Quietlearner

Hey Machine, thanks for the reply. Suprrised that you didnt include the threads. Could you please direct. As of 2 days ago Yahoo and to the best of my knowledge forexpros has not been trading in IQD and I dont believe you could pair it before 1200 am this morning. It would seem to me that if the IQD is now available for trade on the open market. Then something has certainly changed.

For more confirmation please check your favorite forex sites. IQD has been trading since 1204am this morning. Dinar is trading now RV now. now. now. \ http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IQD%3DX

. The line of text printed on the post. X For example my post read if you cant see it please place pointer above line....... x marks the spot Your getting and ovaltine commercial???? Seriously?

This file is nightmare. It is placed on line via a scanned image from original JPEG. I used OCR software to convert it to PDF and then Converted PDF to word. It is a very unstable platform at best. With windows translator it will only allow me to view the darn thing in print preview? If need be I can print it take a picture and upload it if you can t see it . let me know. Quietlearner

If you are not seeing the document translated please put pointer just above this line, right click and select print preview from the pull down menu that will appear.

The above is extremely long winded in comparison to what I have in front of me in Aribic. Please standby as I am in the process of conervert original text. All links will be provided. Queitlearner

Please email the link to me at dave at Kapitol Music Discovery dot com and I will translate it post haste Thanks Quietlearner

I want to offer this up. How about when the US got rid of the $500.00 and $1,000.00 note. They did not give you a five and a one spot. They exchange the bills for the exact same amount. Why are we complicating this. Its simple. They will exchange the notes for exactly what they are worth in smaller denoms. Further, they like our last redenom. if you will, did not change the value of the currency in any way. Thusly, to me personally it would seem that we will see the redom and a Revaluation. There is no good reason not to. Actually, if you think about it it becomes very obivous that they will Revaule as it allready takes a truck load of the current currency to purchase items at a grocery store, what on earth would happen if the largest bill was only 100 dinar note? Better buy a kenworth to move my money, I think not. Its simple. Redenomination over a three year window to exchange the large notes out for new and a immediate Revaulation of the Iraq Dinar. Take care and good luck! Quietlearner, "Buy on the rumor, Sell on the News!!"

You managed to find the repeal in 2004 however, you failed to post the recent signing back into law by Prime Minister Maliki. This was posted on this site several months ago. I will do the research and repost in current news events for all to see once again, Quietlearner

This article was posted last week in a broader spectrum, Check it out on our site, its there as I posted it but I dont have it in me to dig it up again. Understand that the statement "it will not change the value of the Dinar" is correct. Why would it? Several things going on here. First it is imparative that the Dinar continue to remain stable even in the face of Redenomination. If it didnt than a ReValuation would be difficult at best. Its this simple folks. Annoucement of Redenomination and implementation, which is happening now, and then the annoucment of the Revaluation, for some reason folks cant see it. They are going to do both. RV to follow very soon. Quietlearner

Spud, on 19 August 2011 - 02:18 PM, said: "Well in that case you better watch out for Adam Montana. He has a dinar forum site that is selling a VIP membership for monetary gain. He has a known history of pumping his VIP membership to the Internet forum. Just this last July he gave us a 10 day window for the RV to happen before Ramadan. He even sent me an email about it. He tried to lure me in with 20% of normal VIP cost. So you all better WAKE UP! Everybody has something to sell you. You might as well dig a hole and put your head in it untill after the RV occurs." Mr. or Mrs Spud, I find your above quoted verbage nothing short of rude. You seem to complain of things that you perceive are occuring on our web-site, however, these things you complain of are exactly what you seem to be doing. You have taken partial truths and twisted them to fit a self serving agenda. Further your attempt to pump the Vet community, in some sort of a twisted theory accusing Adam Montanna would be laughable had it not allready made me vomit in my own mouth. Lure you in you say. Are you kidding me. The same Adam Montana that offered to pay for each and every members series 65 exam ? Or maybe its the other Adam Montana, you know the one that has spent tens of thousands of his own hard earned on legal fees to insure his members had clear legal information surrounding their individual investments. A prediction, you have not seen a prediction out of Adam Montana. If is is the factual forcast stating that change was coming in that ten day window, then he was right on time. If you had taken the time to find out what the VIP section and all it has to offer is, you would realize how ridiculous you sound. As a VIP and a active member of this site I find myself insulted and angry by your ignorance and lack of self respect to have posted such hate on our site. I am sure there is plenty of room for you over at ------- daddy, or Planet-------- and several others. That said, with all due respect, which in my opinion is very little, DONT LET THE DOOR HIT YA, WHERE THE GOOD LORD SPLIT YA! GOOD DAY! Quietlearner

Az Joe- Just curious as to why you believe Iraqs currency will never be as strong as Kuwaits- In recent months Iraqs growth curve and overall united pusuit of free enterprise, oil findings and overall willingness to make serious conscessions to obtain the "pie in the sky" I would think one would come up with a very different conclusion. Dont know how long you have been at this but you sound discouraged and burn out. I certainly understand this. Dance in the news and not in the rumors. Know you will realize the fruits in this situation, however, asses these morsels while watching the tree grow, not while watching it fall from said. " sorry, to much verbage, just keep your eye on the ball, its comming very very soon. Thanks and hope you have a good day. Respectfully,' Queitleaner.

Jg167 Is kuwaits Dinar pinned to gold? and how does the recent pinning of the Iraq dinar at a rate of 2.4 grams per Iraq dinar figure into the potential RV of the Iraq Dinar? I have asked this question to both lopsters and Revers and neither parties will touch it. Any ideas on this. ?

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has named his current culture minister as interim defence minister, an aide said Tuesday, relinquishing the extra job he has held since December. “The prime minister appointed Saadun al-Dulaimi as interim minister of defence,” the premier’s media advisor, Ali Mussawi, told AFP. Dulaimi, a Sunni Muslim member of the Iraqi Unity Alliance, which is allied with former premier Iyad Allawi’s Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc. It was unclear if he would keep that post, nor who would handle the culture portfolio. “This step comes after two weeks since the political parties asked Iraqiya to name a minister of defence,” Mussawi said. “During this period, Iraqiya did not name its candidate. That is why the prime minister appointed Dulaimi.” Politicians agreed to appoint interim defence and interior ministers within two weeks this month, on the same day they authorised negotiations with the United States on a military training mission extending past December 31, when US forces are required to leave Iraq under a 2008 security accord. Maliki had held both the defence and interior posts since December, when parliament approved his partial cabinet, after nine months of political deadlock that followed elections in March. The premier remains interim interior minister. Violence in Iraq has declined from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common — making the defence and security posts key positions. Attacks in more than a dozen cities killed 74 people nationwide on Monday, Iraq’s bloodiest day in more than a year. The toll included 40 in twin blasts blamed on Al-Qaeda in the southern city of Kut. A total of 259 Iraqis were killed in attacks in July, the second-highest figure for 2011. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/August/middleeast_August390.xml&section=middleeast&col=

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/8/state5346.htm

Iraqi leaders met, Maliki forwarded manifesto but failed to address Kurdish PSCs & Iranian aggression 17.8.2011 By Shwan Zulal - ekurd.net <P align=left>Share | [/url] August 17, 2011 After meeting at Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani's home, couple of weeks ago, Iraqi political leaders agreed to put an end to months of political deadlock. In the last few months, Iraq's political process has grounded to a halt because of heated debates over the allocation of security ministries and the implementation of the power-sharing deal signed by the political blocs last year. The latest agreement comes after nine months of political deadlock between the political parties, as there were no clear winners in the Iraqi general Election. Although a power-sharing deal was reached back in December 2010, the Iraqi government could not agree on the appointment of the three key minters and the government have been paralysed by political infighting. Moreover, progress has not been made on legislations like the Hydrocarbon laws and implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution dealing with the disputed territories. Al-Iraqiya List has repeatedly accused Iraqi PM, Nouri Al-Maliki, of, not abiding by the terms of the power-sharing agreement. Part of the Erbil deal was to keep the President, Talabani and Maliki, in their posts, and create the National Council for Strategic Policies, headed by Iraqiya List leader, Ayad Alawi. While Maliki's government has been limping and only managed to submit his government legislative programs to the Iraqi Parliament forthright ago. So far, the National council to be headed by Alawi has not been formed and this has created much resentment from Iraqiya block. Moreover, Maliki has rejected Al-Iraqiya candidates -put forward by Alawi- for defence minister on several occasions. The animosity between the two sides has played out in parliament -by Paralysing it- and lead to many vocal exchanges in the media. Clinton, US Secretary of Sate has also waded in this week asking for a speedy appointment f defence minister as the deadline for US withdrawal looms. One of the key points in the recent agreement is to implement what they (politicians) have said they will do nine month ago which is to appoint the all important defence minister and establish the promised post for Alawai. The other more significant agreement coming out of the Talabani's summit is to allow Maliki's government to negotiate US withdrawal and the extension to stay in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline. The more pressing issues, which were not mentioned in the discussions, are the future of the oil and gas industry in Iraq and the implementation of Article 140. It appears that the issues either still being negotiated or delayed once again. Furthermore, the leaders meeting failed to address the current Iranian aggression -shelling the Kurdistan Region- which has resulted in many deaths and over 1000 refuges. After the submission of the manifesto to parliament by Maliki's Government, Kurdish MPs from Gorran Bloc (Kurdish Opposition, Change) complained about the content of the legislative programs and said it does not include many of the 19 points of Erbil agreement, lead by Massoud Barzani (Kurdistan Region President). The other crucial issue absent from the manifesto is the oil contracts entered by KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) as the Iraqi government declared them unconstitutional in the past. Although members of Kurdistani List have been quoted saying that these issues is not in the manifesto because it is politically very sensitive. Shorsh Haji, the head of the Kurdish Change List (Gorran) in Iraqi parliament, was quoted by Niqash website: "The manifesto does not include any of the conditions upon which Kurds agreed to participate in the current government". Meanwhile, Burhan Mohammed Faraj,www.ekurd.netKurdish Alliance MP, agreed that the manifesto did not contain most of the 19 Kurdish conditions and told Niqash; "these conditions were documented in bilateral political agreements that were made between the Kurdish Alliance and the coalition. Those political agreements are our guarantees. It is not a serious threat if they are not mentioned in the ministerial manifesto." Meanwhile, Kurdish Alliance MP, Mahmoud Othman, issued a statement after the submission of the manifesto saying "The programme (Manifesto) neither include the hanging issues between the Kurdistan Region & Baghdad, nor the 19 Kurdish points ..." he added:" The meetings ... did not include any discussion on the Kurdish demands or the Iranian - Turkish bombardment of the Kurdistan Region...". Investors and companies operating in Kurdistan Region are looking at the political development closely as it appears that most important issues like hydrocarbon law, revenue sharing and disputed territories would be decided in the back rooms rather than in the open and through Parliament. While Baghdad is still falling short of recognising the Kurdish PSCs (Production Sharing Contracts), the KRG has gone ahead last month, and awarded new hydrocarbon contracts. Meanwhile, the outspoken Iraqi Deputy PM for Energy, Hussein Al-Shahristani, has made no comments so far, which could indicate a realisation that these matters are better to be dealt with in the backrooms than playing out on the air waves, as the KRG have shown no desire to back down and amend the contracts awarded. The Iraqi politicians argue that the public is not ready for compromise and sensitive issues like the above, as these issues needs to be dealt with pragmatically and away from the public. This approach may have some merits but it will only contribute to the growing mistrust towards politicians in Iraq and more uncertainty for investors and companies wanting to participate in rebuilding Iraq. http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/8/state5346.htm

8/17/2011 7:23:00 PM WITH POL-KUWAIT-SPEAKER) KUWAIT, Aug 17 (KUNA) -- Speaker of the National Assembly Jassem Al-Kharafi on Wednesday received Chairman of Iraq's Supreme Islamic Council Ammar Al-Hakim and his accompanying delegation. The two sides discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries, means of enhancing these ties, issues related to Kuwait's mega project of constructing Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port and latest developments on the regional and international arenas. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assmbly Abdullah Al-Roumi, MP Mekhled Al-Azmi and Al-Jahraa Governor Sheikh Mubarak Al-Homoud Al-Sabah. (end) hrz.rf.rk KUNA 171923 Aug 11NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2185637&Language=en

Two Iraqis who faced the death penalty after being detained and handed over to the Iraq authorities by British forces have been acquitted of all charges, their legal team announced today. In a highly embarrassing blow to the British government, Faisal al-Saadoon and Khalaf Hussein Mufdhi have been released from incarceration in Iraq after eight years of detention. Mr Saadoon and Mr Mufdhi were arrested and detained in 2003 by British forces. They were initially held without charge in solitary confinement where they were subjected to deliberate sleep deprivation, extreme heat, arbitrary body searches and physical abuse. They were charged in May 2006 with war crimes and the murder of two British soldiers Staff Sergeant Cullingsworth and Sapper Allsop. They were handed over to the Iraqi authorities on December 31 2008 - after over five years in British custody - to face charges which if proven would have resulted in their deaths by hanging. The acquittal followed a European Court of Human Rights ruling earlier this year that Britain had breached the European Convention on Human Rights when it handed the two men over to face a real risk of the death penalty in breach of a court injunction. Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, which represented the two men, accused the British government of "shameful attempts to secure convictions against them with the flimsiest of evidence." PIL solicitor Phil Shiner said: "This case has exposed the hypocrisy of the UK government's supposed opposition to the death penalty. "For the past eight years it has tried every trick in the book to ensure that these men faced an unfair criminal trial in Iraq before a hanging court on scant evidence. "I am very pleased that our work to frustrate these attempts has at last paid off and that these men can walk free." Iraqi League president Mazin Younis, who has provided support to the men throughout their time in detention, said: "It has taken eight years for these men to secure their freedom. For almost all of that time, they have lived with the daily fear of the death penalty. "No-one can return to them and their families the eight years of their lives which have been lost, but their release allows them to start to rebuild their lives." http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/108391

Heres what I could find so far. I will post more if I find it. Quietlearner whoops, thats not gonna work. Try the link, it will take you to the graphs. QL Data for June - 2011 Table 01: Monetary Survey of CBK and Local Banks (Million Dinars) End of MonthForeign Assets (Net)Claims on Private Sector(1) Claims on Gov.Money Supply(M2)(2) Government Deposits & AccountsOtherMoney (M1)Quasi - MoneyTotalNet (3) of which Capital & Reserve Jun 2006 4569.7 14381.7 2411.2 3805.3 11075.3 14880.5 1664.6 4817.4 3157.6 2007 5156.9 19108.1 1908.9 4322.0 13205.6 17527.6 2345.0 6301.2 4055.8 2008 4780.0 24016.7 2066.0 5013.6 15665.4 20679.0 2986.2 7197.6 5039.3 2009 9493.5 26226.4 2290.1 5002.7 20148.6 25151.3 4365.4 8493.3 5141.7 2010 Jun 9472.1 27041.7 1894.6 5569.2 19699.6 25268.8 4441.2 8698.5 5800.9 Jul 9449.1 27072.5 1894.6 5441.5 19459.5 24901.0 4623.5 8891.7 5790.8 Aug 9473.6 27152.1 1894.8 5371.6 19724.2 25095.8 4506.6 8918.2 5858.6 Sep 9460.2 27283.9 1895.4 5436.9 19722.6 25159.4 4449.2 9030.9 5888.4 Oct 9638.6 27334.7 1901.3 5372.5 19836.5 25209.0 4457.8 9207.8 6026.0 Nov 9840.9 27345.3 1901.3 5564.9 19872.7 25437.6 4491.8 9158.0 6029.2 Dec 9465.4 27527.2 1910.3 5625.0 20009.2 25634.2 4351.2 8917.5 6178.7 2011 Jan 9218.0 27579.0 1902.8 5543.4 19830.5 25373.9 4268.4 9057.4 6142.1 Feb 10957.8 27606.5 1912.3 6408.5 20572.5 26981.0 4372.8 9122.8 6153.8 Mar 10654.1 27670.9 1815.0 6442.3 20567.0 27009.4 4298.8 8831.8 6286.0 Apr 10950.6 27607.4 1899.7 6777.4 20301.6 27079.0 4352.4 9026.4 6289.2 May 10325.6 27522.4 1936.7 6867.2 20045.8 26912.9 3908.1 8963.7 6318.1 Jun 9595.0 27679.6 1936.7 6387.2 20064.4 26451.6 3711.1 9048.6 6305.9 End of MonthForeign Assets (Net)Claims on Private Sector(1) Claims on Gov.Money Supply(M2)(2) Government Deposits & AccountsOtherMoney (M1)Quasi - MoneyTotalNet (3) of which Capital & Reserve (1) Includes the balances of bonds issued against purchased debt, according to the provision of Law No. 41 of year 1993 and amendments thereof, and the balances of bonds issued against the purchase of the Real-Estate Portfolio of the Kuwait Finance House, which was fully repaid in August 2001.(2) Excluding Deposits against documentary letters of credit.(3) This item includes capital and reserve for the CBK in addition to shareholders' equity in local banks.Data as of : 14/07/2011 All data is the property of Central Bank of Kuwait. http://www.cbk.gov.k...201106&tbl=RM01

KUWAIT, Aug 17 (KUNA) -- The price of Kuwaiti crude oil increased USD 0.51 to reach USD 103.14 per barrel (pb) on Tuesday, compared to USD 102.63 per barrel the day before, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Wednesday. The increase in oil prices came after a report on US retails which showed a hike in sales during last month, hitting a record high in the past four months. The drop in the US dollar against major currencies was also a factor in the increase of today's trading of oil prices. mam.ysa.asa KUNA 171131 Aug 11NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2185507&Language=en

TOKYO, Aug 17 (KUNA) -- China, the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, continued to increase its purchases in June as its holdings rose by USD 5.7 billion to USD 1.17 trillion, the state-run China Daily reported Wednesday. June was the third consecutive month that China increased its holdings in US Treasury bonds, despite concerns over the safety of dollar assets, the Beijing-based newspaper said. The new purchase boosted China's holdings at a time when global investors were worried about the outcome of the US debt ceiling debate. China added to its holdings by USD 7.6 billion in April and USD 7.3 billion in May, according to data from the US Department of the Treasury. As the largest creditor of the US, China has been closely watched for its investments in dollar assets, especially after Standard and Poor's downgraded the credit rating of the US, the report said. Japan, the second-largest holder of US Treasuries, reduced its holdings by USD 1.4 billion in June, leaving them at USD 911 billion. Britain boosted its holdings from May's USD 346.8 billion to USD 349.5 billion in June. The US Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed on August 2 on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit, but the divisive political debate helped prompt a downgrade of the US credit rating from Standard and Poor's. US Vice-President Joe Biden is set to arrive in Beijing late on Wednesday to begin his China tour, during which he is expected to offer assurances about the struggling US economy, the report said. Biden is the first high-ranking US official to visit China since the US domestic debt crisis, which drew criticism from Beijing. (end) mk.asa KUNA 171022 Aug 11NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2185487&Language=en

KUWAIT, Aug 17 KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate against the dollar stabilized at KD 0.272 per dollar, and KD 0.391 per euro, the state's official monetary body, the Central Bank of Kuwait, said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti dinar increased against the Sterling pound to KD 0. 447, and kept to KD 0.003 per Japanese yen, and decreased to KD 0.340 per Swiss franc, the daily CBK bulletin said. (end) mgb.tb.asa KUNA 171311 Aug 11NNNN http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2185546&Language=en

Just bringing exactly how its printed in the headlines? Sorry for the confusion, but I dont change a word of someone elses article, right or wrong, I dont feel its my place to edit anything I have not authored. Thanks, Queitlearner

While the security situation in Iraq appears to have improved in recent years, the latest attacks resulting in more than 60 deaths have focused the attention back on Iraq again, says Iraq expert Jochen Hippler. Jochen Hippler is a political scientist and research fellow at the Institute for Development and Peace at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Has Iraq become a side issue in international politics? Hippler: Well, it appears so. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the security situation improved, it became calmer. At the same time the Obama administration focused their attention more on Afghanistan. This led to a declining interest in the war in Iraq. However, that doesn't mean the situation there is calm and relaxed. The country is still facing a lot of problems. So the international community can't afford to look away? No, there still is a huge amount of violence, which accounts for about 100 deaths per month - that is a whole lot. However, one must say that the number is far less than at the height of the violence in late 2006, because at that time there were about 3,500 deaths per month. But as we saw recently the situation could escalate again. It is possible. Who is involved in these attacks? There was a decline and a shift, I would say. The reason for the improvement in 2007, 2008 was related to the fact that Sunni insurgents reduced their ties to al Qaeda organizations because of the increasing competition and that's why terrorist jihadists from abroad have been weakened. This is still the case, even if they prove time and again that they're still there, that they can still strike, and that it's not over. And we have also seen in recent months a certain tendency that some Shiite groups surrounding the radical preacher Muqtada al-Sadr have hit back with suicide attacks against US troops. In the last six months, five, maybe six US helicopters were shot down. That hadn't happened for a quite a long time. Therefore, those are the two sources behind the violence. Let's talk more about the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. Which role does Iran play? It's quite ambiguous. On the one hand, the Maliki government in Baghdad wants to have good relations (with Iran). Not so long ago, they signed a contract, an agreement with the Iranian government, which focuses on different areas - culture, economics, and so on. We have seen the Iranian government trying to influence the policy agenda in Iraq. Both sides tried to play a role in helping to establish the current government. That is, Tehran pressured the radical Shiite groups led by al-Sadr into voting for the Shiite Prime Minister Maliki to finally have a working government. At the same time, however, there are also some anti–Iranian tendencies within society. Certainly Shiites from nationalist groups reject the impact Iran has on Iraq. Are you saying that Tehran is playing, in part, a more constructive role? Yes, I believe that in the past Tehran has played a double role. On the one hand, it used Iraq to put pressure on Washington. Thus, a certain degree of instability, a certain number of attacks against the United States were absolutely desirable, simply to show that Iran can also apply pressure. On the other hand, of course, Tehran has no interest in Iraq really descending into chaos, because that would also have consequences for Iran. How important is the presence of US soldiers? I think that's also part of the current problem. Officially, US troops are supposed to withdraw at the end of the year and probably will. The decision has been made, but now this deadline could be jeopardized due to security problems. Therefore the Iraqi government is thinking about keeping parts of the US troops for training purposes and so on. However, certain radical Shiite groups surrounding al-Sadr and obviously the Iranians are unhappy about that scenario. This withdrawal of US troops by the end of the year is being compensated by an incredible increase in civilian personnel. That means we are talking about 17,000 American security officers and economic and political officials who are coming into the country. New consulates in Basra and Erbil have been opened and right now it's problematic to fly in and accommodate the people who are planning to work for the American Embassy and other institutions. There are not enough beds, not enough houses to accommodate these people. That means the withdrawal of the US troops will just be compensated by a massive in increase in civilian security personnel. It will have its own little, let's say, airforce - a civilian embassy airforce, which consists of a fleet of 46 aircraft. So this reshuffle naturally leads to unrest and criticism. You just said that there is a softening on the issue of withdrawing US troops from Iraq. Is there a chance that President Obama might postpone it - at least in parts? Actually, both governments want this to happen. The Iraqi government has already announced it wants to talk with Washington and the US military, and the Obama administration is also willing to do so. The problem is that the Shia Muqtada militia has announced that if Americans don't withdraw by the end of December they would strike again. And that's obviously a situation that neither the American nor Iraqi authorities want. Besides, there is still a risk that this could bring down the Iraqi government, because the militia is represented in government by al-Sadr and his party. In this respect, asking the American forces to stay for training purposes and then having to deal with the possibility that forces represented in government wage war against them, is, of course, political dynamite. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15319895,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf

After a string of deadly bombings and shootings in Iraq Monday, the Obama administration again indicated its willingness to keep US troops in the country after a December 31 deadline for their withdrawal. Monday’s attacks produced the country’s largest single-day death toll in over a year, with at least 89 people killed and 315 wounded. The wave of bombings and shootings included 42 separate attacks carried out in 12 separate cities. The coordinated attacks struck at Iraqi security forces in Sunni areas, including Ramadi, where a roadside bomb killed three policemen and wounded two others, and Tikrit, where suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi counterterrorism unit, killing three of its members. In Baquba, gunmen using weapons with silencers struck at a group of Iraqi Army officers, killing five. In another attack, men dressed in army uniforms entered a mosque outside of Baghdad and read out names from a list of individuals who had been part of the “Awakening Council,” a militia movement promoted by the US occupation as a means of suppressing resistance. The gunmen dragged seven people out of the mosque, killing four of them and severely wounding three others. Iraqi officials said that a note was left near their bodies identifying the attackers as members of the Islamic State of Iraq. The bloodiest toll took place in the predominantly Shiite city of Kut, where a pair of explosions in the market area killed 40 people. Attacks also took place in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Iraqi officials have blamed the attacks on Al Qaeda, though the term is used loosely in Iraq as elsewhere to refer to Sunni insurgents. The White House condemned the attacks and, speaking at a forum at the National Defense University in Washington, both Secretary of State Hillarious Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta signaled that the Obama administration is prepared to revise its troop withdrawal schedule. Clinton, who speculated that the wave of bombings “could very well be Al-Qaeda in Iraq trying to reassert itself,” said that if the Iraqi regime of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki were to ask for American forces to remain in the country, “it would be irresponsible for us not to listen.” For his part, Panetta declared, “We are going to maintain a long-term relationship with Iraq to make sure they remain stable, whether it’s diplomatic or military.” He added that the continued deployment of US troops in the country for troop training and “counter-terrorism” operations could be negotiated between the two governments. Under a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated between the Bush administration and the Iraqi regime, all 48,000 US troops remaining in Iraq are to be withdrawn by the end of this year. Earlier this month, under pressure from the Obama administration and the Pentagon, the Iraqi parliament authorized negotiations with Washington on extending the US military presence, supposedly in the guise of “trainers” and “advisers.” US officials have reported that Washington envisions keeping some 10,000 US troops on the ground in Iraq indefinitely, including special operations units which would continue “kill or capture” missions against suspected insurgents. Maliki’s Shiite-based Da’wa Party and the largely Sunni-based Iraqiya party headed by Iyad Allawi, a secular Shiite and former CIA “asset,” have backed negotiations on extending the US military occupation. However, the continued presence of American troops is widely opposed by the Iraqi people, some 1.2 million of whom lost their lives, with millions more turned into refugees, as a result of the 2003 US invasion and eight years of occupation. This popular hostility has found distorted reflection within Maliki’s unstable coalition government. Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, for example, issued a statement last weekend warning that a continuation of the US occupation would represent “a problem not a solution.” “The withdrawal of American combat forces will lead to an improvement in the security situation in Iraq by calming the concerns of neighboring countries that felt threatened,” he said. Hashemi also said that the Iraqi government had no need to renegotiate the US withdrawal agreement in order to secure training, arms and equipment for its security forces. “I hope in the near future, Iraq will be open to Russia, southeast Asia and the European Union,” he said. “There are many countries that have technology which is comparable to what is available in the US, and this technology competes with American technology at lower prices.” Hashemi’s mention of “concerns of neighboring countries” about the US presence was obviously referring to Iran, which has countered the US attempt to dominate Iraqi affairs by wielding increasing political and economic influence of its own. The radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who has close ties to the Iranian clerical establishment, has roundly condemned the negotiations on extending the US military presence and warned that American troops remaining in the country after December 31 would be seen as a target for attack. “They will be treated as anyone who stays in Iraq, as a tyrannical occupier that must be resisted by military means,” al-Sadr said in a statement posted on his web site. Al-Sadr also issued a letter in English directed to US troops, urging them all to leave. “If you claim you have come to free us, spare us your claims and release us of your wrongdoing,” he wrote. “Know that we will resist and struggle firmly and strongly as before, until you leave our land, even as you would resist and struggle if your country were exposed to invasion.” While al-Sadr’s parliamentary faction has opposed any renegotiation of the SOFA and walked out of parliament when the vote was taken to open negotiations, it remains part of the Maliki government, holding a number of ministerial posts. The militant rhetoric against the continuation of the US occupation is solely for the Sadrist movement’s political base among the more oppressed sections of the working class in the sprawling Baghdad slum of Sadr City as well as in cities in Iraq’s Shiite south. While Monday’s bloody wave of attacks was attributed to Sunni forces, the US military has blamed Shiite militias for a string of attacks aimed at American forces. Fifteen American troops were killed in June and another five in July. Last Sunday, Camp Delta, the huge US military base outside of the southern city of Kut, came under Katyusha rocket attack, though no casualties were reported. Camp Delta, which occupies some 37 square miles, is the sole remaining US base yet to be formally turned over to Iraqi control. Located near a main Iranian border crossing, the camp boasts a long runway as well as housing for more than 6,000 troops and has seen tens of millions of dollars of new construction since the SOFA providing for a US withdrawal was reached. The day after Monday’s attacks attributed to Sunni militants, a spokesman for the US military occupation affirmed that the Pentagon sees Shiite militias, allegedly backed by Iran, as the greater threat in Iraq. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, the chief US military spokesman in Iraq, told Pentagon reporters Tuesday that Iran’s Quds force is providing support to the Shiite militias “in terms of manning, equipping, provision of intelligence.” He charged that Iran’s aim was to “keep Iraq weak and isolated from everybody else, all of its neighbors and the United States.” The general’s analysis says at least as much about US aims as it does about Iran. Washington is determined to continue pursuing the aims that motivated the invasion of 2003: domination of Iraq and its oil wealth and the use of Iraqi territory to project US military power throughout the region. Increasingly, US control over Iraq has been severely undermined by Iran’s substantial influence as well as by growing economic interests of other powers, including Turkey and China. This is why the Pentagon and the Obama administration—Obama’s campaign pledges about ending the US war in Iraq notwithstanding—are determined to maintain a military grip over the country. Whether or not the Maliki government is able to secure a negotiated deal for extending the stay of US troops, Washington has worked to assure itself a continued military role. In eight years of occupation, the US has deliberately limited the capacities of the Iraqi military, leaving it without an air force or a navy and consequently the ability to protect the country’s borders. US air power will continue to control the Iraqi skies no matter what decision is taken by Iraq’s parliament. Meanwhile, as part of the preparation for US military withdrawal, the US State Department is conducting an ever-increasing militarization of its own operations in Iraq, which are expected to see the continued deployment of some 17,000 US “civilians” organized around the largest embassy in the world. Included in this number will be at least 5,000 heavily armed US military contractors, backed by a fleet of attack helicopters operated by DynCorp International. The Washington Post’s Walter Pincus reported Tuesday that the Pentagon has shifted an Army contract for intelligence services to the State Department so that US military intelligence operations can continue unabated in the event the scheduled troop withdrawal goes forward. While the precise nature of the services provided under the contract have been kept secret by the Pentagon, the document outlining its transfer to the State Department says that the contractor, L-3 Communications, will “assist in all aspect of intelligence support activities in order to provide timely and actionable intelligence information.” Pincus quotes the original contract, signed in 2009, which states that L-3 was hired to supply US-led military forces in Iraq with “intelligence operations support, locally employed persons screening, special security officers, human intelligence support teams, information operations support, and intelligence support.” The implication is that the State Department and its military contractors will be continuing operations previously carried out by the US military, including, in all likelihood, counterinsurgency operations coordinated with Iraqi Army units. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/aug2011/iraq-a17.shtml