Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until April 26, 2007 Midnight cst.

Finance Minister Receives adviser Japanese embassy in Iraq
Wednesday 25 April 2007

Iraqi national-Luna / Baghdad office / Saudi Finance Minister Baqer Jabr Al-Zubaydi Mr. Takahido Nakam adviser Japanese embassy in Baghdad was the subject of discussion during the meeting, Japan's participation in the International Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, which will be held in early May 2007.

A statement issued by the ministry today, Wednesday, the Japanese adviser reviewed the topic of Japanese loan for Iraq and the contribution of Japanese companies in reconstruction projects and rehabilitation of ports and the water resources sector, roads and bridges in Samawah, reconstruction and rehabilitation of thermal power plant at Musayyib. The engineering services for the Basra refinery and fertilizer plant rehabilitation and Gaza.

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Sorry if posted already, but when scumbags like this get their just reward, I think is worth repeating.

'Al-Qaeda emir' killed in Iraq
26.4.2007. 08:30:13



The US military says it forces have killed an Al-Qaeda kingpin who has allegedly sent 12-year-old Iraqi boys to their deaths as suicide car bombers.

With a large-scale security operation under way in the capital, US and Iraqi forces are fanning out into a violent belt of small towns around the city in a bid to track down insurgent car bomb factories.

The urgency of the mission was underlined on Monday, when two suicide truck bombers and a gang of gunmen assaulted and partially demolished a US outpost northeast of the capital, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 more.

US command said it had identified a suspect killed northwest of Baghdad on April 20 as Muhammad Abdullah Abbas al-Issawi, also known as Abu Akram and Abu Abd al-Sattar, the Al-Qaeda "security emir" for the east of Anbar province.

"Coalition forces were conducting operations targeting associates of a known senior leader within Al-Qaeda in Iraq," the military statement said.

"During the operation the terrorists engaged ground forces with small arms fire. Coalition forces used appropriate self-defence measures and engaged the armed men, killing two and detaining one," it said.

According to the statement, explosive vests were found at the scene and "intelligence reports also indicate that his VBIED (car bomb) cell used 12- to 13-year-old children as VBIED drivers."

The statement also alleged that the dead suspect was an associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed last June in a US air strike.

On Wednesday, a bomber wearing an explosive vest walked into a police station in the town of Balad Ruz, northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province, and blew himself up, police Lieutenant Ahmed Ali said.

Four policemen were killed and 16 people wounded, he told AFP from Baquba.

Further north near Kirkuk a roadside bomb killed two police and wounded three more, police Colonel Abbad Mohammed Amin said.

Three people, including a soldier, were killed in armed clashes in Baghdad and the bodies of 18 murder victims found, a security official said.

Monday's attack on the US base in Al-Sadah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad, was the deadliest on US ground forces in Iraq for 16 months, and has been claimed by Al-Qaeda in an Internet statement.

On Wednesday, the military released previously unpublished details revealing the ferocity of the assault.

"The enemy attack consisted of small arms fire, followed by the detonation of two explosive-laden trucks, one of which detonated along an outer barrier" of the base, a statement said.

The second truck detonated approximately 30 metres (yards) from the patrol base building. Neither vehicle penetrated the patrol base's inner perimeter.

"The explosive blast from the second truck ruptured the wall of the patrol base building, collapsing the second floor and, causing the majority of the soldier casualties," the military said.

Twenty soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, were wounded in the attack, although 15 of them were able to return to service after treatment.

A nearby house and several smaller structures also collapsed under the impact and a civilian hospital and mosque approximately 200 metres (yards) from the patrol base were also damaged, the statement said.

"This attack is a direct response to our aggressive and persistent operations to target the enemy in Diyala," said Colonel David Sutherland, US commander in Diyala.

In the past it has been rare for insurgent groups to mount large-scale assaults on well-fortified and defended American positions.

Now, however, US forces have adopted a more ambitious strategy to take control of areas by building smaller and more vulnerable outposts inside flashpoint areas.

The attack on Monday was the bloodiest assault on US troops on the ground since December 1, 2005 when 10 US marines were killed and 11 wounded by a roadside bomb outside Fallujah in western Iraq.

Diyala province has emerged as one of the fiercest battlegrounds in Iraq, the new focus of Sunni Al-Qaeda fighters who were pushed out of western Iraq and Baghdad by the US and Iraqi security operation.

Trade Minister : integrated plan to activate economic relations with the outside world
25 / 04 / 2007

Baghdad-file Press

Dr. Abdul Hassan farmer Sudanese Minister of Trade that a plan and an integrated program to activate economic relations with the outside world, and activate the role of Iraq in the Arab economic organizations and international organizations.

Transfer press statement issued by the minister as saying that this program includes the restoration of bilateral agreements and joint activation of the role of the joint committees between Iraq and the world as well as to develop business in Mlahkiat States to Iraq with the trade exchange to oversee those operations as well as research and investigation and audit of all previous conventions, the statement suitability for the new Iraqi reality.

And continued that the preceding months of the life of the government witnessed the activation of economic relations with both Korea and Iran, Japan, Australia and Syria and a number of Arab and foreign countries and also got agreements with these countries believe that the beginning of the road towards better economic relations with the outside world.

He pointed out that the Sudanese ministry mulls over to Jean problem for the purpose of finding the best mechanisms for the development and upgrading of economic reality with the search for the best ways to reactivate the Iraqi economy through import and export operations in addition to developing the Iraqi private sector to take its role in building the Iraqi economy and secreted in many programs and joint exhibitions organized by the Ministry in coordination with organizations and companies are known.

Source : Press file-writer : file Press

Originally Posted by Bill

Susie c'mon talk to us baby. All this news and nothing moving. What gives.

like ive said for the last couple of weeks, our window is now until the 3rd of may. they are gonna open it wide for us in their own time as was to be expected. its time for last minute preparations so if anyone wants to do anything in the lines of rounding out their numbers you better get with the program and not let it get to be a dong-like issue.

Talabani : Prime Minister is committed to the implementation of Article 140
25 / 04 / 2007
Sulaymaniyah - file Press

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that the decisions of the Supreme Committee for the implementation of Article 140 of the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk in the way of implementation, adding that this issue was exaggerated by many media, and the Iraqi prime minister stressed several times the need to implement the article.

Regarding the debate on the security wall built around the area hung in Baghdad, Talabani said : better to follow another way to impose security instead of building a wall.

And Mr. President expressed optimism the results and decisions of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit which will take place early next month.

Concerning relations with Turkey, he said that good relations with Turkey and we do not want to create any problem at the present time with Turkey, particularly with the ruling Justice and Development Party, describing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan personality and successful democracy, and regarded it as the best prime minister in the history of Turkey.

The President Talabani arrived in Sulaymaniyah International Airport this afternoon Wednesday, Lyra form form form form form fqah Dr. Ahmed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress.

Source : Press file-writer : file Press

Oil Debate Fuels D.C. Lawyer's Role in Iraq

New law to be voted on by Iraqi parliament would open the country's oil industry to foreign investment
Daphne Eviatar
The American Lawyer
April 26, 2007

This month, the Iraqi parliament is expected to vote on a new oil law.

Assuming that the government doesn't dissolve amid the chaos, the new law will determine how the country's highly coveted natural resource will be exploited for decades to come -- and who's likely to reap the profits. It will also influence when U.S. troops leave Iraq, since it's one of the key benchmarks set by the Bush administration.

That puts Ronald Jonkers in a tough spot. It's not just that the Washington, D.C., lawyer, now with Hills Stern & Morley (formerly with Clifford Chance), has to watch out for bullets and mortars on his way from his fortified trailer in the Green Zone to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. (Even the U.S. stronghold faces frequent attacks from insurgents.) But when he gets to his job as the American legal adviser to the fledgling Iraqi government, he has to perform a high-stakes juggling act.

The new law attempts to balance the interests of the warring Sunni, Shiite and Kurd factions, none of which necessarily correspond with those of the United States, nor those of the oil companies and law firms that make up a powerful U.S. constituency.

So it would be hard to overstate the delicacy of Jonkers' role. Neither he nor the U.S. Department of State would discuss exactly what Jonkers is doing in Iraq these days. The U.S. government would not even officially confirm that he's there, although sources ranging from watchdog groups to a family member have confirmed his role to The American Lawyer. Jonkers did not return repeated calls and e-mail requests for comment. David Foley, a spokesman for the State Department, would say only that "our guys are helping the Iraqis write their law and pass their law," and that "the hydrocarbon law is critically important."

Energy lawyers agree. "Pretty much all the major oil companies are taking a very close interest in the future potential in Iraq," says Mathew Kidwell, a partner in the Dubai office of Fulbright & Jaworski. "We have certainly had discussions with a number of our oil industry clients about the legal framework."

Ronald Jonkers is the son of the late Col. Roy Jonkers, a high-ranking military intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force. Although raised largely in Europe, where his father's travels took him, Jonkers graduated from Stanford University and Hastings College of the Law. From 1992 to 2003 he was assistant general counsel for the Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. agency that provides financing and political risk insurance to American businesses investing overseas, often in energy projects in high-risk, war-torn environments like Iraq's. For example, he advised the agency on the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which sends oil from the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan across Georgia and Turkey.

His private practice has followed a similar path. As a project finance lawyer at Clifford Chance from 2003 to 2005, Jonkers structured energy projects in Russia and telecommunications systems in Bangladesh, among other deals. He did similar cross-border finance work at Hills Stern & Morley. (He's been on leave from the firm since heading to Iraq more than a year ago.) So Jonkers is well versed in the sorts of oil laws that American businesses and their lawyers hope will emerge in a new Iraq. "He has a terrific background for that," says David Evans, a partner in Clifford Chance's Washington office, who recruited Jonkers to join the firm. "At OPIC, he had a lot to do with that interstitial tissue between policy and legal matters. It's all well and good to say, 'here's the law you're going to use,' but you have to understand how it works at the political level."

Since setting passage of the oil law as a benchmark for the Iraqi government in January, President George W. Bush has emphasized that the draft law, which was only made public in March, would distribute oil revenues evenly throughout the country on the basis of population, rather than where the oil is produced. While that's widely seen as key to preventing factional conflict, that provision was already part of the Iraqi constitution, ratified in October 2005.

What's really new about the law is that it would open the Iraqi oil industry's doors wide open to foreign investment. Under Saddam Hussein, foreign investment was strictly limited, as it is in most major Middle Eastern oil-producing countries. Under the new law, the Iraq National Oil Company would have exclusive control of only about 17 of Iraq's approximately 80 known oil fields.

The law would also allow the government to negotiate different kinds of exploration and production contracts with foreign oil companies, including Production Sharing Agreements, or PSAs. Energy lawyers favor these because they allow oil companies to secure long-term deals and book oil reserves as assets on their company balance sheets. A report on the future of Iraq's oil industry from the International Tax and Investment Center, an industry organization whose board includes senior officials of the world's largest publicly held oil and oil services companies, as well as partners from five Global 100 firms, confirms that's exactly what the energy industry has been pressing for.

So far, Fulbright's oil company clients are pleased with the draft law. "The consensus seems to be that, from what we've seen, it's a good first step," says Jeremy Sheldon, partner in Fulbright's London office.

But there is opposition to the law from a wide swath of Iraqi interests. Many fear it will hand over to foreigners too much control over Iraq's most prized natural resource. A group of Iraqi oil experts wrote an open letter to the Iraqi parliament complaining that the law's emphasis on quickly attracting foreign investment could lead the government, now weak from the ongoing war, to seal long-term deals with foreign companies that are not in the long-term interest of the country. Production contracts, for example, could remain in effect for decades. If a future government tried to change the law or terms of signed contracts, it could land in costly international arbitration, where conflicts over such contracts are usually decided.

The resurgent Iraqi trade unions have also come out against the law. The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, representing about 26,000 workers in the industry, could pose a serious obstacle by threatening to shut down oil production, something the federation has done three times since it formed in 2003.

Critics worry about the multinationals' commitment to the country (or lack thereof). Under the proposed law, foreign companies would not have to invest their earnings in Iraq, hire Iraqi workers or partner with Iraqi companies.

Critics also resent the secrecy surrounding the process. Not only were negotiations behind closed doors, but the proposed law wasn't publicly available until recently, although the British and American governments, and many oil companies, were given early drafts, says Greg Muttitt, co-director of Platform, a London-based oil industry watchdog: "Iraqi civil society has been excluded from the process. Even Iraqi MPs are seeing the law for the first time now."

Jonkers, on the other hand, has been a part of the process, though no one will reveal his precise role. David Evans of Clifford Chance says, with a tone of admiration in his voice, "All I know is, I saw a picture circulating of him riding to work in a Humvee with a helmet and a flak jacket on. Ron is quite an entrepreneurial guy. He's innovative; he likes being on the cutting edge."

It's an evaluation shared by Jonkers' brother Randall, CFO of Pervasive Software Inc. in Austin, Texas. "He's always liked that international side," says Randy. "And he can get a lot of good contacts."

Law.com - Oil Debate Fuels D.C. Lawyer's Role in Iraq

House Passes Legislation That Would Order Bush to Begin Withdrawing Iraq Troops by Oct. 1

WASHINGTON Apr 25, 2007 (AP)— A sharply divided House brushed aside a veto threat Wednesday and passed legislation that would order President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by Oct. 1.

ABC News: House OKs Iraq Troop Withdrawal Bill

Difficulties and challenges facing the international community and the efforts of American
(Voice of Iraq) - 26-04-2007

Difficulties and challenges facing the international community and the American and Iraqi efforts to make it a success.

The deteriorating security situation and a government representing Shiite majority behind hesitation States in extinguishing debt.

Washington : Robin Wright *
Informed sources disclosed that the efforts of Iraq and the United States efforts to win international support to help establish security and stability in Iraq is facing serious difficulties due to the rejection of the major proposals to exempt debt, as well as fears of supporting Iraqi government failed to implement many of the political promises.

The Kuwait, Russia, China, Iran and other governments have expressed reservations about signing the proposed resolution calling for a full exemption of Iraq's debts amounting to tens of billions of dollars in debt and war reparations. The shaping of the proposed resolution, which was obtained «Washington Post» a copy of it, to support calls «the International» on the new Iraq, a plan over five years to cover aspects of economic and social development and political situation in Iraq.

The agreement came a full year result of the negotiations, is expected to top the agenda of the meeting is scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in May 3 (May), next with the participation of all states and institutions concerned with the situation in Iraq. It is scheduled to discuss Iraq's neighboring countries and the Member States in the international coalition during the second day of the meeting the necessary efforts to establish security there.

Sources revealed that the differences appeared in the second draft resolution proposed meeting on May 4, as provided Egypt and Kuwait proposals differently. The resolution on «International Covenant» same conditions as set forth in the American decision on the deployment of additional troops this spring in Iraq for the purpose of enforcing security.

Since the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to take steps long overdue, including the political reconciliation and the constitutional amendments, disbanding the militias and ease the ban on former Baath Party members and leave law guarantees equitable distribution of the proceeds of Iraqi oil. However, despite the passage of nearly four months of the Declaration of Bush's new American strategy in Iraq did not take these steps yet, which aroused the concern of the international community about its obligations in Iraq. Officials said in the Middle East that some neighboring countries Sunni governments do not wish to provide assistance or support to the government of the Shiite majority, which has so far failed to make progress in winning the Sunni minority four years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Participating American officials and prominent Iraqis eve prospective meetings early next month in intense diplomatic activity aimed at gaining support for the resolutions will be reached. Planned Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and other Iraqi officials visits to some countries in the region for this purpose.

The coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq American, David Satterfield, had toured for over a week in order to obtain the necessary support from Iraq's neighboring countries. Foreign Ministry official announced said that the Iraqi political reforms and economic aid promised Iraq's international must go hand in hand, emphasizing the possibility of control processes.

It should be noted that most, but not all, of those with outstanding debts owed by Iraq expressed willingness to discuss exempting 80% of these debts, but the difference is estimated at billions of dollars, Russia, Kuwait and China over the rejection of full exemption of debts, according to sources. Kuwait calls on Iran to billions of dollars in compensation for the damage that occurred during the invasion of Iraq were in the 1980s and 1990s. The two countries also face the challenges of internal political exemption on debts owed by Iraq because of the sensitivities and the continuing loss of life and physical destruction that has occurred.
* Service «Washington Post» is special «Middle East»

Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

International
Iraq's Prime Minister Under Pressure
Oxford Analytica 04.25.07, 6:00 AM ET

This article is part of Oxford Analytica's Daily Brief Service.

Global Prospects 2006


U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said on Monday that the Baghdad security plan "buys time for political understandings among Iraqis."

As the plan will only hit its stride (in terms of committed U.S. forces) from June onward, the political space created refers to the summer's political committee work and the autumnal parliamentary session. However, if the Kurdish/Shia alliance continues to eschew compromise, as seems likely, political reconciliation may remain stalled.

Senior U.S. officials have outlined the need for Iraq to speed up its political processes to hit milestones set in 2006, which included approval of key legislation such as the Provincial Election, Oil and De-Ba'athification laws in the first quarter of 2007; completion of negotiations on amnesty arrangements and constitutional amendments by the end of April; and holding provincial elections by June.

Though many of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's milestones are now unachievable within their previous timelines, Baghdad faces intense U.S. pressure to pass at least some of its legislative agenda before parliament goes into summer recess on June 30.

Washington is planning a number of near-term initiatives, focused on steps to reduce Sunni Arab resentment:

--The government may seek to push the draft hydrocarbons framework law through parliament in late April or early May. However, the political parties are unlikely to submit the law to parliament before consensus is reached on key annexes, suggesting it will be delayed.

--The March 27 draft Law of Accountability and Justice would replace the Supreme De-Ba'athification Commission with a panel of judges and reduce the number of former Ba'athists banned from government service. Maliki and President Jalal Talabani were rushed into presenting the draft law by U.S. pressure, and it received widespread condemnation. The law can expect to be debated and amended at considerable length.

--The January 2005 elections were largely boycotted by the Sunni Arab community, resulting in almost no representation of Sunni Arabs on provincial councils, even in predominately Sunni Arab provinces. Shia and particularly Kurdish factions benefited considerably from the situation and continue to stall the development of electoral legislation. There is little likelihood of elections until the winter.

The one area in which Washington would like Baghdad to slow down is the reverse-Arabization of Kirkuk. However, this is the single area in which the Iraqi government appears to be forging ahead.

The government backs the constitutional promise to begin resolution of Kirkuk's final status on or before Dec. 31, 2007, and the cabinet recently endorsed a draft law to offer compensation to any eligible Arabs living in Kirkuk if they voluntarily relocate to their original home towns. The law is highly likely to gather the required 138 votes needed to pass through parliament

Coalition politics will have a crucial effect on progress--or lack of it--on U.S.-Iraqi benchmark issues. Almost all political parties are quietly suffering internal schisms and loudly threatening to leave the political process if their needs are not met.

An effort in March by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to draw Kurdish, Sunni and breakaway Shia parliamentarians into an alternative cross-sectarian grouping demonstrated that the Shia United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) list could only be unseated by a decisive swing by every other faction, most notably the Kurds. In the event, the Kurdish bloc stood firmly behind the UIA.

Washington is seeking to micromanage Iraq's legislative agenda, but there is only so much it can do to speed along controversial and complex bills on hydrocarbons and de-Ba'athification.

Parliament continues to struggle to achieve a quorum due to the many legislators living outside Iraq or failing to attend, a situation made worse by the April 12 bombing of the parliament building.

As Maliki struggles to placate opposing interests, the U.S. government and Congress will continue to be frustrated by the slow pace of legislative and political progress in Iraq. Legislative milestones may well be missed by the recess, auguring a busy summer of committee work and a packed autumn agenda. This result will increase congressional pressure for a U.S. withdrawal.

To read an extended version of this article, log on to Oxford Analytica's Web site.

Oxford Analytica is an independent strategic-consulting firm drawing on a network of more than 1,000 scholar experts at Oxford and other leading universities and research institutions around the world. For more information, please visit www.oxan.com. To find out how to subscribe to the firm's Daily Brief Service, click here.

Iraq's Prime Minister Under Pressure - Forbes.com

WHOOT WHOOT PARTY!!!!!!!



Confirmation by Pres. Talabanni that PM Maliki agreed to implement the decisions of Supreme Committee on all 4 resolutions

admits media exaggerated delays

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26/04/2007