Thread: Iraqi/Dinar News History 2-3-07 thru 3-5-07(at 11:30am cst)

Anatomy of Iraq
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Posted GMT 3-2-2007 21:36:45
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It's make it or break it in Iraq in 2007. Or so we are told, as America nears four years of costly efforts in Iraq. But how did we get to this situation, to this fury over a war once supported by 70 percent of the public and a majority of Congress, but now orphaned by both?

How did a serious country, one that endured Antietam, sent a million doughboys to Europe in a mere year, survived Pearl Harbor, Monte Cassino, Anzio, the Bulge, Tarawa, Iwo and Okinawa, the Yalu, Choisun, Hue and Tet, come to the conclusion -- between the news alerts about Britney Spears' shaved head and fights over Anna Nicole Smith's remains -- that Iraq, in the words of historically minded Democratic senators, was the "worst" and the "greatest" "blunder," "disaster," and "catastrophe" in our "entire" history?

Even with all the tragic suffering, our losses, by the standard of past American wars, have not been unprecedented, especially given the magnitude of the undertaking -- namely, traveling 7,000 miles to remove a dictator and foster democracy in the heart of the ancient caliphate. This was not a 1953 overthrow of an Iranian parliamentarian. Nor was it a calculated 1991 decision to let the Shiite and Kurdish revolts be crushed by Saddam. And it was most certainly not a cynical ploy to pit Baathist Iraq against theocratic Iran. Instead, it was an effort to allow an electorate to replace a madman.

There were always potential landmines that could go off, here and abroad, if the news from the battlefield proved to be dispiriting.

First, George Bush ran for president as a realist, who turned Wilsonian only after 9/11, in the belief that removing Saddam and leaving democracy in his wake could break up the nexus between Middle Eastern terrorism and autocracy.

But his conservative base was always skeptical of anything even approaching internationalist activism. And his Democratic opponents were not about to concede his idealism. So when times got tough, the president's chief reservoir of diehard supporters proved to be principled Lieberman Democrats and McCain Republicans -- neither group a natural majority nor, after 2000, with any natural affinity for the president.

Second, after the relatively easy victories in Grenada, Panama, the Gulf War, Serbia, and Afghanistan, the American public became accustomed to removing thugs in weeks and mostly by air and light ground-support. All during the 1990s, the more we made use of the military the more we cut it, until things came to a head in Iraq in a postwar effort that has been both long and confined largely to the ground.

Since the most recent conflicts had been a far cry from the mess of Vietnam, Democrats saw that the upside of regaining lost stature on national security outweighed the dangers of being charged with war-mongering from hard-core leftists. And so they outdid themselves and the president in loudly voting for Iraq -- but apparently only as long as casualties were to be minimal and public and media support steadfast and overwhelming.

There were numerous reasons to remove Saddam -- 23, according to the Congress that authorized the war -- but the administration privileged just one, the sensible fear of weapons of mass destruction. That was legitimate and understandable, and would prove effective so long as either a postwar weapons-trove turned up or the war and its aftermath finished without a hitch.

Unfortunately neither proved to be the case. So with that prime rationale discredited, the partisan Congress suddenly reinvented itself in protesting that it had really voted for war on only one cause, not 23. And when the news and evidence both went bad, that lone reason was now pronounced null and void and hardly a basis for war.

Third, Afghanistan also loomed large. Right after 9/11, Afghanistan, rather than secular and once-defeated Iraq, was seen as the tougher nut to crack, that warlords' mountainous graveyard of British and Russian imperial troops. But when the Taliban fell in eight weeks, and a consensual government was in place within a year, then by that optimistic arithmetic, the three weeks it took to remove Saddam might mean less than six months before new elections could be held there. Suddenly the old prewar warnings of thousands of Americans dead were forgotten, as the public apparently assumed the peace in Iraq would ensue in half the time it took in Afghanistan. This analogy has proven inapt.

Fourth, this war was debated through one election and fought through two. Given the prewar furor over Iraq, the miraculous three-week victory over Saddam lent itself to a natural tendency afterwards to be conservative, hoarding hard-won -- but easily lost -- political capital.

So, with each new challenge -- the looting, the first pullback from Fallujah, the reprieve given Sadr -- the administration hesitated. Understandably it was afraid to lose broad public support for the conflict, or to restart a war already won, since that would only incite an inherently hostile media that had been temporarily muzzled, but not defanged, by an astounding victory.

Apparently, after the announcement of "Mission Accomplished," and leading up to the 2004 elections, no one wanted CNN broadcasting live footage from a new siege of Hue in Fallujah. In the process, public support for the war was insidiously and slowly lost, by an Abu Ghraib or a grotesque televised beheading unanswered by a tough American retaliation against the militias. The terrorists learned from our own domestic calculus that each month of televised IEDs was worth one or two U.S. senators suddenly dropping their support for the war.

Fifth, the Sunni border-nations wanted Saddam defanged, but never removed entirely. Muslim lamentations for Saddam's slaughter of his own were always trumped by his usefulness in keeping down the Shiite fanatics, both in Iran and at home. But the enemy of my enemy in the Middle East is not always my friend, so the Shiites did not instinctively thank the Americans who removed Saddam, or who gave them the franchise.

The result was Orwellian: We allowed the downtrodden Shiite majority one person / one vote, and in exchange Sadr and his epigones were freed to kill us; we championed Sunni minority-rights and got in exchange Sunni tolerance for Baathist and al Qaeda killers.

Through it all, competent and professional American diplomats and soldiers who sought peace for both were libeled by both. Islamists, taking their talking points from the American and European Left, complained about conspiracies and expropriations on the part of those who had in fact ensured that Iraqi petroleum would, for the first time, be subject to public transparency and autonomy.

Sixth, Europeans who profited from Saddam probably wanted Saddam gone, but wanted the U.S. to do it. In the same manner they profit from Iran, yet want Iran quieted and the U.S. to do it. In the same manner they want terrorists rounded up, jailed, and renditioned, but the U.S. to do it.

All the while a Chirac abroad was whipping up the Arab Street, or a Schroeder was awarding financial credits to Germans doing business with the Iranian theocracy, or a Spain or an Italy or a Germany was indicting the very American military and intelligence officers who protected them.

The European philosophy on the Iraq war was to play the anti-American card to envious European crowds all the way up to that delicate point of irrevocably offending the United States. Then, but only then, pull back abruptly with whimpers about NATO, the Atlantic relationship, and Western solidarity, just before a riled America gets wise and itself pulls away from these ingrates for good.

Somehow a war to remove a mass-murdering psychopath -- a psychopath with his hands on a trillion-dollars worth of petroleum reserves, with a long record of attacking four of his neighbors and of harboring and subsidizing terrorists -- who, once removed, would be replaced with the first truly consensual government in the history of the Arab Middle East, ended up being perceived, for all the reasons cited above, as something it was not.

But if we have an orphaned war that is dubbed lost, it nevertheless can still be won. None of our mistakes has been fatal; none is of a magnitude unprecedented in past wars; all have been cataloged; and few are now being repeated. We now understand the politics of our Iraqi odyssey, with all its triangulations, and the ruthlessness of our enemies.

Not arguments, rhetoric, pleading, or money right now can save the democracy in Iraq. The U.S. military alone, in the very little remaining time of this spring and summer, can give Iraqis the necessary window of security and confidence to govern and protect themselves, and thereby to allow the donors, peacekeepers, compromises, and conferences to follow.

If General Petraeus can bring a quiet to Baghdad, then all the contradictions, mistakes, cheap rhetoric, and politicking of the bleak past will mean nothing in a brighter future.

By Victor Davis Hanson
National Review Online

© 2007, Assyrian International News Agency.

Iraqis agree over oil wealth policy




02 March 2007
Cabinet passes law that will see revenues spread across country
Iraq's Cabinet has finally endorsed a landmark draft oil law in a move seen as crucial in determining how the country's oil wealth will be shared by its ethnic and sectarian groups.


In a political milestone the Cabinet, which includes members of the country's three main sectarian-political blocs the Shia, Sunni Arabs and the Kurds voted unanimously in favour of the legislation.


The move is a step towards ending the long-running stalemate over the powers of Iraq's federal and regional governments.


Passing a law to help settle potentially explosive disputes over theworld's third largest oil reserves has been a key demand of the US, which has linked it to continuing support for the Shi'ite-led national unity government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.


Under the draft oil law, regional administrations will be empowered to negotiate contracts with Western oil companies.


These contracts will be reviewed by a central government committee in Baghdad, headed by the prime minister.


The law still has to be approved by the Iraqi parliament, which is out of session until next week. A number of key documents need to be written to complete the full legislative package, which will govern the oil industry.


Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said Iraq's leaders had pledged to have the new law enacted by the end of May.


"The Cabinet endorsement...represents a major breakthrough for Iraq's political and economic transition," added Salih, who is also head of the committee that drafted the law.


Under the new law, revenues will be distributed to all 18 provinces based on the population size, a concession to the Sunni Arabs in central and western Iraq.


Most of the country's vast proven oil reserves are in the Kurdish north and the Shi'ite south, leaving many Sunnis fearful they will miss out on any windfall should the overall security situation improve enough to substantially boost production.


The draft law will allow the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to review existing contracts it has signed with foreign firms, to ensure consistency with the terms of the new law, Salih said.


Agreement on the law had been held up partly because officials from Kurdistan, where relative security has encouraged more development than elsewhere in Iraq, said they wanted assurances a new federal council will not invalidate their existing contracts.


In recent months, the KRG has signed oil exploration and development contracts with Norway's DNODNO, the Turkish-Canadian Genel-Addax, Canada's Western-Zagros, and Turkish-US PetPrime and A&T Energy.


The KRG said it didn't envisage any further changes being necessary on these contracts, but said it would submit them to the draft law's independent panel of experts. "to ensure that they meet Iraq-wide required standards. In the meantime, investment will continue under those contracts".


DNODNO said the new draft law appeared "more or less" in line with what it hoped for and affirmed plans to produce on average 7700 barrels per day in northern Iraq this year.


The law will also restructure the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC) as an independent holding company and establish a Federal Council as a forum for national oil policy.


INOC will have affiliated regional operating companies and the oil ministryoil ministry will be the regulator for the sector.


Iraq needs billions of dollars in foreign investment in order to reconstruct its oil industry. Production has fallen to less than 2 million bpd, down from 2.5 million bpd before the war.


Oil executives said a consensus has formed on what future oil contracts should look like despite a backdrop of bickering between Baghdad and the Kurdish authority over control of oil revenues and whether a national oil company should oversee contract negotiations.


Iraqi officials have indicated foreign investors will be offered "buyback contracts" for the most promising fields and "production sharing contracts" for the riskier prospects.


Western oil majors expect a national oil company to be formed to exploit the country's reserves.


© Upstream 2007

Article originally published by Upstream 02-Mar-07

Kuwaiti Crown Prince calls for Iraq solidarity, stopping bloodshed




By Mubarak Al-Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah (with photos)

KUWAIT, March 2 (KUNA) -- HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah expressed his deep concern on Friday over violence in Iraq and the bloodshed that was victimizing many innocent civilians every day.

He called on Iraqi factions to exert all efforts to reach a conciliation and to place national interests above all else in order to achieve unity and end the needless letting of blood.

In an interview with KUNA's Chairman and Director General Mubarak Al-Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince said Iraqis had to work toward maintaining their country's independence and the unity of territories through a stable and secure internal front, if Iraq was to resume its former leading position among nations of the world.

HH Sheikh Nawaf stressed the need for greater regional cooperation and coordination on security issues to counter terrorism, a global phenomenon that no country - great or small - was safe from.

He also commended the strong relations that bound member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), hoping for greater cooperation in all fields for common interest.

HH the Crown Prince said the GCC sought to maintain the Gulf region free of nuclear weapons, but said this did not conflict with the right of any country to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as long as all of its facilities were monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Moreover, HH Sheikh Nawaf commended the sincere efforts of Saudi Arabia in sponsoring the Makkah Agreement signed by the two Palestinian parties, and stressed the need for commitment on the part of all Palestinian factions to guarantee the success of this agreement.

In a more detailed account of the interview, KUNA asked HH the Crown Prince whether he felt the weight of responsibilities he bore had increased after becoming heir to the throne, to which he responded by saying that when he took his first official post in 1962, "I took an oath before Almighty Allah to be dedicated to this country and to be of service from any position I am at."

This oath, he said, he would continue to carry out as it "remains a binding contract that I place before me as long as my heart beats."

HH Sheikh Nawaf noted that throughout his career he held a number of ministerial posts before being entrusted by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah with the nomination for crown prince, one that was welcomed by the Kuwaiti people who pledge their allegiance through their parliamentary representatives.

"This Amiri trust and the allegiance of the people are medals I wear with pride and a national responsibility that I bear," he added.

He prayed that he would be at the level of expectation of HH the Amir and the people and that he would continue "to act through my constitutional prerogatives to fend for the people's freedom and interests, and to protect the country and its resources."

On HH the Crown Prince's first tour of GCC member states, he said GCC states were bound with "deep-rooted relations" and this was why he made his first tour as crown prince to these countries.

The tour, on which he was accompanied by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, was one throughout which "feelings of closeness and familiarity prevailed" and allowed for the exchange of views on all local, regional, and international issues of mutual concern to achieve mutual benefit.

Asked about how he foresaw the future of the GCC in light of regional political developments, HH Sheikh Nawaf said that since its establishment, the GCC played a positive development role.

He noted the GCC's support for Kuwait during the 1990 invasion by the ousted Iraqi regime, saying that "aspirations are high for greater cooperation among the six GCC member states at the political, economic, security, and military levels."

As for embarking on future tours, HH the Crown Prince said he hoped to visit a number of Arab countries to further consolidate ties with their leaderships and peoples.

And in response to a question on whether the region was still in danger of being targeted by terrorist organizations, HH the Crown Prince said terrorism had become "a global problem and no country - large or small - is safe from it.

"
This, he said, required that "countries of the region exercise caution" and employ greater security coordination and to take a "unified and solid stand against this phenomenon."

Terrorism, he stressed, was forbidden by Islam, a religion that called for co-existence and tolerance away from violence and terrorizing innocent civilians.

He said Kuwait was combating terrorism "through the solidarity of its patriotic people, expatriates, security personnel, the army, and national guards who stand ready to sacrifice their lives to protect their country."

"We, in Kuwait, were able to capture criminal terrorists with the help of GCC and other friendly countries, thus preventing terrorism from spreading," he said.

Article originally published by KUNA (Kuwait News Agency) 02-Mar-07

POL-RUSSIA-IRAQ
Russia ready to cooperate in defusing Iraq tensions -- spokesman

MOSCOW, March 1 (KUNA) -- Russia stands ready to cooperate with all parties in Iraq and outside it to defuse tensions in the country, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin on Thursday.

In a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's website, he called on the international community to take action and contribute to efforts to pacify the situation in Iraq, saying Russia was ready to do all it could to reach this goal.

Moreover, he said "policing" measures in Iraq would not counter terrorism, stressing that reconciliation was the only means to normalize the situation.

Kamynin called on Iraqi factions to rise above sectarian strife in order to achieve a suitable solution to the situation in their country. (end) as.

ema


KUNA 011224 Mar 07NNNN

Iraqi dailies await upcoming regional conference with anticipation

MDA-IRAQ-FORUM
Iraqi dailies await upcoming regional conference with anticipation

By Mohammad Al-Ghazi BAGHDAD, March 1 (KUNA) -- Iraqi dailies expressed on Thursday interest in the regional conference that will include Iraq's neighboring nations, the UN Security Council's five permanent members, Egypt, Bahrain, and the Organization of Islamic Conference.

The Iraqi government called for holding the conference in Baghdad on March 10 and invitations were sent out to relevant officials by Premier Nouri Al-Maliki.

Al-Sabah newspaper, funded by the Iraqi government, wondered if the forum would settle the regional situation for Iraq's interest, stressing the necessity of bringing the US, Iran and Syria to one table after a phase of exchanging accusations.

While terming the forum as "Baghdad's table", Al-Mada independent paper noted that the US-Iran-Syria gathering was called on by the Iraq Study Group Report (also known as the Baker-Hamilton report).

The report was presented to US President George W. Bush on December 6, 2006. The group was mandated by the US Congress and was co-chaired by James Baker and Lee Hamilton.

Within the last few weeks, Iraq has led a mysterious diplomatic campaign that coincided with intensifying media campaigns against Iran amidst political rallying that signaled a justification for the anticipated military strike against Iran, said Al-Mada.

If Iraq is considered an explosive focal point, then examining the matter from all sides would definitely bring up other views, it added.

On its part, Al-Bayenah independent daily noted the significance of holding such a forum to solve current crises through reasoning and logic to ensure the interests of people away from war and destruction.

The US and UK have to observe peaceful measures, while Syria and Iran have to give more concessions to serve their interests and the interests of regional nations, said Al-Bayenah, that urged all sides to learn from Iraq's unrest to avoid war and violence.(end) mhg.

ayh

KUNA 011311 Mar 07NNNN

Baghdad won’t get full power until 2013, says US
Web posted at: 3/3/2007 1:5:8
Source ::: LAT-WP
washington • Getting full-time electric power turned on in Baghdad, a key wartime goal toward which the United States has spent $4.2bn, won’t be accomplished until 2013, US officials said Thursday.

Power outages in the Iraqi capital are frequent, leaving residents without electricity for an average of 17 or 18 hours a day. For most residents without personal generators, that means not just no lights but dead radios, televisions, heaters, washing machines and water pumps.

Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, the senior US military officer overseeing reconstruction efforts, told reporters Thursday via video teleconference that the Iraqi government planned to increase power generation “to catch up with demand’’ for electric power by 2013, “somewhere in around that area.’’

When President Bush announced in January that he was sending additional troops to Baghdad, he said the initiative must go ``beyond military operations.’’ Ordinary Iraqis, Bush said, “must see visible improvements’’ in their neighborhoods.

Continuing shortages of electricity and other vital government services violate a key provision of the counterinsurgency strategy written by Gen. David Petraeus, the new top military commander in Iraq. That strategy dictates that a government must provide tangible benefits to its citizens to attract their loyalty away from the insurgents.

The United States has poured almost $22bn into reconstruction projects in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, intended to provide jobs, health care, education, power and clean water. But much of the money has been siphoned off for security initiatives such as training and equipping Iraqi army and police units, according to a report in January by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

As a result, many of the reconstruction projects are unfinished. The power problem is most significant.

“It’s critical, because electricity is a key measure of how well the government is providing for its people,’’ said Kalev Sepp, a retired US Army special forces officer and a counterinsurgency consultant to the US military command in Baghdad.

“People living in Baghdad have to make a choice to support the government or support the insurgency, even if they do that passively,’’ said Sepp, who teaches special forces at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.

A key to fighting an insurgency is to persuade neighbourhood people to provide intelligence on insurgents, Sepp said.

“Right now it’s going the other way — when people see an unusual collection of cars, or people moving around at 2am, they don’t report it to the government because the government is not helping them,’’ he said. ``They have no stake in the government to balance the retribution they’d suffer from the insurgents.’’

Electricity generation in Iraq today is slightly below prewar levels. According to US State Department data, Iraq was producing 3,958 megawatts per month before March, 2003, and as of mid-February, production was running at 3,640 megawatts. Before the war, residents of Baghdad had an average of 16 to 24 hours of power per day. In December, that average was down to 6.7 hours per day. In January, it was 4.4 hours; in February, it was 5.9.

American and Iraqi engineers have struggled with rickety power generation and distribution facilities and sabotage by insurgents and scavengers.

The larger problem, Walsh said, is an ironic one: since 2003, more people have been able to buy electric appliances. He said demand for electricity has risen 70 per cent in that time.

“We find ourselves constantly chasing increasing demand,’’ Walsh said.

Walsh emphasised that distribution of electricity nationwide had increased, under a plan to distribute power equitably among Iraq’s regions rather than concentrating it in Baghdad, as was done under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

He said “much of the country’’ was currently receiving 10 to 12 hours of power a day.

Nonetheless, Bush and others have said Baghdad is critical to the counterinsurgency campaign.

“Baghdad is the key to the future of Iraq,’’ Lt. Gen. Ray Ordierno, the ground-forces commander in Iraq, told reporters recently. He said the new US-led initiative there would “take months in order to be successful.’’ Waiting six years to get the power turned on, Sepp said, “is too long.’’

Great stuff tonight Mike, have always appreciated your research!!!

Originally Posted by Mike5200

POL-RUSSIA-IRAQ
Russia ready to cooperate in defusing Iraq tensions -- spokesman

MOSCOW, March 1 (KUNA) -- Russia stands ready to cooperate with all parties in Iraq and outside it to defuse tensions in the country, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin on Thursday.

In a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's website, he called on the international community to take action and contribute to efforts to pacify the situation in Iraq, saying Russia was ready to do all it could to reach this goal.

Moreover, he said "policing" measures in Iraq would not counter terrorism, stressing that reconciliation was the only means to normalize the situation.

Kamynin called on Iraqi factions to rise above sectarian strife in order to achieve a suitable solution to the situation in their country. (end) as.

ema


KUNA 011224 Mar 07NNNN

Really miss the thank you button-so thank you for all your informative aticles.
Leann

Exclusive
Stone Throwing and Fuel Rackets in Baghdad
Eyewitness Reports from Around the City
Posted 4 hr. 58 min. ago

An Iraqi Army officer scans a street with his scope rifle during a patrol in central Baghdad on Friday.

In Baghdad, some Iraqi National Guard troops are involved in ilegal rackets to profit from the fuel shortage, Slogger sources say. A fuel scarcity has gripped the capital -- indeed all of Iraq -- for weeks. All over the city, some Guard officers allow gasoline retailers to sell fuel out of cans in the streets -- at three times the regular price -- instead of selling it at the normal rate in their petrol stations. Those Guard officers involved in protecting these practices take a cut of the artificially high profit, even though the government had issued a resolution to make this practice punishable.

Heavy operations continue in some areas, especially in areas associated with the Mahdi Army. Yet many neighborhoods report a quieter day today, with the Friday holiday.

Some of the Mahdi Army came back to their areas in Karkh (western Baghdad), but were unarmed. However, the militia members distributed leaflets warning Sunnis against abusing the local Shi'a population.

In the Hurriya district, in northern Baghdad, Americans had arrested 55 members of Mahdi Army militia, while in Sha'ab, an American raid on Al-Shurufi Mosque incurred the ire of the Sadrists, according to local sources.

In the Allawi area, Mahdi Army supporters were cruising around in a pickup truck, ;with several members acting rowdy in the bed of the truck. At a checkpoint, an Iraqi security officer warned them that they would be arrested next time he saw them doing this, and they quieted down, eyewitnesses say.

On Thursday the Americans surrounded Sadr City area and residents report hearing heavy bombing. Sadr City's inhabitants told Slogger sources that they are concerned about what the “joint security center” that the US will soon establish in the neighborhood will mean for them.

In Shurta area, near Bayya', the market had been closed for months when because of snipers targeting people in the streets. At the beginning of the security plan, the Iraqi National Guard caught one of the snipers and the market began to reopen. However, two days ago, another sniper has appeared and the market may close again, Slogger sources report.

The Americans are distributing forms that ask people about the level of services in Baghdad al-Jadida and Baladiyat, according to eyewitnesses.

In al-Yarmouk district, one of the two checkpoints in the main street comes under sniper attacks every few days. The shooter remains at large, Slogger sources say.

In Karrada, an area mostly inhabited by Shi'a and Christians, and under the control of the SCIRI, residents pelted Kurdish Pesh Merga troops in the street with rocks, according to eyewitnesses.

CP-thank you for your contributions- it makes me laugh when I see an article that has "fuel shortage" and they are referring to Iraq.
Leann