Thread: Iraq/Dinar News up until March 18th Midnight ctz

"Unexpected Level of Optimism" Among Iraqis
Nationwide Poll of Iraqis Provides Results That Surprise Pollsters, Analysts
Posted 8 hr. 22 min. ago


In a Sunday Times of London story headlined "Resilient Iraqis ask what civil war?", correspondent Marie Colvin begins her report this way:


Despite sectarian slaughter, ethnic cleansing and suicide bombs, an opinion poll conducted on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has found a striking resilience and optimism among the inhabitants.

The poll, the biggest since coalition troops entered Iraq on March 20, 2003, shows that by a majority of two to one, Iraqis prefer the current leadership to Saddam Hussein’s regime, regardless of the security crisis and a lack of public services.

The survey, published today, also reveals that contrary to the views of many western analysts, most Iraqis do not believe they are embroiled in a civil war.

Officials in Washington and London are likely to be buoyed by the poll conducted by Opinion Research Business (ORB), a respected British market research company that funded its own survey of 5,019 Iraqis over the age of 18.


The nationwide poll was conducted in mid-February and is said to have a margin of error of +/-1.4%

While the report contains fascinating poll result nuggets -- some encouraging, others discouraging -- it's impossible at this point to adequately analyze and interpret the poll results because there's no link on the Sunday Times of London Web site to all the poll questions and results, nor does the ORB polling organization post that information on its Web site.

Excerpts of the poll results as published in the Sunday Times of London:
-- Only 27% of Iraqis believe their country is in a civil war. That number divided along religious lines, with 41% of Sunnis believing Iraq was in a civil war, compared with only 15% of Shi’ites.
-- Yet 49% of those questioned preferred life under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, to living under Saddam. Only 26% said things had been better in Saddam’s era, while 16% said the two leaders were as bad as each other and the rest did not know or refused to answer.
-- Not surprisingly, the divisions in Iraqi society were reflected in statistics — Sunnis were more likely to back the previous Ba’athist regime (51%) while the Shi’ites (66%) preferred the Maliki government.
-- Some 26% of Iraqis - 15% of Sunnis and 34% of Shi’ites - have suffered the murder of a family member.
-- Kidnapping has also played a terrifying role: 14% have had a relative, friend or colleague abducted, rising to 33% in Baghdad.


Here is the full Marie Colvin story.

Here is a related Sunday Times of London editorial headlined "A turning point for Iraq."

linky...
IraqSlogger: "Unexpected Level of Optimism" Among Iraqis

man i just don't understand these people they keep taking breaks and vac and it seems like every other day is a holiday a turtle can move faster than they could.

Originally Posted by sandradstzc

man i just don't understand these people they keep taking breaks and vac and it seems like every other day is a holiday a turtle can move faster than they could.

It could be more a human thing than strictly a Iraqi thing, our own congress was known as "the do nothing congress", they show up when absolutely necessary, sleep when possible, and engage in pork or savage partisan fighting the rest of the time.

Originally Posted by Jola

In association with USAID/Iraq Economic Governance II Program
Implemented by Bearing Point
Iraq Banking and Finance Conference
April 4- 5, 2007
Intercontinental Hotel, Amman, Jordan
Banking in Iraq: The 21st Century Challenge
ANNOTATED AGENDA
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Participant arrivals and pre-registration
7:00 p.m. Welcome reception (Hotel Intercontinental)
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
8:00 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:30 Official Opening
Welcome addresses from Iraqi and U.S. officials
9:30 – 10:00 Opening Address
Overview of Banking in Iraq: Developments and Challenges
Speaker: Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq
10:00 – 10:30 Keynote Presentation
Global Banking Developments and their Implications for Transition
Economies
10:45 – 11:15 Tea/Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:45 Plenary Session 1
The Role of the Central Bank in Implementing Monetary Policy
12:45 – 1:00 DISCUSSION
12:45 – 1:45 pm
PRESS BRIEFINGS (By invitation only)
Select invitees will gather in Room # …. Intercontinental Hotel for briefings with the Press Corps.
Details to be provided under separate cover
1:00 – 2:00 Lunch
2.00 – 3.00 Plenary Session 2
Prudential Regulation and Supervision of the Iraqi Banking System;
Risk Management Systems within the Commercial Banks; Effect of the
New Secured Transactions Law, etc.
3:00 – 3:15 Tea/Coffee Break
3:15 – 3:30 GROUP PHOTO
3:30 – 4:30 Plenary Session 3
Private Banks in Iraq – Current Status a nd Future Growth
4:30 – 5:30 Breakout Session 1
The Development of New Bank Products and Services (Including
Deposit Products); Islamic Banking Products; Bank Profitability and
Return on Assets Criteria.
Breakout Session 2
The Improvement of International and Domestic Wire Transfer Systems,
Check Processing, Clearing and Banking MIS Systems
7:30 – 9:00 pm Reception
Thursday, April 5, 2007
9:00 - 10:30 Plenary Session 4
State-Owned Banking Sector in Iraq - Developments
10:30 – 10:45 Tea/Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:15 Plenary Session 5
Banking and the Growth of the Private Sector: Building a Vibrant SME
Lending Industry: The Role of Loan Guarantees
12:15 - 1:15 Plenary Session 6
Strategy for the Microfinance Industry in Iraq – Outreach and Growth
1:15 – 2:15 Lunch
2.15 – 3:30 Breakout session 3
How to Support the Development of a Financial Services Training
Center
Breakout session 4
Bringing International Financial Standards to Iraqi Bank Financial
Statements/Annual Reports
3:30 – 4:00 CONCLUDING DISCUSSION
4:00 – 4:30 Closing Session

this sounds surprisingly like your money is safe in an iraqi bank.

(sarcastic post for those who are still too skeered to put money in warka. speaking of which, did anyone take this to the dark side?? )

Originally Posted by notazbad2000

I know this probably doesn't belong in this thread, but while we are on the subject...what is the difference exactly between less than a year and a year or more?

............... its about, one day.... hahahaha

Iraq says TNT traces found in Sunni lawmaker's cars
Sun 18 Mar 2007 8:44 AM ET
By Mussab Al-Khairalla

BAGHDAD, March 18 (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces found traces of explosives in vehicles recovered at the Baghdad home of a prominent Sunni Arab legislator and confiscated 65 Kalashnikov rifles, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Sunday.

But Dhafir al-Aani, a lawmaker for the Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, said Shi'ite death squads that had infiltrated the security forces had fabricated the charges and that six of his guards detained at the raid were tortured.

Brigadier Qassim Moussawi told a news conference the raid on Aani's home in Baghdad's western district of Yarmouk took place on March 9 and that seven people were arrested.

"Four of the cars had traces of TNT, a high explosive. The report of this investigation was not written by Iraqis," Moussawi said, hinting U.S.-led forces were behind the investigation.

"The law must be implemented with anyone."

Moussawi said six of those detained were released within 48 hours but one was kept in custody after he was found in possession of a sniper rifle. Moussawi didn't say if Aani, who spends a lot of time outside Iraq, was wanted for questioning.

Speaking to Reuters by telephone, Aani, who was not in Iraq at the time of the raid, said the charges were politically motivated and defended his innocence.

"These charges are not true. I go to the Green Zone in these vehicles and they never found any traces of explosives with all the sophisticated equipment and sniffer dogs there," he said, referring to the large citadel that houses government buildings as well as the U.S. embassy.

Officials in the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki have accused some politicians of the Sunni Arab minority of having links with the Sunni insurgency.

Sunni politicians say the government's security forces are heavily infiltrated by Shi'ite death squads targeting Sunnis.

The government's spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said the incident was under investigation and suggested that Aani could have his parliamentary immunity lifted.

"Any lawmaker who is found to have violated the law will have his immunity lifted," Dabbagh told a news conference, without elaborating.

Maliki launched on Feb. 14 a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad which has seen thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flooding streets and searching homes. Maliki has vowed to pursue anybody who breaks the law, including officials and politicians across Iraq's sectarian divide.

linky...
http://today.reuters.com/News/Crises...ryId=IBO845049

Iraq announces new economic and political plan for stability, urges international support
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

17 March 2007 (AP Worldstream)
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The Iraqi vice president unveiled his country's economic and political reform package before nearly 100 envoys at a U.N. conference, pledging to adopt a law that will share the country's oil riches among its often feuding regions and a program that would grant amnesty for insurgents who renounce violence.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, one of two vice presidents, urged international support for the Iraq Compact, a five-year plan that requires the government to enact key political and economic reforms during its transition to financial self-sufficiency and integration into the regional and global economy.

"We are looking forward to really take Iraq out of its crisis with the help of the international community," Abdul-Mahdi said after the closed-door meeting Friday.

The compact was set up by the United Nations and the Iraqi government shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in June 2006.

The conference's purpose was not to secure financial assistance for Iraq, but to allow the government to present its budget and legislative agenda to the international community in the hopes of marshaling support for its plans ahead of a donor conference.

Abdul-Mahdi had said the conference participants would choose a date and place for the adoption of the compact, but they did not. Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. chair of the compact, said the launch would definitely happen before April 30 in a location yet to be determined.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, who led the U.S. delegation, said the launch would provide an opportunity for the international community to respond to the Iraqi proposals and pledge financial assistance.

"The Iraqis have done their part," Kimmitt said of Friday's unveiling of the compact. "The question now is, what will the international community do?"

Gambari noted that several countries have already said they will forgive Iraqi debt to the tune of $4 billion (A3 billion).
The package that Abdul-Mahdi presented included provisions for an oil-profit sharing law, which he predicted the Iraqi parliament would adopt in the coming weeks, a plan for drawing foreign investment into the country, and a fully funded budget for 2007, in which spending on education and health is double that of 2006.

It also contains political initiatives aimed at healing the sectarian rift that is responsible for some of the worst violence in the country. The government proposed a national reconciliation project, including amnesty for insurgents who renounce violence, reversing measures that have excluded many former members of Saddam Hussein's ruling Baath party from the government, and the creation of a human rights commission.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who convened the conference, acknowledged in his address that both the security and the humanitarian situations in Iraq are deteriorating.

"It is heart-wrenching to see almost daily attacks on innocent civilians, which have left immense suffering and pain in their wake," he said. "Beyond the political violence and sectarian strife, a humanitarian crisis is stretching the patience and ability of ordinary people to cope with everyday life."

In light of the violence, Ban said, many may question the appropriateness of the compact.

"However, a framework for normalization is required now more than ever," he stressed.
The secretary-general said he was also aware that there are "a multitude of initiatives on Iraq" which have yet to yield tangible results. These need to be streamlined and consolidated to concentrate on achievable goals, he said.

"But unlike the other initiatives, the compact focuses on Iraq's long-term economic development, while also stressing progress in the political and security fields," Ban said.

Kimmitt and others who attended the conference stressed that economic reform must go forward where it can, despite the violence.

"In this business, you don't do things sequentially. You have to do it in a coordinated fashion," Kimmitt said. "There are places in Iraq already that are secure enough to provide reconstruction, other essential services to the Iraqi people, and we should move to do that. And when other areas become secure, we need to be ready to do that."

"We cannot wait until every situation on security is perfect before we move to support the government of Iraq in their commitment to economic reform," said Gambari, the former U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs.

He said "almost all the members, the countries that spoke ... were very supportive of the compact, and they are satisfied so far with the steps taken so far."

One senior diplomat who attended the meeting noted that the Syrian ambassador was the only attendee who voiced discontent, criticizing the "occupation" of Iraq by American forces. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari rejected that characterization, saying "on the contrary, I made a positive comment."

But he said the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq "is the most important aspect in ending the violence and sectarian bloodshed," adding that Syria fully supports the compact.

Kurdistan adopts Dubai plan to boost development
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor



A visiting Kurdish official from Iraq yesterday said the regional government of his province decided to follow Dubai's development model after evaluating a variety of plans from around the world.

Othman I. Shwani, Minister of Planning in the Kurdistan Regional Government, told Gulf News that Dubai's plan was found to be the most appropriate for Kurdistan and his government will go ahead with it.

"We need to modify the Dubai Strategic Plan to suit Kurdistan's requirements before putting it into force. We are convinced that the plan being adopted by the Dubai Government fits our ambitions and objectives compared to plans proposed to us from Europe or from Asia," he said.

Unlike the central and southern parts of Iraq, Kurdistan has been enjoying a relatively high level of security. Further investment will enhance security and benefit from the high demand for a variety of products and services.

He urged companies and financial institutions with experience in Dubai to consider investing in Kurdistan by utilising the best practices they have learnt from the emirate. The Investment atmosphere in Kurdistan will be similar to that in Dubai and Dubai investors will have hassle-free operation in the province, he said.

Kurdistan has enhanced airline connections with Dubai in the past two years and there is now a daily flight between the two regions.

The Kurdish government has decided to play a facilitating role in the economy, rather than involving itself on day-to-day decisions. The private sector will have to play a leading role in the region and foreign companies will enjoy rights similar to the Iraqi ones. It will be a level playing-field for everyone in Kurdistan, Shwani said.

He said the province, where more than four million Kurds live, has set up a priority plan to lure foreign investments in certain fields. "This includes agriculture, mining, tourism and real estate investment, which will be given maximum support and facilities by the provisional goverment.

"We think the region will attract more than $2 billion in the first year in four major sectors and high return on investment is guaranteed due to the big demand for these facilities."

He said although Kurdistan had been implementing an independent development plan since the mid-1990s, the province really opened up to foreign investments after the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.

Shwani, who is heading a business delegation to Dubai, said there is great demand for investment services and Kurdistan wants to invite major investment companies from Dubai to come and operating in the province.

March 18, 2007

Resilient Iraqis ask what civil war?

DESPITE sectarian slaughter, ethnic cleansing and suicide bombs, an opinion poll conducted on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq has found a striking resilience and optimism among the inhabitants.

The poll, the biggest since coalition troops entered Iraq on March 20, 2003, shows that by a majority of two to one, Iraqis prefer the current leadership to Saddam Hussein’s regime, regardless of the security crisis and a lack of public services.

The survey, published today, also reveals that contrary to the views of many western analysts, most Iraqis do not believe they are embroiled in a civil war.

Officials in Washington and London are likely to be buoyed by the poll conducted by Opinion Research Business (ORB), a respected British market research company that funded its own survey of 5,019 Iraqis over the age of 18.

The 400 interviewers who fanned out across Iraq last month found that the sense of security felt by Baghdad residents had significantly improved since polling carried out before the US announced in January that it was sending in a “surge” of more than 20,000 extra troops.

The poll highlights the impact the sectarian violence has had. Some 26% of Iraqis - 15% of Sunnis and 34% of Shi’ites - have suffered the murder of a family member. Kidnapping has also played a terrifying role: 14% have had a relative, friend or colleague abducted, rising to 33% in Baghdad.

Yet 49% of those questioned preferred life under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, to living under Saddam. Only 26% said things had been better in Saddam’s era, while 16% said the two leaders were as bad as each other and the rest did not know or refused to answer.

Not surprisingly, the divisions in Iraqi society were reflected in statistics — Sunnis were more likely to back the previous Ba’athist regime (51%) while the Shi’ites (66%) preferred the Maliki government.

Maliki, who derives a significant element of his support from Moqtada al-Sadr, the hardline Shi’ite militant, and his Mahdi army, has begun trying to overcome criticism that his government favours the Shi’ites, going out of his way to be seen with Sunni tribal leaders. He is also under pressure from the US to include more Sunnis in an expected government reshuffle.

The poll suggests a significant increase in support for Maliki. A survey conducted by ORB in September last year found that only 29% of Iraqis had a favourable opinion of the prime minister.

Another surprise was that only 27% believed they were caught up in a civil war. Again, that number divided along religious lines, with 41% of Sunnis believing Iraq was in a civil war, compared with only 15% of Shi’ites.

The survey is a rare snapshot of Iraqi opinion because of the difficulty of working in the country, with the exception of Kurdish areas which are run as an essentially autonomous province.

Most international organisations have pulled out of Iraq and diplomats are mostly holed-up in the Green Zone. The unexpected degree of optimism may signal a groundswell of hope at signs the American “surge” is starting to take effect.

This weekend comments from Baghdad residents reflected the poll’s findings. Many said they were starting to feel more secure on the streets, although horrific bombings have continued. “The Americans have checkpoints and the most important thing is they don’t ask for ID, whether you are Sunni or Shi’ite,” said one resident. “There are no more fake checkpoints so you don’t need to be scared.”

The inhabitants of a northern Baghdad district were heartened to see on the concrete blocks protecting an Iraqi army checkpoint the lettering: “Down, down with the militias, we are fighting for the sake of Iraq.”

It would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago. Residents said they noted that armed militias were off the streets.

One question showed the sharp divide in attitudes towards the continued presence of foreign troops in Iraq. Some 53% of Iraqis nationwide agree that the security situation will improve in the weeks after a withdrawal by international forces, while only 26% think it will get worse.

“We’ve been polling in Iraq since 2005 and the finding that most surprised us was how many Iraqis expressed support for the present government,” said Johnny Heald, managing director of ORB. “Given the level of violence in Iraq, it shows an unexpected level of optimism.”

Despite the sectarian divide, 64% of Iraqis still want to see a united Iraq under a central national government.

One statistic that bodes ill for Iraq’s future is the number who have fled the country, many of them middle-class professionals. Baghdad has been hard hit by the brain drain — 35% said a family member had left the country.

Additional reporting: Ali Rifat

ORB interviewed a nationally representative sample of 5,019 Iraqi adults between February 10-22. The margin of error was +/- 1.4%.

Baghdad market for securities that allows non-Iraqis to support the introduction of a free economy
Safed Alsamuk-Baghdad
Approved by the Securities Iraq to allow the circulation of non-Iraqis in the stock market, according to the instructions and conditions for inclusion of non-Iraqi investors step towards activating investment and support of a free economy in Iraq. The head of the market Abdel Razek Al-Saadi, that the inclusion of investors will be disclosed by the companies and approved mediation offices in the capital market on the web site. He stressed the need for the latter include their e-mail addresses and capital and telephone numbers and a company profile and the volume of transactions made during the last two years, the company's budget and the name of the managing director of the company, and that the terms of incorporation also the broker to check the personal investor and the non-Iraqi fundamentalist securities such as ration card, passport and becomes a leave of incorporation and ratifiers of the issuer and the Iraqi embassy or the Iraqi authorities. He said the conditions also require the latest Permanent and temporary found that the e-mail, telephone number and signature of the three models through electronic image that supports no later than fifteen days is certified by the embassy of Iraq in the investor's country or any other governmental organization. And the President ended the stock market to the Iraqi market, saying that the delegation would prepare a sale and purchase in Arabic and English is included for the number and the time and date of receipt by the matter and the name of the investor and the number of shares and price (fixed or market price) and the type of issue and period of validity