Iraq Reconstruction News 30 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
30 January 2007


1. GRD Iraq Reconstruction Weekly Update 01/29/07 https://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/pls/portal/url/ITEM/07251F2EFBCA801DE040A8C00B0741F5

2. Brookings Iraq Index 29 January 2007 http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

3. Izdihar Round-Up:Iraq Business News 27 January 2007. http://www.izdihar-iraq.com/news/round-ups.html

4. Turkey refuses to deal with Iraqi Kurds. UpstreamOnline.com Turkey today rejected demands from the Iraqi national oil company Somo that its companies should deal in future with Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq when doing business there. Ankara is worried about Kurdish moves towards greater autonomy in northern Iraq, fearing they could spark separatism among its own Kurdish population in south-east Turkey. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article127005.ece

5. Oil crisis deepens with Iraq and Lebanon. Turkey yesterday stepped up its criticism of neighboring Iraq after it told Turkish companies exporting oil products to the country to talk to Kurdish authorities in the north for renewal of their contracts and warned of sanctions if the move is not retracted.
"Serious states keep their promises, … We expect Iraq to stand by its signature,” State Minister Kürşad Tüzmen told a press conference. “Our patience has limits; if Baghdad fails to keep its promises, Turkey will take the necessary steps.” http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=101483&bolum=102

6. Top Iraqi Kurdish officials reject Turkish statements on oil-rich city of Kirkuk. BAGHDAD, Iraq: Top Iraqi Kurdish officials on Sunday rejected recent statements by Turkey on the fate of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, saying such interference in domestic affairs is unacceptable. The criticism came after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month warned Iraqi Kurdish groups against trying to seize control of the city 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, saying Turkey would not stand by amid growing tensions among ethnic Turkomens, Arabs and Kurds in Iraq's oil-rich north. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/28/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Turkey.php

7. Iraq Electrical Grid gets a Boost. TIKRIT,Iraq-The $31.2 million rehabilitation and expansion of a 400kV/132kV substation, along with the five feeders in the Diyala Province, will provide a more reliable power source for more than 63,000 people. Built by local construction companies with quality assurance managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, these renovations and additions will add stability to Iraq’s electrical grid. The 400kV substation – called Baghdad East - is considered to be an important component of the national electrical system, having a significant impact on the national grid.

8. Iraq Calls For Air-Force Recruits. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/1/8949AFB9-1558-439E-8CEB-830D5598CB83.html

9. Iraq Asks for More Weapons; U.S. Backpedals. All Things Considered, January 26, 2007 · Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he wants more military hardware from the United States. President Bush is providing more money for items like armored Humvees and BlackHawk helicopters, while the Iraqis want more unspecified firepower. The Pentagon is reluctant to give them too much weaponry, fearing it will fall into the wrong hands. Some, like retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, want to give Iraq more arms, such as artillery. He says that if the U.S. can't push back the insurgency with all its might, how can the Iraqis be expected to do it? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7043110

10. US to reopen Iraq's factories in $10m U-turn. Sunday Telegraph. US officials in Iraq are planning to re-open lumbering state industries set up as part of Saddam Hussein's command economy in an attempt to bring jobs to the country's most troubled areas. Moribund government-owned plants, including ageing tractor factories, tyre manufacturers and cement companies, have been earmarked for a multi-million dollar scheme designed to lure Iraqis away from the insurgents' payroll. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/28/wirq28.xml

11. Construction Rollup: Project Starts, Completions. BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division completed five construction projects and started four new projects in Iraq from Jan. 13-26, 2007. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-01-30.html

12. KRG US Representative says sound oil policy promotes stability. Washington DC, US (KRG.org) - Qubad Talabany, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the United States, last Thursday testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the political strategy for Iraq. He said that a sound petroleum policy was necessary and could help to stabilise Iraq. He also stressed the need to follow the already agreed timetable for resolving the status of Kirkuk. Talabany said that any successful strategy in Iraq “must come from within Iraq and not Washington.” Imposing a policy that ignores the realities on the ground would inevitably fail, he said. http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?ArticleNr=16019&LangNr=12&LNNr=28&RNNr=70

13. House Panel to Examine Iraq Contracts. With a Democrat now in the driver's seat, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is set to hold Congress's first in-depth hearings into charges of waste and fraud involving money spent on reconstruction in Iraq. Three days of hearings -- the first of what Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) says will be a series unfolding in coming months -- are set to begin Feb. 6. They will mark the opening of what promises to be one of the most significant inquiries by the new Congress into actions by the Bush administration while Republicans controlled the House and Senate.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117004006711890851.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

14. Basrah Children's Hospital. There are battles being wages on the streets of Iraq, and not all of them require weapons. One of these battles, is right here in Basrah, it's the battle against childhood cancers. And this is Battle Headquaters, It's the Basrah Children's Hospital. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/video/downloads/childrens-hospital.zip

15. Canada-Iraq Marshlands Initiative (CIMI). http://www.cimiwetlands.net/index.htm

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