Thread: Iraq/Dinar News Until 5/3/07 Midnight CST.

Law Discussion oil and gas .. Indeed, research and technical information
(Voice of Iraq) - 02-05-2007 | Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Within a week long cultural events .. Law Discussion oil and gas .. Indeed, research and technical information and intellectual property in Iraq

Irbil / long
Activities will continue a week long cultural V in Arbil, where they will be discussed further cultural and literary hub today, Wednesday, as well as discuss mechanisms banking work in Iraq, investment and tourism in Kurdistan and presented no static life of the director Koutaiba Al-Janabi.
The events today theatrical presentation hell and get representation Farouk Sabri Abdullah Evening technical revive Task Grain and optical reader primarily Iraqi Hamed Al-Saadi and his band saw yesterday, Tuesday, a number of players and tables, at the table long tables discussed oil and gas law before the House of Representatives, and participated in a research each Dr. Abdul Jabbar Halve (Scientific Adviser to the Center for Arab Gulf Studies at Basra University) and Dr. Nabil Jaafar Abdel consent (professor in the Faculty of Administration and Economy at the University of Basra) and Engineer Dr Muhammad Mahdi struggle Jeweler (expert in the affairs of oil). A research discussed (the oil and gas new Iraqi), (Critical Reading of the new draft bill oil), (oil and gas law who is the beneficiary of urgency in the legislation).

The values Abduljabbar Halve the law, saying : "The preamble to a successful law stipulates that oil and gas is the property of the people, and the House will take priority in the debate and ratify laws and continued : But we believe that there are negative aspects need to be drastically amended to ensure the people's ownership of the wealth and strategic outlook, so that foreign companies the upper hand in the disposition of these wealth and draining. " For his part, Dr. Nabil Jaafar draft bill oil and gas as a new Iraqi completely contradict the Article (29) of Chapter VII of the foreign investment law, which was approved by the House of Representatives on 10 / 10 / 2006, which stipulates exception of foreign investment in the extraction and production of oil and gas. " He continued Mckhasa defects contained Act : "The draft law did not write the language of economic wholesome as the legislature did not distinguish between imports and income, I mean imports and the second means the proceeds (revenues of oil exports in the law) and therefore one can be a substitute for the other, and this refers to the absence of any economic group within Labor charged that the legislation law."
On the other hand, within the hub of artistic activities, a week long cultural, discussed a number of theatrical and plastic film critics and artistic reality in Iraq yesterday, Tuesday, under the title (constituents awaken movement and movie theater in the shadow "Altaboat" interdiction) meeting was divided into three axes (Studio and theater and cinema), and raised the working papers included research The problems and treatments.
It also discussed the matter of thought and media on the long tables cultural, and including, constitutional guarantees and material for the maintenance of freedom of press and information, standards and legal controls to divert Iraqi judiciary in the light of experience of democracy, the center focuses on the organization of journalistic work in Iraqi Kurdistan in the light of international legislation.

Skinner told the «opinion» : our debts to Kuwait are committed to them and wait
(Voice of Iraq) - 01-05-2007 | Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Spokesman for the Iraqi government to Skinner told «opinion» : our debts to Kuwait are committed to them and wait to consider would

Cairo-from Mustafa Aboharon : The spokesman for the Iraqi government adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Skinner to Iran would not hesitate to participate in both the International and the neighboring countries of Iraq to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on the third and fourth of this month, pointing to the existence of ongoing contacts with the Iranian side to convince him of the importance of participation.
Skinner told in a dialogue «opinion» in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, said : «The conferees will paint features futuristic new relationship between Iraq and neighboring countries, especially on the economic side», expected to be dropping all the debts of Arab countries on Iraq.
Skinner denied the existence of any foreign pressure behind the insistence of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on American forces will stay, and said : «The decision for an immediate and early for the American troops and the multinational force could lead to a real mess», excluding the outbreak of civil war if the future of this withdrawal.
Skinner warned Turkey of the risk of interference in Iraqi affairs, stressing that its threat to use force in northern Iraq on the internal have is the presidential election, calling on them to refrain from the language of threats because it would not benefit or serve Turkey, and the resort to the language of dialogue and understanding. And the details of the interview :
• On the occasion of the visit - Maliki days ago - to Kuwait, may still file disputes with Kuwait or been suspended lock?
- What great history between the two countries has not been able to embarrass Saddam Hussein this date, and there is no disagreement with the Kuwaiti brothers, brothers supported us and helped us and supported, and continue to support the political process, and there is the issue of debt and compensation brothers look to this matter. The Iraqi leaders always persist in good fellow Arabs who were being bent. And just as he wanted them and expect those more distant brethren Kuwaitis and Emiratis that the best steps initiated by those more distant.
• What about Iraq's debt to Kuwait, and how are you treating this file in the light of contacts between the two countries?
- Problem in compensation for the war against Kuwait, we know that we were legally bound to pay compensation for the war, because this international resolution and issued by the United Nations, but we feel that Kuwaiti officials and the Kuwaiti people appreciated that we have suffered in Iraq, such as those suffered shed Saddam Hussein's regime, we did not have a hand in what happened to Kuwait and us in Iraq. To imagine that we call the spirit of fraternity brothers from the Kuwaitis to consider the issue of debt and compensation.
• Has the Iraqi government contacts with the Iranian side to persuade him to participate in both the International and the neighboring countries of Iraq to be set up in the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt early next month?
- Contacts with Iranian brothers continuous, because participation in the conferences of great importance, and incidentally not be postponed any of these conferences, as a conference of the International third day of this month, a conference in neighboring countries following day is, the date has been finally determined. Generally, we call on Iran to abandon their reluctance to participate, and we believe that good relations between the United States and Iran can help us and avoided many of the problems and tensions. I imagine that the conferees will paint features futuristic new relationship between Iraq and neighboring states.
• What about the agenda of the conferences?
- With respect to the International Covenant, there will be mutual commitments between participating States and Iraq, we on our part will commit ourselves to be judged rational fight financial and administrative corruption, and there is also optimal use of resources and development and also national reconciliation and political participation of all Iraqis, with respect for human rights and women, and many of these commitments are part of the government's commitment to the Iraqi people that elected it.
• What about the obligations of States participating in the conferences?
- The obligations of States participating in conferences related to providing opportunities for Iraq to build their national institutions and the forgiveness of debt caused by the regime of Saddam Broonth and tyranny, and also create the climate for investments in Iraq, because a rich country and the broad area of economic development. We do indeed need the presence of Arab and foreign investments, and the most important of these commitments is to support the political process on the ground, and this is the agenda of the International Covenant.
While the focus of the agenda of the neighboring countries to several important files and sensitive beginning of the security file and rapprochement with neighboring countries via file refugees who cast a shadow over the neighboring countries of Iraq, due to the presence of huge numbers of Iraqis in these States, which raises many crises and, I would imagine that the conference will new horizons for Iraq to build a good future relations with the neighboring countries, especially in the economic aspect.
• Is identified Iran certain requirements in exchange for participation?
- I think the strained relations between Iran and the United States are created hesitation in respect of the Iranian participating in the conference, especially after the extension of the arrest of five Iranian personnel by the United States and who were arrested in Arbil.
For our part-government, Iraqi-American view that the conduct was not true, and we must provide an appropriate climate for all nations to participate in the conference. The Iraqi issue can be ground for understanding between Iran and the United States, we do not want to be a contentious issue between the two countries, but we want common and inclusive framework of the opponents in the world.
• Incidentally, why the Iraqi government did not intervene for the release of five Iranian personnel?
- The government has already intervened in this case, and requested the United States to release them, I have asked the American delegate at a conference in Baghdad, the need to consider this matter. We feel that the American decision in this regard was not sound, but we can not influence this decision, we have only what is required of us human neighbors, and said that the dossier must end as soon as possible, without leaving any trace.
• How do you view the strained relations between Iran and the United States and its impact on Iraq?
- I can say that we are not ready to pay the price of convergence or divergence between Iran and the United States, and we are with the development of relations between the two countries, but not at the expense of Iraq. And hope that there will be a joint meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Sharm el-Sheikh, if Iran decided to participate.
• I said that the withdrawal of American forces could create chaos, so expect Iraq to turn into a civil war if it was this withdrawal?
- I do not think that the civil war could easily occur in Iraq, as the overlap clan in Iraq, there is no parallel in any country or region in the world, and the voice of reason always prevail despite incidents of violence and explosions, and destruction, there is always a rational voices calling for calm, and the trend General in the Iraqi street will slide towards civil war, whatever attempted terrorist groups after giving sectarian relations between the sects of the Iraqi people.
• I noted in your debt to the Iraqi issue, is there States agreed to drop this debt?
- Many States have already written off their loans to Iraq in the forefront of the States signatories to the Paris Club, has been dropping about 80% of the debt. Japan, the United States and Canada crossed the one hundred% of the debt, also called for the Arab summit write a hundred% of the debt. I expect to be dropping all the debts of Arab countries on Iraq.
• Have the government conduct a dialogue with the Iraqi Baathists in the political participation?
- There is already a dialogue with Baathists, but as individuals, not party, because the party «Baath» will not have a share in political practice, we are not holding any person unless he commits an offense against Iraq, the Baath as a March all sorts of conspiracy against the Iraqi people.
• How do you see the armed operations in Iraq, is it resistance or terrorism Is there support from the neighboring countries?
- Violence and terrorism aimed at Iraq and the region generally, but some States believes or believes that the kind of violent resistance, and this significant strategic threat, and must look to what is happening in Iraq as a war against civilians, and therefore must cooperate to protect Iraq's borders.
• What is the conception of the government to solve the problem of Kirkuk?
- We are committed mechanisms Constitution remapping time or «road map» to solve this problem and the government we are committed to implementing, there will be a referendum on Kirkuk dependence end of this year, and this is determined by the Iraqis must not impose any other hidden us.
• Are you satisfied with the movements and positions of Arab States in the Iraq file?
- The recent Arab summit was positive and good, have identified trends in the Iraqi file indicate that there is a real awareness of the size of the Iraqi problem, but there is still some Arab countries to deal with it a different perspective, this is a mistake. Some countries are still feeling concerned captive relationship Iran and some Iraqi groups, while acknowledging the legitimacy of this concern, but more important is to assist the Iraqis to develop a national position is not allowed to turn Iraq into an arena for exchanging accusations and discounts.
• There is hearsay that the Israeli presence there in Iraq now, what do you think?
- We do not care about such rumors, Israel exists in many Arab capitals, and when we want to establish diplomatic relations with Israel would be part of the policy of a comprehensive Arab, and not individual decisions, but we must first solve the Palestinian issue is a fair solution and bring the Palestinians their rights.
• What about the impact of a clash with the Sadri movement on the path of the political process in Iraq?
- The government did not interfere in any conflict with the Sadri trend, and we know weight and the weight of this trend and the extent of participation in the political process, but there are differences in viewpoints, and this is the state of democracy, has resulted in the withdrawal of these differences Sadri trend ministers from the government.
Overall, the brothers in the Sadri movement with national goals has sought to extricate Iraq from its crises, and what happened would not affect the overall political participation by Sadri trend, as it exercises its rights through political presence in the Parliament.
• Was your refusal to reschedule the withdrawal of American forces behind differences with the Sadri trend?
- Iraqi government believes that the situation on the ground moving and changing, and therefore should not be linked to the same schedules may change and believes that it would be premature to agreement on this issue, because they might not be able or delay in the implementation of what was agreed upon. The government considers that the main task in this respect is access to good in the training and preparation of the Iraqi forces so that they can replace a substitute for the multinational forces, then can enter into negotiations on timetables for withdrawal from Iraq. But Muqtada al-Sadr wants to reschedule the withdrawal of the troops in Iraq now, and this national attitude certainly, but inappropriate for the current stage of the government's standpoint.
• Frankly, Are there external pressure behind the insistence of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the survival of the American forces?
- Political blocs participating in the government except Sadri trend is not with the immediate withdrawal of troops and early American and multinational forces, but that Muqtada al-Sadr himself is calling for the early withdrawal of these forces, because everyone knows that such a withdrawal would create chaos, and thus the survival of these forces is not determined by the President Ministers, the government started a national its extension for the American troops and others.
• But scheduling the withdrawal of American forces demand Arab and Muslim also, in addition to being an Iraqi Trvbouna Why?
- With all respect and appreciation for the Arab brothers, but we are living inside Iraq and we know what hurts nor benefiteth him etc. What is needed at this stage, and we believe it is not wise to demand an early exit of these forces, because this would leave a vacuum in power, will find the horror, but violent groups, and this is in our interest.
• Some believe that the withdrawal of American forces will be preceded by the withdrawal of the Iraqi government, and this is the reason for your refusal to reschedule the withdrawal at the present time?
- The government came to power through elections official, nor do they represent a faction or a political one, everybody involved members of Parliament, and therefore it is not fair to skip over the facts because this is an insult to 12 million Iraqis voted in the elections.
• When Iraqi forces unable to extend its control over all its territory?
- We are moving ahead with a timetable for receipt of sovereignty security, we received a few days ago has sovereignty over the Missan governorate.
There are other calendars being reviewed periodically and specific criteria for the transfer of sovereignty, most notably the readiness of the Iraqi forces and the level of security threat, and I believe that the year 2007 will be crucial in terms of the transfer of sovereignty security.
• Why what is happening in Kurdistan and the impact on relations with Turkey?
- Initially, we must look at what is happening in Kurdistan in the same way that was perceived by many to this case before the fall of the Saddam regime, as the head Massoud Barzani is one territory levels of the Iraqi regime and must be dealt with on this basis in Turkey and elsewhere. Iraqi and foreign policy are determined by how to deal with this file and not the province. If we want privileged relations with Turkey, we call upon them at the same time not interfering in Iraqi affairs, we understand and appreciate Turkish concern, but this should not be allowed to interfere in Iraqi affairs, especially as it will open the door for others to such interventions.
• How do you deal with the threat of the use of force in Turkish northern Iraq?
- According to the language of threats does not, and I think that Turkish threats linked mainly Turkish internal affairs, particularly the presidential elections, and they generally do not serve Turkey and its relationship with Iraq, and we want to be a big role for Turkey in the development of relations and the reconstruction of Iraq, but the language used ravage relations with us.
• But Turkey accuses the Iraqi Kurds support the party «PKK»?
- Iraqi government formed a committee for cooperation with Turkey in this regard, according to the dictates of international law, and we do not want to threaten any organization or group security of Turkey from our territory, and therefore we are keen to prevent any activity of the party «PKK», during the rule of Saddam's regime was allowed to enter Turkish forces for 15 kilometers inside Iraqi territory.
However, the Turkish forces have failed to eliminate the party «workers» of the steep areas, there may not now be requested one in Iraq to be a policeman for others.
• What could happen if Turkey to launch an attack of the Kurds in Iraqi territory?
- Ruled this matter, but we warn Turkey of committing such an act, because it will enter the entire region into a crisis has no limits, and now we must move away from any provocation or military action and resort to the language of dialogue and understanding.
Public opinion

Adviser to the Prime Minister confirm that the cabinet reshuffle after the Sharm El-Sheikh conference did not include the Ministry of Defense
Date : Monday, April 30
Topic : latest news
Adviser to the Prime Minister said today, Monday, that Nuri al-Maliki announced a cabinet reshuffle after the international conference on Iraq which will be held in the city (Sharm el-Sheikh) Egypt next week

, And denied that the defense ministries to be covered by the change.
The Advisor Maliki Mrs. Maryam Rayes, in a press statement today, Monday, that a cabinet reshuffle expected "to be in phases will be paid one," pointing out that there was a committee formed in the Council of Ministers
"Took it upon themselves to the completion of this subject."
She stated that there were "some points that stop then this committee, Ketruchihat lumps of Ministers and not submitting names of those lumps in time."
Rayes added, "some six ministries from which Sadri trend and ministries allocated
The block (independent) will have priority in announcing the names of ministers (new), then followed by the rest of the ministries to be covered by the change. "
The Sadri trend has decided two weeks ago, to withdraw his ministers from the six government, and Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr delegation is the appointment of al-Maliki and other ministers are "independent" rather than his ministers. It also decided bloc (independent) parliamentary delegation Maliki also nominate ministers independent rather than Zyreha in the current government.
She Advisor to the Prime Minister expected changes "would include ministries of the Ad Hoc told (the Iraqi List), and like the block (Accord Front), one of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc."
The president stressed that "the lack of inclusion of the portfolio of the Ministry of Defense in those amendments

Cut and Paste from the CBI-Mistake thread:

Originally Posted by adm
Listen up folks, I'm in Doha, Qatar, same time zone as Baghdad and I called the number provided...here's my question- "I understand you're having problems with your site; when do you expect it to be back." Answer- There's no problem and we expect it to be back up today; MAYBE." (Arabic answer for YES) Today is 2 May 2007 and the Bank is open.
That's all I have folks.
Al


Here's the link:

http://www.rolclub.com/rumors-predic...tml#post195244

Originally Posted by Hardwood

Cut and Paste from the CBI-Mistake thread:

Originally Posted by adm
Listen up folks, I'm in Doha, Qatar, same time zone as Baghdad and I called the number provided...here's my question- "I understand you're having problems with your site; when do you expect it to be back." Answer- There's no problem and we expect it to be back up today; MAYBE." (Arabic answer for YES) Today is 2 May 2007 and the Bank is open.
That's all I have folks.
Al


Here's the link:

http://www.rolclub.com/rumors-predic...tml#post195244

See if you can find out if the bank was open yesterday ...May 1st ....and if there was "No Problem" with the site why was it down ????

WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOO TRICKY................

YA GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by oldskiier

See if you can find out if the bank was open yesterday ...May 1st ....and if there was "No Problem" with the site why was it down ????

good point OS this would be nice yo know.

Originally Posted by oldskiier

See if you can find out if the bank was open yesterday ...May 1st ....and if there was "No Problem" with the site why was it down ????

CAUSE THIS IRAQUSA CRAZYVILLE AND THIS A WAR ZONE! THAT'S THERE EXCUSE, SO THERE YA GO................

Sounds like the guy was saying that he knows the site was down but not because there was a problem with it and that it should be back up today, maybe. lol

Hopefully with some new numerical digits that will make your head spin.

Global Financial Warriors
By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | April 25, 2007

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is John B. Taylor, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor of economics at Stanford. He is known to legions of students as an excellent teacher and has won awards for being the best undergraduate teacher at Stanford. He is also known to central bankers and economists around the world for his research on monetary policy and especially for his famous Taylor Rule which central banks use as a guide for setting interest rates. For four years from 2001 to 2005, Taylor served as Under Secretary of Treasury where, as head of the international division, he played the central role in the financial front of the war on terror. He is the author of the new book Global Financial Warriors: The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post 9/11 World.

In the words of former Secretary of State George Shultz, when introducing Taylor at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club last January, “John Taylor is one of the world’s most distinguished outstanding economists….he is a master of economics in the classroom, but at the Treasury he had to be a master of economics in action.”

FP: John B. Taylor, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Taylor: I really appreciate the invitation. Thank you.

FP: What inspired you to write this book?

Taylor: When I returned to California from Washington in the summer of 2005 and began telling students, faculty, and many others about what went on inside the U.S Treasury after 9/11, I found that they were amazed. They were amazed to hear that so much happened, from freezing terrorists’ blood money to shipping tons of newly-printed currency into Iraq. They were even more amazed that so much went right, from stopping more terrorist attacks to creating financial stability in Iraq. And they were amazed by the heroic acts of the global financial warriors who made it all happen. Some people, of course, showed a great deal of skepticism along with their amazement, which is not surprising given the cavalcade of negative books like Imperial Life in the Emerald City, State of Denial, or Fiasco that have been written about this period in U.S. history. So I wrote the book to tell these amazing stories to more people and to document the key events in detail so historians could learn the truth and future policy officials could learn the lessons. I figured I was in a pretty unique position to tell these stories because I not only attended the meetings where the President made the decisions, I also went to the places around the globe where my teams carried out the decisions.

FP: Tell us a bit about the success on the financial front in the war on terror. How come we don’t hear about it?

Taylor: The financial front is very big. It includes freezing terrorist assets and implementing diplomatic strategies to persuade other countries to join us in the freezes. It includes tracing money through the global financial system to gain intelligence about terrorist networks. It includes setting up new financial systems in war torn-areas like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Liberia. It includes stopping the spread of financial crises that can destroy economies and thereby breed terrorism. It is a third pillar in U.S. foreign policy, along with defense and diplomacy. Within the executive branch, you can think of the Departments of State, Defense, and Treasury as having primary responsibilities for each of these three pillars, and obviously the Treasury gets the financial front.

There are several reasons why you don’t hear more about it. First, it is largely a good news story, and bad news tends to crowd out good news. Unfortunately this is the reality, and even if there were no bias in news reporting it would be a serious impediment to getting these stories out. Second, news reporters who cover foreign policy or defense issues are frequently unfamiliar with the financial issues. They tend to downplay them; this is understandable because financial issues have never played such a big role in U.S foreign policy, and this takes getting used to. Third, people guess that financial issues are uninteresting to read about and tend to tune out. So in writing this book I tried to buck all three communication barriers by telling unusual but true stories about fascinating people who played an essential role in the fight against terror.

FP: There is a widely-held assumption that the U.S. didn’t engage in any planning for a post-Saddam Iraq. It’s a false assumption isn’t it?

Taylor: Yes, it is most certainly a false assumption. I can speak mainly about the financial area, and that is what I document in my book. For example, we began developing a financial plan for post-Saddam Iraq in the late summer and fall of 2002, months before the invasion. At that time we were, of course, hoping that Saddam Hussein would abide by the U.N. resolutions and that there would be no war. But it would be irresponsible not to plan. Our goal was to prevent a financial collapse if Saddam’s government fell, and to lay the foundations for a new financial system and a new currency. We started by getting the best financial intelligence we could. We wrote and debated options papers. We decided on a two-part plan that began by paying Iraqis in dollars and ended with a new currency—a new dinar to replace the Saddam dinar which had Saddam’s face on it. We chose people to go to Baghdad and implement the plan if there was an invasion. The plan was vetted by the National Security Council and approved by President Bush. In the end the plan was carried out with precession. Twenty-seven plane loads of currency were printed in seven different printing plants around the world and flown into Baghdad where millions of Iraqis eagerly received them in exchange for their old Saddam dinars. Financial stability was restored and to this day the new Iraqi dinar remains a strong and stable currency. I believe the advance planning was a main reason for the success.

FP: Can you talk a bit about the unique vantage point that you had and have to write about the financial front in the terror war?

Taylor: I ran Treasury’s international division, which was at the center of the action. You can think of this position as a financial analogue to a combatant commander on the military side—the job held by General Tommy Franks during the start of the Iraq war. I reported to the Secretary of the Treasury much like he reported to the Secretary of Defense. I attended NSC meeting with President Bush, presented plans, and reported on progress. I also went to the countries in which we were operating. So it wasn’t just meetings in the White House, it was also the adventures on the ground that makes the vantage point unique. No one else on the finance front had this top-to-bottom perspective. In addition, I think you could say that this is a unique period in U.S history.

FP: Can you paint a few portraits for us of some global financial warriors?

Taylor: The global financial warriors include the 350 people who worked for me in the U.S. Treasury, not only at the Treasury building but also at the World Bank, the IMF, and in 50 different countries in the world. Brave people like David Nummy, who I sent to Baghdad in the days immediately after Saddam fell to stand up a central bank and finance ministry. Can you imagine how difficult it was to establish contact with Iraqi finance officials in those early days just after Saddam fell when the central bank and the finance ministry were largely destroyed by the looting? David had previous experience working in the former Soviet Union just after it fell—he is a tough, dedicated, experienced professional. Another is Larry Seale who went to Kabul to prepare the first budget of the Karsai government. He did it on his laptop computer. Larry later went to Liberia to do the same thing after the tyrant, Charles Taylor, was thrown out. There was a poster as you went through the main entry to the Treasury. It is one of those posters with Uncle Sam pointing at you. It says “We are at War…Are you Doing all you can?” That sums up the attitude that prevailed for these people. But there are many other financial warriors at other finance ministries and central banks around the world. People like the Ashraf Ghani, the finance minister of Afghanistan, who I call the Alexander Hamilton of his country, because he had to round up revenues from unruly governors (warlords) from the provinces of Iraq, much like Alexander Hamilton did in our country. Another remarkably brave and dedicated person is the central bank governor of Iraq, Sinan Shabibi, who I worked with closely to get monetary policy operating and to obtain a large debt reduction for his country.

FP: So what are some weapons on the financial front that you would recommend the U.S. to use in the terror war as it ensues?

Taylor: I would mention two things. First we should make use of a powerful new source of financial intelligence—the SWIFT system—to obtain information about terrorists. As I describe in my book, SWIFT is a messaging system that has information about international financial transactions. Although details of the system were leaked and published in major newspapers like the New York Times last summer, it remains useful to the United States and our allies. Second, we should expand and tighten the financial sanctions in order to combat nuclear proliferation in places like Iran and North Korea. These new financial weapons have already been responsible for getting North Korea to agree to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear plant and to allow inspectors in, though they have still not followed through with the agreement.

FP: Are you optimistic or pessimistic that the West can prevail against radical Islam?

Taylor: I am convinced that this global war on terror will be a long war. There are lessons from what has gone right and what has gone wrong so far. From my perspective on the financial front, having a clear sense of the mission with dedicated teams of people resolved to carrying out the mission is essential for success. If we apply such lessons learned in the future, if America keeps its resolve, then we will prevail. So yes I am optimistic. But we need to maintain our effort and our resolve. Doing so is more and more difficult as the memories of 9/11 recede further into the past. I hope the stories in my book contribute to the effort

CHA CHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!