Iraq Reconstruction News 8 March 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
8 March 2007


1. Iraq Weekly Status Report 7 March 2007 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/81659.pdf

2. Key Iraq Sunni group warns against oil law -- BAGHDAD, March 8 (UPI) -- The top Sunni clerical group in Iraq has warned parliament not to approve the hydrocarbons law, claiming it will deprive Iraqis from its oil wealth. http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=20070308-094255-2063r

3. Misunderstanding Production Sharing Agreements -- Much outrage has been howled and many teeth have been gnashed in the last few days as a new law regarding Iraq's oil and gas reserves has been passed by the fledgling Iraqi government. The law grants Iraq's Federal Oil and Gas Council the power to enter into Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) with foreign oil companies. For many of those who opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq in the first place, this serves as evidence that the war was all about placing Iraq's immense oil and gas reserves under the control of American oil companies. http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=030607B

4. Iraq Oil Law Necessary But Not Sufficient -- Oxford Analytica -- Iraq's Council of Ministers has set the end of May as the target for parliamentary approval of the draft hydrocarbons framework law. Endorsement by the cross-factional cabinet means the draft oil law is more likely to receive parliamentary approval. The draft hydrocarbons framework law represents a compromise between the centralizing instincts of Iraq's Arab factions and efforts by the Kurdish parties to retain near-autonomy. The draft law establishes three principles: Centralized Control Of Revenues, Partly Decentralized Development, Foreign Involvement In Upstream. http://www.forbes.com/home/digitalentertainment/2007/03/06/hydrocarbons-oil-iraq-biz-cx_0307oxford.html

5. Iraqis Paid Not to Burn Oil Wells: Wilson -- Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) has told The Politico that before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the CIA paid Iraqi oil workers not to burn the oil wells. The agency, he said, also offered them future employment in exchange for their cooperation. CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield declined to comment on Wilson's assertion. http://www.politico.com:80/news/stories/0307/3034.html

6. Law, PR firms help contractors navigate reconstruction inquiries -- National Journal -- From a Capitol Hill hearing room to a California courtroom last month, a disturbing picture came into focus: Billions of taxpayer dollars spent on Iraq reconstruction projects may have been squandered through mismanagement and fraud. At a February 7 hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, executives from some of the biggest companies in the construction, engineering, energy, and security contracting industries -- including Halliburton, KBR, Fluor, and Blackwater -- were pummeled with criticisms and questions about the projects they are running to rebuild Iraq's roads, hospitals, schools, and oil infrastructure. Seated nearby in the hearing room was a small army of lawyers, lobbyists, and public-relations experts from such K Street powerhouses as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Crowell & Moring, Patton Boggs, Qorvis Communications, and Vinson & Elkins who were hired to help steer the companies through the minefield of the congressional investigative process. http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=36312&dcn=todaysnews

7. Iraq's Aviation, Electricity, and Security Summit planned for London -- IRAQ. The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce is issuing invitations to participate at the 7th Rebuilding Iraq Conference and Expo to be held on 28-29 March 2007 in London, UK. This is where it will be possible to meet with prime contractors, funding & contracting agencies, decision makers and successful companies who can help structure deals to help build the New Iraq. http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=8152&t=1&c=34&cg=4&PHPSESSID=9fd0230acceecc61015189c8b7b0d935

8. On-the-Record Briefing by Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Coordinator For Iraq David M. Satterfield on Iraq, 8 March 2007 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0703/S00163.htm

9. Iraqi anti-corruption head says graft worse than in Saddam's time - Cairo - Corruption in Iraq is now worse than it was during Saddam Hussein's regime, the Chairman of Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity (CPI), Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, said in an interview published Thursday in the Arabic-language Asharq Alawsat newspaper. http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Iraqi_anticorruption_head_says_graft_worse_0308.html

10. Japan's assistance to Iraq (Fact Sheet) 07 Mar 2007 http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6Z4EMA?OpenDocument

11. Iraqi Unions Defy Privatization -- On April 9, 2003, U.S. tanks pulled up to Basra’s huge, dilapidated oil refinery. “We were coming out early, at the end of our shift, and there was the American army,” recalls Faraj Arbat, one of the plant’s firemen. The soldiers trained their guns on the oil workers. The head of the fire department made the mistake of questioning the troops, and he was ordered to lie facedown on the ground. “He did as he was ordered,” Arbat recalls. “But then an American put his foot on his back. So we started fighting with the soldiers with our fists. The tank turret started to turn toward us, and at that point we all sat down.” http://progressive.org/?q=mag_bacon1005

12. Byblos Bank plans Iraq expansion from Kurdish North - MARCH 8: Byblos Bank, Lebanon’s third-largest lender, will open a branch in Iraq next month using the safety of the Kurdish north as a platform for expansion into a country that holds 10% of the world’s oil reserves. “Iraq is very important, there is huge potential there,’’ chairman Francois Bassil, 72, said in an interview in his office in Beirut March 6. Byblos will open its branch in Arbil, capital of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, because it’s more secure than other parts of the country, he said. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=157131

13. OMV CEO Talks with Iraq, Kurdish Govt on Oil Deals - Austria's OMV AG , central Europe's biggest oil and gas company, said Wednesday that it is in negotiations with the Iraqi government and the country's northern Kurdish Regional Government about signing possible exploration contracts. "We started discussions about two months ago with the central government and the Kurdish authorities," OMV Chief Executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview. http://www.energia.gr/indexengr.php?newsid=13436&lang=en

14. VP stresses enhanced economic cooperation with Iraq - Tehran, March 7, IRNA - First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi here Tuesday stressed the importance of bolstering his country's economic cooperation with Iraq in order to buttress the Iraqi democratic government and improve the lives of Iraqis. In a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Trade Abd al-Falah al-Sudani, Davoudi said progress and peace for Iraq would be in the interest of all regional countries. http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/line-18/0703071222185523.htm

15. EPIC and 40 National Groups Call for Surge in Aid to Reduce Suffering, Conflict in Iraq - [March 6] EPIC and 40 nationally-respected organizations sent a letter to Congress today urging lawmakers to address the 2007 U.S. funding gap for Iraq-related relief and development. With input from humanitarian agencies involved with relief efforts in Iraq, the letter was written by the EPIC-initiated Iraq Peace and Development Working Group (IPDWG), a community of NGOs working together to reduce human suffering and conflict in Iraq. The organizations are asking for an additional appropriation of U.S. funding--that represents only a fraction of the president's supplemental request--to assist millions of displaced Iraqis, compensate thousands harmed in the conflict, create new jobs, and support ongoing USAID programs. http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2319

16. Ramadi Reconstruction and Economic Development Conference - CAMP RAMADI, Iraq (March 7, 2007) - A cooperation, a presence and a movement by the people - these are the things that have improved conditions in the Anbar providence so Ramadi could begin rebuilding, said Brig. Gen. John Allen, deputy commander Multi-National Forces - West following a reconstruction and economic growth conference March 7 in Ramadi. http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6192788&nav=0qq6

17. GRD Construction Rollup: Project Starts, Completions 5 March 2007 http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR07-03-05-3.pdf

18. Traditional mud oven makes a comeback in Iraq -- McClatchy Newspapers -- BAGHDAD, Iraq - In the topsy-turvy world of Iraq, Ali Mohammed Jafar offers solid evidence that the country is slipping backward: His business is booming. Jafar, 26, makes tanoors, Iraq's traditional mud oven, and when he followed his father into the craft, he knew the trade was dying. After all, how many more years would Iraqis continue to bake khubuz, the national bread, in a clay vessel heated by glowing wood coals when steel ovens and propane fuel were so much cleaner and more efficient? http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/16853865.htm

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