Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Electricity Ministry wants helicopters to protect lines, stations

To ease power outages which now continue for more than 20 hours a day the Ministry of Electricity is mulling the purchase of warfare helicopters to protect its workers and fight saboteurs.

The ministry blames lack of electricity, which meets about one third of domestic needs if fully operational, on ongoing military operations, violence and sabotage.

Power pylons, plants and stations are frequent target of attacks and the ministry says it has lost scores of its employees to violence.

“The planes (helicopters) will be used to protect electricity lines and transport experts, technicians and workers,” the head of the ministry’s information office said.

He said Electricity Minister Kareem Waheed is in talks with the air force on advice for the type of helicopters to purchase.

Waheed is seeking help from countries which had constructed Iraqi power plants in the hope to persuade them to have them rehabilitated.

Last week he met the Italian ambassador in Baghdad and asked him to urge the Italian firms to upgrade the plants they had set up in Iraq.

Azzaman in English

Parliament reads provincial elections bill for the 2nd time

The Iraqi Parliament's 16th regular session on Sunday started with the second reading of the provincial elections bill.

Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani announced the commencement of the session that included readings of five other bills.

On May 6, 2008, the first reading for the provincial elections bill was carried out.

"This is the first step toward legislating the bill," lawmaker Hashem al-Taee, head of the parliamentary committee responsible for drafting the bill, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI), after the first reading.

"The second reading is scheduled for one week from today," he said.

"During this period, suggestions and views of parliamentary entities regarding the bill will be received, evaluated, and considered by the committee," he explained.

"After the second reading, Parliament will vote on the bill," he added.
The U.S. administration is pushing on Iraqi authorities to pass provincial elections law, as it believes this legislation would assist national reconciliation in Iraq.

The Iraqi Parliament's internal regulations require a first reading of a bill, a period for suggestions and notes, and a second reading, before voting on the bill.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi Parliament hosts PM on Monday session - Speaker

The Iraqi parliament speaker on Sunday said Monday’s parliamentary session would host the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a day after launching a large-scale offensive in Mosul to crack down on al-Qaeda fighters.

“The parliament would host the PM Nouri al-Maliki on Monday’s session,”the parliament’s media office cited the speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as saying.

Monday session coincides with two key security events. Iraqi government has launched a major crackdown in Mosul to stem increasing attacks conducted by al-Qaeda operatives in the northern city. It also comes a day after implementing a ceasefire in the violence-wracked Baghdad slum of Sadr city.

The parliament statement did not provide further details about the reasons for hosting the PM.

Aswat Aliraq

Private Banks demanding the release of Bank Credits

Private Banks appealed to the Iraqi government to make the Iraqi Central Bank open the value of their financial allocations and not limit it to a certain amount just like it is in other countries of the world in order to allow them to move according to the modern market economics to serve the economic transformation plans adopted by the government since 2003.

They asked the Iraqi Central Bank not to determine the ceiling material to their financial allocations, since it represents a hindrance to the expansion of their infrastructure and thus freezing business dealings, whether inside or outside.

Deputy Director of Al-Warkaa Bank for Investment and Finance, Mohamed Hassan, said that private banks need the support of the government represented by the Iraqi Central Bank through opening credits without adherence to a certain ceiling to revitalize the national economy, taking into consideration the efficiency of the bank, the services provided by the bank, the development processes of its restructuring, raising its capital based on the achievements made by the bank like introducing the software system in banking dealings to facilitate services to customers for the first time in Iraq as well as puting up a new interest rate on deposits of three types: 12% for three months, 13% for six months and 14% for one year. He added that the bank granted its customers the smart card service, the ATM, the issuance of guarantees and opening low credits through the Internet service bank "electronic-bank" and by using a password containing the account number and name.

Private Banks demanding the release of bank credits

Paving 2 Million Square Meters Of Roads in Baghdad

Baghdad municipality department to tends accomplishing 2 million square meter of the roads in general areas of Baghdad after gaining cabinet council agreement for referring the roads paving projects within cost of ID 3B (thats about 2,500,000 dollars - that doesn't seem much??) by a direct costing way.

A source at Baghdad municipality department, said that a committee of Baghdad services body follows Baghdad province council, specified for discussing the service factual for Shu'la sector and the problems of the sector by finding the suitable solutions for it.

He added that the gatherings discussed the most important works which would accomplishes by Baghdad sewerages department in the mentioned sector includes establishing 3 diving stations and laying sewerages net for the neighbor of 438, besides fixing the sink down neighbors of 450, 456, 420, 462, 454, 416, 460 & sink down of ST 60

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=6076

This is an opinion piece

Basra, Iran... It all comes down to oil
Recent violence is a precursor to the political break-up of the nation, says Robert Fox

Behind the recent fighting in Basra, which has halted the further withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, lies a three-letter word - oil. It is no coincidence that the day Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the Iraqi army into Basra to fight the militia of Moqtada al-Sadr, negotiations began in Jordan for contracts to repair and upgrade existing oil fields around Basra and exploit three huge new fields in the desert further west.

These deals with multinational companies could triple the output from the Basra oil region, already one of the richest in the world. Who controls Basra controls much of the future wealth of Iraq and the upper Gulf.

Al-Maliki belongs to the Dawa Party, the smallest of the three major Shia political movements in Iraq, whose influence across the oil-rich south has been steadily waning.

Last month he gambled that Iraqi army units, newly trained by the US and UK, could beat the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr.

Under the pretext of "winning back the streets of Basra from the militias and criminal gangs," al-Maliki launched a force of some 30,000 to dislodge Moqtada's men from their strongholds in Basra, Amarah and Kut. After six days of heavy street-fighting, the Iraqi army made no headway. Moqtada's men have won an enormous psychological victory that they did not expect. The Mahdi Army now looks like the strongest Iraqi force in central and southern Iraq, more capable than the Iraqi army itself.

Al-Maliki, described recently by a British military adviser as having "almost no strategic judgment", was urged to action by American neo-con militants like retired General Jack Keane and Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute. But American and British commanders urged caution, believing the Iraqi army wasn't yet up to the job. So al-Maliki told allied commanders of his plan to put troops into Basra only a few hours before they went in.

Al-Maliki clearly fears that Moqtada will win the provincial elections due later this year - and that they will deliver him real power over Basra and its oil.

What concerns al-Maliki and the US neo-cons is Moqtada's interpretation of Iraq's new oil law - which they believe is likely to favour Tehran rather than Baghdad in the commercial development of common fields and common pipelines. The law is deliberately ambiguous about exploitation of fields which run across national boundaries. The oil minister, Hussein Shahrastani, whose ancestry is from Iran, has kept silent about what happens to oil fields that extend into Iran - where there are already accusations of the Iranians pumping oil from under Iraq.

The American hawks under Dick Cheney fear that Moqtada's propaganda win in Basra will be linked to Iran's recent successes in energy politics. A further blow to the White House policy of isolating Iran by sanctions was a deal struck by the Swiss last month to buy 194tr cubic feet of gas from Iran annually from 2011. It was sealed at a ceremony in Tehran where Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Swiss foreign minister, was photographed shrouded in a headscarf, smiling and shaking the hand of President Ahmadinejad.

Ironically, the Americans' favourite Shia leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, would likely be no less pro-Iranian than Moqtada when it comes to oil. Al-Hakim wants to see Iraq become a loose federation, with Basra at the centre of a southern super-region. In Tehran, that is seen as an opportunity for closer ties, possibly even the use of Iranian pipelines and ports to transport Iraqi oil.

So the oil card is slipping from Washington's hand, thanks to the misjudgment of al-Maliki in attacking Moqtada's militias. In the dying days of the Bush regime, fears are growing again that if the America can't win the oil contest, it will resort to force - even the bombing of Iran. At least the main regional leaders, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have told Dick Cheney they won't go along with such a suicidal move.

Oil, al-Sadr and the future of Iraq | Opinion | The First Post

Iran to establish trade centers in Iraq

Iran is ready to establish trade centers in northern, southern and eastern Iraq to introduce domestic capabilities, said the head of Iran-Iraq chamber of commerce, industries and mines.

Iran can also support Iraq in building 10 million residential units needed by the country, Hussein Tiz Maghz said.

Earlier the Iranian has called for establishment of branches of Iranian banks in Iraq.

“Establishment of Iranian banks in the country would secure bilateral trade and foreign currency of the two countries businessmen.”

The official also said through expanding bilateral economic, cultural and social relations, the two countries would witness a boost in relations.

14 fairs are to be held in the two countries in an attempt to show capabilities and potentials, the official said adding Tehran will host a health fair in summer.

The amount of Iran-Iraq bilateral trade exchanges reached 2.8 billion dollars in 2007 being raised by 2 billion dollars comparing to the same period last year.

Iran is also to establish airlines between Mashhad, Iran’s northeastern city and Najaf, Basra and Baghdad.

Also Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qomi participating in the ceremony also said Tehran and Baghdad taking all steps necessary to implement previously-signed agreements have signed 95 memorandums of understanding.

Khorasan, Iran’s southeastern province possessing experiences on car manufacturing, agriculture and tourism can pave the way to strengthen Tehran-Baghdad economic ties, he said.

This Iranian province with major economic organizations working in domains including industry and mining, goods exports and imports, engineering and technical services, construction and agriculture can make investments in Iraq if supported by Iraqi trade organizations, he added.

ISNA - 05-10-2008 - 87/2/21 - Service: / Economy / News ID: 1128623

Tehran might consider resumption of talks with US on Iraq

Tehran might consider resumption of talks with the United States on Iraq, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Sunday. Hosseini said in a press briefing in Tehran that if conditions were right, Iran would resume talks with the US on security in Iraq.

The spokesman had said last week that Iran would not talk with the US as long as US forces targeted Iraqi civilians in their fight against militias linked to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who is said to be a protege of Tehran.

Hosseini's earlier remarks were interpreted by the press as Iran cutting bilateral talks which the spokesman however clarified on Sunday.

Iran and the US have already held three rounds of talks in Baghdad without any tangible results except an as yet unimplemented plan to form a trilateral security committee consisting of Iran, the US and Iraq to help bring stability to Iraq.

The two political arch-foes were supposed to resume talks last February but the meeting was cancelled, reportedly due to "technical reasons."

The US and Iran severed diplomatic ties after US embassy staff in Tehran were taken hostage for 444 days in 1979-81. The two sides have pursued hostile policies towards each other since then.

The US accuses Iran of aiding insurgents in Iraq, and, while denying the US charges, Tehran says that the only way to return peace and stability to Iraq is for the US to withdraw its forces immediately.

Tehran might consider resumption of talks with US on Iraq : Middle East World

***** = N.O.K.I.A

Zain Iraq and ***** Siemens Networks sign a US $150 million network modernization contract
Zain Iraq, the country's leading mobile operator has signed p ***** Siemens Networks in a US $150 million contract to increase capacity while also simplifying and modernizing its existing core network.

***** Siemens Networks will unify the technologies and bring them under ***** Siemens Networks portfolio, thus assuming responsibility for Zain Iraq's Core, Intelligent Network and Value Added Services elements of the network.

Mr. Ali AL Dahwi, CEO, Zain Iraq, says, "Gearing up to increase our network capacity meant that we first and foremost require a vendor who could integrate the two core networks in operation with us. Given our group's long term strategic partnership with ***** Siemens Networks and the personal dedication of the local team, they were in the best position to provide us a stable, reliable country-wide network at a significantly reduced operating expenditure."

With eight million active customers, Zain Iraq, born out of the two most successful mobile operations in Iraq namely MTC Atheer and Iraqna who have been providing a wide range of mobile telephony and data services since early December 2003.

Under the flagship Zain brand operating in 22 countries spread across Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zain Iraq hopes to consolidate its leadership and increase capacity as this core network upgrade will allow the operation to serve 12 million customers. ***** Siemens Networks will execute the project over a period of 10 - 12 months building one of the largest mobile networks in the Middle East.

Jan Cron, Head of Middle East and Africa region for ***** Siemens Networks said, "***** Siemens Networks has proven time and again that it is a committed and valuable partner to the entire Zain group of companies. With Zain Iraq, our multi-vendor integration capabilities will enable them to reach out to an ever greater number of subscribers in as cost effective manner as possible, thus fulfilling their mission of providing mobile services to the people of Iraq at highly affordable rates."

***** Siemens Networks believes that the future of the communications industry lies in understanding and uniting communities. Driven by a desire to have 5 billion people connected by 2015, ***** Siemens Networks will have an unparalleled capability to deliver 'end-to-end' convergent solutions based on a broad portfolio of fixed and mobile infrastructure products, services and devices.

ArabianBusiness.com - Middle East business, financial and industry news - Industry Press Releases - Zain Iraq and ***** Siemens Networks sign a US $150 million network modernization contract

Bush heads to Middle East amid dark omens
US President George W. Bush heads back to the Middle East this week, where his efforts to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace face growing scepticism with barely nine months left in his term.

The five-day trip is anchored on the 60th anniversary of Israel as a modern state, a stop in Saudi Arabia to mark 75 years of US relations with the kingdom, and talks in Egypt with a broad range of regional leaders.

The visit is Bush's second in four months - after seven years in which he did not set foot in either Israel or the Palestinian territories - and Bush aides see it as a blend of symbol and substance.

"It's going to be a mix," said US national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

The White House has taken care not to raise expectations, perhaps not only because of the lack of significant progress over the past few months, but because of the turmoil in Israel over the past few days.

Bush was due to meet Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces mounting calls to resign over a criminal probe into allegations he took bribes from a millionaire US financier.

After months of highlighting what it called good relations between Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Washington now describes peace efforts as the principally the work of two governments.

Olmert, a political survivor, has not been charged, but his legal woes could make it more difficult to convince Israelis to make the tough concessions all sides agree will be needed to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

"It is an Israeli domestic matter. We don't want to poke our nose into it, but we fear this crisis will reflect in terms of military escalation or more building in the settlements," said lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.

And "in case of early elections, the peace process will be put on hold", he added.

Olmert and Abbas agreed in November, at a US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to revive stalled peace efforts with an eye on reaching a deal on the outlines of a Palestinian state by year's end.

Since that optimistic pledge, however, causes for scepticism have piled up.

Israel has announced plans to pursue construction in Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian lands a core dispute. And the US has said that its ally has not done enough to improve Palestinian quality of life.

Another major obstacle is Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip, launch site for frequent rocket or mortar attacks on Israel, which the Palestinian militant group does not recognise.

Bush, who visited the Abbas-controlled West Bank in January, has no plans to visit the Palestinian territories this time, nor to hold a joint summit with Olmert and Abbas - though he will see the Palestinian leader in Egypt May 17.

"At this point, we think the bilateral negotiations are key. We can be encouraging those negotiations to go forward. A lot of it is better done, quite frankly, in private than in public," said Hadley.

The US president, often accused of ducking the peace effort to focus on the war in Iraq, could face Arab criticism for focusing his trip so much on Israel, where he will address the Knesset, the country's parliament.

"It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now. The politics on the ground are absolutely miserable," says Middle East expert Jon Alterman.

Bush faces another crisis in Lebanon, where Israel foe Hezbollah - the two fought a war in 2006 has led in recent days an armed campaign against forces loyal to the pro-Western government.

The volatile situation in war-torn Iraq, Iran's growing confidence, and Syria's defiance - experts see many of these as signs of diminished US clout in the region, even as sky-high gasoline prices hurt US pocketbooks.

On May 16, Bush visits Saudi Arabia, which he hopes will help push the peace process but also play a larger role in stabilising Iraq. He was also to express US concerns about the dramatic rise in oil prices.

Bush heads to Middle East amid dark omens - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com