Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 5/23/07 Midnight CST

[QUOTE]
Originally Posted by shotgunsusie
i do, not so ordinary woman of the sea!! [\QUOTE]

Well alrighty then! I think I can say this w/o giving too much away...that puts me flying home first class from Korea or Australia...sounds mighty fine to me!!

Thanks to all for your kind responses...being "away" is hard, but coming on here and seeing the support is really nice...Cheers to US, the Rolclub Family!! See you all in the Caymans (or wherever it is we decide to get down with our rich selves--that includes you Paulie! )

Cheers! Tracy

[QUOTE=ordinaryseawoman;199440]

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie
i do, not so ordinary woman of the sea!! [\QUOTE]

Well alrighty then! I think I can say this w/o giving too much away...that puts me flying home first class from Korea or Australia...sounds mighty fine to me!!

Thanks to all for your kind responses...being "away" is hard, but coming on here and seeing the support is really nice...Cheers to US, the Rolclub Family!! See you all in the Caymans (or wherever it is we decide to get down with our rich selves--that includes you Paulie! )

Cheers! Tracy

You mean booking a luxary cruise liner is out of the question? ...Godspeed and best of luck!

OMAHA, Neb. -- Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry said there's been a breakthrough on Iraq's plan to take a summer vacation.

Iraqi parliament members had said they planned to take a two-month summer vacation.

During an unannounced trip to the region this week, Vice President Dick Cheney told Iraqi leaders face to face that the vacation would be a very bad idea. One senator said on Thursday that there was a rumor circulating that the parliament may only take a week off, but the issue has made some lawmakers in Washington very angry.

Fortenberry released a statement Thursday afternoon after a meeting with Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih.

"The Iraqi prime minister informed us that parliament has appropriately changed course and will forgo the proposed extended vacation," Fortenberry said in the release. "This is the right decision. The situation in Iraq remains dangerous, difficult and very fluid. The parliament has an urgent job: facilitate the rapid stabilization of Iraq and make real political progress."

Iraqi Kurd leader urges oil to free market

WASHINGTON, 10 May 2007 (UPI)

While most of the world's oil is controlled by states, an Iraqi Kurd leader wants Iraq to adopt the free market to explore its vast crude reserves.

Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the United States, told United Press International he's worried Iraq will stick with the nationalized system to govern the 115 billion barrels of reserves, the third-largest in the world.

Iraqi politicians have yet to resolve disputes over an oil law. The KRG and central Iraq government dispute who has control over which fields, how much will be opened to foreign investment, and the percentage of and mechanisms for redistributing the revenue from oil.

"They're stuck in a nationalized framework," said Talabani, the son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. The Kurds are pushing for both regional control and opening up to foreign investment. The Shiite-dominated central government wants to maintain state control over the oil. A new report by PFC Energy, cited in the Financial Times Thursday, says multinational corporations either own or can access less than 10 percent of global oil reserves.

"They want state control over this, they want state monopoly over this, all under the false pretext of recreating Iraqi nationalism," Qubad Talabani said. "This is not about creating Iraqi nationalism, it's about creating an oil regime that is going to be effective, going to be efficient, going to be streamlined, going to bring life back to this country. We need to get oil flowing. What kind of messages are we sending to the investor here? A bad one."

Iraq produces 2 million barrels per day now, far less than before the war and what its reserves are capable of. Aside from the unrest, the oil sector is hampered by years of U.N. sanctions and mismanagement by Saddam Hussein. The needed billions of dollars in investment could come from Iraqi coffers. Oil sales make up 93 percent of the federal budget. Though Iraq has a long history in the oil sector, it needs some foreign investment, experts on all sides of the oil law debate say.

Iraq: KRG Calls Oil Law 'Make Or Break' Deal
May 10, 2007 19 55 GMT



Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in Iraq described a deal to distribute oil revenue throughout Iraq as a "make or break" situation for Kurds' long-term participation in the affairs of the Iraqi state, KRG representative to the United States Qubad Talabani said in an interview published by United Press International May 10. The KRG objects to the reestablishment of the Iraq National Oil Company, which it says was used by the Baath regime to rob Kurds of resources during Saddam Hussein's rule. The KRG and Iraqi central government have a self-imposed deadline in late May to agree on a hydrocarbons law.

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Kurdish Officials To Meet Govt In Baghdad Over Oil


Senior Iraqi Kurdish officials will travel to Baghdad next week hoping to end an impasse with the central government.

Senior Iraqi Kurdish officials will travel to Baghdad next week hoping to end an impasse with the central government over a draft oil law to share revenues from the world's third-largest oil reserves.
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, under pressure to push through key legislation Washington says is vital to healing sectarian divisions among Iraq's sects and ethnic groups, told an international economic conference on Iraq last week that the bill had been submitted to parliament for approval.

Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, also speaking ahead of the meeting in Egypt in which industrialised powers pressed reforms in Iraq in exchange for aid, told reporters in Saudi Arabia last week that Kurds were "very happy" with the draft law and that all the groups had agreed to pass it by the end of May.

But an oil industry source told Reuters on Thursday the bill was in a state body charged with drafting legislation, and that Kurds still had misgivings over annexes they say would wrest oilfields from regions and place them under a new state-oil firm.

Iraq's Kurdish Prime Minister Nejruvan Barzani said he will lead a high-level delegation of Kurdish officials to discuss the annexes with the central government next week.

"Next week, new negotiations will start over the appendixes to the oil law and the revenue distribution law. I will participate in a large part of these negotiations," Barzani told reporters in the northern city of Arbil late on Wednesday.

"The Kurds had a big role in writing the draft of the suggested oil law. I am optimistic in resolving the disputes."

An oil law is vital to securing foreign investment to boost Iraq's oil output and rebuild its war-ravaged economy.

But divisive issues not formalised when cabinet passed the law in February, such as how revenues would be shared and who would gain control of discovered but undeveloped oilfields, has delayed its approval.

Barzani has insisted that Kurds want to include a separate law on oil revenue management that would set up a Kurdish fund. The central government has said it wants revenues put in a central account and distributed according to Iraq's population.

Most of Iraq's proven oil reserves are in the Shi'ite south and in the Kurdish north.

A fair distribution of the oil wealth is vital for national reconciliation because Sunni Arabs, who live in areas with no oil in central and western Iraq, fear a bad deal would cut them off from any windfall. Sunni Arabs are the backbone of the insurgency.

Iraq's Deputy Prime minister Barham Salih, the chief architect of the draft oil law, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month he was confident a draft oil law would be approved in parliament after officials from the central government and Kurdistan meet to iron out differences.

Published: May 10, 2007 18:45h
Javno - World

Interview: Iraq Kurd leader on oil law



UPI - By Ben Lando



WASHINGTON -- To Iraq's Kurdish leadership, the issue of how to apportion the third-largest pools of oil in the world is "a make-or-break deal" for the country as a whole, a top official told United Press International.



"The oil issue for us is a red line. It will signify our participation in Iraq or not," Qubad Talabani, son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the United States, said in an interview from his Washington office.



The KRG and the central Iraqi government reached a deal in February on the hydrocarbons framework -- though not on other key companion bills -- and a self-imposed deadline of late May seemed possible to meet.



But the Iraqi Oil Ministry, at a meeting it set up last month in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, with other Iraqi oil experts and politicians, unveiled the annexes to the hydrocarbons law -- its list distributing control of oil fields between central and KRG control -- and a law re-establishing the Iraq National Oil Co., which Kurdish leadership automatically rejected.



"This sets us back to square one, a point that's unacceptable to us. We're trying to modernize Iraq, build a new Iraq, built on new foundations, new policies. The symbol of this new Iraq will be how it manages its oil infrastructure," Talabani said. "And if people want to revert back to Saddam-era policies of a state-controlled oil sector with no accountability, with no accountability to the Parliament or the people of the country, with no oversight except from by one or two, then I'm sorry, that is not the Iraq that the Kurds bought into. That is not the Iraq that the Kurds would want to be part of."



"If a centralized oil regime is imposed on us, we will not participate in the state of Iraq," Talabani said. "And we have to make it absolutely clear to our friends in Washington, to our brothers in Baghdad, this is a make-or-break deal for Iraq."



He said Iraq needs to embrace the free market and break free from the nationalized mindset. Numerous oil and Iraqi experts as well as key Iraq oil union leaders have told UPI that Iraqis see nationalized oil with pride. And opponents of the oil law also say it gives too much to foreign companies.



The Kurds, however, have little to show from the Saddam Hussein era, aside from persecution, death and little investment in its economy or oil sector. They gained autonomy in 1991 and, governing an autonomous three-province region now, are prospering. Airplanes fly internationally from the airport in Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan's capital. Violence in the region is relatively nil compared with the rest of the country, though the first major attack in more than four years killed 14 people in Irbil Wednesday. Despite lacking the law, the KRG has signed multiple deals with foreign companies to develop its oil and natural-gas sector.



Iraq only produces about 2 million barrels per day. With investment -- domestic or foreign -- Iraq's 115 billion barrels in reserves could handle much higher output.



Many of the arguments over the law are related to the 2005 constitution. It was written vaguely to garner support. Now there is a dispute as to which oil fields are to be governed by the central government and which by the regions.



Tariq Shafiq, an Iraq oil expert now living in Amman, Jordan, and drafter of the original law last summer, said the Iraq National Oil Co. should be independent of the Oil Ministry, and regions could choose the company's board of directors. (Shafiq has since come out against the law, saying it has been altered too much in negotiations.) He said Iraq needs a central strategy for the best management of the country's oil.



Talabani said the KRG favors an INOC limited in scope and open to foreign investment, and says the current law gives INOC control over 93 percent of Iraq's oil. "This will hamper needed investment," he said.



"It's only by bringing in the biggest and the best from the international community, to partner with, not to steal, but to partner with the Iraqi government, can we develop Iraq's oil accordingly," Talabani said. "And there's a worrying unwillingness to act under a free-market-style concept here. It won't go through. It won't go through the Parliament this way. There will be too many people opposed to it."



Other bills needing to be passed include a reorganization of the Oil Ministry and the revenue-sharing law. Talabani said there were lingering fears Kurds will again be deprived of funds and investment.



"We want to create an automatic payment mechanism where it doesn't rely on the goodwill of the finance minister or the oil minister for the regions to get their fair share," he said.



"Trust is lacking in Iraq, and unfortunately it's been Iraq's miserable history that has created this system, this society that mistrusts each other, which is why something as critical as oil can be a trust-building measure," Talabani said. "By putting in place mechanisms and institutions that can ensure that I will not get robbed again, that my resources will not be used against me again, will eventually over time build my trust."

Interview: Iraq Kurd leader on oil law

Assyrian International News Agency
Turkey Says Kirkuk is an Internal Affair of Iraq

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Posted GMT 5-9-2007 17:19:46

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Ankara -- Turkey believes Kirkuk is an internal affair of Iraq but also says it has to speak up for the rights of Turkmens, Kurds, Arabs and all other groups living in this oil rich city, according to sources close to the Foreign Ministry.

The sources say they feel the current situation in Kirkuk will not allow the November referendum to take place as scheduled and say the whole process should be delayed.

A source close to the ministry said Turkey has the right to speak about the future of Kirkuk as any other country. "When western countries speak about the oil law in Iraq are they interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq? So others also speak about the future of Iraq and of Kirkuk. Turkey is not interested in interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq," the source said.

The sources say the Iraqi Arabs as much as the Turkmens are against the referendum taking place in November. They also say deadlines set in article 140 of the Iraqi constitution for the future of Iraq have already passed with no action. "So the delays are already there. Besides this there is no healthy atmosphere for holding the census in Kirkuk in July which will be a prelude for the referendum."

The sources said there is growing recognition among the international circles that the referendum has to be delayed.

The sources said the Arabs also are not too much in favor of the referendum in 2007 and are stalling. "They take a decision on Article 140 but then they do not apply it. Thus there are delays."

The Kurds insist the referendum will take place in 2007. They are known to be threatening the al-Maliki government of a walkout from the cabinet if the referendum is stalled.

The sources also said Turkey is still awaiting a response from the Iraqi government for its protest note demanding action against the PKK terrorist holed up in the northern Iraqi mountains.

They said the Americans have recognized the urgency of the matter and are prodding Iraqis to take action.

The sources said Turkey does not expect any written or oral response form Baghdad on the PKK. "We want action against the PKK. This is how we want to see the response."

The sources also said the government is not against a dialogue with the Kurds. "We already have a dialogue with the Kurds are various levels. If we feel a high level dialogue will yield results we are also prepared for such a dialogue. However, we have to be assured of tangible results."

Turkey Says Kirkuk is an Internal Affair of Iraq

Mottaki surprised to discuss Iraq's debts and Sharm El-Sheikh
(Voice of Iraq) - 10-05-2007 | Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Mottaki surprised to discuss Iraq's debt Sharm El-Sheikh and Abdullah says Iraqis know their interest
Iraqi media Observatory in Cairo

Egyptian newspaper published widespread today May 10 May 2007 dialogue with Iran's Foreign Minister on the outcome of the Sharm el-Sheikh on the security and reconstruction of Iraq, the minister criticized the "introduction of an overthrow Iraq's debts suddenly on the agenda of the conference," The Jordanian monarch, while in a separate dialogue that the Iraqis are "able to know the interests of their country provided unite."
..
There was no suicide bombing that targeted the Ministry of Interior Kurdistan province yesterday to cover a large area in the Egyptian press and that the combined newspaper-news-official daily images between the families of the victims who gathered to the incident and pictures of females among Iraqi women weep for the victims of bloody explosions in the city of Kufa days ago .. Transfer correspondent - official daily Al-Ahram - ANKARA for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Premier's statements Masoud Barzani, head of Kurdistan does not mean anything for his country. Responding to the statement of Barzani that the language of threats pursued by Turkey from time to time are no longer benefit. Explaining ready Kurds' constructive dialogue 'and saying' We Anhdd one .. We will not accept any threats from the one which also took him Akhbar newspaper.

M. conducted a dialogue with Jordanian King Abdullah II, who is currently visiting Egypt. Replying to a question about the escalating crisis in Iraq, the Jordanian monarch said, "The International Covenant document issued by the Sharm el-Sheikh finally constitute an important step in support of Iraq and end interference in its affairs, but stressed that the Iraqis are able to know the condition of their country unite and stand against those who incite sectarian sedition. and fomenting violence and fighting. " He added that the terrorists seek to make the Arab arena for chaos and foreign interventions.

The newspaper also conducted a dialogue with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, which values the Sharm el-Sheikh meetings and the outcome of the International Covenant and the Iraqi neighboring states .. As the meetings constructive and useful, He added that his country has had with this conference forms of self since the previous conference in terms of form and substance was not linked to these drawbacks and problems to hold this meeting or before these meetings, "Fortunately, these problems have been removed and the problems of substance and morphological reduced considerably, and decided to participate, and we believe that the most important the focus of this meeting was linked to the need to support the legitimate government in Iraq and the participation of the actors and by all States of the region and countries involved in the process of helping the Iraqi government for the political process and the reconstruction process, and support the economic infrastructure of Iraq .. Olis our interference in Iraqi internal affairs "lord to a question about the community's efforts in this international conference and vision to topple some of Iraq's debt Mottaki said, "The exemption of Iraqi debt forgiveness is not linked to this effort .. Ouhinma was announced during the Sharm El-Sheikh conference that the World Bank and some of the financial and economic world have dropped part of the Iraqi debt, not on the agenda of this conference search on Iraq's debts and taint .. " Wantekd Mottaki, the American Secretary of the Conference and she considered it the correct information confused with another wrong, He said that his country "is a victim of terrorism, those who carried out this terrorist operation against Iran are currently living in the United States, then decide whether to bring indictments or charges were filed against supporting terrorism, they must wait .. and know which side is true that this accusation against him "
In news d wrote. Nabil Ahmed Helmi, under the title "Egyptian-American relations and to save Iraq" and after reviewing the latest developments in Iraq since the March 2003 war writer calls because everyone will be convinced that the solution to Iraq's problems must come first from inside Iraq and other nations contribute forces and multinational support this trend; Considering that "fighting now exists in Iraq must be stopped by fair and objective among all the conflicting forces must know that the Iraqi government and the extent of the problem is not a challenge between the government and terrorists, but is a challenge between the conflicting groups, and each group multiple demands, which must be reconciled to reach a cessation of hostilities and security stability Then comes to Iraq after the cessation of hostilities next step is reconciliation between the factions and groups in Iraq and the multinational especially between Sunnis and Shiites and the Kurds to reach ease tension and stability to Iraq after this violent past that failed to achieve the benefit of any party, whether regional or international, "as it is the continuation of" shipping Iraqi political forces the resistance to the occupation of each community way "will increase the use of arms as well as moving away from Iraq procedure at the present time as well as the future of Iraq and its stability. He also called for the application of the rules of international law, particularly the protection of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons. The values positively launch the International Covenant Iraq Sharm el-Sheikh on May 3, 2007 he emphasizes the role of everyone in Iraq's stability and said that this conference also demonstrates that the United States of America "were on the right track in the exchange of opinion and listen to the supposed solutions to all parties through mediation, Egyptian expertise" Under the headline "Finally .. speaking on the American spy No. 1, "writes chairman of the Syrian-official daily-Mohammed Abu Hadid for a book published two weeks ago in Washington, entitled" at the heart of the storm. " George Tenet former director of the Central Intelligence Agency Alammerequihuabdastarad board book which deals lobbies decision to wage war on Iraq finds Abu Hadid, because the whole process-the war on Iraq - the representative .. The fate of the people "Iraq" .. The future of the nation "Arabs" and implicate a superpower. But the first power in the world, "America" was a prior decision and fully equipped in the pocket of an individual is President George Bush .. The motives "retaliatory pointing at the end of the recent difficulties experienced by Americans in Iraq now, and the progress of the political scene in Washington controversy and divisions on the same matter.

In Almasry Alyoum-independent daily-known media criticized unique Alhoubashi statement Zirhalforeigh American Condoleeza Rice during the Sharm El-Sheikh conference on Iraq, notably last quoted as saying that "the multinational forces in Iraq and the international mandate at the request of the Iraqi government .. "The writer went on to review the impacts of the American war on Iraq through the years four years and touched on the problem of Iraqi refugees in particular, "did not rule out that Rice ask us to the next phase in the settling of refugees as Iraqis are now seeking and Israel to prevent the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions, including the decision to the return of Palestinian refugees, has« Topkhana »Rice, the current or any other Rice, because we do not enjoy «hospitality», and the remaining terms, America and Israel committees to expel Arabs from their homes and Arabs surrounding Istoabounam, then «Yotannounam» impressed thing is that the United States does not believe that there is stability with occupation, and we must grasp nervously even disappear this dark cloud! "

In the same newspaper described Antar Farhat visit Dick Cheney American Vice-President for the Middle East and Iraq yesterday as a "final attempt to save" referring to the visit centered on the objectives of stability in Iraq and besieging Iran, "The visit aims on the other hand, to attract Arab support for the American efforts to contain the growing Iranian influence in Iraq on the one hand, To counter the risks the Iranian nuclear program after all diplomatic efforts have failed so far in the course of Tehran to stop uranium enrichment, also sought to emphasize the Arabs the United States commitment to the strict approach towards Iran. The aim of Cheney's visit to Saudi Arabia and his talks with officials expected in Riyadh to remove existing tension between the two countries since provided against the backdrop of fears Saudi exacerbate sectarian violence by the Shiites against Sunnis and threatening to intervene to protect the year, after having described the Saudi monarch, the American forces in Iraq as a «illegal occupation» calling departs. "

Trade confirms that the ration card will remain with the quest to improve the itemized Date : Thursday, May 10
Topic : Local News
Dr Abdul farmer Hassan, the Sudanese Minister of Trade that the work of ration cards still continuing and there was no intention to cancel in the near future and that the government continues to support itemized and very large amounts.

He added Sudanese in a statement distributed by the Information Bureau of the Ministry of Trade that the ministry, in the case thought they cancel the card on the alternative good in the interest of our dear because the Iraqi government believes that the support of the ration card at this juncture is very important to create a state of instability. He added that the amounts and support of the Iraqi government to support the ration card very much as they reach three billion dollars and its failure to reduce or withdraw this support but there is a study currently in the Council of Ministers and by a ministerial committee formed to support the ration card items and improve its terms. The Sudanese amounts that correspond to the distribution of the ration card items very small and can not be calculated because they Casar State support up to 100% of the prices of items of the ration card. The minister stressed the importance of stabilizing the security situation in the country he happens if both positive overall services provided to citizens or on the stability of the distribution of the ration card items