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

Originally Posted by Gloribee

For those that may not be aware, my " boots" are providing security for the Iraqi Gov't personel. Only non speaking Arabic personnel are allowed to do this detail. Thats why they cannot provide exacte info, they only know little arabic. There info has in fact been bang on. Several members can verify this. boy do I hope this is good.

Gloribee

Interesting,

You would think just the opposite would make more sense. Given there are so many traders and crooks in current government, you would think the military would want arab speaking guards for this kind of duty. Makes no sense to me why you would assign non Arabic speaking guards, then again, nothing makes common sense over there. lol

Good luck and health to all, Mike

Iraqi lawmakers argue for caution in shaping oil law
By Howard LaFranchi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18 May 2007 (The Christian Science Monitor)
Print article Send to friend
Iraqi lawmakers offer varying predictions for when the long-awaited oil law might pass parliament: in a month, by August, perhaps by fall.

The White House envisions passage this month of the law to share revenue among Iraq's sectarian populations and regulate foreign investment in oil. Congress wants quick approval as a sign of Iraq's seriousness about national reconciliation.

Iraqi legislators, however, have expressed strong concerns about holes in the legislation that, they say, could adversely affect the country in the long run. Most acknowledge the need for a law that will modernize an all-important industry. But, they say, they are creating a structure that will go to the heart of Iraq's future identity – and thus cannot rush the process. "It will pass, but it still takes much time and much negotiation," says Bayazid Hassan, a Kurdish member of parliament who warily predicts a late July passage. "We, too, want a law to settle this very important matter for Iraq, but it is too important for us to do this according to the schedule of others."

Still, the legislature appears to be making progress on other key benchmarks.

•The parliament's constitutional reform committee voted Tuesday to submit a set of revisions to lawmakers next week – technically meeting a constitution-imposed deadline of mid-May for presenting the draft changes. But the controversial issues still to be debated include the right of provinces to form powerful regions similar to the one the Kurds have in the north, and references to Iraq's Arab identity. The Sunnis reject the former, while the Kurds oppose the latter.

•Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi announced that proposals for revising the de-Baathification Law would be submitted to parliament next week. Approval could allow thousands of former Baathists to return to state jobs and quiet Sunni threats to pull their ministers out of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

Ryan Crocker, the new US ambassador to Iraq, says he sees "an awareness and a focus on the part of the Iraqi leadership" over the last week that he had not detected earlier. Citing a succession of meetings involving Iraq's top political leadership "that I'm not sure we've seen in the past," Mr. Crocker says he sees "steps in the direction" of national reconciliation.

Those include negotiations on the oil law, expected to pick up pace next week when representatives of the Kurdish Regional Government arrive in Baghdad to iron out differences with central-government authorities.

But, he adds, "the Washington clock runs a lot faster than the Baghdad clock."

And the oil law, already a repository of Iraqi sensitivities to sectarian divisions and decades of foreign exploitation, is increasingly mired in a Washington-Baghdad tug of war over Iraq's political progress.

As Congress continues its search for a way to fund the Iraq war that is not simply a blank check, the idea of setting "benchmarks" for Iraqi political action is gaining support. President Bush has spoken approvingly of war-funding legislation that calls on Iraq to move on issues the US believes would address its sectarian divisions and boost reconciliation.

Those benchmarks include revision of the de-Baathification law that has barred members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from employment, constitutional reforms promised to the minority Sunni population, provincial elections, and the oil law.

Republicans and Democrats are piling on Iraq's lawmakers for not moving faster. Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) (R) of Kentucky, in a recent CNN interview, called the Baghdad government "a huge disappointment" and added, "I don't know what their problem is."

But when it comes to the oil law, their "problems" are many, Iraqi lawmakers say.

In its current form the law is ambiguous, many say, leaves too many gaping holes to fill at some later date, and fails to clearly delineate the rights and responsibilities of the central government and those of regional governments.

Then there are the ideological and sectarian misgivings. Many Sunnis – who feel vulnerable as a minority and come from a tradition of strong central government – oppose the legislation as a doorway to Iraq's dismemberment. Sunnis generally want a new Iraq National Oil Co. to be a strong federal power.

Many Kurds, meanwhile, are furious that annexes to the law would, in their view, give jurisdiction over a vast majority of oil fields to a centralized authority, with only a pittance left to regional governments like that in the Kurdish north. Some nationalists and the oil workers' union in particular tar the law as a privatization of the Iraqi people's common wealth.

Ambassador Crocker, speaking with a group of Western journalists Thursday, said sorting out such defining issues among "all of Iraq's communities ... is in its own way as important as some of these national issues we've been focused on."

The draft law could probably pass if put to a vote now, some analysts say, but its gaps and vague wording on key issues like contract-signing authority could mean big problems later and discourage essential foreign investment.

"This is an issue of great importance for every Iraqi, not just 51 percent of Iraqis, so it is important that this law be written to have the support of a wide majority," says Tariq Shafiq, a prominent Iraqi oil expert who served on a committee that wrote the oil law draft last year. "Given the present wounds in Iraq, it would not be wise to rush to something with potential to cause more difficulties later."

Mr. Shafiq says the committee he served on tried to "make the best" of often-conflicting political demands, but adds that subsequent revisions to their draft have weakened the law and made it more confusing.

The changes, he says, have added layers to the contract process and regional involvement that invite trouble. "The longer the chain of decisionmaking, particularly in areas that don't have the institutions equipped to do this, corruption becomes a bigger problem," he says.

Other issues include the division of oilfields between the Iraq National Oil Co. and regional governments, and the makeup of a national oil and gas council that would include foreign participation.

The Kurdish regional government was shocked when the central government divulged a list of operating oilfields last month that assigned more than 90 percent of them to national jurisdiction. The region's governor, Mustafa Barzani, is to visit Baghdad next week, giving Kurdish lawmakers hope that disputes can be resolved.

"Two issues remain of the highest importance to the Kurdish side: how the oil revenues will be shared and how new investment agreements will be signed with foreign companies," says Fryad Rwandzi, a Kurdish member of parliament. "The Kurdish delegation will address that ... and if the results are satisfactory, we could have passage ... soon," perhaps by mid-June.

But other lawmakers insist it will take more time – in part because the months of debate and media attention have exposed the law's shortcomings and provided fodder for opposition from all sides.

Abdel Hadi al-Hassani, a Shiite member of parliament from a branch of Mr. Maliki's Dawa Party, says that proposed "production-sharing agreements" with foreign oil firms are so tarnished that they will have to be changed.

"Like the US Congress, we wish this could all be done yesterday, but given what remains to be done it will take at least four months," says Mr. Hassani. "We appreciate any congressman trying to help, but they have to understand that we are thinking about the interests of Iraq for the long period of time."

Report : Iraq on the brink of collapse
17 / 05 / 2007

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A prominent British Research Center on Thursday that the Iraqi government has lost control over large areas of the country for the benefit of local factions and that Iraq stands on the brink of collapse and fragmentation.

The Institute said Chatham House also that there is a civil war, one in Iraq, but "several civil wars" between various ethnic communities and accused Iraq's neighbors Iran and the main Saudi Arabia and Turkey that they are urging them "to see the continuing instability there."

It was stated in the report that "no doubt that Iraq is about to become a failed face a clear collapse and fragmentation.

"Iraqi government is not able to extend its authority or equally effectively to the country. In vast areas of the country have no (government) authority with respect to the organization of social life, economic and political. "

The report also said that the security campaign supported by the United States in Baghdad, which began in February failed to reduce levels of violence in parts of the country after the news of armed groups simply activities outside the capital.

Despite his warning that Iraq may not end up as a unified description of the report from the 12-page draft bill on the distribution of Iraq's oil wealth equally between the Sunnis and Shiites, Arabs and Kurds as "the key to ensuring the survival of Iraq."

He said research center "oil revenues are that would maintain the cohesion of the state more than any attempt to build a nationwide interconnected in the short term."

The Iraqi Parliament approved the law after oil set by Washington among other criteria to Baghdad as vital steps to end sectarian violence. The Kurds opposed drafting the draft. The region of Kurdistan, the autonomous okrugs, huge quantities of oil reserves unconfirmed.

Instead of a civil war, one between the Shiites and Sunnis on the level of Iraq study said that "conflict (country) interlocking" fueled clashes between sectarian and ethnic groups and tribal-regional objectives, political and ideological different while competing for the country's resources.

The writer of the report outreach Stansfield expert on Middle East affairs that instability in Iraq "is not necessarily incompatible with the interests" of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Stansfield said that Iraq "is now the scene that Iran can fight it without the United States to do so publicly." He added that Iran is "among the most capable foreign forces" in Iraq to influence the future events and much more from the United States.

He stated in his report that the rise of the Shiite majority to power in Iraq raised concern Sunni Gulf states and especially Saudi Arabia, which distrusts strongly in the power of Shiite Iran in Iraq.

The study said that if the withdrawal of the United States will represent the beginning of scale civil war between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, "might not stand idle .. With the possibility that the fighting between Iran and Saudi Arabia proxy in Iraq. "

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

Constitutional amendments

الغيرInformation Office of Eminence Sheikh Saghir

.His Eminence Sheikh Jalal Al-Din Saghir, in an interview with Free TV will be broadcast tomorrow in the modern Mesopotamia : The vast majority of the draft constitutional amendments had been completed and that the spirit of the Commission on constitutional amendments is a positive and responsible and airspace largely fraternal.

وقد .It was his eminence that certain statements in the media release contains threats emanating from either views do not know what is going on within the Commission and the current nature of the synergies because it will be empty of content, or to put it simply packing media, and only Vmmethele Accord Front practice discussion include professionalism has answered mutual professionalism, He said that the origin of these statements do not serve the national harmony.

.He said in an interview with Professor annexed Saadi Alberzenji and Professor Abdul Karim al-Samarra'i Vice coalition and consensus : the issue of federalism that is not needed in the discussions at all, and that the discussions focused on the powers won considering that the controversy is the federal had resolved between the political forces long to materialize.

الصغيرInformation Office of Eminence Sheikh Saghir

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl.../nhr0518b.html

finally looking beyond their noses.

Iraqi Shiite, Sunni Clerics Call for Ending Sectarian Violence
Damascus, 18 May 2007 (Asharq Alawsat)

Iraqi Sunni and Shiite clerics met earlier this week in the Syrian capital and called for an end to the sectarian violence in their country without detriment to what they called the right to resistance through combating US occupation. Dozens of clerics who gathered at the Damascus-based Kaftaro Academy, which is close to the Syrian government, said that they have created a gathering to fight division and avoid a civil war through dialogue and fatwa-making.

Syria, which is hosting the gathering called "Iraq Clerics' Group", intensified its warnings in the recent period against a sectarian war in Iraq which may spread to the countries of the region and lead to further instability in the Middle East. The secretary-general of the group, Abdul Latif al-Humaym, said in the opening session of the conference: "We are working to activate dialogue and rapprochement between Muslims whatever their schools of thought, so that we can cooperate to free Iraq from the occupier after we rid ourselves of sectarian sedition," according to a Reuters report.

Al-Humaym further said: "We will start dialogue with all the sides of Iraqi society in order to reach internal peace. We know that Iraq will only be liberated through the determination of all its components." The leaders of the group said that they decided to hold their conference in Syria because of threats they had received in Iraq.

The conference was attended by Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun. Syrian President Bashar al-Asad said in his speech last week that one way of stopping violence in Iraq goes through holding a national reconciliation conference and resolving the conflicts between the sects. Ahmad al-Jumayri, a member of the general secretariat of the group, who hails from Ramadi Province, one of the most lethal areas in Iraq for the American forces, said: "Our action will be peaceful. Iraq's crisis is basically political and ideological, not military."

He added: "We are working to achieve the unity of the Iraqis and to reach a unified stance to get rid of the occupier. We want a national unity government which will rehabilitate the state institutions and reform the armed forces and the security services so that Iraq is able to rely on itself." Al-Jumayri said that his group, which is not represented in the parliament, includes 600 clerics.

Despite the fact that the conference called for the establishment of national Iraqi institutions, it did not openly call for an immediate withdrawal of the US forces. However, the participants said that resistance is a legitimate right. The member of the higher fatwa commission in Iraq, Rafi Zahir al-Rifai, said: "The enemy is beginning to make us doubt about our fundamental truths, so we started seeking fatwas emphasizing our brothers' belonging to Islam and stressing our right to Jihad against the occupier." Al-Rifai said: "We must all support everyone who stood up and fought the aggressor occupiers, without forgetting to distinguish between them and whoever has killed Iraqi people. Let us always remember that God ordered us to have consultations with all Muslims."

Iraqi Shiite, Sunni Clerics Call for Ending Sectarian Violence | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

In the government of national unity

يمر.Passes in the formation of the first elected government in Iraq's modern history, has received strong support and parliamentary blocs participating in the political process, which was unanimously supported the government's program announced by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and received the approval of the House and the confidence of the members of the government.
.The government adopted the initiative of reconciliation and national dialogue option quote devote culture of dialogue and tolerance, peaceful coexistence and abandon the policy of marginalization, exclusion and discrimination, which would contribute to strengthening national unity and the establishment of the state of institutions and the imposition of the rule of law and respect for human rights. In this framework, held several conferences of national reconciliation, which participated in civil society, intellectuals, tribal, religious scholars and political forces, officers, and the government submitted a bill accountability and justice to the House of Representatives be a substitute for uprooting the Baath, the government was keen to respect the independence of the judiciary and providing the appropriate conditions to ensure a fair trial and a fair dictator and his aides who deprived hundreds of thousands of martyrs of Iraq and their families and relatives of the most basic rights.

ن .No broken the security challenges facing the country, the government continue the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation, where the largest budget in the history of modern Iraq, also submitted a draft investment law passed by the House, and Bill oil and gas, Shots national housing program, along with dozens of decisions taken by the government to improve economic conditions and raising the standard of living of citizens.
و تصدت .Our armed forces and to all of the outlaws in Baghdad and other governorates without regard to denominational backgrounds, national and party affiliations, and in spite of the sacrifices made by people in the face of terrorism, which targeted citizens from various sects and destroying the infrastructure and services sector, the government and Dependency Allah Almighty and confidence of the people, determined to eradicate the scourge of terrorism and the dismantling of criminal organizations.

.The government of national unity, the process of building the armed forces on national bases and professional where its loyalty to the homeland and not for the first or a national or party, our armed forces have been able to take over the security file in a number of provinces from the multinational forces, Today it stands ready to assume full responsibility in the remaining governorates.

ر .The great challenges facing the country, did not prevent the government of National Unity to develop Iraq's external relations, Mr. Prime Minister tours included several Arab countries and neighboring states and a number of regional countries of the world succeeded in the development of Iraq's relations in various fields, The conference of the International and the neighboring countries in Sharm el-Sheikh international demonstration of significant regional support for Iraq politically, economically and security were among the fruits of the International Covenant extinguish a large part of Iraq's debt and the willingness of many States to participate in the process of building and construction.

:Brief reviews of this most important achievements of the government of national unity in the first year :

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl.../nhr0518a.html

this is all fantastic news. seems as though they have pulled their heads out and are starting to see the light.

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

يونيوNewspaper : DE. That. Or start pumping oil from Iraq in June

.The Financial Times newspaper said on Wednesday that the company de Norwegian oil production. That. Or will become the first foreign company in more than three decades begins pumping of crude oil from Iraq in the world market next month.

.The newspaper said it is scheduled to announce that it will begin production of a small quantity of oil from Kurdistan in northern Iraq. The Financial Times reported Hlij hands of the Executive Chairman of De. ."That. Or saying, "We are ready to pump. We did not believe us, we definitely start of oil production from Kurdistan after only two years of exploration activities begin
Translated version of http://www.wifaq.com/

and the oil begins to flow...

Iraq reduced oil prices in June to Europe and America
Source : Reuters-17 / 05 / 2007

Sources said the oil trade on Wednesday that Iraq reduced the official selling price of Basra light crude in June to the United States and Europe.

The source said that the Iraqi Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) set the sale price in June buyers Americans, when crude West Texas Intermediate minus $ 4.85 per barrel compared with minus $ 3.30 in May.

Sumo also identified the price of European buyers at an average price of Brent crude, Fortes and Osberg minus $ 5.20 per barrel compared with minus $ 4.85 in May.

De. That. Or are optimistic about oil production in Iraq
Source : Reuters-17 / 05 / 2007

The company De. That. Or independent oil production in Norway on Wednesday as the Israelis discovered a new oil field in northern Iraq, where Tauke began extensive tests of production but will not be able to export its products after.

The company added that it is ready to sell oil in the local market in Iraq. Earlier in the Norwegian company expected to issue Iraqi oil through a pipeline to Turkey but has not yet reached an agreement with Baghdad on this issue.

Much depends on the new oil in Iraq, which is expected to organize control oil assets, but encountered problems in the ratification process.

He said Helg hands of the Executive Chairman of De. That. Or in a statement saying, "We are pleased that the new oil discovery was confirmed in the well No. 3 in Toki, which shows that the resource potential of the region has not been assessed and evaluated fully."

By 1001 hours GMT shares rose DE. That. , Or by 3.7% to 11.56 kroner to reach the company's market value to about 1.74 billion dollars.

Her first foreign company prospecting for oil in post-war Iraq that the test achieved the total flow rate of seven thousand barrels of oil per day.

The Norwegian company intends to increase production from approximately 13 thousand barrels per day at the beginning of this year to 26 thousand barrels at the end.

The hands Reuters that the company's expectations of producing 20 thousand barrels a day in 2007 still exist. Despite the announcement by the company before the profit from the lower total oil and gas production in the first quarter to 12685 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 16893 barrels in the same period of the previous year.

The company said in a statement that he was conducting experiments on start-up and extensive testing of the first production wells have been compiled oil during testing.

The newspaper company "has been installed equipment for the oil transportation capacity of 15 thousand barrels of oil per day and are preparing for the transfer of oil from Toki for the local market."

The analysts said that sales to the domestic market are unlikely to be as profitable export.

It should review the company's production agreement with the Norwegian government of Iraqi Kurdistan to determine whether he agreed with the Iraqi oil, which aims to produce energy decisions centrally.

The company expressed confidence that the agreement remains in effect.

Eide said in a report that there are a number of smaller refineries in Iraq where crude refining.

He continued, "is not clear demand volume and quantity yet, but we believe that there is a market. Do not expect to get the price of the parallel market rate, but these arrangements have not yet been completed. "

He said, "we can serve the region of Kurdistan if there was a shortage of supplies. So we can meet (arrangements) needs of the two sides in the short term. "

He continued to say that his company could supply to the domestic market without the issuance of the law of oil. He added that exports depend on the progress of discussions between the government of Kurdistan and the central authorities in Baghdad.

His hands, "there is a possibility of issuing a temporary license .. Flowing large quantities of oil in Iraq now. "

The Kjetil Pakin analyst Fondezvainans "perhaps the oil exports from Iraq, a source of concern with. That. Or. Especially because the oil has not yet been issued. "

"Perhaps it would have to obtain export licenses if delayed for a long period of time is not clear whether the local market can absorb the oil from the field DE. That. Or. "

The company's profits fell before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization to two million Norwegian kroner ($ 330700) from Inaber January to March March versus 65.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The figure is much lower than the average expectations findings included Reuters survey of nine analysts and the 41 million kroner, but it came within expectations between disparate operating loss of 36.6 million kroner profit of 74 million kroner.

The affected results in the company's announcement earlier production volume is less than fields in Yemen where they are basic operations of the company before the start of operations in Iraq.

Originally Posted by michael16

Iraqi lawmakers argue for caution in shaping oil law
By Howard LaFranchi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18 May 2007 (The Christian Science Monitor)
Print article Send to friend
Iraqi lawmakers offer varying predictions for when the long-awaited oil law might pass parliament: in a month, by August, perhaps by fall.

The White House envisions passage this month of the law to share revenue among Iraq's sectarian populations and regulate foreign investment in oil. Congress wants quick approval as a sign of Iraq's seriousness about national reconciliation.

Iraqi legislators, however, have expressed strong concerns about holes in the legislation that, they say, could adversely affect the country in the long run. Most acknowledge the need for a law that will modernize an all-important industry. But, they say, they are creating a structure that will go to the heart of Iraq's future identity – and thus cannot rush the process. "It will pass, but it still takes much time and much negotiation," says Bayazid Hassan, a Kurdish member of parliament who warily predicts a late July passage. "We, too, want a law to settle this very important matter for Iraq, but it is too important for us to do this according to the schedule of others."

Still, the legislature appears to be making progress on other key benchmarks.

•The parliament's constitutional reform committee voted Tuesday to submit a set of revisions to lawmakers next week – technically meeting a constitution-imposed deadline of mid-May for presenting the draft changes. But the controversial issues still to be debated include the right of provinces to form powerful regions similar to the one the Kurds have in the north, and references to Iraq's Arab identity. The Sunnis reject the former, while the Kurds oppose the latter.

•Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi announced that proposals for revising the de-Baathification Law would be submitted to parliament next week. Approval could allow thousands of former Baathists to return to state jobs and quiet Sunni threats to pull their ministers out of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.

Ryan Crocker, the new US ambassador to Iraq, says he sees "an awareness and a focus on the part of the Iraqi leadership" over the last week that he had not detected earlier. Citing a succession of meetings involving Iraq's top political leadership "that I'm not sure we've seen in the past," Mr. Crocker says he sees "steps in the direction" of national reconciliation.

Those include negotiations on the oil law, expected to pick up pace next week when representatives of the Kurdish Regional Government arrive in Baghdad to iron out differences with central-government authorities.

But, he adds, "the Washington clock runs a lot faster than the Baghdad clock."

And the oil law, already a repository of Iraqi sensitivities to sectarian divisions and decades of foreign exploitation, is increasingly mired in a Washington-Baghdad tug of war over Iraq's political progress.

As Congress continues its search for a way to fund the Iraq war that is not simply a blank check, the idea of setting "benchmarks" for Iraqi political action is gaining support. President Bush has spoken approvingly of war-funding legislation that calls on Iraq to move on issues the US believes would address its sectarian divisions and boost reconciliation.

Those benchmarks include revision of the de-Baathification law that has barred members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from employment, constitutional reforms promised to the minority Sunni population, provincial elections, and the oil law.

Republicans and Democrats are piling on Iraq's lawmakers for not moving faster. Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record) (R) of Kentucky, in a recent CNN interview, called the Baghdad government "a huge disappointment" and added, "I don't know what their problem is."

But when it comes to the oil law, their "problems" are many, Iraqi lawmakers say.

In its current form the law is ambiguous, many say, leaves too many gaping holes to fill at some later date, and fails to clearly delineate the rights and responsibilities of the central government and those of regional governments.

Then there are the ideological and sectarian misgivings. Many Sunnis – who feel vulnerable as a minority and come from a tradition of strong central government – oppose the legislation as a doorway to Iraq's dismemberment. Sunnis generally want a new Iraq National Oil Co. to be a strong federal power.

Many Kurds, meanwhile, are furious that annexes to the law would, in their view, give jurisdiction over a vast majority of oil fields to a centralized authority, with only a pittance left to regional governments like that in the Kurdish north. Some nationalists and the oil workers' union in particular tar the law as a privatization of the Iraqi people's common wealth.

Ambassador Crocker, speaking with a group of Western journalists Thursday, said sorting out such defining issues among "all of Iraq's communities ... is in its own way as important as some of these national issues we've been focused on."

The draft law could probably pass if put to a vote now, some analysts say, but its gaps and vague wording on key issues like contract-signing authority could mean big problems later and discourage essential foreign investment.

"This is an issue of great importance for every Iraqi, not just 51 percent of Iraqis, so it is important that this law be written to have the support of a wide majority," says Tariq Shafiq, a prominent Iraqi oil expert who served on a committee that wrote the oil law draft last year. "Given the present wounds in Iraq, it would not be wise to rush to something with potential to cause more difficulties later."

Mr. Shafiq says the committee he served on tried to "make the best" of often-conflicting political demands, but adds that subsequent revisions to their draft have weakened the law and made it more confusing.

The changes, he says, have added layers to the contract process and regional involvement that invite trouble. "The longer the chain of decisionmaking, particularly in areas that don't have the institutions equipped to do this, corruption becomes a bigger problem," he says.

Other issues include the division of oilfields between the Iraq National Oil Co. and regional governments, and the makeup of a national oil and gas council that would include foreign participation.

The Kurdish regional government was shocked when the central government divulged a list of operating oilfields last month that assigned more than 90 percent of them to national jurisdiction. The region's governor, Mustafa Barzani, is to visit Baghdad next week, giving Kurdish lawmakers hope that disputes can be resolved.

"Two issues remain of the highest importance to the Kurdish side: how the oil revenues will be shared and how new investment agreements will be signed with foreign companies," says Fryad Rwandzi, a Kurdish member of parliament. "The Kurdish delegation will address that ... and if the results are satisfactory, we could have passage ... soon," perhaps by mid-June.

But other lawmakers insist it will take more time – in part because the months of debate and media attention have exposed the law's shortcomings and provided fodder for opposition from all sides.

Abdel Hadi al-Hassani, a Shiite member of parliament from a branch of Mr. Maliki's Dawa Party, says that proposed "production-sharing agreements" with foreign oil firms are so tarnished that they will have to be changed.

"Like the US Congress, we wish this could all be done yesterday, but given what remains to be done it will take at least four months," says Mr. Hassani. "We appreciate any congressman trying to help, but they have to understand that we are thinking about the interests of Iraq for the long period of time."

conflicting reports within the same article. i believe it depends on which faction you are interviewing about when these things will be completed.