Iraq Reconstruction News 6 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
6 January 2007


1. Bush Will Seek Aid, Jobs Funds To Bolster Iraq. WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration's new strategy for Iraq, which the president is set to announce next week, will include a big boost in spending to fund reconstruction, economic growth and job creation, as part of a broader effort to help embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116796897694467905.html?mod=special_page_iraq_1

2. Dynamic Ideas for Iraq. The president is on the cusp of making the most important decision of his second term: increasing our troop presence in Baghdad and Anbar in an effort to stave off Iraqi civil war. A troop surge into Baghdad will not solve problems overnight. But by helping to establish security, more troops can weaken the insurgency, which is the first step to addressing most of Iraq's other problems, including the growth of Shiite militias. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116796671199867859.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

3. War News Radio: At the Front Line. http://warnewsradio.org/

4. The 4th International Rebuild Iraq Exhibition, 7 - 10 May 2007, Amman, Jordan. http://www.rebuild-iraq-expo.com/

5. Interpol: Stolen Iraqi cultural Property. In response to the looting of cultural property in Iraq, and in accordance with the recommendations adopted at an international conference on the subject held in Lyons on 5 and 6 May 2003, the General Secretariat has created a new public web site section. The aim is to make accessible to the public all information on cultural property stolen in Iraq provided to the General Secretariat as a result of close co-operation with the Interpol National Central Bureaus and UNESCO. All these objects are featured in the General Secretariat's database and on the 'Interpol - Stolen Works of Art' DVD.
For a detailed list go to http://www.interpol.int/Public/WorkOfArt/Iraq/Items.asp and see the left-hand column notation "Stolen Iraqi items".
Illustrations of stolen and recovered items are at http://www.interpol.int/Public/WorkOfArt/Poster/Poster33a.pdf

6. Siemens’ oil-for-food actually money-for-contract program in Iraq. In yet the latest of German electronics giant Siemens’ never-ending string of corruption scandals, state prosecutors in Nuremberg are now investigating the company on suspicion of having less than honorable intentions in its connection with the failed U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq. Prosecutors are investigating claims that Siemens paid “a six-figure sum” as a bribe to Saddam Hussein’s regime in order to secure energy and medical-equipment contracts in the oil-for-food program, the Financial Times reported. http://www.bloggernews.net/13543

7. GIS in an Overview of Iraq Petroleum Geology. Georeferenced maps of Iraq, almost entirely from AAPG publications, are presented herein to show the overall framework of this country within a region that contains vast petroleum resources and to show some features of representative fields. Several maps of fields are accompanied by cross-sections; correlation diagrams for Northern and Southern Iraq are presented along with a tabulation of the various producing stratigraphic units. For presentation, each map utilizes the geographic coordinate system wherein each increment of latitude and longitude is equal. An additional item that is presented in this preliminary compilation is a database of giant fields in Iraq, from the comprehensive databases of giant fields compiled by M.K. Horn to be incorporated in the soon-to-be-published AAPG Memoir, Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade 1990-1999. http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/gong03/index.htm in HTML
http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/documents/gong03/images/gong03.pdf in PDF

8. Economic Policy and Prospects in Iraq, 2004. Abstract: This paper describes the Coalition Provisional Authority’s attempts to stabilize and reform Iraq’s economy along market lines. It argues that while security concerns remain serious, Iraq’s economy has not been crippled by violence. However, sustained economic growth will depend on whether Iraq’s future leaders pursue the pro-market approaches the Coalition has advocated. If the Iraqi economy is to reach its potential, it will need to go even farther than the Coalition did, implementing reforms the Coalition did not pursue because of security concerns. http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/ppdp/2004/ppdp0401.pdf

9. 10% is the proportion of implementing projects in Iraq. The Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation, Ali Baban, announced that the Iraqi government has allocated $ 10 billion from the budget of next year for the implementation of investment projects in governorates and regions and the promotion of development at governorates that suffer from insecurity, deterioration of services and widespread unemployment. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2866

10. Iraqi Central Bank expecting budget deficit in 2007. An official at the Iraqi Central Bank expected a deficit in the next-year budget due to pumping dollars into the local market, to preserve the stability of the iraqi dinar exchange rate. Head of the Department of Statistics and Research at the "Central", Madhar Mohamed Salih, declared that the new budget will exchange allocations by the dollar, pointing out that the rise in the value of the iraqi dinar had a positive impact through limiting expenditures, to reduce inflationary pressures in the Iraqi economy and reduce costs on prices. http://www.edinarfinancial.net/

11. EPIC: Best Books on Iraq. http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1581

12. A Law for Investment in Iraq. Dar Al-Hayat. The Iraqi Presidency Council issued Investment Law No. 13 of 2006, containing provisions for regulation, rights and encouragement for investors, encompassing Iraqis and non-Iraqis, designed for the phases of establishment and operation. The law aims to attract and encourage investment and the transfer of modern technologies to the country; to encourage both the Iraqi private sector and foreign investment in the country; to protect the property rights of investors and their profits, and the expansion of exports and enhancing the competitive edge at home and abroad. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2844