Thread: Iraq/Dinar News to April 19, 2007 10PM CST

Originally Posted by Jola

Thank you, SeaView...

But...NEWS??...FACT?
Oh, I see..it is a fact that we'll get a new rate...and it may be the shake out rate...

But then, our Thursdays thread started for the same reason: we were supposed to get a new rate!

rvalreadydang, time to start a Mondays thread!!

done!

Originally Posted by frathousemicrowave

Don't know if this was posted a few days ago or not but these guys are getting worse.
IRIN Middle East | Middle East | Iraq | IRAQ: Mentally handicapped children used in attacks | Children Conflict | Feature

The beginning of the article is about how a father sold his handicapped son to Al-Quaida just to become a suicide bomber. I could not and I did not want to read the rest of the article. "Sad" is not the word for what I am feeling. I think I want revenge for all these kids.

Originally Posted by Jola

The beginning of the article is about how a father sold his handicapped son to Al-Quaida just to become a suicide bomber. I could not and I did not want to read the rest of the article. "Sad" is not the word for what I am feeling. I think I want revenge for all these kids.

what in the h-e-double hockey sticks is wrong with a parent in the first place who has no more respect for their own child than to sell them??? good god!

More about the Parliament bomb yesterday ( just paragraphs as the article is pretty long):

"...
The meeting was ''a clear message to all the terrorists and all those who dare try to stop this (political) process, that we will sacrifice in order for it to continue,'' al-Mashhadani said.

''We feel today that we are stronger than yesterday,'' he said. ''The parliament, government and the people are all the same _ they are all in the same ship which, if it sinks, will make everyone sink.'' NO REALLY!!

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told lawmakers that the government ''had received indications that this building would be targeted.'' Before the attack Thursday, security guards took the unusual precaution of using sniffer dogs to search inside the parliament building.

....
"

Turks are reconstructing Northern Iraq - 2
Friday, April 13, 2007


In the reconstruction of the Kurdish Region, the structures built by the owner of the IC Hotels, İbrahim Çeçen, stand out. In road, bridge and infrastructure we encounter the Günay Construction Company, which we know from the Istanbul Metropolitan Government

SERPİL YILMAZ
ISTANBUL - Milliyet




A period of reconstruction on war-torn lands:

It took many long years for the establishment of the Iraq Kurdistan Regional Government. In 1970, an “autonomous region” agreement, the basis for today's developments, was signed with Iraq's executed leader Saddam Hussein; it remained one-sided rule. The Baath regime continued to carry out massacres against the Kurds, Shiites and Turkmen. Lowering his sails after the 1991 Gulf War against America, Saddam was unable to prevent the establishment in 1992 of the Kurdistan Parliament, which includes the provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk. In that period, the agreements made between Baghdad and Arbil had no international sanction.



Developments after the invasion:

Kurds were not happy with the agreement because they did not approve the leaving of Kirkuk and parts of Mosul, which are in the “region,” but outside the agreement. The 2003 American invasion enabled the Kurdistan Regional Parliament to be established in Iraq in 2005.

A new government with Kurds as participants was formed in Baghdad. While Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani became president of Iraq, another Kurd (Hoshyar Zebari) became the minister of foreign affairs. With a temporary constitution, Iraq gained a federation status and the three provinces in Kurdistan (Sulaimaniya, Dohuk and Arbil) were designated as the Kurdistan Federal Region.

With elections held at the beginning of 2005, the Kurdistan Parliament was renewed, the Regional Presidency law was passed and Massoud Barzani was chosen as Kurdistan Regional President in a session on June 14.

Necirvan Barzani, son of Idris Barzani, brother of Massoud and armed companion to their father Mullah Mustafa Barzani, became prime minister. This short history shows that neither the Kurdish land war in northern Iraq nor the “Baghdad” administration ends with the establishment of “parliaments.”



Members of every party come here:

Today, the Kirkuk referendum continues to be the most vital issue. Kurdish administrations are struggling to have Kurds dominate in the population census to be held in five provinces, particularly in Kirkuk. Importing terror via Iran, Arabs are trying to prevent Kirkuk from becoming Kurdish. The silent people of the region, the Turkmen, are waiting for the referendum, which is foreseen to be held before the end of December 2007, to be postponed and for the region to “return to normal.”

In contrast to all this, a development and “uneventful” belt is being created from Arbil, just 70 kilometers from Kirkuk, to Zakho on the Turkish border.

Architects and Turkish entrepreneurs are creating cities equipped with full public services in a “region” with no sewage system, no running water and no electricity. Members of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Republican People's Party (CHP), Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkish True Path (DTP) affiliations all visit here. Because which party you are from does not matter very much, but how much contribution you can make to “Arbil politics” is important here. Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani expect to “come to an understanding” with Turkey via the lobbying power of capital.



The hotel owner who hosted Erdoğan is in Arbil:

I am going around construction sites in Arbil, the heart of the Kurdistan Region. I run into two groups whose names appear most in AKP behind the scenes discussions. One of these is the IC İçtaş company whose president is İbrahim Çeçen, owner of the IC Hotel in Antalya, where the AKP held group meetings and where Prime Minister Erdoğan spent vacation time. The other is the Günay Construction Company, one of whose partners, Mehmet Alp Delimollaoğlu, accompanies Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Kadir Topbaş on foreign trips.

Günay is a company that constructed 22 airports in Turkey. Günay Board of Directors' Chairman Hikmet Günay, the along with business partner, Mehmet Alp Delimollaoğlu, has partnerships with Hüseyin Yüzbaşıoğlu, who has won bids from the Istanbul Metropolitan Government. Günay constructed a bridge and viaducts in Sulaimaniya. The Çeçen firm, a businessman from Ağrı, built and turned over the Arbil Medical Laboratory and Health Center.

Çeçen constructed the International Terminal of the İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport. Another contracting group that has stood out during the AKP term in Istanbul, Taş Yapı, is making a sewage system and bridge in Arbil. To date, Taş Yapı has signed $150 million worth of contracts.



Nihat Barzani's partner:

The most frequently seen signs of construction on the streets are concrete barriers. They are used on streets and roads to facilitate motor vehicle control. All of these concrete walls were made by “77 Construction.” It is said that the reality underlying the group's $350 million job potential is the fact that 25 percent of shares belong to Nihat Barzani, brother of Prime Minister Necirvan Barzani and nephew to Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region President. I listed the contractors, including IC İçtaş and Günay, which have exceeded $2 billion in contracts. There are many companies like Aydıner, Şimsek and Asfa receiving jobs of only $1-15 million, which are “sounding” the market.

The common statements made by businessmen we met in the IKR are: “Koreans donate computers and municipal equipment. Turkey is not extending a hand. In these present conditions, we are getting 80 percent of the market.”

In a geographical area where German, Austrian, Italian and Korean firms are having difficulty, is very well-known to Turkey! Which to choose, $300 to Alanya or $1,000 to Arbil? This is the question to be answered by construction workers from Adana and Antep.



An opportunity coming with Talabani:

The Çevikler Company, formed to do contracting work in the Kurdistan Region by journalist İlnur Çevik, consultant on Middle Eastern issues to former President Süleyman Demirel, and the AGS Consortium created by AGE built the $40 million Sulaimaniya Airport. Fly In landed the first plane from Turkey to the Sulaimaniya Airport, which opened in 2005. Now, instead of Fly In, Northern Iraq's Zagros Company arranges scheduled flights. AGS received dormitory and residence construction jobs in Sulaimaniya through Çevikler.

The first basic mortar to building this “close friendship” was through Çevik arranging a meeting in the famous house on Güniz Street between Demirel, during his presidential term, and (now Iraqi President) Jalal Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

While the Iraqi Kurdish region is being rebuilt from scratch, a company was born from this friendship and a contractor from a journalist. The total work done by Çevik in the region adds up to $250 million. Çevik says he has set up a Kurdistan TV station at the direction of military general headquarters.

The 182-kilometer Arbil-Dohuk highway project, now reaching costs at a figure of $1 billion, will be the biggest adjudication in the Kurdish region. Big investments in the Kurdish region are awaiting “investment funds” to come from the Iraqi government.



$10 billion share:

It is expected that Turkey will receive a $10 billion share of the $15 billion contract work that is planned for the next three years. Çevik explains that he has been given the housing development project for $150 million, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) general headquarters construction project for $65 million, and the Dohuk, Koy Sancak and Arbil student dormitories for $40 million.

Çevik indicated that most contract work here is given by means of an “invitation.” In the adjudication system, “transparent rules” kick in with World Bank projects. Çevik says, “I have turned over my memories of journalism and construction work to my wife Mine.” These words reveal the financial difficulties he has experienced in the past few months.



A church room for unemployed:

Worship continues in the Suryani-Chaldean Church in Arbil. The church gives room and board to unemployed Christians migrating to Arbil from Shiite and Sunni regions in Iraq's line of fire, and knocks on employers' doors to try to help them find work. Magnificent mosques are also being built. While building a mosque, businessman Zelid Hayat from Arbil begged God not to let him “die before it was finished.” The mosque was finished two years ago and Zelid's funeral was held there.



$300,000-400,000 private dwellings in Arbil

Arbil's richest neighborhood is Dollar Plain. Here houses cost around $300,000-400,000. Luxurious houses in Arbil are villas. The “residence” style has not yet arrived. The value of houses that have previously sold for $10,000 has since increased 10-20 fold after the new administration was established in the Kurdish region. The first legal arrangement passed by the Necirvan Barzani administration, as an incentive for foreign investment, allows companies to buy cars and houses also.

With private houses, roads, the sewage system and water pipes being built in this dilapidated city, great infrastructure activity is continuing. The biggest settlement problem in Arbil was the threat to health due to the contamination of drinking water from the sewage system.

Ainkawa is another rich neighborhood like Dollar Plain. Foreign companies rent houses here. The numerous houses that have monthly rental fees that fluctuate between $3,000-6,000 are not even landscaped yet. Regional Government Prime Minister Barzani aims to have 10 million trees planted annually. Suffering from famine during Saddam's reign, the people cut the city's trees down in order to cook food to prevent death from starvation and burned for heat. Arbil is becoming green again. The Germans have opened a restaurant and hotel in Ainkawa. Germans and Americans spend most of their time here

Iraqi PM seeks aid to rebuild country Published: Friday, 13 April, 2007, 01:01 PM Doha Time SEOUL: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday called for international help to rebuild his war-torn country, saying the people were struggling to "rise from the ashes" of conflict.


He also said the recent terrorist attacks were the work of Al Qaeda militants and remnants of former members of Saddam Hussain's ruling Baath Party, stressing that sectarian violence in Iraq had ended.

"Because of its abundance in resources such as oil and gas, Iraq has a great potential to become an advanced country," he told South Korean business leaders.


"However, it is true that reconstruction is being delayed and all facilities are in ruins. But the Iraqi people are making utmost efforts to rise from the ashes," he said through an interpreter.
Iraqis are striving for democracy and peace in the face of near-daily attacks by insurgents, he said.
"For reconstruction, Iraq needs help from its friends ... we hope our friends join us in efforts to rebuild the country."
Maliki arrived on Wednesday from Japan for a three-day visit, accompanied by his oil, energy, industrial policy and urban planning ministers.
He said his delegation had many proposals for joint projects in the oil, electricity, road construction and petrochemical sectors, and invited South Korean firms to expand investment in Iraq.
"Iraq always welcomes you with open arms. Windows of opportunity are open wide and all kinds of conveniences will be provided," he said.

"Even though we were late in beginning the reconstruction work, we want to catch up."

South Korea's Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry said Seoul signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday on developing oil and gas fields in northern Iraq.

Maliki also met President Roh Moo-Hyun and discussed ways to co-operate more closely in natural resources, energy and construction, the presidential Blue House said.
In a press interview with local journalists, Maliki said sectarian conflicts had ended.
"The recent terrorist attacks are the work of Al Qaeda extremists and former Baath Party members who are stirring up to return to power," he was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. - AFP

Iraq MPs attempt show of defiance after attack

Staff and agencies
Friday April 13, 2007

Guardian Unlimited

Iraq's parliament today held a special session intended to show defiance and solidarity following the bomb attack yesterday that killed at least one MP.
During the session the deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, confirmed the government ""had received indications that this building would be targeted."

Before yesterday's attack, the most audacious to date within the heavily fortified Green Zone, security guards took the unusual precaution of using sniffer dogs to search inside the parliament building. No details of how or when the information came about were given.

The parliamentary session had been scheduled to begin at 11am local time but began nearly 90 minutes late - apparently because of low turnout and increased security measures. Many politicians were unable to reach the parliament building because of a weekly driving ban.

Live television pictures showed a number of empty seats in the special parliamentary session. MPs rarely meet on Fridays, the day of rest and prayers. "Very few parliament members showed up because of the curfew," said Mohammed Abu Bakr, head of the parliament's media office. "Also the MPs' turnout is very low today because most of them are visiting those who were wounded by the blast," he said.

The parliament's speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, opened the emergency session by asking members to recite verses from the Qur'an to mourn the death of a "hero, the parliament member Mohammed Awad".

Mr Awad, a Sunni, was a member of the moderate National Dialogue Front. There were differing reports of a second fatality, said to be Taha al-Liheibi, a fellow Sunni and a key go-between in government efforts to negotiate with insurgents. Iraqi officials listed him among the dead but the US military revised down its death toll from eight to one.

The meeting was "a clear message to all the terrorists and all those who dare try to stop this [political] process, that we will sacrifice in order for it to continue," Mr al-Mashhadani said.

"We feel today that we are stronger that yesterday," he said. "The parliament, government and the people are all the same - they are all in the same ship which, if it sinks, will make everyone sink."
The vice-president, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, insisted the terrorists could not win.

"The more they [terrorists] act, the more solid we become. When they take from us one martyr, we will offer more martyrs," he said. "The more they target our unity, the stronger our unity becomes."
State-run Iraqiya television's transmission was draped in a black mourning banner today. Regular programming aired, but the screen had a black stripe across the upper left hand corner.

Several TV channels replayed images of the moment of the attack and the minutes following: a flash and an orange ball of fire causing Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a startled parliament member who was being interviewed, to duck. Smoke and dust billowed through the area, and confused and frightened lawmakers and others could be heard screaming for help. Mr al-Saghir escaped injury.

Amid confusion over who was behind the attack some reports suggested the bomber had been a bodyguard for an unnamed Sunni MP.

A police source said parts of an explosive vest had been discovered among the debris. Other speculation was that a worker in the café where the bomb exploded could have smuggled explosives into the building in lunch boxes.

US and Iraqi officials are investigating how the bomber evaded a ring of security checks and launched the attack despite a two-month-old security surge in Baghdad which has seen around 100,000 allied soldiers patrolling the streets.


WOW! If this guy is speaking for the parliment as a whole, this is encouraging. If he is sincere I think this is a good indication that they know what is at stake. It may just be lip service, but I doubt it when he mentions about making themselves all martyrs to get the job done. I just wonder if Vince Lombardi was standing over his shoulder when he was talking?

Maliki seeks world’s help to rebuild Iraq
Web posted at: 4/13/2007 9:38:30
Source ::: AFP
seoul •

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki yesterday called for international help to rebuild his war-torn country, saying the people were struggling to “rise from the ashes” of conflict.

He also said the recent terrorist attacks were the work of Al Qaeda militants and remnants of former members of Saddam Hussein’s ruling Baath Party, stressing that sectarian violence in Iraq had ended.

“Because of its abundance in resources such as oil and gas, Iraq has a great potential to become an advanced country,” he told South Korean business leaders.

“However, it is true that reconstruction is being delayed and all facilities are in ruins. But the Iraqi people are making utmost efforts to rise from the ashes,” he said through an interpreter.

Iraqis are striving for democracy and peace in the face of near-daily attacks by insurgents, he said.

“For reconstruction, Iraq needs help from its friends ... we hope our friends join us in efforts to rebuild the country.”

Maliki arrived Wednesday from Japan for a three-day visit, accompanied by his oil, energy, industrial policy and urban planning ministers.

He said his delegation had many proposals for joint projects in the oil, electricity, road construction and petrochemical sectors, and invited South Korean firms to expand investment in Iraq.

“Iraq always welcomes you with open arms. Windows of opportunity are open wide and all kinds of conveniences will be provided,” he said.

“Even though we were late in beginning the reconstruction work, we want to catch up.”

South Korea’s Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry said Seoul signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday on developing oil and gas fields in northern Iraq.

Maliki also met President Roh Moo-Hyun and discussed ways to cooperate more closely in natural resources, energy and construction, the presidential Blue House said.

In a press interview with local journalists, Maliki said sectarian conflicts had ended, and Sunnis and Shi’ites had reconciled.

“The recent terrorist attacks are the work of Al Qaeda extremists and former Baath Party members who are stirring up to return to power,” he was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

He said his government’s efforts to stabilise Baghdad were making progress, with Iraqi security forces expanding activity throughout Iraq.

The Iraqi prime minister was to tour industrial plants in the southern city of Ulsan yesterday.

South Korea, with 1,300 soldiers working on relief and reconstruction in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, has the third-largest foreign force after the United States and Britain, but is looking to pull them out by year’s end. It has also provided some $220m in aid to rebuild the country.

Iraq calls for help against Iran’s ‘dangerous’ influence
Web posted at: 4/13/2007 9:38:3
Source ::: AFP
washington •

An Iraqi government spokesman on Wednesday called on Iraq’s Arab neighbours to help curb Iran’s “dangerous” influence in his country and for the United States to reach an “understanding” with Tehran.

“We are sharing responsibility with the Arabs. We have to work together in order to limit the Iranian influence in Iraq,” the representative Ali Al Dabbagh told reporters during a visit here.

“It is not only (an) Iraqi responsibility, it is a regional responsibility, he said. “We are urging the United States and Iran to have certain arrangements and understanding. We understand that the influence of Iran is dangerous for us now.”

Washington accuses Iran, a non-Arab and predominantly Shiite Muslim nation, of supporting insurgents fighting US forces in Iraq.

Four years on from the US-led invasion which toppled the late dictator Saddam Hussein, sectarian violence is ravaging Iraq, killing hundreds of people each week.

Several of Iraq’s neighbours including Iran, as well as other world powers, are due to meet in Egypt on May 3-4 for a major conference on the war-torn country.

Al Dabbagh said he hoped the conference would be a step towards stabilising the country.

“Iraqi-Arab relations will be improved and upgraded when the Arab states will show a real ... effort to support the majority of Iraqis and having a federal, democratic, stable state,” he said.

The United States has begun sending a “surge” of nearly 30,000 extra troops to Iraq to help secure the capital Baghdad and parts of Al Anbar province.

Al Dabbagh expressed a wish for US forces to be able to withdraw soon from Iraq, but acknowledged that “the premature withdrawal of the American troops will create a vacuum” for other powers in the country.

“Iran is not only the danger, Al-Qaeda as well is the danger,” he said. The Al Qaeda network is believed to be behind deadly suicide bombings in Iraq.

Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain will attend the May conference, plus Turkey, the European Union, the Arab League, the United Nations and the G8 group of rich nations.

“It’s the right time now to look to the relations with Iraq beyond the ideological, sectarian or ethnic vision which prevents the Kurds and the Shiites from integrating in the region,” Al Dabbagh said.

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

what in the h-e-double hockey sticks is wrong with a parent in the first place who has no more respect for their own child than to sell them??? good god!

Same thoughts here Susie, but in this part of the world I just wonder if these parents aren't volun-told by Al-Quaida at the wrong end of an automatic weapon.