Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 03/11/07 - 31/12/07

For Kurds, Iraq is a distant memory--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arbil, 18 November 2007 (AFP)

In Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region the official line is clear: there is no question of declaring independence. But in the regional capital Arbil, Baghdad seems more distant each passing day.

Bank notes, except where replaced by the US dollar, are the last refuge of the Iraqi flag.

Everywhere else in this region of four million people, spared the violence which has ravaged the rest of Iraq, it is the Kurdish tricolour -- green, white and red -- which flies. Not a single road sign is in Arabic.

"It is simple, for my students Iraq does not exist," says Karim Kamar, professor in French at Salaheddin University.

"To feel part of a country, its language should be spoken. However Arabic is no longer even taught. Or if it is, then as a foreign language -- a little less even than English," says Kamar.

"For them Iraq is far away, and associated with bad memories. For the man in the street, it is a neighbour one must get along with because it could turn malicious. That's all. Their country is here."

Equipped under the Iraqi constitution with very broad autonomy, the Kurdish region of Iraq has a president, a government and its "council of ministers", armed forces which are completely Kurdish and fully-fledged international ties. including a privileged relationship with the United States.

It has signed, to the chagrin of Baghdad, numerous oil exploration contracts with foreign companies.

For Buhari Hidir, professor of political science at the University of Arbil and an MP in the Iraqi parliament, "we only formally depend on Baghdad."

"We are not a state in the legal sense, but de facto we are one. We do not need formal independence. We have it in the street, in life. That is enough," he said.

"It would be a mistake to go for true independence," Hidir added. "That would alienate us unnecessarily from our powerful neighbours, who would view this as an incentive for their own Kurdish populations."

Concerned to preserve and develop its thriving economy, and to reassure neighbouring countries and the Iraqi central state, officials are quick to offer appeasements.

"We want nothing to do with secession," said Falah Bakir, director of the "department of foreign relations" in the area. "We want to remain within the Iraqi borders, provided Iraq is a democratic and pluralist federal state."

Fouad Hussein, private secretary to the region's president Massud Barzani, asserts: "We absolutely respect the constitution.

"Iraq is a federal state, the distribution of power between the central state and region is clear. We do not need anything more. This system suits us perfectly."

But, beyond the political declarations, the Iraqi state is gradually disappearing from the lives of ordinary inhabitants of the region.

To launch Ishtar TV, which transmits from Arbil for the Christians of Iraq, "we requested a licence from the regional government," smiles station director, Farid Aqrawi.

"In theory, we should have gone to Baghdad ... But nobody does that. It is useless."

The bishop of Arbil, Monsignor Rabban al-Qas, goes further: "Day after day, the distance grows. We are always in Iraq, but the law enables us to dream, one day, of a country which would gather all the Kurds.

"Like separated brothers, you will never prevent them from dreaming of living one day under the same roof."

For Kurds, Iraq is a distant memory | Iraq Updates

Iraq-Turkey crisis toned down but not over – spokesman

The crisis between Iraq and Turkey on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has toned down but has not yet ended, Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman for the Iraqi government, said on Sunday.

"The efforts exerted by the (Iraqi) government to solve the crisis with Turkey have lessened the tension between the two sides," Dabbagh told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

He referred to "tremendous efforts exerted by the Iraqi Kurdistan Region government to ban the activities of the PKK."

"The crisis, however, requires more efforts by both the Iraqi and Turkish sides to allay Turkey's concerns about the presence of PKK fighters inside Iraqi borders," he said, denying knowledge about reports that large numbers of PKK fighters entered Iran.

"The areas between Iraq and Iran are bumpy and not easy to cross," stressed Dabbagh.

Negervan al-Barazani, the prime minister of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, had earlier this month announced "tight" measures including "prohibition of PKK fighters from traveling via Kurdish airports and the strengthening of control over the Makhmour camp and checkpoints to deny them access to provisions."

The crisis on the Iraqi-Turkish borders unprecedentedly flared up during the past couple of weeks after the PKK, or Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan in Kurdish, which is outlawed in Turkey, escalated operations against Turkish forces. Fighters of the PKK, holed up in mountainous areas in northern Iraq, had killed, wounded, and captured more than 40 Turkish soldiers as of late.

After the PKK escalations, the Turkish government received the thumbs up from parliament to carry out a military operation against the PKK inside Iraqi Kurdistan region territories.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq Oil Min Confirms Final Communique Unchanged From Draft

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani confirmed Sunday that OPEC's final communique at the heads of state summit here remains fundamentally unaltered from the draft version reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires Friday, adding it makes no mention of the weak dollar.

Separately, a person at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries familiar with the leaders' talks early Sunday said that the communique could still change.

A senior OPEC official reiterated that there would be no mention of the impact of the dollar in the ultimate communique because it could spur its value against other currencies lower still.

Nasdaq 100 Flash Quotes

PM: $1.800 billion for Baghdad re-building

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18 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Saturday that a sum of 1.800 billion dollars would be allocated for the reconstruction of the Iraqi capital Baghdad within the government's 2008 budget.

"The government allocated only 400 million dollars for Baghdad re-building last year but in the new budget it provided 1.800 billion dollars," Maliki said in a speech during a celebration marking the Baghdad Day.

"There is going to be a renaissance and a revolution in the service and reconstruction sector," Maliki stressed, expressing a wish for Baghdad "to once again become the city of literature, art, and poetry."

The Iraqi premier appealed to the private sector in the war-torn country to contribute to the re-building of Baghdad.

"We have taken a new approach on the path of economy and enacted laws to facilitate investments. Let me, brothers, ask you to have your share of the efforts to re-build the Iraqi capital," he said.

Maliki said that the Iraqis have vanquished the nightmarish sectarian war and sedition that many have tried to ignite.

"We have been sliding down to the pits of sectarianism led by murderers, the ignorant, and mercenaries, but the Iraqis revolted against all these sectarian obsessions and rose as one people brought together by the bonds of fraternity and loyalty to Iraq," he emphasized.

PM: $1.800 billion for Baghdad re-building | Iraq Updates

Kurdish fury over Oil Minister’s remarks

A war of words is raging between the Kurdish regional government in the north and the Oil Ministry over whether the Kurds have the right to develop oil fields on their own.

The Kurds currently control three provinces – Sulaimaniya, Arbil and Dahouk – and have signed so far seven oil deals for the development of fields in their areas.

Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has denounced the deals, saying they were invalid and illegal.

Shahristani warned foreign companies that they will be boycotted by the central government and not allowed to export their output if they went ahead with their deals with the Kurds.

Unmoved, the Kurdish regional government countered by saying that Shahristani’s stand was “illegal”.

“Shahristani’s statements will not scare foreign firms which have deals with the region,” the official website of the Kurdish government carried a statement as saying.

The Kurds say their parliament has passed its own oil and gas law under which they are entitled to develop, export and collect oil revenues.

Shahristani says the Kurdish region is part of Iraq any oil deals with foreign firms must be first approved by the central government.

The draft national oil and gas law has yet to pass the Iraqi parliament. Shahristani said various groups and factions in the parliament had different views on the draft and it may take months before it is approved.

The bone of contention are certain paragraphs in the law which give Iraqi regions, such as the Kurdish enclave, the right to sign deals for oil development.

Other sticky issues are related to the role of foreign firms in oil development projects.

Meanwhile, Shahristani has said that the government has allocated $2 billion to develop the oil sector in 2008.

He said his ministry hoped to increase output from the current 2 million barrels a day to 3 million barrels by 2009.

Azzaman in English

Originally Posted by Seaview

Iraq Oil Min Confirms Final Communique Unchanged From Draft

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani confirmed Sunday that OPEC's final communique at the heads of state summit here remains fundamentally unaltered from the draft version reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires Friday, adding it makes no mention of the weak dollar.

Separately, a person at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries familiar with the leaders' talks early Sunday said that the communique could still change.

A senior OPEC official reiterated that there would be no mention of the impact of the dollar in the ultimate communique because it could spur its value against other currencies lower still.

Nasdaq 100 Flash Quotes

this would be a good reason for Iraq to get rid of the dollar for good now.....and restore the previous value of the NID!!! IMHO

Iraqi president arrives in Riyadh

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Riyadh, 18 November 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Iraq's President Jalal al-Talabani arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday to head his country's delegation to OPEC's summit scheduled to begin there today.

Talabani, according to the Saudi news agency (SPA), was received at Riyadh air base by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh plays host to a two-day summit meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries starting on Saturday evening.

On Saturday, Talabani concluded a visit to neighboring Kuwait after he also visiting Cairo and meeting with the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Iraqi president arrives in Riyadh | Iraq Updates

Sorry if already posted

Major Power Plants idle due to lack of fuel

Most of northern Iraq is without lights as two major power plants have been idled due to lack of fuel, a statement by the electricity ministry said.

The source said the plants feeding the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk are out of function as technicians failed to secure enough gas to run them.

The gas-driven plants are among the largest stations in the north which has been suffering from acute power shortages for years.

Electricity levels in Iraq as a whole are at all-time low. The average time power is on across the country has been almost reduced by two thirds since the U.S. invasion of 2003.

Major cities used to have an average of nine hours of electricity a day prior to the invasion. The average is currently 3 hours a day.

Iraq was generating nearly 5,000 megawatts before the U.S. invasion. But the generation capacity has slumped to less than 4,000 megawatts while consumption has soared.

Electricity ministry puts national demand at 7,000 megawatts. This means that the national grid is generating less than half the national demand judged by the average time Iraqis enjoy electricity.

Output has slumped de****e massive investments. The U.S. alone has invested more than $3 billion in the power sector.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-11-9\kurd8.htm

Iran sticking to pledge to halt arms flow: Iraq

Iran, accused by the United States of helping stoke violence in Iraq, appears to be holding to its pledge to halt the flow of weapons and people across the border, the Iraqi government spokesman said on Saturday.

Iran had also played a role in persuading radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to call a halt to the activities of his Mahdi Army militia, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters in Baghdad.

"Iran is showing more restraint in sending people and weapons to destabilise Iraq," he said, echoing comments by US military commanders in recent weeks.

The change came when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited Iran in August, Dabbagh said.

"He spoke very frankly with the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) in Mashad. He said Iran had to choose whether to support the (Iraqi) government or any other party."

Maliki had then received a pledge from Iranian leaders that they would clamp down on the flow of weapons, money and people across the border.
"All gives the feeling that Iran is making a good sign on its pledge," Dabbagh said.

He said Tehran had influenced Sadr, who is believed to have spent months in Iran earlier this year, to rein in his militiamen -- a move which has also played a role in sharply reducing violence levels in Iraq.

"The freezing of the Mahdi Army makes us feel there is a good intention. Iran has played a role in this one and we definitely think Moqtada al-Sadr should be thanked."

He added, however, that Iran had still to do more.

"Iran has been a negative influence in Iraq and we want that negative influence to be stopped and for them not to have any proxy war in Iraq," he said.

"Nobody could deny that Iran has influence in Iraq. We would like them to use this influence in a positive way."

He said that the signs from both the United States and the Iranians were positive for another trilateral meeting with Iraq.

"But the government of Iraq feels there should be proper preparation for the next meeting and that we are not just sitting and talking."

A deputy corps commander in Iraq, Major General James Simmons, had said on Thursday that Iran appears to be living up to its commitment to Maliki to stop the flow of the weapons into the country.

Senior defence officials in Washington suggested that Simmons' conclusion was overstated, but said there was little doubt that the flow of weapons from Iran to Iraq has slowed or stopped.

US military leaders have notably toned down their rhetoric on Iran.

Earlier this month, the military in Iraq released nine Iranians, including two members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards-Qods Force, after deciding they no longer posed a threat or were of intelligence value.
Eleven others remain in US custody in Iraq.

Iran sticking to pledge to halt arms flow: Iraq - Yahoo! News UK

Planning Minister: We have a plan for the advancement of economic reality

(Voice of Iraq) - 18-11-2007
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Planning Minister: We have a plan for the advancement of economic reality through the adoption of new strategies

Mr. Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation on Ghalib Baban that perhaps the Iraqi economy today is to stop the production machine breakdown in society.

He said in an interview with Channel (Iraqi) within the program (in the minister's office) that all the productive sectors of agricultural or industrial experience a deterioration horrendous noting that if we want the Iraqi economy to recover and to get rid of the phenomena of inflation and unemployment and consumerism radically, we must N'Dour wheel production .

He pointed out that solving the problem of both energy (electricity and derivatives) is a prerequisite for the recovery of productive sectors in the country must be addressed seriously and resolutely to this problem can track both go hand in hand.

The minister added that the Ministry's plan for the advancement of economic reality in the country through the adoption of new strategies for that.

He explained that the Ministry is currently holding economic conference addresses problematic relationship between security and development seeks to find formulas for the security situation to Ataiq construction process, pointing out that there are several practical proposals and serious in this aspect.

Translated version of http://www.sotaliraq.com/iraqnews.php?id=2045