E. 1999

GDP (purchasing power parity): $155.4 billion (2012 est.) $141 billion (2011 est.) $129.6 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars Definition: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of February 21, 2013

my opinion of maliki is mixed while he has been bashed in article after article you have to wonder whos behind the info you get on maliki ive heard hes our man with the plan for an rv while at the same time ive also read articles claiming he is a bad person with ties to bad people i just dont know about this maliki guy

your opinion is just as valued bro

i disagree and its not because i dont think he is smart enough i wouldnt get sucked into that debat no,,, bill clinton is an evil son of a ***** plain and simple and i question if any of his supporters know of the sins this man and his wife have committed

K98 could you tell me what you got from this as i am having a hard time understanding it came off negative to me

Kut - Hassan Shaheed Al-Azzawi said governor of Wasit province Mahdi al-Zubaidi that the budget for the province last year carried out fully, stressing that the province began to refer the draft budget 2012 to implementation. and Zubaidi said that the budget of the Wasit province last year, carried out by 100 percent through the implementation of 192 projects were divided 49 projects of the Department of Roads, bridges, and 35 projects educationally and 33 of the Department of Electricity and 32 of the Department of Water and 25 municipalities of districts and areas, and 13 of the Directorate of Municipality of Kut, in addition to the ten projects for the Department of Health, three projects of the Department of sewage and two of the local administration and one for each of the departments of Agriculture, urban planning, housing and water resources. said Zubaidi, that the preservation began to refer projects 2012 to implement since last December, noting that the budget for the province for the current year amounting to 216 billion dinars, distributed among the service sectors, basic as projects sanitation, bridges, tunnels, roads, calling for the House of Representatives passage of the budget year, to be able to maintain the payment of dues for companies that contracted with them. The Governor emphasized that the province will see significant changes in all the projects this year, after it was opened for bidding to all companies for the implementation of the first package of projects at a cost of more than 60 billion dinars. He added that the province called on companies and contractors to compete in tenders implementation package of projects within the plan year 2012, which included the development of the regions of the officers and human rights activists in the neighborhood of Damouk city of Kut, and the freedom in the district of the neighborhood and street rehabilitation of the industrial district and extending water and sewer, telephone and electricity underground in addition to the municipal integrated business. http://www.alsabaah.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=21157

04/02/2012 Called to cancel exceptions tariff for all imports of Baghdad, Tariq al-Araji called the General Customs, on the government to abolish customs exemptions on all imports for the benefit of the public sector, as revealed in an agreement with Turkey to increase the number of border crossing points between the two countries and confirmed that it has prepared a plan to replace the directors of all outlets border across the country to ensure greater efficiency of these ports. The director of the Warner Abdul Amir Asad Haider in an interview with «morning»: The Authority commenced, as part of its plan to revitalize the border crossing points, the replacement of two of the directors of the border crossing points, and will work to replace the directors of all outlets During the next few days, explaining that the decision includes 17 manager. He explained that Customs is not interested in examining materials used across the ports, but their role is limited to the implementation of laws issued by the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries. pointed Haider to the Ministry of Planning contracted earlier with two to examine the 87 kinds of imported goods, as it is attach a certificate of inspection with materials imported into the ports and are audited by the company's branch in the port, but he noted that this technique has not the desired goal, and the like cases of corruption, because it is controlled. He added that the device standardization and quality control of the Ministry of Planning, located it upon himself to examine other types of goods, called on the government and the Ministry of Planning to expedite the construction of laboratory examination of the standardization based international standards in the examination of materials, considering that the best solution to reduce the entry of goods corrupt the country. acknowledged Haider existence cases of corruption at border crossing points, is to allow the introduction of materials damaged and unfit for consumption by those working at border crossing points, from the various departments concerned, in exchange for money, stressing that these cases were repeated at ports of Trebil, newborn and Rabia and Zurbatiyah. He said the body does not have the legal authority to impose extra charges on the goods without the legislation, which is still going on levying tax the reconstruction of Iraq by five percent pursuant to the order of the Coalition Provisional Authority, ruling out an increase in the imposition of customs duties despite the fact that Iraq is the lowest in obtaining fees between neighboring countries. and on the development of new outlets for Iraq with neighboring countries, the Director of the Commission that this political decision is based on the willingness of Iraq and neighboring countries, and is carried out through diplomatic channels, as it will hopefully be opening more than one port with the Turkish side. He stressed that the volume of imports is increasing, but most of the goods exempt from customs duties because they are imported for the benefit of the public sector, which led to lower revenues at border crossing points, appealing to the government to reconsider the exceptions granted in this regard, and the abolition of exemptions on all imports. http://www.alsabaah.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=21141

Topic has been read 178 times 04/02/2012 BAGHDAD - Al Sabah Oil Ministry announced that the size of the country's exports of crude oil during January amounted to more than 65 million barrels. said Undersecretary Mutasem Akram was quoted by the agency (Rn), that «the total exports of Iraqi oil to foreign markets during the past month was 65 million and 286 thousand barrels of oil by about 2,000,106 thousand barrels per day ». said Akram that« the ministry has conducted research and studies on the volume of oil exports during the current year and the levels at which the Ministry seeks to reach them in the volume of exports », without elaborating on those levels. of For its part the Ministry of Oil was published on its official details of the total exports of the country's oil to foreign markets during the year 2011, noting that it «was 790 million 500 thousand barrel», pointing out that «the financial returns of these exports amounted to $ 83 billion». http://www.alsabaah.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=21148

BAGHDAD — The U.S. Embassy here has provided Iraqi officials with only a partial inventory of American-funded reconstruction projects, making it more difficult for Iraqis to manage or maintain them, a U.S. government watchdog reported Sunday. “After eight years, we still don’t have a full account of what it was we provided the Iraqis,” Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said in an interview Saturday. “They need to know what they have now, and where the gaps are.” The incomplete list reflects poor record-keeping among various U.S. agencies that funded projects prior to the embassy trying to tally them up. “There was no unity of command, no unity of effort,” Bowen said. The inventory listed 5,289 projects valued at about $15 billion as of June 30, 2011, according to auditors. Bowen said there were actually tens of thousands of projects valued at approximately $40 billion. Roads, schools and police stations were among the many projects built with American funds. Bowen’s office said the U.S. State Department counted only large projects — those defined as “capital assets” that cannot be easily converted to cash. The projects had to be worth at least $250,000, have a life expectancy of five years or more, and have been funded by one of the four major U.S. reconstruction funds. “It is unclear why projects costing less than the $250,000 threshold would not be of interest” to the Iraqi government, Bowen wrote in the report. Many U.S. reconstruction projects occurred years ago and were done quickly by U.S. soldiers and officials as part of efforts to win over Iraqis. In a response to Bowen’s report, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said they had negotiated an agreement with Iraq so its government could “focus its limited resources” on large capital projects. Embassy officials also cited bookkeeping of previous agencies and said the auditors’ criticisms failed to recognize that Iraq already has assumed more control over projects. The United States “no longer carries out reconstruction projects for the government of Iraq, but rather with the government of Iraq,” wrote Ambassador Peter W. Bodde, the assistant chief of mission for assistance transition at the embassy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/reports-faults-us-inventory-of-iraq-projects/2012/01/28/gIQAzYg3YQ_story.html

The Iraqiya bloc sent a “positive signal” by ending its parliament boycott, and its eventual return to the cabinet depends on how Iraq’s premier responds, the country’s fugitive vice president said. Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, is accused of financing a death squad to target policemen, judges and officials and has been hiding out in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government region since December. The accusations against Hashemi came amid a wider conflict between the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government. Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December to protest what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s centralization of power. Iraqiya’s MPs returned to parliament Jan. 31. Asked about the end of Iraqiya’s cabinet boycott, Hashemi said: “This depends on Maliki and State of Law (Maliki’s list),” and “how they will react to this positive signal from the Iraqiya list.” “We are not a part of the crisis; we are a part of the solution, and we are looking to put an urgent end ... to the current crisis.” Asked about comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that drew a furious response from Baghdad, Hashemi said Erdoğan’s remarks were “legitimate, because what happened in Iraq will affect sooner or later in the Turkish internal affairs.” Erdoğan said on Jan. 24 that “If you start a conflict in Iraq, it will be impossible for us to remain silent.” February/04/2012 http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/fugitive-iraq-vp-says-ball-is-now-in-pms.aspx?pageID=238&nid=12970&NewsCatID=352

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - The Iraqiya bloc sent a "positive signal" by ending its parliament boycott, and its eventual return to the cabinet depends on how Iraq's premier responds, the country's fugitive vice president told AFP. Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, is accused of financing a death squad to target policemen, judges and officials and has been hiding out in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region since December. The accusations against Hashemi, which he has strongly denied, came amid a wider conflict between the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, of which he is a member, and the Shiite-led government. Iraqiya began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet in December to protest what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralisation of power, and it has since called for Maliki to respect a power-sharing deal or quit. Iraqiya's MPs returned to parliament on Tuesday, somewhat easing the crisis, but the bloc has not yet decided to return its ministers to the cabinet. "The decision was made unanimously and I participated in that even though I am in Kurdistan," Hashemi said of Iraqiya's return to parliament, in an interview this week at his residence in Arbil, the capital of Kurdistan. Asked about the end of Iraqiya's cabinet boycott, he said: "This depends on Maliki and State of Law (Maliki's list)," and "how they will react to this positive signal from the Iraqiya list." "We are not a part of the crisis; we are a part of the solution, and we are looking to put an urgent end ... to the current crisis." Hashemi also discussed his defence in the case against him and his associates, but did not directly address the charges themselves. "It is my right to defend my reputation and honour and defend the innocence of my guards and employees," he said. Hashemi's guards, including 16 the interior ministry claimed were training for assassinations with silenced rifles and pistols, and some members of his office staff, have been detained in recent weeks. He said that if he cannot obtain justice from the Iraqi judiciary, "it is my right to go to the international judiciary." Hashemi said he continues to enjoy support from Kurdish president Massud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, and dismissed as "psychological warfare" rumours he could be turned over to the central government. "I am here in Kurdistan and I am not worried about my future," he said. "I am among my family and my loved ones in Kurdistan, but if Kurdistan becomes closed to Tareq al-Hashemi, God's land is vast." Asked about comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that drew a furious response from Baghdad, Hashemi termed the Turkish premier's remarks "legitimate." Erdogan said on January 24 that "Maliki should know that: if you start a conflict in Iraq in the form of sectarian clashes, it will be impossible for us to remain silent." "I reject foreign interference, even from neighbouring countries, in Iraqi affairs," Hashemi said. But, Erdogan's remarks were "legitimate, because what happened in Iraq will affect sooner or later in the Turkish internal affairs." http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/12805684/iraq-vp-tells-maliki-to-respect-power-sharing-deal/

» 1 Comment | Post a Comment WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is preparing to begin talks with Iraq on defining a long-term defense relationship that may include expanded U.S. training help, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's chief policy aide. Michele Flournoy, who is leaving her Pentagon post on Friday to return to private life, said in an interview with a small group of reporters that the administration is open to Iraqi suggestions about the scope and depth of defense ties. "One of the things we're looking forward to doing is sitting down with the Iraqis in the coming month or two to start thinking about how they want to work with" the U.S. military to develop a program of exercises, training and other forms of security cooperation, Flournoy said. The U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Iraq in December after nearly nine years of war. Both sides had considered keeping at least several thousand U.S. troops there to provide comprehensive field training for Iraqi security forces, but they failed to strike a deal before the expiration of a 2008 agreement that required all American troops to leave. As a result, training is limited to a group of American service members and contractors in Baghdad who will help Iraqis learn to operate newly acquired weapons systems. They are part of the Office of Security Cooperation, based in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and headed by Army Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen. Additional and more comprehensive training is a major issue because Iraq's army and police are mainly equipped and trained to counter an internal insurgency, rather than deter and defend against external threats. Iraq, for example, currently cannot defend its own air sovereignty. It is buying — but has not yet received — U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. In a new report on conditions in Iraq, a U.S. government watchdog agency said the Iraqi army is giving so much attention to fighting the insurgents that it has had too little time to train for conventional combat. "The Iraqi army, while capable of conducting counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, possesses limited ability to defend the nation against foreign threats," said the report submitted to Congress Monday by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart W. Bowen Jr. In an introductory note, Bowen wrote that while Iraq's young democracy is buoyed by increasing oil production, it "remains imperiled by roiling ethno-sectarian tensions and their consequent security threats." Iraq has seen an upswing in violence since the last U.S. troop left, but senior U.S. officials have remained in touch in hopes of nudging the Iraqis toward a political accommodation that can avert a slide into civil war. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Saturday with Osama Nujaifi, speaker of the Council of Representatives. And Biden spoke on Friday with a key opposition figure, Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister and a secular Shiite leader of the Iraqiya political bloc. Allawi has said Iraq needs to replace its prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, or hold new elections to prevent the country from fracturing along sectarian lines. In a positive sign, Iraq's Sunni leaders announced on Sunday that they will end their boycott of parliament. That may have paved the way for the political leadership to hold a national conference led by President Jalal Talabani to seek reconciliation and to end a sectarian political crisis. George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, said Sunday that Panetta remains optimistic about the outlook in Iraq despite worsening violence. "The secretary believes that the Iraqi people have a genuine opportunity to create a future of greater security for themselves, and that senseless acts of violence will not deter them from pursuing that goal," Little said. "The United States remains committed to a strong security relationship with Iraq." U.S. officials have said they aim to establish broad defense ties to Iraq, similar to American relationships with other nations in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Flournoy, 51, is stepping down from her position as undersecretary of defense for policy on Friday after three years in the job. She is the first woman to hold that post. Her chief deputy, Jim Miller, has been picked to succeed her. In the interview last week, Flournoy reiterated that she is leaving government to focus more on her family. She and her husband, W. Scott Gould, have three children aged 14, 12 and nine. She came to the Pentagon in February 2009 from the Center for a New American Security, where she was the think tank's first president. She had served in the Pentagon in the 1990s as a strategist. Flournoy said in an Associated Press interview in December when she announced her decision to quit that she intends to play an informal role this year in supporting President Barack Obama's re-election effort. She was a member of his transition team after the November 2008 election. http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jan/30/pentagon-prepares-for-new-military-talks-with-iraq-ar-353148/

if the budget is based on signatures then they are getting them at whatever pace this is

MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq's 2012 Federal Budget is expected to be ratified within 2 weeks from today, Thursday, a legislature for the National Alliance, led by Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki reported. "The return of al-Iraqiya Alliance to attend the Parliament's sessions shall accelerate the ratification of the Federal Budget for the year 2012, after the Parliament's 2nd reading of its draft-law," Mohammed al-Seyhoud told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, expecting that the budget's ratification would take place within 2 weeks. He pointed out that "the proposals by the Parliament members about the Federal Budget have been centered on several points, including the allocation of employment in several state institutions and the allocation of a share from Iraq's oil revenues for distribution on the Iraqi people, taking into consideration the prevention of some Iraqi provinces from their shares from the budget." "The proposals also suggested the increase of allocations to build the Grand Faw Terminal on the Gulf or the establishment of an investment ports company, to steer the construction of the terminal, along with the allocation of one billion ( US dollars for every one million Iraqis, according to the inhabitants percentage for each province in the budget," he said. SKH (PT) http://en.aswataliraq.info/(S(b4mlcv55fk2nulzidodems45))/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=146746&l=1

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has closed its weekly sessions for the sale and purchase of foreign currencies on Thursday with a sharp drop in its auction for the second continuous day, to reach 4 millions and 321,000 US dollars, on an exchange rate of 1,166 dinars per dollar, the CBI's daily bullet reported. "The total demand on the US dollar has reached 4 millions and 321,000, covered by the CBS on an exchange rate of 1,166 dinars per dollar, whilst the Wednesday sales had reached 3 millions and 250,000 dollars, compared with the Tuesday sales that exceeded 199 million dollars, which is an average for the CBI's daily sales since the beginning of the current month, due to the drop caused in Iraq due to the events in Syria and the transfer of the merchants to re-export for Syria, according to the CBI's statements and the impact of the recent economic sanctions against Iran. The CBI's sales were distributed on cash sales for 500,000 dollars, on an exchange rate of 1,179 dinars per dollar, including the Bank's interest rate of 13 dinars per dollar, whilst the foreign transfers have reached 3 millions and 821,000 dollars, on an exchange rate of 1,179 dinars per dollar, including the CBI's interest of 13 dinars per dollar . The CBI's bulletin repeated its daily comment that none of the banks that attended its sessions, including the 4 banks that attended today's session had offered a single dollar for sale. The CBI holds 5 weekly sessions for the sale and purchase of foreign currencies, beginning on Sunday and ending on Thursday, charging 13 dinars per dollar as its interest on cash sales, whilst it also charges 13 dinars per dollar for its foreign transfers. SKH (ST) http://en.aswataliraq.info/(S(b4mlcv55fk2nulzidodems45))/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=146753&l=1