Iraq Reconstruction News 15 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
15 January 2007


1. Public Event - Iraq Petroleum Draft: Between Fiction and Reality. http://www.usip.org/events/2007/0119_iraq_petroleum.html

2. An American grant to fund 12 projects in Basrah. An Iraqi local company in cooperation with the University of Basrah is implementing a floating bridge linking the two banks of Shatt al-Arab, to end the long suffering of the inhabitants of Attanuma which is located on the Iranian border, with the province. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2917

3. Iraq allocates 8 billion dollars for housing projects. The Iraqi government allocated eight billion dollars for "the Land Bank" to support the project of lending citizens at facilitated interests to build on the lands granted to them by the government (100 thousand residential plot), within the current year's budget, and the housing project which was announced earlier. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/en/default.asp

4. Iraq drills more wells. Reuters. Iraq drilled and completed 165 new oil wells in the Basra and Amara oil fields in the south of the county in 2006, an oil official in Basra said. http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snOGN_article117389.html

5. Iraqi journalists and officials rally for freer Iraqi media at UN-backed conference. 11 January 2007 – Iraqi journalists, parliamentarians and government officials have united to call for the protection and promotion of a free and pluralistic media at a conference held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21212&Cr=iraq&Cr1=

6. Iraq: WTO membership will not affect relations with GCC. http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093138721

7. New Iraq plan gives economic aid a big role. President Bush's proposed economic aid to Iraq is applauded, but success there still depends on the security situation. McClatchy News Service. WASHINGTON - President Bush's plan for salvaging the war in Iraq acknowledges failure so far in efforts to reconstruct the country's moribund economy. His proposed fixes depend largely on achieving security and stability there. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/international/16440153.htm

8. US also plans civilian "surge" in Iraq. WASHINGTON (AFP) - Hundreds of US diplomats and other civilians will deploy in Iraq's battle-scarred countryside as part of President George W. Bush's last-ditch drive to stabilize the nation, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. http://rempost.blogspot.com/2007/01/us-also-plans-civilian-surge-in-iraq.html

9. State Department official: Civilian role key to Iraq strategy. Associated Press. TOPEKA, Kan. - A key State Department official says the United States' new strategy in Iraq must focus on diplomatic, economic and social elements, and not rely only on the military's counterinsurgency operations. John Hillen, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, wrote in the latest edition of Military Review that defeating the growing insurgency in Iraq requires more than using additional U.S. troops to stabilize the country and neutralize the influence of Islamic extremists. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/16447940.htm

10. Timothy Carney, Coordinator for Iraq Reconstruction. GovExec.com. Secretary Condoleezza Rice on Thursday announced that Timothy Carney, a retired Foreign Service officer with extensive conflict experience, has been named to serve as the single coordinator for Iraq reconstruction that President Bush called for in a speech Wednesday night. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0107/011107m1.htm Carney's CV is at http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bios/c/53622.htm See also http://alum.mit.edu/ne/noteworthy/profiles/carney.html

11. Holding Iraq's oil exports from Basra for four-days. http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.2751.15

12. Lukoil set to revive $4bn Saddam oil deal. Lukoil, the Russian oil company, is poised to resurrect the $4bn (£2bn) contract it signed with Saddam Hussein's regime to develop one of Iraq's largest oil fields. The company's US rival Conoco-Phillips will also benefit as it has a stake in the joint venture with Lukoil to develop the West Qurna-2 field, which holds up to 16 billion barrels of oil. http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2150486.ece

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