Iraq Reconstruction News
4 March 2007
1. U.S. official says network of Iraqi and world businessmen underway - Baghdad, March 3, (VOI) – A U.S. official said his job in Iraq is to create a network between Iraqi businessmen and their global counterparts to help refresh the country's economy. "We will work on refurbishing defunct government plants. International businessmen can invest in Iraq by reviving these," said Paul Brinkley, U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation in a press conference held in Baghdad on Saturday. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=38597&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
2. U.S. Energy Information Administration Iraq page http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/iraq.html
3. Reconstruction Projects provide Iraqis with big improvements to essential services http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-03-01-3.pdf
4. Fresh mechanism to distribute oil derivatives among Iraqi provinces – minister. Baghdad, March 4, (VOI) – Iraqi Oil Minister, Dr. Hussein al-Shahrastani, revealed his ministry's plan to hammer out a new mechanism for distributing oil derivatives amongst the provinces, depending on the amount available in warehouses and the population rate in each province. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=38655&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
5. Iraqi Air Force shows off rebuilt Huey helicopters - BAGHDAD, March 3 (Reuters) - Iraq's Air Force should have 50 to 60 helicopters by the end of the year, including 28 new Russian aircraft, Iraq's defence minister said on Saturday as he inspected two refitted Vietnam-era Huey helicopters in Baghdad. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR347933.htm
6. Implementing service projects alongside the security plan - The Director of the National Coordination Team in the American embassy said that his government has allocated amounts of money to implement service projects in Baghdad as part of the first phase of the security plan implemented by the Iraqi government. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3224
7. Iraq bank loans - The general board of the Bank Loans Guarantees Company convened in its first meeting for 2007 in the city of Irbil, in Kurdistan, which became the safe haven for businessmen to exercise their various activities away from explosions after they have devoted most of their meetings in Amman or elsewhere. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3242
8. Ninewa PRDC is Stepping up to the Challenge - Iraq Roads are Receiving a Face-lift http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-23.PDF
9. Economic Agreement is a Buy Sign in Iraq - With most of American politics focused on the troop surge and partisan maneuverings over its implementation, another story has gotten lost: The Iraqis themselves have made important progress in a basic economic issue that has fueled the sectarian divide. The only real industry in Iraq comes from its only real natural resource: oil. Unfortunately, the reserves of oil are not shared equally among the population groups. Most of the oil is located outside the "Sunni triangle" and the Sunnis have fought the Shi'ites (and the Kurds to a lesser extent) in order to keep them from federalizing Iraq and hoarding all of the oil revenue from their respective areas of the nation. Many Sunnis have been unwilling to accept a democratically-elected government that naturally favors Shi'ites, or the federalism that favors the Kurds. http://www.aina.org/news/2007030192545.htm
10. Iraqi government to hike fuel prices by 15% - Consumer fuel prices will be hiked by around 15 percent in March as Iraq implements an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to cut subsidies, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said. Iraq has the world's third largest known oil reserves but decades of war, sanctions, under-investment and now widespread violence and sabotage have left it critically short of fuel. It has to import much of its gasoline. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3232
11. Plan to set up new transformers to improve power http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3215
12. Iraq Farm System Collapsed, Food Supply in Danger. Breadbasket of Middle East Fallen Dependent on Imports - The Iraqi agricultural system has completely collapsed, leaving the food supply insecure and reliant on foreign imports, and the Iraqi diet dependent on government rations. In 2003 L. Paul Bremer changed the import law, dropping all the tariffs to make imported goods cheaper for Iraqis. The unintended effect of this law was to kill off the Iraqi family farm, since domestically-produced food could no longer compete with cheap imports. http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/1511/Iraq_Farm_System_Collapsed_Food_Supply_in_Danger
END
Friday, March 30, 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News 3 March 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
3 March 2007
1. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrmonth-2,year-2007&o=c-1-1172620800-2-1172707200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
2. War News Radio: One Step Forward - This week on War News Radio, we speak to an expert about the new plan for distributing Iraqi oil revenue.
http://warnewsradio.org/
3. Addax Reports Northern Iraq Discovery -- Addax Petroleum Corp. on Thursday announced flow test results for the TT-05 well, the second appraisal well recently drilled on the Taq Taq field by Taq Taq Operating Company (TTOPCO), the joint venture company formed by Genel Enerji A.S. (Genel) and Addax Petroleum to carry out the petroleum operations in the Taq Taq license area. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=42019
4. Iraq: Draft Oil Law Aims To Please All Sides -- March 2, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Iraq's cabinet this week endorsed a draft oil and gas law for the management of oil resources and an equitable distribution of revenues. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hailed the achievement, telling reporters on February 26 that with the endorsement of the draft law, the government "lays the foundation stone for building the state." The law will now be submitted to parliament for ratification before it takes effect later this year. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/3/85DF3EB6-D9C3-488E-9322-B572A098667C.html
5. Iraq: Summary Of Draft Oil Law -- March 2, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- On February 27, Iraq's cabinet approved a long-awaited federal oil law, with the aim of distributing oil revenues fairly among the regions. The law must now be approved by parliament to take effect. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/3/9D033277-AE99-4AD3-B470-4008AA0040B8.html
6. Oil Unions warn American companies of investing oil fields - The oil investment law prepared by the experts of the Iraqi Ministry of oil is expected to be discussed by the Parliament during the next few days. This law grants American companies long-term contracts exceed thirty years under the principle of shared production contracts. Experts confirm that this law is an international legal cover for these companies to control oil sector and its management through exploiting the weak negotiating position of the Iraqi government to pass saw this law. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3239
7. Troubles for the Iraq Oil Deal -- Paris -- Barely two days have passed since Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the country's new petroleum law as a "solid base for unity of all Iraqis" -- a rare boast these days. President Bush has also trumpeted it as proof that Iraq has a viable future. But parliamentarians and Iraq's oil unions have already begun mobilizing against the draft legislation, arguing that it is a desperate attempt by al-Maliki's government to satisfy Western demands, which could damage Iraq's economic future and speed the country's ultimate disintegration. http://www.aina.org/news/20070228151758.htm
8. Turkish diplomatic sources say Ankara positive towards Iraqi oil bill - Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia. Ankara, 2 March: Ankara is positive towards Iraqi draft oil law as it includes elements that reinforce national integrity and centralization, according to Turkish diplomatic sources. Iraqi cabinet earlier approved the bill and sent it to parliament for consideration. According to Article 1 of the draft law, which refers to Article 111 of the Iraq's Constitution that mentions "oil and natural gas belong to whole Iraqi people", "owner of the oil and natural gas is all Iraqis in whole regions". Diplomatic sources said it has been observed that Iraqi groups reached a consensus on unity and integrity of the country. With the draft law, authorities pertaining to oil and natural gas, will not be in one hand and will be shared by various institutions. Sources said centralization has come forefront with the distribution of authority on exploration and use of rich natural wealth of Iraq. Ankara has still been examining the draft oil law in detail, and seeking ways to cooperate with its neighbour Iraq on bilateral oil trade. Ankara considers formation of a central oil policy, which the Kurds are a part of, important for prevention of fragmentation of Iraq. Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1506 gmt 2 Mar 07
9. Price Check in Baghdad Neighborhoods http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/1722/Price_Check_in_Baghdad_Neighborhoods
10. Full electricity in Baghdad 6 years off // WASHINGTON // Getting full-time electric power turned on in Baghdad, a key wartime goal toward which the United States has spent $4.2 billion dollars, won't be accomplished until the year 2013, U.S. officials said yesterday, in what others called a significant setback for the new U.S. initiatives to quell Iraq's bloody insurgency. Power outages in the Iraqi capital are frequent, leaving residents without electricity for an average of 17 or 18 hours a day. For most residents without personal generators, that means not just no lights but dead radios and televisions, heaters, washing machines and water pumps. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.powerless02mar02,0,644223.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
11. Turkey, Iraq, U.S. to meet on Iraq oil -- ANKARA, Turkey, March 1 (UPI) -- Turkey's energy minister said Ankara was asked for help developing oil in northern Iraq and will meet with U.S. and Iraq officials this month. But Hilmi Guler said the negotiations will be with the central Iraqi government, not the Kurdish leaders that control the oil rich north and are at odds with Turkey. http://www.upi.com/Energy/turkey_iraq_us_to_meet_on_iraq_oil/20070301-034728-5869r/
12. Fast-Track Learning for Women - Until three months ago, Miryam Majeed’s early morning routine involved feeding her two children and starting on the day’s chores. But now there is a new task that gets her out of bed and fills her with enthusiasm – she has gone back to school. Now 29, Majeed from Chamchamal, 60 kilometres south of Sulaimaniah in Iraq’s Kurdish region, never received an education as a child. "My father didn’t let me go to school", she explained. Now she carries her books to classes four days a week, and spends several hours studying at home. http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=333554&apc_state=henpicr
13. Iraqi Mixed Marriages Under Siege In Conflict -- BAGHDAD -- The note was slipped under the door of May Mahmoud's shop. Neatly typed on a computer, it read: "You must leave your home. We give you three days. Or we will kill you." It was addressed to her husband. He was a Shiite Muslim. But she was a Sunni. Where would they go? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300647.html
END
3 March 2007
1. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrmonth-2,year-2007&o=c-1-1172620800-2-1172707200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
2. War News Radio: One Step Forward - This week on War News Radio, we speak to an expert about the new plan for distributing Iraqi oil revenue.
http://warnewsradio.org/
3. Addax Reports Northern Iraq Discovery -- Addax Petroleum Corp. on Thursday announced flow test results for the TT-05 well, the second appraisal well recently drilled on the Taq Taq field by Taq Taq Operating Company (TTOPCO), the joint venture company formed by Genel Enerji A.S. (Genel) and Addax Petroleum to carry out the petroleum operations in the Taq Taq license area. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=42019
4. Iraq: Draft Oil Law Aims To Please All Sides -- March 2, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Iraq's cabinet this week endorsed a draft oil and gas law for the management of oil resources and an equitable distribution of revenues. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hailed the achievement, telling reporters on February 26 that with the endorsement of the draft law, the government "lays the foundation stone for building the state." The law will now be submitted to parliament for ratification before it takes effect later this year. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/3/85DF3EB6-D9C3-488E-9322-B572A098667C.html
5. Iraq: Summary Of Draft Oil Law -- March 2, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- On February 27, Iraq's cabinet approved a long-awaited federal oil law, with the aim of distributing oil revenues fairly among the regions. The law must now be approved by parliament to take effect. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/3/9D033277-AE99-4AD3-B470-4008AA0040B8.html
6. Oil Unions warn American companies of investing oil fields - The oil investment law prepared by the experts of the Iraqi Ministry of oil is expected to be discussed by the Parliament during the next few days. This law grants American companies long-term contracts exceed thirty years under the principle of shared production contracts. Experts confirm that this law is an international legal cover for these companies to control oil sector and its management through exploiting the weak negotiating position of the Iraqi government to pass saw this law. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3239
7. Troubles for the Iraq Oil Deal -- Paris -- Barely two days have passed since Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the country's new petroleum law as a "solid base for unity of all Iraqis" -- a rare boast these days. President Bush has also trumpeted it as proof that Iraq has a viable future. But parliamentarians and Iraq's oil unions have already begun mobilizing against the draft legislation, arguing that it is a desperate attempt by al-Maliki's government to satisfy Western demands, which could damage Iraq's economic future and speed the country's ultimate disintegration. http://www.aina.org/news/20070228151758.htm
8. Turkish diplomatic sources say Ankara positive towards Iraqi oil bill - Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia. Ankara, 2 March: Ankara is positive towards Iraqi draft oil law as it includes elements that reinforce national integrity and centralization, according to Turkish diplomatic sources. Iraqi cabinet earlier approved the bill and sent it to parliament for consideration. According to Article 1 of the draft law, which refers to Article 111 of the Iraq's Constitution that mentions "oil and natural gas belong to whole Iraqi people", "owner of the oil and natural gas is all Iraqis in whole regions". Diplomatic sources said it has been observed that Iraqi groups reached a consensus on unity and integrity of the country. With the draft law, authorities pertaining to oil and natural gas, will not be in one hand and will be shared by various institutions. Sources said centralization has come forefront with the distribution of authority on exploration and use of rich natural wealth of Iraq. Ankara has still been examining the draft oil law in detail, and seeking ways to cooperate with its neighbour Iraq on bilateral oil trade. Ankara considers formation of a central oil policy, which the Kurds are a part of, important for prevention of fragmentation of Iraq. Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1506 gmt 2 Mar 07
9. Price Check in Baghdad Neighborhoods http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/1722/Price_Check_in_Baghdad_Neighborhoods
10. Full electricity in Baghdad 6 years off // WASHINGTON // Getting full-time electric power turned on in Baghdad, a key wartime goal toward which the United States has spent $4.2 billion dollars, won't be accomplished until the year 2013, U.S. officials said yesterday, in what others called a significant setback for the new U.S. initiatives to quell Iraq's bloody insurgency. Power outages in the Iraqi capital are frequent, leaving residents without electricity for an average of 17 or 18 hours a day. For most residents without personal generators, that means not just no lights but dead radios and televisions, heaters, washing machines and water pumps. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-te.powerless02mar02,0,644223.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
11. Turkey, Iraq, U.S. to meet on Iraq oil -- ANKARA, Turkey, March 1 (UPI) -- Turkey's energy minister said Ankara was asked for help developing oil in northern Iraq and will meet with U.S. and Iraq officials this month. But Hilmi Guler said the negotiations will be with the central Iraqi government, not the Kurdish leaders that control the oil rich north and are at odds with Turkey. http://www.upi.com/Energy/turkey_iraq_us_to_meet_on_iraq_oil/20070301-034728-5869r/
12. Fast-Track Learning for Women - Until three months ago, Miryam Majeed’s early morning routine involved feeding her two children and starting on the day’s chores. But now there is a new task that gets her out of bed and fills her with enthusiasm – she has gone back to school. Now 29, Majeed from Chamchamal, 60 kilometres south of Sulaimaniah in Iraq’s Kurdish region, never received an education as a child. "My father didn’t let me go to school", she explained. Now she carries her books to classes four days a week, and spends several hours studying at home. http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=333554&apc_state=henpicr
13. Iraqi Mixed Marriages Under Siege In Conflict -- BAGHDAD -- The note was slipped under the door of May Mahmoud's shop. Neatly typed on a computer, it read: "You must leave your home. We give you three days. Or we will kill you." It was addressed to her husband. He was a Shiite Muslim. But she was a Sunni. Where would they go? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300647.html
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 2 March 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
2 March 2007
1. Iraq Weekly Status Report 28 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81339.pdf
2. GRD Iraq Reconstruction Weekly Update 02/27/07 https://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/pls/portal/url/ITEM/07251F2EFBCA801DE040A8C00B0741F5
3. Brookings Iraq Index 26 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrmonth-2,year-2007&o=c-1-1172620800-2-1172707200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. That long-awaited share-out - A new oil law, apparently agreed upon at last by Iraq's politicians, should prompt a gush of much-needed foreign investment to reach the country with the world's second-biggest petroleum reserves. The law's passage was delayed for over half a year by a row between Iraq's federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which runs much of the north-east, including some of Iraq's richest oilfields. Yet the law is still not quite complete. http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=8786337
6. Final Official Copy of the Iraqi Oil and Gas Law (in Arabic and English). Includes the 4 appendices and the Council of Ministers' resolution. http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2007/03/final-official-copy-of-iraqi-oil-and.html
7. Troubles for the Iraq Oil Deal - Barely two days have passed since Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the country's new petroleum law as a "solid base for unity of all Iraqis" — a rare boast these days. President Bush has also trumpeted it as proof that Iraq has a viable future. But parliamentarians and Iraq's oil unions have already begun mobilizing against the draft legislation, arguing that it is a desperate attempt by al-Maliki's government to satisfy Western demands, which could damage Iraq's economic future and speed the country's ultimate disintegration. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1594388,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
8. Kurdish Officials Praise Iraqi Oil Draft Law, but Hurdles Remain - Irbil - Iraq's Cabinet approved a draft law this week that is considered a key step toward developing the country's vast oil and natural gas reserves. But VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Irbil that Kurdish officials say the agreement does not resolve how the country will divide up its oil revenue. http://voanews.com/english/2007-03-01-voa39.cfm
9. Calling on Malaysian companies for rebuilding Iraq - Dr. Humam Abdul-Majeed Chairman of Re-studying the Constitution Committee called on Malaysian companies to invest and participate in reconstructing Iraq and particularly in the sectors of building, energy, fuel, reconstructing roads and health facilities. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3244
10. Industry Ministry not establish more factories - minister. Duhuk (VOI) – The Iraqi Industry and Minerals Minister Fawzi al-Hariri said on Thursday that the ministry would not establish any factory in the country anymore and would encourage private sector to start industrial projects. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37920&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
11. Three trillion for oil and one for electricity - Yunadim Kanna, member of the Investment and Construction Committee in the Parliament, said that the 2007 budget, which was approved by the Parliament last week, allocated three trillion dinars to the Ministry of Oil, while more than one trillion dinars were allocated to the Ministry of Electricity. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3209
12. $1.5 m to rehabilitate Mosul Airport - The Nineveh Province council has allocated $2 millions and half to rehabilitate al-Mosul Civilian Airport while the Ministry of Health has signed ID20 billions contract to supply the health establishments at the province with its needs of the medical requirements.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3235
END
2 March 2007
1. Iraq Weekly Status Report 28 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81339.pdf
2. GRD Iraq Reconstruction Weekly Update 02/27/07 https://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/pls/portal/url/ITEM/07251F2EFBCA801DE040A8C00B0741F5
3. Brookings Iraq Index 26 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrmonth-2,year-2007&o=c-1-1172620800-2-1172707200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. That long-awaited share-out - A new oil law, apparently agreed upon at last by Iraq's politicians, should prompt a gush of much-needed foreign investment to reach the country with the world's second-biggest petroleum reserves. The law's passage was delayed for over half a year by a row between Iraq's federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which runs much of the north-east, including some of Iraq's richest oilfields. Yet the law is still not quite complete. http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=8786337
6. Final Official Copy of the Iraqi Oil and Gas Law (in Arabic and English). Includes the 4 appendices and the Council of Ministers' resolution. http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2007/03/final-official-copy-of-iraqi-oil-and.html
7. Troubles for the Iraq Oil Deal - Barely two days have passed since Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed the country's new petroleum law as a "solid base for unity of all Iraqis" — a rare boast these days. President Bush has also trumpeted it as proof that Iraq has a viable future. But parliamentarians and Iraq's oil unions have already begun mobilizing against the draft legislation, arguing that it is a desperate attempt by al-Maliki's government to satisfy Western demands, which could damage Iraq's economic future and speed the country's ultimate disintegration. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1594388,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
8. Kurdish Officials Praise Iraqi Oil Draft Law, but Hurdles Remain - Irbil - Iraq's Cabinet approved a draft law this week that is considered a key step toward developing the country's vast oil and natural gas reserves. But VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Irbil that Kurdish officials say the agreement does not resolve how the country will divide up its oil revenue. http://voanews.com/english/2007-03-01-voa39.cfm
9. Calling on Malaysian companies for rebuilding Iraq - Dr. Humam Abdul-Majeed Chairman of Re-studying the Constitution Committee called on Malaysian companies to invest and participate in reconstructing Iraq and particularly in the sectors of building, energy, fuel, reconstructing roads and health facilities. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3244
10. Industry Ministry not establish more factories - minister. Duhuk (VOI) – The Iraqi Industry and Minerals Minister Fawzi al-Hariri said on Thursday that the ministry would not establish any factory in the country anymore and would encourage private sector to start industrial projects. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37920&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
11. Three trillion for oil and one for electricity - Yunadim Kanna, member of the Investment and Construction Committee in the Parliament, said that the 2007 budget, which was approved by the Parliament last week, allocated three trillion dinars to the Ministry of Oil, while more than one trillion dinars were allocated to the Ministry of Electricity. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3209
12. $1.5 m to rehabilitate Mosul Airport - The Nineveh Province council has allocated $2 millions and half to rehabilitate al-Mosul Civilian Airport while the Ministry of Health has signed ID20 billions contract to supply the health establishments at the province with its needs of the medical requirements.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3235
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 28 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
28 February 2007
1. Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 -- Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation Monday that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country, a step toward meeting a U.S. demand that the country's parliament pass such a law. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600161.html
2. Turkey readying for oil search in northern Iraq - ANKARA – Turkish Daily News. As the Turkish government is debating whether to establish dialogue with the Iraqi Kurdish leaders, Energy Minister Hilmi Güler said Turkey would be sitting at the negotiating table next month with the United States and the central Iraqi government in order to explore oil in oil-rich northern Iraq. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=67194
3. An Iraqi oil law? It would be a big step forward if Iraq actually approved and carried out long-promised and never-delivered legislation equitably sharing the nation's oil revenues among all Iraqis. Unfortunately, the draft oil agreement approved by Iraq's cabinet on Monday is still a long way from that. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/28/opinion/ediraq.php
4. The Decline of the Iraqi Oil Sector - Al-Hayat - When the US army entered Iraq, we heard so much about the US' goal to occupy Iraq and control oil, that Iraq has the world's second largest oil reserves, and that in more than two years oil prices have reached 40, 50, and $60 per barrel (bpd). Despite this, Iraq, which is a rich and old country, is still suffering from poverty, lack of security and deteriorating instability. Yesterday, we heard reports that the Iraqi government has unanimously approved a new oil law, but we must ask: what kind of foreign country would come to invest under such poor security conditions? http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/02-2007/Article-20070228-0863b484-c0a8-10ed-00b5-6dcf62daeda9/story.html
5. Oil Money and Federalism - Assessing the New Iraqi Oil Deal http://volokh.com/posts/1172575339.shtml
6. New Oil Law Seen as Cover for Privatization - Electronic Iraq, WASHINGTON (IPS) - The U.S.-backed Iraqi cabinet approved a new oil law Monday that is set to give foreign companies the long-term contracts and safe legal framework they have been waiting for, but which has rattled labor unions and international campaigners who say oil production should remain in the hands of Iraqis. Independent analysts and labor groups have also criticized the process of drafting the law and warned that that the bill is so skewed in favor of foreign firms that it could end up heightening political tensions in the Arab nation and spreading instability. http://electroniciraq.net/news/2923.shtml
7. Iraq maps strategy to revive oil fields - BAGHDAD — After months of contentious negotiations over the postwar spoils of Iraq's most valuable natural resource, the government announced Monday night that it had approved a draft plan to ramp up oil production and share the proceeds. The agreement by the Iraqi Cabinet was touted as a major breakthrough. It must still be approved by parliament, but because all of Iraq's vested ethnic and regional interests are represented in the Cabinet, the deal was viewed as having overcome a significant hurdle. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraqoil27feb27,1,1499618.story?coll=la-news-a_section
8. New Iraq''s oil legislation, a significant step forward -- official. BAGHDAD, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has welcomed the new oil legislation in the country referring to it as "a significant long-awaited step." "The new legislation regulates management of (the Iraqi) oil sector and secures just distribution of crude revenues to all Iraqis," the ministry spokesman, Asem Jehad, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Tuesday noting that the law set the sound bases for developing the oil industry in cooperation with the world's leading firms.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=956220
9. Iraq to decrease fuel subsidy 15 percent -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Iraq's oil minister said he will increase prices for scarce fuel to keep in line with donor requirements. Hussein al-Shahristani said he will increase fuel prices by 15 percent next month, Gulf Daily News reports. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Iraq_to_decrease_fuel_subsidy_15_percent/20070226-042151-6743r/
10. Official regrets Baghdad's ban on Iranian vehicles carrying goods into Iraq - IRNA - An Iranian transportation official regretted on Wednesday an Iraqi decision not to allow Iranian trucks and buses carrying goods and passengers into Iraq. Unfortunately, Iranian trucks and buses carrying goods and passengers into Iraq are currently stopped at Shalamcheh borderpoint and their cargo or passengers transported to Iraq by Iraqi vehicles, said the official. http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0702288464150610.htm
11. Iraq expecting wheat, rice - Iraq said ships carrying 52,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat and 62,000 tonnes of US rice would arrive at the southern port of Um Qaser next month. A statement from the Trade Ministry said the vessels would arrive on March 3. ttp://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3284
12. Iraqis stash cash to avoid troubled banking system http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3256
13. International participations of business community - The Federation of Iraqi Importers and Exporters is organizing five economic delegations, within its agenda for the first half of this year 2007, to Bulgaria, Bahrain, Romania, Turkey and Korea. Head of the Federation, Thabit Albaldawi said. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3244
14. Drinkable water projects in Baghdad suburbs http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3215
15. Science ministry starts digitizing project http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3222
16. Sectarian lines dissolve when Shada sings on Friday night -- USATODAY, BAGHDAD — An Iraqi contestant in an Arab-world talent competition similar to American Idol has managed to unite her country like no government can. Every Friday night, Iraqis gather around their TVs to root for Shada Hassoon, 25, as she tries to sing her way to victory and a big cash prize on Star Academy. The show is a rare and welcome distraction for Iraqis cooped up indoors because of the violence and curfews affecting most of Baghdad. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-22-life-star-academy_x.htm
END
28 February 2007
1. Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 -- Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation Monday that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country, a step toward meeting a U.S. demand that the country's parliament pass such a law. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600161.html
2. Turkey readying for oil search in northern Iraq - ANKARA – Turkish Daily News. As the Turkish government is debating whether to establish dialogue with the Iraqi Kurdish leaders, Energy Minister Hilmi Güler said Turkey would be sitting at the negotiating table next month with the United States and the central Iraqi government in order to explore oil in oil-rich northern Iraq. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=67194
3. An Iraqi oil law? It would be a big step forward if Iraq actually approved and carried out long-promised and never-delivered legislation equitably sharing the nation's oil revenues among all Iraqis. Unfortunately, the draft oil agreement approved by Iraq's cabinet on Monday is still a long way from that. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/28/opinion/ediraq.php
4. The Decline of the Iraqi Oil Sector - Al-Hayat - When the US army entered Iraq, we heard so much about the US' goal to occupy Iraq and control oil, that Iraq has the world's second largest oil reserves, and that in more than two years oil prices have reached 40, 50, and $60 per barrel (bpd). Despite this, Iraq, which is a rich and old country, is still suffering from poverty, lack of security and deteriorating instability. Yesterday, we heard reports that the Iraqi government has unanimously approved a new oil law, but we must ask: what kind of foreign country would come to invest under such poor security conditions? http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/02-2007/Article-20070228-0863b484-c0a8-10ed-00b5-6dcf62daeda9/story.html
5. Oil Money and Federalism - Assessing the New Iraqi Oil Deal http://volokh.com/posts/1172575339.shtml
6. New Oil Law Seen as Cover for Privatization - Electronic Iraq, WASHINGTON (IPS) - The U.S.-backed Iraqi cabinet approved a new oil law Monday that is set to give foreign companies the long-term contracts and safe legal framework they have been waiting for, but which has rattled labor unions and international campaigners who say oil production should remain in the hands of Iraqis. Independent analysts and labor groups have also criticized the process of drafting the law and warned that that the bill is so skewed in favor of foreign firms that it could end up heightening political tensions in the Arab nation and spreading instability. http://electroniciraq.net/news/2923.shtml
7. Iraq maps strategy to revive oil fields - BAGHDAD — After months of contentious negotiations over the postwar spoils of Iraq's most valuable natural resource, the government announced Monday night that it had approved a draft plan to ramp up oil production and share the proceeds. The agreement by the Iraqi Cabinet was touted as a major breakthrough. It must still be approved by parliament, but because all of Iraq's vested ethnic and regional interests are represented in the Cabinet, the deal was viewed as having overcome a significant hurdle. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraqoil27feb27,1,1499618.story?coll=la-news-a_section
8. New Iraq''s oil legislation, a significant step forward -- official. BAGHDAD, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has welcomed the new oil legislation in the country referring to it as "a significant long-awaited step." "The new legislation regulates management of (the Iraqi) oil sector and secures just distribution of crude revenues to all Iraqis," the ministry spokesman, Asem Jehad, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Tuesday noting that the law set the sound bases for developing the oil industry in cooperation with the world's leading firms.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=956220
9. Iraq to decrease fuel subsidy 15 percent -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Iraq's oil minister said he will increase prices for scarce fuel to keep in line with donor requirements. Hussein al-Shahristani said he will increase fuel prices by 15 percent next month, Gulf Daily News reports. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Iraq_to_decrease_fuel_subsidy_15_percent/20070226-042151-6743r/
10. Official regrets Baghdad's ban on Iranian vehicles carrying goods into Iraq - IRNA - An Iranian transportation official regretted on Wednesday an Iraqi decision not to allow Iranian trucks and buses carrying goods and passengers into Iraq. Unfortunately, Iranian trucks and buses carrying goods and passengers into Iraq are currently stopped at Shalamcheh borderpoint and their cargo or passengers transported to Iraq by Iraqi vehicles, said the official. http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0702288464150610.htm
11. Iraq expecting wheat, rice - Iraq said ships carrying 52,000 tonnes of Canadian wheat and 62,000 tonnes of US rice would arrive at the southern port of Um Qaser next month. A statement from the Trade Ministry said the vessels would arrive on March 3. ttp://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3284
12. Iraqis stash cash to avoid troubled banking system http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3256
13. International participations of business community - The Federation of Iraqi Importers and Exporters is organizing five economic delegations, within its agenda for the first half of this year 2007, to Bulgaria, Bahrain, Romania, Turkey and Korea. Head of the Federation, Thabit Albaldawi said. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3244
14. Drinkable water projects in Baghdad suburbs http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3215
15. Science ministry starts digitizing project http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3222
16. Sectarian lines dissolve when Shada sings on Friday night -- USATODAY, BAGHDAD — An Iraqi contestant in an Arab-world talent competition similar to American Idol has managed to unite her country like no government can. Every Friday night, Iraqis gather around their TVs to root for Shada Hassoon, 25, as she tries to sing her way to victory and a big cash prize on Star Academy. The show is a rare and welcome distraction for Iraqis cooped up indoors because of the violence and curfews affecting most of Baghdad. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-22-life-star-academy_x.htm
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 27 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
27 February 2007
1. "The Surge That Might Work" discusses DoD's effort to revive a significant source of employment - Iraq's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17316434/site/newsweek/
2 Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 — The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft of a law on Monday that would set guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the immense oil industry. The endorsement reflected a major agreement among the country’s ethnic and sectarian political blocs on one of Iraq’s most divisive issues. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/world/middleeast/27iraq.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIraq&oref=slogin
3. Iraq's New Oil Law May Affect World Markets - All Things Considered, February 27, 2007 · The new oil law that Iraq's cabinet approved Monday is politically significant, says that oil revenue will be shared among the provinces or regions based on population. That was a key concern for Sunnis. But the legislation would also have big implications for oil companies around the world. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7626831
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172448000-2-1172534400-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. Iraq drafts deal on oil riches. Legislation reached to divide oil wealth among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian divisions. - CSMonitor.com - The Iraqi cabinet has signed off on draft legislation that would manage direct huge oil reserves, and spread its wealth among the country's ethnic and sectarian divisions. Reuters reports that passing such a law has been "a key demand" of the United States as part of its continuing support for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0227/p99s01-duts.html
6. Iraqi Cabinet Approves Draft Oil Law - An Iraqi oil law deemed essential to helping allay the country's sectarian divisions and rebuilding Iraq's economy got a major boost Monday after Iraq's cabinet approved a draft of the measure, setting the stage for a key parliamentary vote in March that stands as the final barrier to the draft becoming law. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=41821
7. Iraq Shares Oil Riches - The Iraqi government has signed draft legislation to manage the country’s oil industry and share its wealth among the country’s ethnic and sectarian groups. Russian analysts note that the bill closes the door to the country’s vast oil industry for such countries as Russia and China. http://www.kommersant.com/p746030/Iraq_Oil_Bill_Russia/
8. Low public opinion of draft oil law -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Advancement of Iraq's hydrocarbon law is being met by low public approval in the country, which may affect the oil sector, a leading business risk firm says. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Low_public_opinion_of_draft_oil_law/20070227-022514-4272r/
9. "Options for Developing a Long Term Sustainable Iraqi Oil Industry" BearingPoint report to USAID, December 2003 http://www.carbonweb.org/documents/Bearing_Point_Iraq_oil.pdf
10. Iran's non-oil exports to Iraq surpassed USD 1b - Ahvaz, Khuzestan Prov, Feb 26, (IRNA) Head of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines Hassan Tizmaqz said here Monday that Iran exported USD 1.3 billion worth of commodities to Iraq since the start of the current Iranian calender year 1386 (March 21,2006). http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/february/26/economy/irans_non_oil_exports_to_iraq_surpassed_usd_1b.html
11. Iraqi Trade Links launches wireless phone service in Iraq (MENAFN) According to the Head of the Iraqi Trade Links Company for Communications, the company has started providing wireless telephone services with the most modern technology in communications at initial cost of $350 million, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093143487
12. Cilvlians Can Win the Peace - Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sparked a maelstrom in Washington recently when they told President Bush and Defense Secretary Gates that the administration’s planned troop surge in Iraq may fail if it does not receive sufficient civilian support. The military role in Iraq will always be limited in what it can achieve, they said. No matter how well funded or well trained our troops may be, they alone cannot stabilize Iraq because many of the needed political, economic, legal, and other nation-building skills are not part of the military toolkit. http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2007/0221_civilians_peace.html
13. An Iraqi presents 20 archeological pieces to Babel provincial council - Hilla, Feb 21, (VOI) - An Iraqi citizen handed over on Wednesday authorities in Babel provincial council 20 different archaeological pieces belongs to different historical dynasties, a media source at Babel province said. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37846&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
14. Iran, Iraq sign memorandum of understanding on fisheriers cooperation http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20070221035556/SecCountries/pagIraq
15. McPherson to lead financial repair of Iraq - MSU President M. Peter McPherson will join coalition efforts to restore the Iraqi government. McPherson met with the Bush administration in Washington on Thursday to discuss the financial reconstruction of Iraq. The university president obtained financial experience while working second in command for the U.S. Department of Treasury under former President Ronald Reagan. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3217
END
27 February 2007
1. "The Surge That Might Work" discusses DoD's effort to revive a significant source of employment - Iraq's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17316434/site/newsweek/
2 Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 — The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft of a law on Monday that would set guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the immense oil industry. The endorsement reflected a major agreement among the country’s ethnic and sectarian political blocs on one of Iraq’s most divisive issues. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/world/middleeast/27iraq.html?_r=1&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIraq&oref=slogin
3. Iraq's New Oil Law May Affect World Markets - All Things Considered, February 27, 2007 · The new oil law that Iraq's cabinet approved Monday is politically significant, says that oil revenue will be shared among the provinces or regions based on population. That was a key concern for Sunnis. But the legislation would also have big implications for oil companies around the world. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7626831
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172448000-2-1172534400-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. Iraq drafts deal on oil riches. Legislation reached to divide oil wealth among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian divisions. - CSMonitor.com - The Iraqi cabinet has signed off on draft legislation that would manage direct huge oil reserves, and spread its wealth among the country's ethnic and sectarian divisions. Reuters reports that passing such a law has been "a key demand" of the United States as part of its continuing support for the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0227/p99s01-duts.html
6. Iraqi Cabinet Approves Draft Oil Law - An Iraqi oil law deemed essential to helping allay the country's sectarian divisions and rebuilding Iraq's economy got a major boost Monday after Iraq's cabinet approved a draft of the measure, setting the stage for a key parliamentary vote in March that stands as the final barrier to the draft becoming law. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=41821
7. Iraq Shares Oil Riches - The Iraqi government has signed draft legislation to manage the country’s oil industry and share its wealth among the country’s ethnic and sectarian groups. Russian analysts note that the bill closes the door to the country’s vast oil industry for such countries as Russia and China. http://www.kommersant.com/p746030/Iraq_Oil_Bill_Russia/
8. Low public opinion of draft oil law -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Advancement of Iraq's hydrocarbon law is being met by low public approval in the country, which may affect the oil sector, a leading business risk firm says. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Low_public_opinion_of_draft_oil_law/20070227-022514-4272r/
9. "Options for Developing a Long Term Sustainable Iraqi Oil Industry" BearingPoint report to USAID, December 2003 http://www.carbonweb.org/documents/Bearing_Point_Iraq_oil.pdf
10. Iran's non-oil exports to Iraq surpassed USD 1b - Ahvaz, Khuzestan Prov, Feb 26, (IRNA) Head of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines Hassan Tizmaqz said here Monday that Iran exported USD 1.3 billion worth of commodities to Iraq since the start of the current Iranian calender year 1386 (March 21,2006). http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/february/26/economy/irans_non_oil_exports_to_iraq_surpassed_usd_1b.html
11. Iraqi Trade Links launches wireless phone service in Iraq (MENAFN) According to the Head of the Iraqi Trade Links Company for Communications, the company has started providing wireless telephone services with the most modern technology in communications at initial cost of $350 million, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093143487
12. Cilvlians Can Win the Peace - Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sparked a maelstrom in Washington recently when they told President Bush and Defense Secretary Gates that the administration’s planned troop surge in Iraq may fail if it does not receive sufficient civilian support. The military role in Iraq will always be limited in what it can achieve, they said. No matter how well funded or well trained our troops may be, they alone cannot stabilize Iraq because many of the needed political, economic, legal, and other nation-building skills are not part of the military toolkit. http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2007/0221_civilians_peace.html
13. An Iraqi presents 20 archeological pieces to Babel provincial council - Hilla, Feb 21, (VOI) - An Iraqi citizen handed over on Wednesday authorities in Babel provincial council 20 different archaeological pieces belongs to different historical dynasties, a media source at Babel province said. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37846&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
14. Iran, Iraq sign memorandum of understanding on fisheriers cooperation http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20070221035556/SecCountries/pagIraq
15. McPherson to lead financial repair of Iraq - MSU President M. Peter McPherson will join coalition efforts to restore the Iraqi government. McPherson met with the Bush administration in Washington on Thursday to discuss the financial reconstruction of Iraq. The university president obtained financial experience while working second in command for the U.S. Department of Treasury under former President Ronald Reagan. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3217
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 25 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News©
25 February 2007
1. I Miss Iraq. I Miss My Gun. I Miss My War. Here's an article those of us on the non-kinetic side of reconstruction can understand. http://www.esquire.com/features/essay/ESQ0307ESSAY-3
2. Brookings Iraq Index 22 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
3. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171843200-2-1171929600-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171929600-2-1172016000-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172016000-2-1172102400-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172102400-2-1172188800-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
4. War News Radio: High Budget, Low Budget http://warnewsradio.org/
5. Kurdish leader says he now accepts new oil law, a major benchmark for progress in Iraq. SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq's vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Massoud Barzani, president of the self-governing Kurdish administration in the north, made the announcement at a joint press conference with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and President Jalal Talabani. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/24/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Oil-Law.php
6. Iraqi ministry casts doubt on oil law - BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Oil Ministry cast doubt Sunday on statements indicating the Kurds had agreed to support a draft oil law that would divide revenues among all Iraqi factions and meet a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_law_4;_ylt=AiaZA.qjt1ZeAOmHUtCVvceAsnsA
7. Technocrats Urge Iraq Govt Don't Sign Oil PSAs Over Security -- AMMAN (Dow Jones)--Prominent Iraqi oil technocrats Thursday urged the Iraqi government not to sign production-sharing agreements, or PSAs, with foreign companies until the security situation in the country improves. They have also voiced opposition to a number of articles in the controversial draft hydrocarbon law that is expected to be finalized this week by the cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before submitting it to parliament for final approval. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidDN20070222004362/SecCountries/pagIraq
8. Kurds support new oil law, a key benchmark. Agreement to share oil wealth could open economy to new investments - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq’s vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Approval of a new oil law could help open the way for international oil companies to invest billions to upgrade Iraq’s decrepit wells and pipelines and exploit the country’s reserves, among the world’s largest. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17318630/
9. Calibre Energy Provides Update on Bina-Bawi 1 Exploration Well in Kurdistan.
http://www.oilvoice.com/Calibre_Energy_Provides_Update_on_BinaBawi_1_Exploration_Wel/8892.htm
10. Iraq rebuilding short on qualified civilians. Reconstruction hampered by violence and turf wars between U.S. agencies. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17309199/
11. Iraq poised to hand control of oil fields to foreign firms. Baghdad under pressure from Britain to pass a law giving multinationals rights to the country's reserves. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2020560,00.html
12. Syria and Iraq discuss means of cooperation http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/14750
13. Istanbul Workshop Brings Consensus on Draft Secured Transactions Law. USAID economic advisors provide GOI with technical assistance for commercial legal framework. As part of efforts to facilitate economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, the USAID-funded Economic Governance II project is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to implement a sound and transparent commercial legal framework that fosters the rule of law and promotes a burgeoning private sector. A workshop held January 7-10, 2007, in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on educating key Iraqi stakeholders on the importance of a modern Secured Transactions Law and significantly assisted project advisors and their Iraqi counterparts in developing a final draft of such a law. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_stl.html
14. U.S., Iraqi Leaders Promote Business Opportunities in Northern Iraq -- Irbil, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi officials have launched a series of talks aimed at promoting private investment in Iraq's struggling economy. Government officials and businesses executives from the two countries have gathered in Irbil, Iraq, to discuss opportunities for American companies in northern Iraq. VOA's Barry Newhouse attended Tuesday's meeting, and has this report. The talks are officially called "Iraqi Business Gateways" and the first round is aimed at highlighting the merits of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. But American and Iraqi officials also want companies to come here with a plan to expand into the rest of the country. http://radio.weblogs.com/0116902/2007/02/21.html#a5093
15. Wolfowitz May Bring Bank Back to Iraq - WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (IPS) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz may appoint a new resident director for Iraq soon, a move that sources inside the Bank say could contradict the institution's policies on engagement in conflict-stricken areas and put his role in the 2003 U.S. invasion back into the limelight. The move by Wolfowitz, the former number two official at the Pentagon and a main architect of the U.S.-led war, likely means the Bank would release new loans to the occupied Arab nation, despite the deteriorating security situation and recent disclosures of massive corruption in reconstruction efforts. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36690
END
25 February 2007
1. I Miss Iraq. I Miss My Gun. I Miss My War. Here's an article those of us on the non-kinetic side of reconstruction can understand. http://www.esquire.com/features/essay/ESQ0307ESSAY-3
2. Brookings Iraq Index 22 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
3. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171843200-2-1171929600-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171929600-2-1172016000-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172016000-2-1172102400-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
- http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1172102400-2-1172188800-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
4. War News Radio: High Budget, Low Budget http://warnewsradio.org/
5. Kurdish leader says he now accepts new oil law, a major benchmark for progress in Iraq. SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq's vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Massoud Barzani, president of the self-governing Kurdish administration in the north, made the announcement at a joint press conference with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and President Jalal Talabani. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/24/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Oil-Law.php
6. Iraqi ministry casts doubt on oil law - BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Oil Ministry cast doubt Sunday on statements indicating the Kurds had agreed to support a draft oil law that would divide revenues among all Iraqi factions and meet a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_law_4;_ylt=AiaZA.qjt1ZeAOmHUtCVvceAsnsA
7. Technocrats Urge Iraq Govt Don't Sign Oil PSAs Over Security -- AMMAN (Dow Jones)--Prominent Iraqi oil technocrats Thursday urged the Iraqi government not to sign production-sharing agreements, or PSAs, with foreign companies until the security situation in the country improves. They have also voiced opposition to a number of articles in the controversial draft hydrocarbon law that is expected to be finalized this week by the cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before submitting it to parliament for final approval. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidDN20070222004362/SecCountries/pagIraq
8. Kurds support new oil law, a key benchmark. Agreement to share oil wealth could open economy to new investments - SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq’s vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Approval of a new oil law could help open the way for international oil companies to invest billions to upgrade Iraq’s decrepit wells and pipelines and exploit the country’s reserves, among the world’s largest. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17318630/
9. Calibre Energy Provides Update on Bina-Bawi 1 Exploration Well in Kurdistan.
http://www.oilvoice.com/Calibre_Energy_Provides_Update_on_BinaBawi_1_Exploration_Wel/8892.htm
10. Iraq rebuilding short on qualified civilians. Reconstruction hampered by violence and turf wars between U.S. agencies. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17309199/
11. Iraq poised to hand control of oil fields to foreign firms. Baghdad under pressure from Britain to pass a law giving multinationals rights to the country's reserves. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2020560,00.html
12. Syria and Iraq discuss means of cooperation http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/14750
13. Istanbul Workshop Brings Consensus on Draft Secured Transactions Law. USAID economic advisors provide GOI with technical assistance for commercial legal framework. As part of efforts to facilitate economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, the USAID-funded Economic Governance II project is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to implement a sound and transparent commercial legal framework that fosters the rule of law and promotes a burgeoning private sector. A workshop held January 7-10, 2007, in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on educating key Iraqi stakeholders on the importance of a modern Secured Transactions Law and significantly assisted project advisors and their Iraqi counterparts in developing a final draft of such a law. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_stl.html
14. U.S., Iraqi Leaders Promote Business Opportunities in Northern Iraq -- Irbil, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi officials have launched a series of talks aimed at promoting private investment in Iraq's struggling economy. Government officials and businesses executives from the two countries have gathered in Irbil, Iraq, to discuss opportunities for American companies in northern Iraq. VOA's Barry Newhouse attended Tuesday's meeting, and has this report. The talks are officially called "Iraqi Business Gateways" and the first round is aimed at highlighting the merits of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. But American and Iraqi officials also want companies to come here with a plan to expand into the rest of the country. http://radio.weblogs.com/0116902/2007/02/21.html#a5093
15. Wolfowitz May Bring Bank Back to Iraq - WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (IPS) - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz may appoint a new resident director for Iraq soon, a move that sources inside the Bank say could contradict the institution's policies on engagement in conflict-stricken areas and put his role in the 2003 U.S. invasion back into the limelight. The move by Wolfowitz, the former number two official at the Pentagon and a main architect of the U.S.-led war, likely means the Bank would release new loans to the occupied Arab nation, despite the deteriorating security situation and recent disclosures of massive corruption in reconstruction efforts. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36690
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 24 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
24 February 2007
1. Kurdish Officials to Back Iraq Oil Law. The Associated Press. SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq -- Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq's vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Approval of a new oil law could help open the way for international oil companies to invest billions to upgrade Iraq's decrepit wells and pipelines and exploit the country's reserves, among the world's largest. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022400656.html
2. Attacks cost Iraq 400K bpd of oil -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Attacks on Iraq's oil sector, mostly on pipelines, affects 400,000 barrels per day and billions of dollars annually, an Oil Ministry spokesman said. Assem Jihad said attacks on the country's oil infrastructure averaged one every other day, totaling 159 major blows in 2006, Azzaman reports. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Attacks_cost_Iraq_400K_bpd_of_oil/20070222-025538-6039r/
3. Abbas to serve in Iraq Cabinet. St. Cloud State University professor Abbas Mehdi has accepted a new Cabinet position in the Iraq government. Mehdi officially will start April 1 as the chairman of the Iraqi Investment Commission. The commission will be the "voice for the private sector," Mehdi said, and will work to rebuild the country based on free- market principles. http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/102230040/1009/RSS
4. Iraq war exacts toll on contractors. In a largely invisible cost of the war in Iraq, nearly 800 civilians working under contract to the Pentagon have been killed and more than 3,300 hurt doing jobs normally handled by the U.S. military, according to figures gathered by The Associated Press. Exactly how many of these employees doing the Pentagon's work are Americans is uncertain. But the casualty figures make it clear that the Defense Department's count of more than 3,100 U.S. military dead does not tell the whole story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022400656.html
5. Iraq's trade minister, U.S. official take up economic relations. Undersecretary for International Trade of the Department of Commerce Frank L. Lavin discussed means to further economic cooperation relations as an important means of ending violence and unemployment in Iraq. The meeting took place in Arbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, on the sidelines of the Iraqi-U.S. businessmen's dialogue meetings. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37973&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
6. Violence deters Iraqi Americans returning to rebuild country - Associated Press - LOS ANGELES -- When Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003, the U.S. government encouraged Iraqis living in America to return home. They were seen as key to the rebuilding, since many were well-educated, well-to-do and supportive of democracy. But many of those who went back are giving up and returning to America, frightened and disillusioned by the bloodshed in their homeland. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/23/military/15_44_172_22_07.txt
7. Iraq Rebuilding Short on Qualified Civilians - Washington Post - In Diyala, the vast province northeast of Baghdad where Sunnis and Shiites are battling for primacy with mortars and nighttime abductions, the U.S. government has contracted the job of promoting democracy to a Pakistani citizen who has never lived or worked in a democracy. The management of reconstruction projects in the province has been assigned to a Border Patrol commander with no reconstruction experience. The task of communicating with the embassy in Baghdad has been handed off to a man with no background in drafting diplomatic cables. The post of agriculture adviser has gone unfilled because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided just one of the six farming experts the State Department asked for a year ago. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022302049.html
8. Japan to provide extra US$145 million in aid to Iraq. TOKYO: Japan will give Iraq US$145 million (€110.64 million) in a new humanitarian grant as part of international efforts to help rebuild the war-torn country, the Foreign Ministry said. The aid covers security and basic services ranging from food to medical support, ministry official Masato Usui said. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Iraq-Aid.php
9. US lawmaker promises hearings on Iraq reconstruction spending after visit. BOSTON: U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan vowed Friday to investigate how reconstruction funds were being used in Iraq, saying more money should not be committed to the country until more is known about what was spent. Meehan, the Democratic chairman of the newly created House Armed Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations, returned Friday from his third trip to Iraq. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Iraq-Reconstruction.php
10. Iraq's 2007 budget allocates $2.3b for oil, $778m for electricity http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093144019
11. Foreign firms eye new work in Iraq - THE WASHINGTON TIMES - The Bush administration is promoting business opportunities in Iraq as fighting rages on, with a senior Commerce Department official leading a mission there this week. Sectors that focus on rebuilding, such as telecommunications and construction, offer significant opportunities for foreign companies. http://washingtontimes.com/business/20070220-100313-2579r.htm
12. U.S. troops aiming to slip up oil smugglers - KIRKUK, Iraq — U.S. troops in northern Iraq have targeted oil smugglers as part of continuing efforts to restore the battered oil industry and prevent a nascent wave of organized crime from benefitting the insurgents. Military officials say they believe smugglers range in sophistication and motive: from poor local farmers seeking crude to tar their roofs to international rings using fraudulent paperwork and fleets of trucks to earn millions of dollars. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42750&archive=true
END
24 February 2007
1. Kurdish Officials to Back Iraq Oil Law. The Associated Press. SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq -- Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq's vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday. Approval of a new oil law could help open the way for international oil companies to invest billions to upgrade Iraq's decrepit wells and pipelines and exploit the country's reserves, among the world's largest. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022400656.html
2. Attacks cost Iraq 400K bpd of oil -- BAGHDAD, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Attacks on Iraq's oil sector, mostly on pipelines, affects 400,000 barrels per day and billions of dollars annually, an Oil Ministry spokesman said. Assem Jihad said attacks on the country's oil infrastructure averaged one every other day, totaling 159 major blows in 2006, Azzaman reports. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Attacks_cost_Iraq_400K_bpd_of_oil/20070222-025538-6039r/
3. Abbas to serve in Iraq Cabinet. St. Cloud State University professor Abbas Mehdi has accepted a new Cabinet position in the Iraq government. Mehdi officially will start April 1 as the chairman of the Iraqi Investment Commission. The commission will be the "voice for the private sector," Mehdi said, and will work to rebuild the country based on free- market principles. http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/NEWS01/102230040/1009/RSS
4. Iraq war exacts toll on contractors. In a largely invisible cost of the war in Iraq, nearly 800 civilians working under contract to the Pentagon have been killed and more than 3,300 hurt doing jobs normally handled by the U.S. military, according to figures gathered by The Associated Press. Exactly how many of these employees doing the Pentagon's work are Americans is uncertain. But the casualty figures make it clear that the Defense Department's count of more than 3,100 U.S. military dead does not tell the whole story. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022400656.html
5. Iraq's trade minister, U.S. official take up economic relations. Undersecretary for International Trade of the Department of Commerce Frank L. Lavin discussed means to further economic cooperation relations as an important means of ending violence and unemployment in Iraq. The meeting took place in Arbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, on the sidelines of the Iraqi-U.S. businessmen's dialogue meetings. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37973&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
6. Violence deters Iraqi Americans returning to rebuild country - Associated Press - LOS ANGELES -- When Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003, the U.S. government encouraged Iraqis living in America to return home. They were seen as key to the rebuilding, since many were well-educated, well-to-do and supportive of democracy. But many of those who went back are giving up and returning to America, frightened and disillusioned by the bloodshed in their homeland. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/23/military/15_44_172_22_07.txt
7. Iraq Rebuilding Short on Qualified Civilians - Washington Post - In Diyala, the vast province northeast of Baghdad where Sunnis and Shiites are battling for primacy with mortars and nighttime abductions, the U.S. government has contracted the job of promoting democracy to a Pakistani citizen who has never lived or worked in a democracy. The management of reconstruction projects in the province has been assigned to a Border Patrol commander with no reconstruction experience. The task of communicating with the embassy in Baghdad has been handed off to a man with no background in drafting diplomatic cables. The post of agriculture adviser has gone unfilled because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided just one of the six farming experts the State Department asked for a year ago. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022302049.html
8. Japan to provide extra US$145 million in aid to Iraq. TOKYO: Japan will give Iraq US$145 million (€110.64 million) in a new humanitarian grant as part of international efforts to help rebuild the war-torn country, the Foreign Ministry said. The aid covers security and basic services ranging from food to medical support, ministry official Masato Usui said. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/asia/AS-GEN-Japan-Iraq-Aid.php
9. US lawmaker promises hearings on Iraq reconstruction spending after visit. BOSTON: U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan vowed Friday to investigate how reconstruction funds were being used in Iraq, saying more money should not be committed to the country until more is known about what was spent. Meehan, the Democratic chairman of the newly created House Armed Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations, returned Friday from his third trip to Iraq. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Iraq-Reconstruction.php
10. Iraq's 2007 budget allocates $2.3b for oil, $778m for electricity http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093144019
11. Foreign firms eye new work in Iraq - THE WASHINGTON TIMES - The Bush administration is promoting business opportunities in Iraq as fighting rages on, with a senior Commerce Department official leading a mission there this week. Sectors that focus on rebuilding, such as telecommunications and construction, offer significant opportunities for foreign companies. http://washingtontimes.com/business/20070220-100313-2579r.htm
12. U.S. troops aiming to slip up oil smugglers - KIRKUK, Iraq — U.S. troops in northern Iraq have targeted oil smugglers as part of continuing efforts to restore the battered oil industry and prevent a nascent wave of organized crime from benefitting the insurgents. Military officials say they believe smugglers range in sophistication and motive: from poor local farmers seeking crude to tar their roofs to international rings using fraudulent paperwork and fleets of trucks to earn millions of dollars. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42750&archive=true
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 23 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
23 February 2007
1. GRD Iraq Reconstruction Weekly Update 02/14/07 https://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/pls/portal/url/ITEM/07251F2EFBCA801DE040A8C00B0741F5
2. Iraq Weekly Status Report 21 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81040.pdf
3. Proposed Iraq Oil Law (translation to English) http://www.freefilehosting.org/public/37070/Iraqi%20Oil%20Law.pdf
4. Iraqi Oil Law (and the Constitution). Here are the comments of an Iraqi oil & gas expert in London to a group of Iraqi technocrats who met in Amman on Saturday to discuss the draft oil law. http://iraqimojo.blogspot.com/2007/02/iraqi-oil-law.html
5. Draft Law on Oil Money Moves to Iraqi Cabinet -- KARABILA, Iraq -- A draft version of the long-awaited law that would govern the development of Iraqi oil fields and the distribution of oil revenues has been submitted to Iraq's cabinet, the first step toward approving the legislation, two members of a senior negotiating committee said this weekend. http://www.aina.org/news/20070219085708.htm
6. Iraq oil law goes to cabinet for approval [JURIST] Iraqi legislators delivered a draft law [JURIST report] to Iraq's cabinet over the weekend which outlines the development and distribution of oil in the country, according to two members of a negotiating committee tasked with developing the resolution.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/iraq-oil-law-goes-to-cabinet-for.php
7. Oil, Anbar and the Insurgency. An interview with Colonel John A. Koenig on the prospects of petrolium development in Anbar. http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/02/oil_anbar_and_the_in.php
8. Pentagon to Fill Iraq Reconstruction Jobs Temporarily -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 — The Pentagon and State Department have worked out a deal to send a small number of military personnel and Defense Department civilians to Iraq for several months until Foreign Service officers and State Department contract workers with specialized skills can fill those jobs, senior officials said Monday. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/world/middleeast/20military.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
9. Kurdistan: The Other Iraq. (CBS) Try to imagine a peaceful and stable Iraq where business is booming and Americans are beloved. Now open your eyes because 60 Minutes is going to take you to a part of Iraq which fits that description: it's called Kurdistan. Technically, it's inside Iraq but the Kurds who live there behave as if they already live in a separate state. As correspondent Bob Simon reports, they have their own prime minister, their own army, their own border patrol—even their own flag. And the overwhelming majority of Kurds will tell you they want nothing to do with Baghdad and the rest of Iraq.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/16/60minutes/main2486679.shtml
10. $50 million hospital for Hilla http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-15\kurd1.htm
11. One-third of Iraqis live in poverty. A U.N. report cites the nation's damaged infrastructure and U.S. free-market policies. -- AMMAN, JORDAN — A third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a study released under United Nations auspices Sunday, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed widespread prosperity less than three decades ago. The report, produced by a division of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Development Program, examined access to, and the quality of, a wide range of basic needs. It found that by 2004, Iraqi living standards had deteriorated considerably compared with that of the 1970s and '80s, particularly in the areas of water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, income and assets. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-poverty19feb19,1,1789343.story?coll=la-headlines-world
12. Full exemption on Arab goods in Free Zones http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3185
END
23 February 2007
1. GRD Iraq Reconstruction Weekly Update 02/14/07 https://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/pls/portal/url/ITEM/07251F2EFBCA801DE040A8C00B0741F5
2. Iraq Weekly Status Report 21 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81040.pdf
3. Proposed Iraq Oil Law (translation to English) http://www.freefilehosting.org/public/37070/Iraqi%20Oil%20Law.pdf
4. Iraqi Oil Law (and the Constitution). Here are the comments of an Iraqi oil & gas expert in London to a group of Iraqi technocrats who met in Amman on Saturday to discuss the draft oil law. http://iraqimojo.blogspot.com/2007/02/iraqi-oil-law.html
5. Draft Law on Oil Money Moves to Iraqi Cabinet -- KARABILA, Iraq -- A draft version of the long-awaited law that would govern the development of Iraqi oil fields and the distribution of oil revenues has been submitted to Iraq's cabinet, the first step toward approving the legislation, two members of a senior negotiating committee said this weekend. http://www.aina.org/news/20070219085708.htm
6. Iraq oil law goes to cabinet for approval [JURIST] Iraqi legislators delivered a draft law [JURIST report] to Iraq's cabinet over the weekend which outlines the development and distribution of oil in the country, according to two members of a negotiating committee tasked with developing the resolution.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/02/iraq-oil-law-goes-to-cabinet-for.php
7. Oil, Anbar and the Insurgency. An interview with Colonel John A. Koenig on the prospects of petrolium development in Anbar. http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/02/oil_anbar_and_the_in.php
8. Pentagon to Fill Iraq Reconstruction Jobs Temporarily -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 — The Pentagon and State Department have worked out a deal to send a small number of military personnel and Defense Department civilians to Iraq for several months until Foreign Service officers and State Department contract workers with specialized skills can fill those jobs, senior officials said Monday. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/world/middleeast/20military.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
9. Kurdistan: The Other Iraq. (CBS) Try to imagine a peaceful and stable Iraq where business is booming and Americans are beloved. Now open your eyes because 60 Minutes is going to take you to a part of Iraq which fits that description: it's called Kurdistan. Technically, it's inside Iraq but the Kurds who live there behave as if they already live in a separate state. As correspondent Bob Simon reports, they have their own prime minister, their own army, their own border patrol—even their own flag. And the overwhelming majority of Kurds will tell you they want nothing to do with Baghdad and the rest of Iraq.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/16/60minutes/main2486679.shtml
10. $50 million hospital for Hilla http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-15\kurd1.htm
11. One-third of Iraqis live in poverty. A U.N. report cites the nation's damaged infrastructure and U.S. free-market policies. -- AMMAN, JORDAN — A third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a study released under United Nations auspices Sunday, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed widespread prosperity less than three decades ago. The report, produced by a division of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Development Program, examined access to, and the quality of, a wide range of basic needs. It found that by 2004, Iraqi living standards had deteriorated considerably compared with that of the 1970s and '80s, particularly in the areas of water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, income and assets. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-poverty19feb19,1,1789343.story?coll=la-headlines-world
12. Full exemption on Arab goods in Free Zones http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3185
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 19 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
19 February 2007
1. Rebuild Iraq 2007, May 07-10, 2007, Amman, Jordan. The U.S. Department of Commerce is pleased to certify the 4th annual "Rebuild Iraq" trade exhibition and conference, to be held May 07-10, 2007, in Amman, Jordan. Last year's event attracted over 1,000 exhibitors from 48 countries and more than 13,000 professional visitors, including 4,000 Iraqis. The leading industry sectors highlighted were Building/Construction, Electricity, Water Resources, Oil/Gas, Health, and ICT. For more information, please visit the event Web site. For exhibiting opportunities through the Commerce Department-certified U.S. Pavilion, U.S. companies and their agents/distributors should review the exhibitor package (1.85MB PDF only) and contact Mr. Giles Hazel at tel. (201) 251-2600 x119, e-mail: gilesh@kallman.com.
2. Interview of Samir Sumaida'ie, Iraqi Ambassador to U.S. http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Washington%20Journal%3A%20Sunday%2C%20Feb.%2018&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2Fproject%2Firaq%2Firaq%5Fwj021807%5Fsumaidaie.rm
3. Crop prospects and food situation - No. 1, Feb 2007. HIGHLIGHTS: Favourable prospects for 2007 world cereal crops, mainly following expansion of plantings in Europe and North America, coupled with generally satisfactory weather conditions. FAO’s latest estimates put global cereal output in 2006 at just under 2 billion tonnes, 2.7 percent lower than in the previous year but still above average. In percentage terms production of wheat declined the most, then coarse grains, while the reduction for rice is seen to be marginal. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-6YK9GD?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq
4. Iraqi Sunni Lands Show New Oil and Gas Promise -- KARABILA, Iraq, Feb. 18 — In a remote patch of the Anbar desert just 20 miles from the Syrian border, a single blue pillar of flanges and valves sits atop an enormous deposit of oil and natural gas that would be routine in this petroleum-rich country except for one fact: this is Sunni territory. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/world/middleeast/19oilfields.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
5. WindsofChange.Net Iraq Report, 19 Feb/07 http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009464.php#more
6. Jihad: the fall in oil exports due to bad weather. The official spokesman for the Oil Ministry said, last Saturday, that Iraq's oil exports fell last January because of poor weather conditions and not because of the closure of Basrah oil port, , as was mentioned by some press reports. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3158
7. Dangers of the Turkish dam “Aliso” on Iraq’s water resources. Its share of the Tigris will shrink to 9.7 billion cubic meters annually. Iraq fired an intensive international campaign, to explain the dangers of dam ”Aliso” which the Turkish government intends to build on the Turkish Part of the river Tigris, and that will deprive thousands of hectares of Iraqi land from water. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3156
8. Water shortage leads people to drink from rivers - BAGHDAD, 18 February 2007 (IRIN) - Umm Muhammad Jalal, 39, starts every day walking to a river 7km away from her temporary home in a displacement camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, 70km west of the capital, Baghdad. Because of severe water shortages, she and many others make the daily trip to the river to collect water for all their needs. http://www.irinnews.org:80/Report.aspx?ReportId=70243
9. Khamoushi calls for more extensive trade exchanges with Iraq - IRNA - Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce and Industries Alinaqi Khamoushi here Saturday called for development of of economic exchanges with Iraq and improvement of the relevant laws and regulations. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3186
10. Artifact smugglers arrested. Azzaman, February 19, 2007. Anti-crime squads in the southern province of Missan have seized a group of smugglers trading in archaeological artifacts. The police say they were tipped that one of the smugglers was hiding ancient relics and was on his way to take them to sell them to middleman with contacts abroad. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-19\kurd.htmA
11. Transport workers strike over fuel shortages. Azzaman, February 15, 2007. Taxi and bus drivers are staging a strike in the northern city of Mosul over fuel shortages. The strike has almost brought life to a standstill in the city home to nearly two million people. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-15\kurd.htmA
12. Ambulance drivers risk their lives daily to save injured. USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — Driving an ambulance in Iraq is a labor of love. Drivers risk carjackings, roadside bombs and sniper fire — all to save other people's lives. If their ambulance does arrive safely at the scene of a bombing, then they often must face a confused, emotional crowd. "People are in hysterical situations," ambulance driver Hussein Mohamed Bressem explains, "so everyone wants to save his loved one." http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-15-iraq-week_x.htm
END
19 February 2007
1. Rebuild Iraq 2007, May 07-10, 2007, Amman, Jordan. The U.S. Department of Commerce is pleased to certify the 4th annual "Rebuild Iraq" trade exhibition and conference, to be held May 07-10, 2007, in Amman, Jordan. Last year's event attracted over 1,000 exhibitors from 48 countries and more than 13,000 professional visitors, including 4,000 Iraqis. The leading industry sectors highlighted were Building/Construction, Electricity, Water Resources, Oil/Gas, Health, and ICT. For more information, please visit the event Web site. For exhibiting opportunities through the Commerce Department-certified U.S. Pavilion, U.S. companies and their agents/distributors should review the exhibitor package (1.85MB PDF only) and contact Mr. Giles Hazel at tel. (201) 251-2600 x119, e-mail: gilesh@kallman.com.
2. Interview of Samir Sumaida'ie, Iraqi Ambassador to U.S. http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Washington%20Journal%3A%20Sunday%2C%20Feb.%2018&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2Fproject%2Firaq%2Firaq%5Fwj021807%5Fsumaidaie.rm
3. Crop prospects and food situation - No. 1, Feb 2007. HIGHLIGHTS: Favourable prospects for 2007 world cereal crops, mainly following expansion of plantings in Europe and North America, coupled with generally satisfactory weather conditions. FAO’s latest estimates put global cereal output in 2006 at just under 2 billion tonnes, 2.7 percent lower than in the previous year but still above average. In percentage terms production of wheat declined the most, then coarse grains, while the reduction for rice is seen to be marginal. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KHII-6YK9GD?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq
4. Iraqi Sunni Lands Show New Oil and Gas Promise -- KARABILA, Iraq, Feb. 18 — In a remote patch of the Anbar desert just 20 miles from the Syrian border, a single blue pillar of flanges and valves sits atop an enormous deposit of oil and natural gas that would be routine in this petroleum-rich country except for one fact: this is Sunni territory. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/world/middleeast/19oilfields.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
5. WindsofChange.Net Iraq Report, 19 Feb/07 http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009464.php#more
6. Jihad: the fall in oil exports due to bad weather. The official spokesman for the Oil Ministry said, last Saturday, that Iraq's oil exports fell last January because of poor weather conditions and not because of the closure of Basrah oil port, , as was mentioned by some press reports. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3158
7. Dangers of the Turkish dam “Aliso” on Iraq’s water resources. Its share of the Tigris will shrink to 9.7 billion cubic meters annually. Iraq fired an intensive international campaign, to explain the dangers of dam ”Aliso” which the Turkish government intends to build on the Turkish Part of the river Tigris, and that will deprive thousands of hectares of Iraqi land from water. http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3156
8. Water shortage leads people to drink from rivers - BAGHDAD, 18 February 2007 (IRIN) - Umm Muhammad Jalal, 39, starts every day walking to a river 7km away from her temporary home in a displacement camp on the outskirts of Fallujah, 70km west of the capital, Baghdad. Because of severe water shortages, she and many others make the daily trip to the river to collect water for all their needs. http://www.irinnews.org:80/Report.aspx?ReportId=70243
9. Khamoushi calls for more extensive trade exchanges with Iraq - IRNA - Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce and Industries Alinaqi Khamoushi here Saturday called for development of of economic exchanges with Iraq and improvement of the relevant laws and regulations. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3186
10. Artifact smugglers arrested. Azzaman, February 19, 2007. Anti-crime squads in the southern province of Missan have seized a group of smugglers trading in archaeological artifacts. The police say they were tipped that one of the smugglers was hiding ancient relics and was on his way to take them to sell them to middleman with contacts abroad. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-19\kurd.htmA
11. Transport workers strike over fuel shortages. Azzaman, February 15, 2007. Taxi and bus drivers are staging a strike in the northern city of Mosul over fuel shortages. The strike has almost brought life to a standstill in the city home to nearly two million people. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-15\kurd.htmA
12. Ambulance drivers risk their lives daily to save injured. USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — Driving an ambulance in Iraq is a labor of love. Drivers risk carjackings, roadside bombs and sniper fire — all to save other people's lives. If their ambulance does arrive safely at the scene of a bombing, then they often must face a confused, emotional crowd. "People are in hysterical situations," ambulance driver Hussein Mohamed Bressem explains, "so everyone wants to save his loved one." http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-15-iraq-week_x.htm
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 17 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
17 February 2007
1. Charting Iraq Progress: Security, Electricity, Oil. Morning Edition, February 16, 2007 · As President Bush seeks to measure success in Iraq, key areas of focus are the development of Iraqi security forces, electrical output and oil production. How are things going in those areas? Michael O'Hanlon, director of the Iraq Index Project at the Brookings Institution, gives Steve Inskeep a status update. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7445117
2. Al-Qaeda Affiliate Urges New Attacks on Oil Facilities. The Associated Press reported yesterday that in the online magazine Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of the Jihad), the terrorist faction Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called for attacks on oil facilities throughout the world. The terrorist group included Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela in the list of targeted countries. http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/02/alqaeda_affiliate_urges_new_at.php
3. Iraq’s Draft Petroleum Law: An Independent Perspective. The following paper was presented by Tariq Shafiq at a conference for Iraqi oil technocrats in 'Amman on 17 February. Mr Shafiq, a principal drafter of the petroleum law, is director of Petrolog & Associates, Chair Fertile Crescent Oil Company, and a former Executive Director and Vice Chairman of Iraq National Oil Company. http://www.mees.com/postedarticles/oped/v50n08-5OD01.htm
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o=c-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o=c-1-1171497600-2-1171584000-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. Cheney to ask Japan for Iraq, Afghan aid boost -- WASHINGTON -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will ask the Japanese government to make a bigger contribution to reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan during a visit to Tokyo this week, a senior U.S. government official said Friday. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20070218TDY03003.htm
6. Iraq searches for oil compromise. Norwegian oil company Den Norske Oljeslkep says that the first oil from the company's Tawke well in Kurdistan is on target to be extracted by the end of March this year. http://www.kurdmedia.com:80/news.asp?id=14058
7. Wolfowitz takes actions to gear up World Bank for Iraq. Washington, D.C.: The Government Accountability Project (GAP) has learned from inside sources that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is currently negotiating a contract with a new resident Iraq Country Director. This step strongly suggests that Wolfowitz intends to expand Bank-funded projects there dramatically in the near future, despite the deteriorating security situation and recent disclosures of massive corruption in "reconstruction" efforts. http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=17057
8. Provincial Reconstruction Teams Manage Infrastructure Projects in Iraq - AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq – In Iraq, the ultimate goal of the multinational coalition is for the Iraqi people and their newly formed government to run their country themselves. To this end, an important initiative is to empower local and regional Iraqi government and community leaders with the responsibilities and the decision-making for construction projects that support their needs. Richard Riley, a deputy team leader with the U.S. Department of State in Dhi Qar, said that the U.S. government with its coalition partners has established Provincial Reconstruction Teams(PRTs) in the provinces of Iraq. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-04.pdf
9. Baghdad renovationg 18 gas stations http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12-2.pdf
10. The Fallujah Police Transition Team Mission. I arrived in Fallujah just as the bulk of American troops were pulled out of barracks in the city and back to the heavily fortified Camp Fallujah on the outskirts of town. There remain exceptions, however: the Military and Police Transition Team advisors to the Iraqi Army and police continued to operate and live in the city proper, embedded with the Iraqi units recently charged with taking primary responsibility for security. http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/002942.php
11. Success Story: Istanbul Workshop Brings Consensus on Draft Secured Transactions Law. USAID economic advisors provide GOI with technical assistance for commercial legal framework. As part of efforts to facilitate economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, the USAID-funded Economic Governance II project is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to implement a sound and transparent commercial legal framework that fosters the rule of law and promotes a burgeoning private sector. A workshop held January 7-10, 2007, in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on educating key Iraqi stakeholders on the importance of a modern Secured Transactions Law and significantly assisted project advisors and their Iraqi counterparts in developing a final draft of such a law. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_stl.html
12. The Struggle to Study at a Baghdad University. The Los Angeles Times today profiles two female students at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. Zala Ghefori, 31, is a doctorate student in Arabic who lives in the university's dorm with 175 other women. The once co-ed student body is now mostly women (young men are favorite targets of militias and insurgents). http://electroniciraq.net/news/2896.shtml
END
17 February 2007
1. Charting Iraq Progress: Security, Electricity, Oil. Morning Edition, February 16, 2007 · As President Bush seeks to measure success in Iraq, key areas of focus are the development of Iraqi security forces, electrical output and oil production. How are things going in those areas? Michael O'Hanlon, director of the Iraq Index Project at the Brookings Institution, gives Steve Inskeep a status update. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7445117
2. Al-Qaeda Affiliate Urges New Attacks on Oil Facilities. The Associated Press reported yesterday that in the online magazine Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of the Jihad), the terrorist faction Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called for attacks on oil facilities throughout the world. The terrorist group included Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela in the list of targeted countries. http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/02/alqaeda_affiliate_urges_new_at.php
3. Iraq’s Draft Petroleum Law: An Independent Perspective. The following paper was presented by Tariq Shafiq at a conference for Iraqi oil technocrats in 'Amman on 17 February. Mr Shafiq, a principal drafter of the petroleum law, is director of Petrolog & Associates, Chair Fertile Crescent Oil Company, and a former Executive Director and Vice Chairman of Iraq National Oil Company. http://www.mees.com/postedarticles/oped/v50n08-5OD01.htm
4. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o=c-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171411200-2-1171497600-3-icr&o=c-1-1171497600-2-1171584000-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
5. Cheney to ask Japan for Iraq, Afghan aid boost -- WASHINGTON -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will ask the Japanese government to make a bigger contribution to reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan during a visit to Tokyo this week, a senior U.S. government official said Friday. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20070218TDY03003.htm
6. Iraq searches for oil compromise. Norwegian oil company Den Norske Oljeslkep says that the first oil from the company's Tawke well in Kurdistan is on target to be extracted by the end of March this year. http://www.kurdmedia.com:80/news.asp?id=14058
7. Wolfowitz takes actions to gear up World Bank for Iraq. Washington, D.C.: The Government Accountability Project (GAP) has learned from inside sources that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is currently negotiating a contract with a new resident Iraq Country Director. This step strongly suggests that Wolfowitz intends to expand Bank-funded projects there dramatically in the near future, despite the deteriorating security situation and recent disclosures of massive corruption in "reconstruction" efforts. http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=17057
8. Provincial Reconstruction Teams Manage Infrastructure Projects in Iraq - AN NASIRIYAH, Iraq – In Iraq, the ultimate goal of the multinational coalition is for the Iraqi people and their newly formed government to run their country themselves. To this end, an important initiative is to empower local and regional Iraqi government and community leaders with the responsibilities and the decision-making for construction projects that support their needs. Richard Riley, a deputy team leader with the U.S. Department of State in Dhi Qar, said that the U.S. government with its coalition partners has established Provincial Reconstruction Teams(PRTs) in the provinces of Iraq. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-04.pdf
9. Baghdad renovationg 18 gas stations http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12-2.pdf
10. The Fallujah Police Transition Team Mission. I arrived in Fallujah just as the bulk of American troops were pulled out of barracks in the city and back to the heavily fortified Camp Fallujah on the outskirts of town. There remain exceptions, however: the Military and Police Transition Team advisors to the Iraqi Army and police continued to operate and live in the city proper, embedded with the Iraqi units recently charged with taking primary responsibility for security. http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/002942.php
11. Success Story: Istanbul Workshop Brings Consensus on Draft Secured Transactions Law. USAID economic advisors provide GOI with technical assistance for commercial legal framework. As part of efforts to facilitate economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, the USAID-funded Economic Governance II project is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to implement a sound and transparent commercial legal framework that fosters the rule of law and promotes a burgeoning private sector. A workshop held January 7-10, 2007, in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on educating key Iraqi stakeholders on the importance of a modern Secured Transactions Law and significantly assisted project advisors and their Iraqi counterparts in developing a final draft of such a law. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_stl.html
12. The Struggle to Study at a Baghdad University. The Los Angeles Times today profiles two female students at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University. Zala Ghefori, 31, is a doctorate student in Arabic who lives in the university's dorm with 175 other women. The once co-ed student body is now mostly women (young men are favorite targets of militias and insurgents). http://electroniciraq.net/news/2896.shtml
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 16 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
16 February 2007
1. Rebuilding Iraq: Reconstruction Progress Hindered by Contracting, Security, and Capacity Challenges, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-07-426T, February 15. http://www2.blogger.com/Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07426thigh.pdf
2. Iraq Weeky Status Report 14 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80686.pdf
3. SIGIR: Follow-up on SIGIR Recommendations Concerning the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-036.pdf
4. Ex-oil minister despairing of Iraq oil future - UPI - HOUSTON, TX, USA -- Former Iraq oil minister Issam Al Chalabi paints a bleak picture for the future of Iraq's oil industry, panning the result of the US-led war, its insistence on passing an oil law, and the situation aboveground hampering development of the resources below it. "Iraq offers nothing but misery and mystery," Chalabi told a plenary this week, during an international energy conference in Houston. http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070216-041202-1777r
5. Results out soon for OSL Iraq drilling. Oil logs being run on 300m section of Bina Bawi-1 well. WITHIN the next couple of weeks, the market will discover whether Oil Search has made a big oil discovery with what to date appears to be its most exciting wildcat exploration well in the Middle East.The company yesterday advised the Australian Stock Exchange drilling has been completed on Bina Bawi-1, its first exploration well in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, where there is potential for discovery of a billion barrel sized oil field. http://www.thenational.com.pg/021607/business2.htm
6. Time to fix the great failure. The Washington press corps has discovered the war -- the self-defeating tug of war between the Pentagon and virtually every other Washington government agency. Two recent articles in the New York Times portrayed the "interagency" struggle as primarily a turf tussle between the Defense Department and the State Department, with culture clash, personal animosities and money (as in budgets) the sources of accelerating friction. http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20070215-080826-4164r.htm
7. Army Engineers Help Build Potable Water Treatment Plant in Iraq. The Umm Qasr water treatment plant, one of the six largest infrastructure projects in southern Iraq, provides potable water for Umm Qasr port facilities and the town of Umm Qasr, thanks in part to the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. http://www.waterinfocenter.com/Army-Engineers-Help-Build-Potable-Water-Treatment-Plant-in-Iraq-newsPiece13033
8. DNO Reports on Ops in Iraq, Yemen. In 2006 DNO continued to build on its strong E&P position in Norway and the Middle East through an active exploration and development strategy. The main focus in 2006 was transferring resources to reserves at low cost. Going forward DNO will take this to the next stage by transferring new reserves into production. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=41279
9. Central Bank of Iraq plans to curb inflation (MENAFN) Officials at the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) said that the bank is considering taking measures to curb inflation which hiked to 70 percent last year on soaring oil prices, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093143107
10. Assertion of more Iraq waste goes unsupported - http://www.govexec.com/ - House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., opened his latest hearing into the troubled Iraq reconstruction program Thursday by declaring that a government auditor had discovered $10 billion in "questioned and unsupported costs" and that the potential total waste, fraud and abuse could be much higher. But the committee's witnesses -- three of the top government fiscal watchdogs -- deflated Waxman's $10 billion number and refused to endorse his projection of "tens of billions more in waste." The heads of the Government Accountability Office, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Defense Contract Audit Agency did provide ample evidence of reconstruction contracts that were poorly managed, wasteful and, in some cases, fraudulent, with the amounts of possibly misused funds mounting into the billions. Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=36149&dcn=e_gvet
11. GRD Reconstruction Fact Sheets January 2007 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/factsheets/docs/January_2007.pdf
12. World Bank adopts plan to support electricity sector in Iraq http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37172&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
13. North Baghdad community opens new girls' school http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12.pdf
14. Success Story: CBI Pushes Through Reforms to Reserve Requirements. USAID economic advisors work with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to develop monetary policy in line with international best practices. After 18 months of effort, USAID Economic Governance II advisors working with CBI staff have finally won support from the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to enact changes in the CBI reserve requirement regulation that will help maintain price stability in Iraq. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_cbi.html
END
16 February 2007
1. Rebuilding Iraq: Reconstruction Progress Hindered by Contracting, Security, and Capacity Challenges, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-07-426T, February 15. http://www2.blogger.com/Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07426thigh.pdf
2. Iraq Weeky Status Report 14 February 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80686.pdf
3. SIGIR: Follow-up on SIGIR Recommendations Concerning the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-036.pdf
4. Ex-oil minister despairing of Iraq oil future - UPI - HOUSTON, TX, USA -- Former Iraq oil minister Issam Al Chalabi paints a bleak picture for the future of Iraq's oil industry, panning the result of the US-led war, its insistence on passing an oil law, and the situation aboveground hampering development of the resources below it. "Iraq offers nothing but misery and mystery," Chalabi told a plenary this week, during an international energy conference in Houston. http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070216-041202-1777r
5. Results out soon for OSL Iraq drilling. Oil logs being run on 300m section of Bina Bawi-1 well. WITHIN the next couple of weeks, the market will discover whether Oil Search has made a big oil discovery with what to date appears to be its most exciting wildcat exploration well in the Middle East.The company yesterday advised the Australian Stock Exchange drilling has been completed on Bina Bawi-1, its first exploration well in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, where there is potential for discovery of a billion barrel sized oil field. http://www.thenational.com.pg/021607/business2.htm
6. Time to fix the great failure. The Washington press corps has discovered the war -- the self-defeating tug of war between the Pentagon and virtually every other Washington government agency. Two recent articles in the New York Times portrayed the "interagency" struggle as primarily a turf tussle between the Defense Department and the State Department, with culture clash, personal animosities and money (as in budgets) the sources of accelerating friction. http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20070215-080826-4164r.htm
7. Army Engineers Help Build Potable Water Treatment Plant in Iraq. The Umm Qasr water treatment plant, one of the six largest infrastructure projects in southern Iraq, provides potable water for Umm Qasr port facilities and the town of Umm Qasr, thanks in part to the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. http://www.waterinfocenter.com/Army-Engineers-Help-Build-Potable-Water-Treatment-Plant-in-Iraq-newsPiece13033
8. DNO Reports on Ops in Iraq, Yemen. In 2006 DNO continued to build on its strong E&P position in Norway and the Middle East through an active exploration and development strategy. The main focus in 2006 was transferring resources to reserves at low cost. Going forward DNO will take this to the next stage by transferring new reserves into production. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=41279
9. Central Bank of Iraq plans to curb inflation (MENAFN) Officials at the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) said that the bank is considering taking measures to curb inflation which hiked to 70 percent last year on soaring oil prices, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093143107
10. Assertion of more Iraq waste goes unsupported - http://www.govexec.com/ - House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., opened his latest hearing into the troubled Iraq reconstruction program Thursday by declaring that a government auditor had discovered $10 billion in "questioned and unsupported costs" and that the potential total waste, fraud and abuse could be much higher. But the committee's witnesses -- three of the top government fiscal watchdogs -- deflated Waxman's $10 billion number and refused to endorse his projection of "tens of billions more in waste." The heads of the Government Accountability Office, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Defense Contract Audit Agency did provide ample evidence of reconstruction contracts that were poorly managed, wasteful and, in some cases, fraudulent, with the amounts of possibly misused funds mounting into the billions. Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=36149&dcn=e_gvet
11. GRD Reconstruction Fact Sheets January 2007 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/factsheets/docs/January_2007.pdf
12. World Bank adopts plan to support electricity sector in Iraq http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37172&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
13. North Baghdad community opens new girls' school http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12.pdf
14. Success Story: CBI Pushes Through Reforms to Reserve Requirements. USAID economic advisors work with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to develop monetary policy in line with international best practices. After 18 months of effort, USAID Economic Governance II advisors working with CBI staff have finally won support from the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to enact changes in the CBI reserve requirement regulation that will help maintain price stability in Iraq. http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/eg_ss0107_cbi.html
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 14 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
14 February 2007
1. SIGIR: Review of DynCorp International, LLC, Contract Number S LMAQM-04-C-0030, Task Order 0338, for the Iraqi Police Training Program Support http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-029.pdf
2. GRD Reconstruction Fact Sheets December 2006 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/factsheets/docs/December_2006.pdf
3. Provincial Reconstruction Teams Manage Infrastructure Projects in Iraq http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-04.pdf
4. Allocation $285 billions to construct Maysan http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3093
5. Citizens' housing fund represented over 6000 loans http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3146
6. War News Radio: Broken Apart http://warnewsradio.org/
7. Samarra-Baghdad highway to open in two months - PM http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37142&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
8. Nasri Consortium completes 1st stage of $1b project in Arbil http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093142611
9. Privatization in the Iraqi telecom industry. The liberalization of the telecommunication sector in Iraq is a good example of how privatization can actually help in economic growth. http://alannoraddin.blogspot.com/2007/02/privatization-in-iraqi-telecom-industry.html
10. Iraqi-American Commerce and Industry Chamber opens center in Baghdad Airport http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093142760
11. Syria and Iraq to Boost Cooperation in Transportation Field - DAMASCUS,(SANA)-Minister of Transport Ya'rob Badr discussed with his Iraqi acting counterpart Sharwan al-Wa'ili enhancing bilateral relations and activating the signed agreements between the two countries in transportation filed . http://www.sana.org/eng/24/2007/02/12/102246.htm
12. World Bank Iraq Economic Data Sheet. The World Bank ITF Datasheet outlines contributions and implementation progress through end-December 2006. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/64168382-1092419012421/21186666/DATASHEETIRAQDec2006(final).pdf
13. Bank to encourage Iraqis build houses through loans. Azzaman. The government has announced its willingness to extend loans to Iraqis willing to build new houses. The state-run Real Estate Bank has promised to cover up to 75% of the cost and that the loans will be available to all Iraqis without discrimination. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-12\kurd.htm
14. Turkish proposed dam to jeopardize Iraq's water resources (MENAFN) The Iraqi Minister of Water Resources announced that the ministry will launch an international campaign to block Turkey's plans to set up a dam on the river Tigris that will jeopardize Iraq's water resources, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093143108
15. Future looks bright for TV fortune-telling show. BAGHDAD — The studio phones start ringing the moment the TV show Your Fortune begins every Saturday. They often don't stop until two hours after it ends. "From the girls, the questions are about marriage," explains co-host Hadeel al-Bayati. "Men ask about money." http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-01-tv-your-fortune_x.htm
END
14 February 2007
1. SIGIR: Review of DynCorp International, LLC, Contract Number S LMAQM-04-C-0030, Task Order 0338, for the Iraqi Police Training Program Support http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-029.pdf
2. GRD Reconstruction Fact Sheets December 2006 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/factsheets/docs/December_2006.pdf
3. Provincial Reconstruction Teams Manage Infrastructure Projects in Iraq http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-04.pdf
4. Allocation $285 billions to construct Maysan http://www.iraqdirectory.com:80/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3093
5. Citizens' housing fund represented over 6000 loans http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3146
6. War News Radio: Broken Apart http://warnewsradio.org/
7. Samarra-Baghdad highway to open in two months - PM http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37142&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
8. Nasri Consortium completes 1st stage of $1b project in Arbil http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093142611
9. Privatization in the Iraqi telecom industry. The liberalization of the telecommunication sector in Iraq is a good example of how privatization can actually help in economic growth. http://alannoraddin.blogspot.com/2007/02/privatization-in-iraqi-telecom-industry.html
10. Iraqi-American Commerce and Industry Chamber opens center in Baghdad Airport http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093142760
11. Syria and Iraq to Boost Cooperation in Transportation Field - DAMASCUS,(SANA)-Minister of Transport Ya'rob Badr discussed with his Iraqi acting counterpart Sharwan al-Wa'ili enhancing bilateral relations and activating the signed agreements between the two countries in transportation filed . http://www.sana.org/eng/24/2007/02/12/102246.htm
12. World Bank Iraq Economic Data Sheet. The World Bank ITF Datasheet outlines contributions and implementation progress through end-December 2006. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/IRFFI/64168382-1092419012421/21186666/DATASHEETIRAQDec2006(final).pdf
13. Bank to encourage Iraqis build houses through loans. Azzaman. The government has announced its willingness to extend loans to Iraqis willing to build new houses. The state-run Real Estate Bank has promised to cover up to 75% of the cost and that the loans will be available to all Iraqis without discrimination. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-12\kurd.htm
14. Turkish proposed dam to jeopardize Iraq's water resources (MENAFN) The Iraqi Minister of Water Resources announced that the ministry will launch an international campaign to block Turkey's plans to set up a dam on the river Tigris that will jeopardize Iraq's water resources, Iraq Directory reported. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093143108
15. Future looks bright for TV fortune-telling show. BAGHDAD — The studio phones start ringing the moment the TV show Your Fortune begins every Saturday. They often don't stop until two hours after it ends. "From the girls, the questions are about marriage," explains co-host Hadeel al-Bayati. "Men ask about money." http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-01-tv-your-fortune_x.htm
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 13 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
13 February 2007
1. Brookings Iraq Index 12 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
2. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171238400-2-1171324800-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171238400-2-1171324800-3-icr&o=c-1-1171324800-2-1171411200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
3. Aspen Road Connects Southern Iraq with Kuwait http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-01-31.pdf
4. Bridges To Babylon: New Fund Focuses On Iraq www.FINalternatives.com Foreign investors are not yet allowed to trade on the two-and-a-half-year-old Iraq Stock Exchange—“They have said, ‘within six months,’ for the last two-and-a-half-years,” Englund laments, though he adds optimistically, “there is a possibility it will happen by the end of the year, but nobody really knows”—so you need locals on the ground. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3128
5. SIGIR: Status of Ministerial Capacity Development in Iraq http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-045.pdf
6. Trade Minister: Most Iraqi cities ready for investment. Iraqi Trade Minister, Abdul-falah Assudani, said: “Most areas of the country live a stable and secure environment and are ready to invest, so if companies thought of working in Iraq, they would gain preference”. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3126
7. Derelict power plant symbol of Iraq woes - Associated Press, YOUSSIFIYAH, Iraq - A giant smokestack looms over the green pastures and lazily flowing canals south of Baghdad. There is no smoke - just the sense of lost economic potential and an uncertain future. Saddam Hussein promised the Youssifiyah power plant would serve homes across a 330-square-mile stretch of Iraq. Instead, the derelict compound has served as an insurgent stronghold, and is now a makeshift base for 300 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16677183.htm
8. Iraqi-Syrian economic committees reviewing agreements between the two sides soon. Iraqi-Syrian economic and trade committees will begin their meetings in Damascus soon to review the conventions and protocols signed between the two sides before the war. The Associate Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Ghassan Habash, said that most of the agreements signed between Syria and Iraq are good and valid to organize the economic cooperation and some of them can be development if necessary. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3125
9. 'Billion-dollar' trade centre unveiled. An Iraqi consortium has completed the first stage of what was billed yesterday as the billion-dollar Nishan Trade Centre in Arbil, northern Iraq and is to boast three 25-storey office towers. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3124
10. Japan gov't to extend special law for Iraq reconstruction http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=297977
11. M'sian Companies Invited To Participate In Iraq's Reconstruction. KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysian companies are invited to invest and participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, said Dr Humam Abdul Mageed of the United Iraqi Alliance. Dr Humam or better known as Sheikh Hammoudi, who is also the chairman of Iraq's constitutional review committee, said that among the sectors were power supply, oil refining, and reconstruction of buildings, highways and health facilities. http://www.bernama.com.my:80/bernama/v3/news.php?id=246805
12. Iraqi ministries failed to spend up to 50% of allocations last year, finance minister says. Azzaman, February 13, 2007. Finance Minister Baqer al-Zubaidi said Iraqi ministries could not spend most of the money earmarked for their projects in 2005. He said up to $9 billion of last year’s budget could not be utilized and they have been added to this year’s budget. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2007-02-13%5Ckurd.htm
13. Putin attempts to use Jordan to let Russia access Iraqi oil industry http://english.pravda.ru:80/russia/economics/13-02-2007/87361-Putin_Jordan-0
14. Iranian company to construct 3 hospitals in Iraq. Iran Construction Investment Company (ICIC) has won bids to construct three 200-bed hospitals in the main Iraqi cities of Karbala, Najaf and Baghdad. http://www2.irna.ir:80/en/news/view/line-18/0702128967185243.htm
15. Diala University professors suffering fears of physical liquidation Baaquba, Feb 11, (VOI) – Physical liquidation of Diala University professors has lately been on the rise, particularly those marked by efficiency and enthusiasm like Dr. Walhan Hameed, the dean of the physical education college, who was killed early in February. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37095&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
END
13 February 2007
1. Brookings Iraq Index 12 February 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
2. IWPR Iraqi Press Monitor
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicr&o=c-1-1171238400-2-1171324800-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1171238400-2-1171324800-3-icr&o=c-1-1171324800-2-1171411200-3-icr&o1=month-2,year-2007&month=2&year=2007
3. Aspen Road Connects Southern Iraq with Kuwait http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-01-31.pdf
4. Bridges To Babylon: New Fund Focuses On Iraq www.FINalternatives.com Foreign investors are not yet allowed to trade on the two-and-a-half-year-old Iraq Stock Exchange—“They have said, ‘within six months,’ for the last two-and-a-half-years,” Englund laments, though he adds optimistically, “there is a possibility it will happen by the end of the year, but nobody really knows”—so you need locals on the ground. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3128
5. SIGIR: Status of Ministerial Capacity Development in Iraq http://www.sigir.mil/reports/pdf/audits/06-045.pdf
6. Trade Minister: Most Iraqi cities ready for investment. Iraqi Trade Minister, Abdul-falah Assudani, said: “Most areas of the country live a stable and secure environment and are ready to invest, so if companies thought of working in Iraq, they would gain preference”. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3126
7. Derelict power plant symbol of Iraq woes - Associated Press, YOUSSIFIYAH, Iraq - A giant smokestack looms over the green pastures and lazily flowing canals south of Baghdad. There is no smoke - just the sense of lost economic potential and an uncertain future. Saddam Hussein promised the Youssifiyah power plant would serve homes across a 330-square-mile stretch of Iraq. Instead, the derelict compound has served as an insurgent stronghold, and is now a makeshift base for 300 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16677183.htm
8. Iraqi-Syrian economic committees reviewing agreements between the two sides soon. Iraqi-Syrian economic and trade committees will begin their meetings in Damascus soon to review the conventions and protocols signed between the two sides before the war. The Associate Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Ghassan Habash, said that most of the agreements signed between Syria and Iraq are good and valid to organize the economic cooperation and some of them can be development if necessary. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3125
9. 'Billion-dollar' trade centre unveiled. An Iraqi consortium has completed the first stage of what was billed yesterday as the billion-dollar Nishan Trade Centre in Arbil, northern Iraq and is to boast three 25-storey office towers. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3124
10. Japan gov't to extend special law for Iraq reconstruction http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=297977
11. M'sian Companies Invited To Participate In Iraq's Reconstruction. KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysian companies are invited to invest and participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, said Dr Humam Abdul Mageed of the United Iraqi Alliance. Dr Humam or better known as Sheikh Hammoudi, who is also the chairman of Iraq's constitutional review committee, said that among the sectors were power supply, oil refining, and reconstruction of buildings, highways and health facilities. http://www.bernama.com.my:80/bernama/v3/news.php?id=246805
12. Iraqi ministries failed to spend up to 50% of allocations last year, finance minister says. Azzaman, February 13, 2007. Finance Minister Baqer al-Zubaidi said Iraqi ministries could not spend most of the money earmarked for their projects in 2005. He said up to $9 billion of last year’s budget could not be utilized and they have been added to this year’s budget. http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2007-02-13%5Ckurd.htm
13. Putin attempts to use Jordan to let Russia access Iraqi oil industry http://english.pravda.ru:80/russia/economics/13-02-2007/87361-Putin_Jordan-0
14. Iranian company to construct 3 hospitals in Iraq. Iran Construction Investment Company (ICIC) has won bids to construct three 200-bed hospitals in the main Iraqi cities of Karbala, Najaf and Baghdad. http://www2.irna.ir:80/en/news/view/line-18/0702128967185243.htm
15. Diala University professors suffering fears of physical liquidation Baaquba, Feb 11, (VOI) – Physical liquidation of Diala University professors has lately been on the rise, particularly those marked by efficiency and enthusiasm like Dr. Walhan Hameed, the dean of the physical education college, who was killed early in February. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37095&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 12 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
12 February 2007
1. GRD Construction Rollup: Project Starts, Completions 12 February 2007 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12-3.pdf
2. Winds of Change Iraq Report, 12 Feb/07 http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009450.php#more
3. UNDG Iraq Trust Fund Newsletter (January 2007) This issue features thematic issues in the Refugees, IDPs and Durable Solutions Cluster (F). As of end January 2007, the implementing UN agencies have legally committed $693 million (78%) and disbursed $591 million (66%) of total approved projects amounting to $893 million. http://www.irffi.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/IRFFI/0,,contentMDK:21216761~pagePK:64168627~piPK:64167475~theSitePK:491458,00.html
4. Baghdad, Kuwait aim to revive trade agreements. KUWAIT: A business delegation from Basra, Iraq met with the board of the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) yesterday in Kuwait. This paved the way for the possible revival of trade agreements and broke the long trade embargo between the two countries, which was hampered due to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990. The talks centred on one product from Basra, particularly tomatoes. The delegation mentioned tomatoes were bountiful in Iraq and the supply was really high especially after Iraq adopted new agricultural technology offered by the British government after the fall of the Saddam regime. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20070205045734/SecCountries/pagIraq
5. Iraq slow to move on 350 polluted areas. Minister says two sites cleaned up, but plenty of 'hot spots' still out there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com:80/id/17030442/
6. Iraqi Vice President receives Kuwait Fund Chief, and Shipping Company. Iraq’s government has identified hundreds of polluted sites that pose huge health hazards, but insecurity and lack of funds are stifling attempts to make them safe, a minister said on Wednesday.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3115
7. Basra fishermen suffer security squeeze and fuel price hike. BAGHDAD (IRIN) - Fisherman Mazin Jawad, 36, cannot look at his seven children without feelings of shame and guilt overcoming him. Without the income he used to have, he has had to take four of them out of school and taken ‘luxuries’ such as meat out of their lives. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57531&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=Iraq
8. Maximum security correctional facilities help secure Iraq's Future http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-08.pdf
9. USAID IZDIHAR Project Helps Banks Modernize Lending Techniques - The introduction of credit officers in two Iraqi banks is strengthening customer relationships and streamlining loan processing for greater profitability. Following technical assistance and training from the USAID IZDIHAR project, two Iraqi banks have introduced changes to establish more dynamic relationships with clients. http://www.izdihar-iraq.com/news/stories.html#story115
10. The Snake Eater. Subject: A case study of how the U.S. got bogged down in Iraq. Problem: If a cop in Anytown, USA, pulls over a suspect, he checks the person's ID remotely from the squad car. He's linked to databases filled with Who's Who in the world of crime, killing and mayhem. In Iraq, there is nothing like that. When our troops and the Iraqi army enter a town, village or street, what they know about the local bad guys is pretty much in their heads, at best. Solution: Give our troops what our cops have. The Pentagon knows this. For reasons you can imagine, it hasn't happened. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110009638
11. Treasury support to exports to Iraq. EkoTürk News Agency / Ankara. After the petroleum products crisis between Turkey and Iraq, the Treasury decided to support the companies exporting to Iraq. Until December 31, 2007, the companies exporting to Iraq will be allowed to bring in without declaration the foreign exchange earned via the sales to Iraq up to 100 thousand dollars. The communiqué of the Turkish Treasury has been published in the Official Gazette. http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-22812.html
12. South Korea, Iraq agree to boost economic ties. South Korea and Iraq agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation in various economic fields, including in construction, energy and information technology, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3121
13. $42 billion dollar budget approved http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-11\kurd.htm
14. Judge Dismisses Contractor Fraud Charge. For the second time, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a military contractor that whistleblowers accuse of scamming the U.S. government out of tens of millions of dollars in the first months of the Iraq war. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria ruled in favor of Fairfax-based Custer Battles LLC, which has been pilloried in Congress and elsewhere as an example of the fraud and mismanagement that plagued the occupation of Iraq under the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. http://www.topix.net/content/ap/0593765239350516128519281357442677749041
15. Baghdad traffic police expect the unexpected. USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — On a typical day, Baghdad's traffic police deal with gunfire, militias and speeding convoys with armed men. And, oh yeah, there's also the traffic. With stoplights often dead because of blackouts, security checkpoints blocking many roads and more cars than ever circulating in the city, Baghdad's 1,700 traffic cops have their hands full. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-08-life-iraq-traffic_x.htm
END
12 February 2007
1. GRD Construction Rollup: Project Starts, Completions 12 February 2007 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-12-3.pdf
2. Winds of Change Iraq Report, 12 Feb/07 http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/009450.php#more
3. UNDG Iraq Trust Fund Newsletter (January 2007) This issue features thematic issues in the Refugees, IDPs and Durable Solutions Cluster (F). As of end January 2007, the implementing UN agencies have legally committed $693 million (78%) and disbursed $591 million (66%) of total approved projects amounting to $893 million. http://www.irffi.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/IRFFI/0,,contentMDK:21216761~pagePK:64168627~piPK:64167475~theSitePK:491458,00.html
4. Baghdad, Kuwait aim to revive trade agreements. KUWAIT: A business delegation from Basra, Iraq met with the board of the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) yesterday in Kuwait. This paved the way for the possible revival of trade agreements and broke the long trade embargo between the two countries, which was hampered due to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990. The talks centred on one product from Basra, particularly tomatoes. The delegation mentioned tomatoes were bountiful in Iraq and the supply was really high especially after Iraq adopted new agricultural technology offered by the British government after the fall of the Saddam regime. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20070205045734/SecCountries/pagIraq
5. Iraq slow to move on 350 polluted areas. Minister says two sites cleaned up, but plenty of 'hot spots' still out there.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com:80/id/17030442/
6. Iraqi Vice President receives Kuwait Fund Chief, and Shipping Company. Iraq’s government has identified hundreds of polluted sites that pose huge health hazards, but insecurity and lack of funds are stifling attempts to make them safe, a minister said on Wednesday.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3115
7. Basra fishermen suffer security squeeze and fuel price hike. BAGHDAD (IRIN) - Fisherman Mazin Jawad, 36, cannot look at his seven children without feelings of shame and guilt overcoming him. Without the income he used to have, he has had to take four of them out of school and taken ‘luxuries’ such as meat out of their lives. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=57531&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=Iraq
8. Maximum security correctional facilities help secure Iraq's Future http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-02-08.pdf
9. USAID IZDIHAR Project Helps Banks Modernize Lending Techniques - The introduction of credit officers in two Iraqi banks is strengthening customer relationships and streamlining loan processing for greater profitability. Following technical assistance and training from the USAID IZDIHAR project, two Iraqi banks have introduced changes to establish more dynamic relationships with clients. http://www.izdihar-iraq.com/news/stories.html#story115
10. The Snake Eater. Subject: A case study of how the U.S. got bogged down in Iraq. Problem: If a cop in Anytown, USA, pulls over a suspect, he checks the person's ID remotely from the squad car. He's linked to databases filled with Who's Who in the world of crime, killing and mayhem. In Iraq, there is nothing like that. When our troops and the Iraqi army enter a town, village or street, what they know about the local bad guys is pretty much in their heads, at best. Solution: Give our troops what our cops have. The Pentagon knows this. For reasons you can imagine, it hasn't happened. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110009638
11. Treasury support to exports to Iraq. EkoTürk News Agency / Ankara. After the petroleum products crisis between Turkey and Iraq, the Treasury decided to support the companies exporting to Iraq. Until December 31, 2007, the companies exporting to Iraq will be allowed to bring in without declaration the foreign exchange earned via the sales to Iraq up to 100 thousand dollars. The communiqué of the Turkish Treasury has been published in the Official Gazette. http://www.thenewanatolian.com/tna-22812.html
12. South Korea, Iraq agree to boost economic ties. South Korea and Iraq agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation in various economic fields, including in construction, energy and information technology, South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3121
13. $42 billion dollar budget approved http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-02-11\kurd.htm
14. Judge Dismisses Contractor Fraud Charge. For the second time, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a military contractor that whistleblowers accuse of scamming the U.S. government out of tens of millions of dollars in the first months of the Iraq war. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III in Alexandria ruled in favor of Fairfax-based Custer Battles LLC, which has been pilloried in Congress and elsewhere as an example of the fraud and mismanagement that plagued the occupation of Iraq under the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. http://www.topix.net/content/ap/0593765239350516128519281357442677749041
15. Baghdad traffic police expect the unexpected. USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — On a typical day, Baghdad's traffic police deal with gunfire, militias and speeding convoys with armed men. And, oh yeah, there's also the traffic. With stoplights often dead because of blackouts, security checkpoints blocking many roads and more cars than ever circulating in the city, Baghdad's 1,700 traffic cops have their hands full. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-08-life-iraq-traffic_x.htm
END
Iraq Reconstruction News 11 February 2007
Iraq Reconstruction News
11 February 2007
1. Ankara seeks US help in oil row, says Bryza. 10 February 2007. The Turkish government has appealed to the United States to encourage the Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq to comply with energy agreements, Matt Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told the Turkish Daily News in an exclusive interview. http://www.today.az/news/politics/36250.html
2. Reports Fault Oversight of Iraq Police Program. Millions Paid to Contractors Squandered on Unauthorized Work, Shoddy Facilities, U.S. Auditors Say. The U.S. government has squandered millions of dollars intended for police training programs in Iraq because of rampant problems overseeing contractors, according to federal reviews released yesterday. In one case, contractors building a camp for American trainers constructed an Olympic-size swimming pool that hadn't been ordered. In another, human waste reportedly continues to leak from plumbing fixtures at a barracks for Iraqi police recruits, a year after the problem was first identified and despite assurances from the contractor that the problem was being fixed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013001801.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq
3. Iraq Rearmament Program Heavy on Weapons, Short on Logistics. Despite flat oil exports and a struggling economy, Iraq has embarked on a comprehensive program to re-arm its embattled security forces. The country is buying American patrol planes, Italian naval vessels, Russian helicopters and armored vehicles co-produced by American and British firms. The new equipment is utilitarian stuff -- optimized for patrols in and over Iraq's teeming cities and on its smuggler-infested waters rather than for attacks on external foes -- and reflects the complete inward focus of Iraq's military. But the purchases do little to solve the forces' nearly complete lack of logistics capability. http://worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=514
4. A Forum in Amman to enhance economic partnership between Iraqis and their foreign counterparts http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3087
5. Security Contracts to Continue in Iraq. New Top Commander Counts Hired Guards Among His Assets. The Defense Department plans to continue hiring private contractors to provide security at reconstruction projects in Iraq and to train U.S. and Iraqi military officers in counterinsurgency, despite problems with past contracts for such jobs that traditionally have been done by military personnel. The contracting out of these wartime activities comes at a time when the United States is stretching its resources to provide the additional 21,500 troops in Iraq that are needed under President Bush's new strategy, which involves stepped-up counterinsurgency operations in Baghdad and the expansion of economic reconstruction activities. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020301372.html
6. Syria hopes to resume cooperation with Iraq for the exploration of oil in Border Areas http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3086
7. Iraqi group unveils 'billion-dollar' Kurdish trade centre. ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) - An Iraqi consortium has completed the first stage of what was billed Friday as the billion-dollar Nishan Trade Center in Arbil, northern Iraq and is to boast three 25-storey office towers. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA432040143551/SecCountries/pagIraq
8. Rural programs a key target of new US aid to Iraq. BAGHDAD, Feb 7, 2007 (AFP) - Iraq will spend 10 billion dollars to rebuild the war-ravaged nation this year and the United States will add 2.3 billion more, with rural programs to be a leading recipient of US aid, experts say. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA114038073601/SecCountries/pagIraq
9. Minister of Planning: optimistic about the investment allocations. The Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation, Dr. Ali Baban, expressed his optimism about the investment allocations within the budget of 2007, pointing out that the achievements of the budget for the past year were modest. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3118
10. FRIGHTFUL COMMUTE Baghdad workers, students are exposed daily to bodies, gunbattles and kidnappings. Baghdad -- During a bus ride to his morning classes one day last month, student Ali Makki and his fellow passengers came upon the aftermath of a roadside bombing. The attack forced the bus to detour along the outskirts of the city, where it encountered a wandering gang of militants armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/25/MNGAUNOPVL1.DTL
END
11 February 2007
1. Ankara seeks US help in oil row, says Bryza. 10 February 2007. The Turkish government has appealed to the United States to encourage the Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq to comply with energy agreements, Matt Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told the Turkish Daily News in an exclusive interview. http://www.today.az/news/politics/36250.html
2. Reports Fault Oversight of Iraq Police Program. Millions Paid to Contractors Squandered on Unauthorized Work, Shoddy Facilities, U.S. Auditors Say. The U.S. government has squandered millions of dollars intended for police training programs in Iraq because of rampant problems overseeing contractors, according to federal reviews released yesterday. In one case, contractors building a camp for American trainers constructed an Olympic-size swimming pool that hadn't been ordered. In another, human waste reportedly continues to leak from plumbing fixtures at a barracks for Iraqi police recruits, a year after the problem was first identified and despite assurances from the contractor that the problem was being fixed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013001801.html?nav=rss_world/mideast/iraq
3. Iraq Rearmament Program Heavy on Weapons, Short on Logistics. Despite flat oil exports and a struggling economy, Iraq has embarked on a comprehensive program to re-arm its embattled security forces. The country is buying American patrol planes, Italian naval vessels, Russian helicopters and armored vehicles co-produced by American and British firms. The new equipment is utilitarian stuff -- optimized for patrols in and over Iraq's teeming cities and on its smuggler-infested waters rather than for attacks on external foes -- and reflects the complete inward focus of Iraq's military. But the purchases do little to solve the forces' nearly complete lack of logistics capability. http://worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=514
4. A Forum in Amman to enhance economic partnership between Iraqis and their foreign counterparts http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3087
5. Security Contracts to Continue in Iraq. New Top Commander Counts Hired Guards Among His Assets. The Defense Department plans to continue hiring private contractors to provide security at reconstruction projects in Iraq and to train U.S. and Iraqi military officers in counterinsurgency, despite problems with past contracts for such jobs that traditionally have been done by military personnel. The contracting out of these wartime activities comes at a time when the United States is stretching its resources to provide the additional 21,500 troops in Iraq that are needed under President Bush's new strategy, which involves stepped-up counterinsurgency operations in Baghdad and the expansion of economic reconstruction activities. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020301372.html
6. Syria hopes to resume cooperation with Iraq for the exploration of oil in Border Areas http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3086
7. Iraqi group unveils 'billion-dollar' Kurdish trade centre. ARBIL, Iraq, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) - An Iraqi consortium has completed the first stage of what was billed Friday as the billion-dollar Nishan Trade Center in Arbil, northern Iraq and is to boast three 25-storey office towers. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA432040143551/SecCountries/pagIraq
8. Rural programs a key target of new US aid to Iraq. BAGHDAD, Feb 7, 2007 (AFP) - Iraq will spend 10 billion dollars to rebuild the war-ravaged nation this year and the United States will add 2.3 billion more, with rural programs to be a leading recipient of US aid, experts say. http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA114038073601/SecCountries/pagIraq
9. Minister of Planning: optimistic about the investment allocations. The Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation, Dr. Ali Baban, expressed his optimism about the investment allocations within the budget of 2007, pointing out that the achievements of the budget for the past year were modest. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3118
10. FRIGHTFUL COMMUTE Baghdad workers, students are exposed daily to bodies, gunbattles and kidnappings. Baghdad -- During a bus ride to his morning classes one day last month, student Ali Makki and his fellow passengers came upon the aftermath of a roadside bombing. The attack forced the bus to detour along the outskirts of the city, where it encountered a wandering gang of militants armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/25/MNGAUNOPVL1.DTL
END
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