the streets and eat and go to work and worship without, you know, dying. But dammit, securing the streets of Baghdad with American blood so Rich Western Oil Executive White Guy X can breathe easier? Sorry, no.
And now, even without the thievery of the PSAs, it looks like there's still language in the law that will allow the oil companies to get what they were (allegedly) promised in those secret energy policy meetings with Vice President Cheney.
Antonia Juhasz, a visiting scholar at Institute for Policy Studies, reports for TomPaine.com that no-one really knows the actual specifics of the law, including and especially the Iraqi people. Secrecy, after all, is the hallmark of Bush-style democracy (secretive democracy is not unlike, say, pro-Jew Nazism). What is known, however, is:
"[The hydrocarbon law] also grants foreign oil companies "national treatment," which means that the Iraqi government cannot give preference to Iraqi oil companies (whether public or privately owned) over foreign-owned companies when it chooses contractors. This provision alone will severely cripple the government's ability to ensure that Iraqis gain as much economic benefit as possible from their oil."
So here's a thumbnail of what we could be facing in the coming months and years.
--After the hydrocarbon law is passed, an enormous influx in Big Oil lobbyists and negotiators will certainly ride into Baghdad like well-dressed ticks clinging tenaciously to the necks of our soldiers -- thirsty and driven to apply an onslaught of coercive pressure on the weak and vulnerable Iraqi government. Their goal: to attain epic deals not unlike the ones previewed by the apparently defunct PSAs
--As huge oil profits are fleeced from the Iraqi people by Western multinationals, insurgents will be further motivated to continue the civil war. Presuming that security will dictate Big Oil's level of activity in Baghdad, the violence won't be as significant there but you can count on continued and increased bloodshed in Anbar province and elsewhere.
--The Sunnis, who lack any real oil, and their allies in al-Qaeda will be further motivated to seek revenge on Western and Shi'ite targets inside and outside of Iraq. American soldiers and Iraqi civilians will continue to be caught in the middle of it all -- at least until 2009, with blowback stretching deep into the future.
Tell me again, Bush Republicans, how this isn't about oil. Tell me again, Bush Republicans, how this helps to end the civil war and prevents further terrorism.
Tuesday night, in his State of the Union address, the president might comment about the Iraqi oil law and he'll do his very best to make it taste just like a peach -- wealth and unity for the Iraqi people and such. Two years ago, in his 2005 State of the Union, it was all about the purple fingers. Two years ago, he predicted great victories for our soldiers and the Iraqi citizens as the result of the purple fingers. Congressmen embarrassed themselves by strutting around with purple fingers as if they had personal blood invested in the effort for the Iraqi vote. Two years later, things are worse. The destruction and secrecy and the back-room deals continue. The civil war and occupation and profiteering escalates. And the mainstream press continues to ignore this law: a disgusting and perverse side of the Iraq story. In her article, Antonia Juhasz mentioned an opportunity to make some news tomorrow:
On January 23, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold a hearing to investigate "oil and reconstruction strategy in Iraq." This offers a critical opportunity to demand a cessation of all U.S. government and corporate influence over Iraqis as to the future of their oil.
The Blog | Bob Cesca: Unsolved Mystery: The Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law | The Huffington Post
hi' thank you for this info. and the web- site; it really help me to understand. the currancy conver. was not sure where to exchange my dinars are when. thanks
Municipality prepares program to improve services
The Baghdad Municipality has prepared a wide program to rehabilitate and upgrade the municipality services in hot neighborhoods in Baghdad in cooperation and coordination with security and services committee headed by Dr. Salam az-Zobai' the Iraqi deputy prime minister.
The informational spokesman of the municipality told as-Sabah that the work program will be synchronized with the security plan, the Iraqi government determines to implement over the next days, indicating that the program will include dividing Baghdad neighborhoods to 4 sectors, 2 in Karkh and 2 in Rusafa.
Source: Al Sabaah
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Posted on Monday, January 22
Kirkuk committee agrees on compensating displaced people
An authorized source in the higher committee of applying item 140 said that the committee has issued during its last meeting important decisions on the aspect of normalizing Kirkuk situation.
Source showed that the committee has gathered and headed by minister of law head of the committee and agreed on returning evacuated people of all sectors to their original areas with the allocation of pieces of land for each family and compensation of 10 million diners with recommendation for returning discharged employees to their work.
Source: Al Sabaah
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Posted on Monday, January 22 @