john1025

you're missing nothing

.33 sounds to me to be a good number. As for people i.e. speculators yes there will be some but imo there won't be as many as you think. Iraq still has a long way to go towards stability and that is a key factor for any serious investor. jmo

it's a rumor there is no link that must be provided and no proof it's a rumor

hopefully by the end of 2010. it's what I have always thought, so I'm sticking with that.

Bloomberg Iraq to Take Control of Oil Revenue by End of 2010, UN Says April 06, 2010, 3:03 PM EDT More From Businessweek Envoy Hill Says Iraqi Government Must Ramp Up Economy (Update2) Hill Says New Iraq Government Must Ramp Up Economy (Correct) Iran to Boost Enrichment Tomorrow, Invites Inspectors (Update1) Iraq Central Bank Cuts Key Rate to 6% to Boost Growth (Update1) GE Oil&Gas Chief Says Iraq Is Challenging, Boom to Take Time Story Tools e-mail this story print this story digg this save to del.icio.us add to Business Exchange By Bill Varner April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Iraq

FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Iraq Tue Apr 6, 2010 8:00am EDTStocks Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L 1,965.00p +18.50+0.95%5:35am EDT OAO "Neftyanaya kompaniya "LUKOIL" LKOH.MM руб1,754.20 -13.50-0.76%5:27am EDT By Missy Ryan BAGHDAD, April 6 (Reuters) - Iraq faces lengthy coalition talks after last month's parliamentary election, with the jury still out on whether the divided nation is heading for stability and reconstruction or renewed sectarian conflict. The political horse-trading will be crucial in determining whether Iraq can capitalise on its great oil wealth, revive a moribund economy and recover from years of war and sanctions. Iraq, which has the world's third largest oil reserves, has signed contracts with energy majors such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Lukoil (LKOH.MM), but needs to broaden investment to create jobs and prevent renewed insurgent activity. Investors, understandably, are wary. Iraq remains largely isolated from world financial markets. Only a few years ago, local banks were so cut off that the only way to transfer money across borders was in cash-stuffed bags. Today, Iraq has an extremely tight credit market. Only a few dozen companies trade on the local stock market. The Iraqi dinar IQD= is lightly traded. Below are some of the major risks facing Iraq seven years after U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein. HORSE-TRADING, POWER VACUUM Because no single bloc won a majority in Iraq's 325-member parliament, coalition talks have begun. It is not yet clear even who will get first shot at forming a government. The Iraqiya bloc led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite with wide support among Iraq's Sunni minority, took 91 seats, two more than Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc, according to preliminary results. Maliki, a Shi'ite who built his reputation on rescuing Iraq from civil war, has formally challenged those results. The Iraqi National Alliance, a Shi'ite bloc which includes anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took 70 seats, while a Kurdish alliance picked up 43. Sadr's faction, which wants U.S. troops to leave faster, is well-placed to join a new government. Any prolonged failure to form a workable coalition could undermine security and create a dangerous power vacuum just as U.S. troops accelerate their departure. U.S. President Barack Obama, focused on a growing conflict in Afghanistan, plans to cut U.S. troop numbers in Iraq to 50,000 by August ahead of a full pullout by the end of 2011. What to watch: -- Sectarian or political violence flares, as it did during the five months it took to form a government after 2005 parliamentary polls. While this may not derail oil investment already clinched, it could scare away potential investors in other sectors such as housing, industry and agriculture. -- Parliament, which cannot function without a government, fails to pass investment legislation already delayed by years of political squabbling, sending a poor signal to firms interested in Iraq but worried about legal risks and an opaque bureaucracy. A RETURN TO MAJOR VIOLENCE Iraq is far less violent than when sectarian killing peaked in 2006-07. Maliki takes credit for security gains, but a U.S. troop rise and Sunni militia cooperation also played a big part. Yet Sunni Islamist insurgents, who the government says are in cahoots with allies of Saddam's now-banned Baath party, still stage attacks. Since August, they have killed hundreds of people in suicide bombings at ministries and other state targets. Political feuds, Sunni discontent or an attack on a holy site or a clerical leader could all spark renewed violence, as could any Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Such an attack might prompt mostly dormant Shi'ite militias to retaliate against U.S. forces in Iraq. A bilateral security pact requires American troops to leave by end-2011, but it might be revised. Any major violence will push up prices on global oil markets CLc1, especially if it appears set to persist. What to watch: -- Attacks on oil facilities or staff. As Iraq takes steps to secure global investment, attacks on foreigners could derail plans to use foreign cash to rebuild the economy. Such violence may affect investment unevenly. Since Iraq began to reopen its oil sector to foreign investment two years ago, state-owned Chinese firms have been the first to sign contracts. Chinese, Malaysian and Senegalese firms were the big winners in Iraq's most recent energy auction, suggesting they have a higher risk appetite than U.S. or European competitors. -- Signs that U.S. forces are delaying or changing withdrawal plans. If security were to deteriorate markedly, the Obama administration might be forced to reconsider its plans despite pressing military commitments in Afghanistan. Washington might reconfigure its remaining force structure to focus on unstable parts of northern Iraq, perhaps signalling readiness to keep troops deployed beyond the 2012 deadline. -- Challenges for Iraqi security forces as they take over from U.S. troops. Local forces are vulnerable to infiltration and some key ministries are still politicised. Iraq is only slowly reequipping its military and still relies on American troops for air support, logistics and forensic investigation. KURD-ARAB CONFLICT Democracy in Iraq has yet to ease tensions between Arabs and minority Kurds, who have enjoyed virtual autonomy in their northern enclave for almost 20 years. Kurds suffered massacres in Saddam's era, but have gained unprecedented influence since 2003 and hope to reclaim areas they deem historically Kurdish. Others in disputed areas complain Kurds have exploited their newfound prominence at the expenses of Arabs and Turkmen. At the heart of the impasse is Kirkuk, the northern province that sits on an estimated 4 percent of world oil reserves. The feud has destabilised areas dotting the border of Iraqi Kurdistan and given a foothold to al Qaeda insurgents. What to watch: -- Confrontation between the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. A U.S. initiative is promoting cooperation between them, but new joint patrols have not erased rivalry. -- Any breakthrough on oil. Oil officials in Kurdistan, which estimates its oil reserves at 45 billion barrels, have signed development deals with foreign firms -- contracts which the Iraqi Oil Ministry labels illegal. -- Any resumed exports from Kurdish fields, halted because of that dispute, would be a positive sign. Officials on both sides hint at detente, but this has yet to materialise. -- Passage of oil legislation. A package of proposed laws to set a new framework for oil investment has been held up for years because of the Kurd-Arab feud. The delay has not deterred oil majors from signing deals, but potential investors in other sectors view the legislation as an indicator of Iraq's stability and friendliness to business. A NEW AUTHORITARIANISM Iraq's democratic experiment is important in a region where leaders often lose power only in a "coffin or coup", but the country is still trying to define its future as it emerges from decades of military rule and, more recently, a civil war. Many Iraqis believe their country needs a strong ruler. Western powers would be unlikely to stand by if a military coup installed a leader hostile to their interests. What to watch: -- Any constitutional changes that would allow leaders to amass power or remain in office, raising investor concerns about the continuity of Iraq's legal and regulatory environment. -- Re-nationalisation. Saddam threw global oil firms out of Iraq in the 1970s when he nationalised the oil industry. (Editing by Alistair Lyon/Peter Apps/Janet McBride http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6350QY

This is such an interesting Article I had to post it. It begs the question what are we headed for? Canada

The article medic is talking about is this one - Press release issued by the Central Bank of Iraq And handled the media format to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance based on information Office of Financial Supervision, explaining that the numbers of import of goods and cargo entering the country through the customs, to coincide with the sales of auction of foreign currency at the central bank and the above statement carries the responsibility of the Central Bank and commercial banks, all including banks, the government itself and affiliated to the Ministry of Finance and would like the Central Bank in this regard to clarify the following: - The Microcredit T are building a path of stability in this transitional phase and difficult experienced by Iraq sought to provide a stable climate that attracts growth began Baktall cash becomes today a strong and solid at every fair-minded people of our people, stressing the following: First: The auction of foreign currency and means of indirect monetary policy impact on the cash basis of the country in order to control overall spending, or demand generated by current expenditures, particularly the general budget and inflationary pressures them, as they lead the auction three objectives: 1 – It is a tool of central bank intervention in the exchange market to stabilize the value of the dinar By the Iraqi defense of the equilibrium exchange rate, which reflected positively on the overall level Prices, especially of goods produced and imported production inputs and strengthen the export base This is actually scored, after they entered the country in price levels is such that a stable inflation Fundamentally there is no% v infected at the present time 6% after it increased the annual rates of 34 2 – as a means Ltt ud indirect tools of monetary policy in the management of liquidity and control over the economy Mnasebha, is a case of the application of open market operations Required a continuous basis to achieve balance in the money market and strengthen the prospects for stability Where the financial. 3 – It is an important source of financing private sector trade of goods and services needed by the market Iraqi and funded essential. Second: Although the sales of foreign currency in the auction in question is not limited to the financing of a T Seradalsla and goods and proceed as well as to import paragraph wide range of services that can not for the records of customs demonstrate in addition to the domestic demand for foreign currency investments by the banks in that currency by 20% of their capital within the regulations, regulatory And regulatory acts adopted, the n of your CBI confirms that the monetary policy adopted in the conduct of an auction of foreign currency is not directly responsible for all business activities of import of goods and services outside the scope of funding. Third: that the functions of the central bank oversight in the management of an auction of foreign currency Tnhs t in the fight against economic crimes is strictly related to combating money-a of money, money, crime and terrorism and not the Central Bank other important in generating a hostile environment of economic freedom, including free e j to convert the outside environment that breeds stability Economic enshrined in the Constitution that were deprived in the country over more than forty years and Makhalafth of catastrophic consequences on the lives of Iraqi society and the individual and encouraged the flight of capital across national channels mysterious repression. Fourth: Central Bank of Iraq and to the extent that monitors the movement of financial flows within the country and out, he finds the economic phenomena of natural help maintain the financial system fixed based on market competition and generates at the same time integrated m Rguba in the financial market International, open and wide in banking with the world. In spite of that, the funds and flows should be to Atafee deepening of surveillance and the disclosure that the movements of the funds are legitimate legal and does not contravene the law against money laundering and money, crime and terrorism, or even evasion of forms other obligations with the government authorities Kolajhzp tax, financial or Mkhalvpaltalimat and regulations, regulatory issued by the Central Bank of Iraq, which is also determined, for example, amounts Astosmaralmassarv its money abroad, which represents another form of the flow of local capital out of the country. Fifth: that any restriction of these outflows not only helps to generate a black market suspicious At the same time encourage the phenomenon of capital flight abroad, but through illegal channels and other channels of non-bank mysterious. It is demeaning In all cases of direct oversight capacity increases at the same time the cost and burde Indirect regulatory processes. As well as generating financial environment weakens the negative climate Foreign investment in Iraq to encourage the flow of t to misuse of foreign funds into the inside And integration with the international financial system and intersect with at least the principles that came out A Guenon Investment No. 13 of 2006 to provide a ISV CBI intervention of the mystery of his policies aimed at economic stabilization and accelerate Altnm are and improve the chances of a market economy, he finds the report of the Audit Court was referring to the statement of the Ministry of Finance motivated biased neutral regulatory We promised from the Office of the said since its inception reflects Tse a Q deliberately taking advantage of the transitional period the current political for the country to make waves economic purposes unknown lead to hit the economic stability achieved by monetary policy and the successes attendant over the past years and the introduction of the country in economic chaos for Athmd consequences. Central Bank of Iraq Baghdad, April 3 *************** Med] FIRST PARA IS SIMPLE THEY FOUND OUT THAT THE 120 MILLION THEY SPEND A DAY ON IMPORTS. DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH THE AMOUNT OF IMPORTS BROUGHT IN. THEY ARE GETTING SCREWED OR SOMEONE IS CHEATING THEM OUT OF MONEY THEY WANT NOW TO AUDIT TO FIND OUT WHERE THE TRAIL OF MONEY LEADS OR ENDS #1 IS AS WE ALREADY KNEW IT IS A MANAGED FLOAT THEY CONTROL THE VALUE OF THE IQD BY EITHER INJECTING LIQUIDITY INTO THE ECONOMY OR BY REDUCING IT #2 SAME AS #1 JUST MORE OF THE IQD MANAGEMENT #3 IS ABOUT THE PRIVATE SECTOR GOODS THAT THE AVG IRAQI MUST BUY WITH THE UNDERVALUED IQD. AS WE KNOW THAT THOSE GOODS ARE SUBSIDIZED. AND WITHOUT THE MONEY FROM THE AUCTIONS TO SUBSIDIZED THE WORTHLESS IQD. THE VENDORS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WOULD NOT SELL ANYTHING OK SECOND IS THIS. IT EXPLAINS THAT THEY ARE REDUCING THE CAPITAL REQUIREMENT OF BANKS IN IRAQ TO 20% WHICH WAS 25% AND THAT THEY CANNOT SUBSIDY ALL IMPORTS INTO IRAQ. THIRD IS EXPLAINING THAT CBI HAS RESPONSIBILITIES TO CONDUCT OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATIONS AND MAKE SURE THAT IQD IS NOT USED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING ETC….. FOURTH IS THAT THE CENTRAL BANK IS SUPPOSE TO MONITOR THE FLOW OF IQD INTERNATIONALLY. THAT JUST BECAUSE IT LEAVES THEM THROUGH AUCTION.. IT IS THE CENTRAL BANKS RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW WHERE IT IS ENDING UP. FIFTH THEY ARE MAKING A CLAIMT THAT IF CBI IS FORCED TO RESTRICT FLOW OF IQD ABROAD THEN IT MAY GENERATE A BLACK MARKET FOR THE IQD. I THINK NOT. THIS IS A STRETCH RIGHT NOW. AND JUST AN EXCUSE TO CONTINUE THE AUCTIONS. THEY ALSO DISCUSS THAT WHEN FOREIGN COMPANIES COME INTO IRAQ AND USE THEIR OWN CURRENCY INSIDE IRAQ. IT DEMEANS THE NATIONAL CURRENCY THEY WANT TO HAVE THOSE COMPANIES ABANDON THE USE OF ANYTHING BUT THE IQD OK ON THE GUENON SYSTEM THAT IS A SYSTEM THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN PENNSYLVANIA IN THE 1800 AS I HAVE EXPLAINED BEFORE THE IRAQI DIALECT USES ONE WORD TO EXPLAIN A COMPLETE PROCESS OR ACCOUNTING OF EVENTS THE GUENON SYSTEM IS BASICLY HOW TO PICK THE BEST OUT OF ANYTHING FROM COWS TO HORTICULTURE THEY CLAIM THAT IF USING THIS PROCESS YOU CAN SUCCEED IN ANYTHING OK THE LAST SENTENCES CLAIM THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE AND DERAIL THE SUCCESSFUL POLICES THAT CBI HAS USED AND HE CURRENT POLITICAL DRAMA IS BEING USED TO PUSH IT OK THAT IS ABOUT IT THEY ARE TRYING TO SAVE THEIR JOBS BY PUTTING OUT PROPAGANDA NOW BEFORE ALLAWI TAKES OFFICE REMEMBER THEY ARE ALL APPOINTMENTS AND ALLAWI DOES NOT NEED TO KEEP THEM Med: ONE THING Med: THE MONEY THAT IS MISSING Med: WHICH MUST TOTAL IN THE BILLIONS Med: THEY HAVE NO WAY TO TRACK IT Med: SO NOW THEY WAITED 4 YEARS TO HAVE AN ACCOUNTABILITY AND ARE NOW JUST WONDERING WHY THEY PAY OUT 120 MIL A DAY FOR GOODS Med: BUT ONLY GET 90 MIL IN GOODS FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS Med: WHAT A JOKE Med: KISS THAT MONEY GOODBYE Med: IF THEY WANT TO FIND IT Med: LOOK TO THE FRENCH RIVIERA OR THE BEACHES IN MEXICO Med: LOL Med: OK ALL DONE Med: THANKS Tags: no tags

OMG, that is so funny! Thank you, I needed that! I wonder if I can get a couple numbers from here?

Unfortunately these are blessing to numerous to count. Each and everyone who gave their life so we all would be able to enjoy our feedom is a true hero in my book and someday, God willing, I will thank eachone personally. Thank you for the post, it reminds us of what has been sacrificed for us.

Let me answer that question with a question, if they Rv how will they support it? If they are in a state of poverty as you say, where will the RV money come from? Out of the rabbits hat?

good question, but I suppose he would just owe the amount he borrowed at the time.

Trade Bank of Iraq doubles credit limits to finance booming Iraq trade AME Info - [4/1/2010] Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) has doubled the maximum value of Letters of Credit it allocates to the private banking sector in Iraq. Last year alone 945 Letters of Credit were allocated to private banks, at a value of approximately $ 500m. The total number allocated to private banks by TBI is 2,446, at a value of about $ 3bn. In response to a strong increase in demand for cross-border trade finance, TBI has increased the value of each Letter of Credit from a value of up to $ 2m to a new maximum of $ 4m. This will immediately free 18 private banks to increase the size and range of the business activities they finance for their clients. The number of Iraqi banks involved in the scheme is also expected to increase. The return of widespread stability to the country, plus developments such as the successful issuance of oil licences, has put Iraq back on the path to economic growth and business expansion. Hussein Al-Uzri, Chairman of TBI, said: "The Bank has the strong capital base and the expertise to help the private banks to expand this important line of business at a time when demand for trade finance is rising fast. We have always been prudent in determining credit limits and are confident that the increased limit prudently matches the revival in credit appetite. " "As well as allocating Letters of Credit we are providing a training programme to enable each local bank to develop its own in-house ability to arrange cross-border business. TBI is also helping them to develop their own working relationships with our large and growing number of international correspondent banks. "We are proud to be a catalyst in the regeneration of the banking system in order to finance and facilitate Iraq's re-emergence as a major regional and international economic power." http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=12076

what great people Chief V, Riley, Hyper and all who have contributed to this are. I would never in my wildest dreams have found out so much about Iraq without them. The pictures are terrific. Someday when things calm down overthere, I think I'd like to visit and see some of those sand storms for myself! If the summers are so hot what about the winters?

Three zeroes on Iraqi currency won't be removed: source Thursday, April 1st 2010 2:45 PM Baghdad, April 1 (AKnews) - Iraq's central bank denied on Thursday the reports that talked about its decision to cancel three zeroes from the Iraqi currency. "The central bank will not cancel three zeroes from the Iraqi currency at this time to reduce inflation suffered by the Iraqi economy.... Canceling the zeroes will make things more complicated and would cost the state large sums of money and enormous economic cadres to implement this project. " The head of the Central Bank Sinan Al-Shabibi told the Independent National News Agency of Kurdistan (AKnews). "This won't be applied at our current time. The central bank and Finance ministry will adopt rational solutions to reduce inflation that Iraq is suffering from currently because some important governmental institutions misused the money," Al-Shabibi added. "Removing the zeros from the currency will reduce the level of the Iraqi dinar in accordance with the American dollar." Many members of the parliamentary Economic Commission urged the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry to address the Iraqi decreasing funds by remiving the three zeroes from the Iraqi currency. Rn/gs AKnews http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/130886

I really hate throwing the wet blanket on this because it would be so convinent for me to overlook the the phrase "but will otherwise remain nuetral in terms of value" This phrase suggests that the redenomination and the rv will occur at the same time. Sorry folks, it's the way I read it.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Chalabi Moves to Disqualify 6 Elected MPs, Demote Allawi's Party to Runner-Up The Justice and Accountability Commission (formerly the Debaathification Commission), headed by Ahmad Chalabi, is moving to disqualify 6 elected candidates in the March 7 election for their ties to the banned Baath Party of Saddam Hussein. Three of those to be banned are from the Iraqiya list of Iyad Allawi, which would reduce his seat total from 91 to 88, making his list second in number of seats after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, which has 89 seats. The move, by commission head Ahmad Chalabi (himself an elected MP on the fundamentalist Shiite list, the Iraqi National Alliance), will cause a lot of anger among Sunni Arabs, the main backers of Allawi's list, along with secular middle class urban Shiites. Were the Iraqiya list to be altogether excluded from the government as a result of this move, I would worry about a resort to violence on the part of the list's voters, even though I do not think a revival of a full-scale Sunni-Shiite civil war is very likely. This further wrinkle in the Iraqi election outcome underlines how unwise is the rush among American pundits, mainly on the political Right, to declare the election a vindication of George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq. Hey, warmongers: get it through your heads. You went to war on the grounds that Iraq was a grave danger to the US and might even nuke us. That was untrue and ridiculous. You don't get any mulligans in the invasion game. Nothing would vindicate Bush save proof that Saddam Hussein's regime was really dangerous to the US. It wasn't. It had bupkes in the way of WMD. Iraqis will eventually live normal lives and get rich. That won't vindicate Bush either. He lied to us repeatedly and illegally invaded another country, contravening the UN charter and a whole slew of international and even domestic US laws. There is no vindication. But the unseemly backstabbing and maneuvering of fundamentalists, ex-Baathists, Iranian double agents and CIA assets in Iraq now is certainly not it. Al-Hayat writing in Arabic reports that commission official Ali al-Lami let it slip that one of those to be disqualified is Hamdi Najm, leader of the National Dialogue Front in Diyala Province, who is currently in prison on terrorism charges. His party forms part of the Iraqiya list of Iyad Allawi. The disqualifications will be taken to court. But the courts sided with the Justice and Accountability Commission when it excluded candidates on these grounds in the lead-up to the election, so that avenue does not appear very promising. But the move is not decisive in deciding the next prime minister, because who can form a government depends not on who has a plurality but on who can put together a governing coalition. It is true that the constitution requires the president to ask the leader of the single largest bloc to form a government. But if that person cannot, then another party leader would get the chance. The best analogy for Iraqi politics at the moment is Israel or Lebanon. In the 2009 parliamentary elections in Israel, Tzipi Livni's Kadima gained 28 seats and Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud only got 27. But you will note that Netanyahu is prime minister, because Shas, Yisrael Beitenu and others preferred to ally with him rather than with Ms. Livni. (There is no accounting for tastes.) I admit to a good deal of frustration with the corporate media in the United States that keeps talking about Iyad Allawi having "won" the Iraqi parliamentary elections. It just is not true. Apparently even some well informed and intelligent Americans can't understand the difference between achieving a slight plurality and winning a parliamentary election. And, it is dangerous to say these things because the US press is read in Iraq and expectations are being created among Iraqis that are likely to be disappointed. You need 163 seats to have a majority in the 325-member Iraqi parliament, so neither 91 nor 89 is a "win." Rather, 163 is a win. Allawi did not win and has not won and probably won't win. The reason is that it is difficult to see how he gets to 163. He needs 72 more seats (or maybe 75 if the disqualifications go through). It is easier for al-Maliki's list, if not al-Maliki himself, to get to 163 seats than it is for Allawi, since the fundamentalist Shiites have 70 seats and they under normal circumstances will find it easier to ally with Maliki's Islamic Mission Party (Da'wa) than with the secular Arab nationalists and Sunnis that back Allawi. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that 'informed sources' told its reporters that Ali al-Adib, a leader of al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, recently met Muqtada al-Sadr in Qom, Iran, though they have not yet closed a deal. Al-Sadr has 38 seats in parliament and his bloc is the largest single group of seats in the Shiite fundamentalist Iraqi National Alliance, which has 70 seats. Then, al-Maliki is said to have returned to Baghdad from Tehran, accompanied by al-Adib and Abdul Hamid al-Zuhairi (both from the State of Law list) and Jalal al-Din al-Saghir and Hadi al-Amiri of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. Al-Maliki is said to have been among a big party of Iraqi officials in Tehran the day before yesterday. They went there, al-Hayat said, because there was too much danger of being listened in on in Iraq. Presumably what is actually being asserted here is that the US has sophisticated signals intelligence and has widely tapped phones, so that in Baghdad any attempt at coalition-formation would be immediately picked up by US intelligence. Since the US is widely thought to be backing Allawi's secular Iraqiya list, it would be undesirable from al-Maliki's point of view for them to overhear his negotiations with other lists. Thus, they went off to Iran. Al-Hayat's source says that Muqtada al-Sadr demonstrated flexibility, and demanded in return for dropping his objection to al-Maliki the release of all prisoners from his movement, and undertakings that al-Maliki would not attempt to rule single-handedly. He also wanted an agreement that al-Maliki would be fired if he attempted to overstep the decided-upon course of action of the party. A Sadrist leader, Qusay Suhail, refused to comment on the Iran story, but did allow as how the Sadrists had met with representatives of al-Maliki's State of Law. The source said that so far in the negotiations the Kurdistan Alliance and the Sadr Movement have declined to put forward an alternative candidate for prime minister. So far al-Maliki is the only candidate from the Shiite parties, "and we did not sense any opposition to him." In contrast, cleric Jalal al-Din Saghir of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq insisted that ISCI would definitely put forward a prime ministerial candidate. (ISCI is actually too small to follow through on Saghir's bluster.) Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, is expressing anxiety and concern over the meetings in Tehran, denouncing them as naked interference by a neighbor in Iraq's internal affairs. He is also arguing that the next president of Iraq should be an Arab and not a Kurd. Al-Hashimi is a member of Allawi's Iraqiya list, and his denunciation of the Shiites as cat's paws of Iran and his urging that the Kurds be marginalized will have the unintended effect of making it much more difficult for Allawi to form a government, since he would need pro-Iran Shiites as well as Kurds to do so. http://www.juancole.com/2010/03/chalabi-moves-to-disqualify-6-elected.html

and so it continues! Good article!

Another site Chat: Allawi Wins - With Iraqi Votes Tallied, Deal-Making Begins The party of Iyad Allawi, right, edged out current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc, but the process of forming a government is just beginning. March 26, 2010 By Charles Recknagel The official results from Iraq's parliamentary elections show former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya bloc won two more seats than current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc. The announcement brings an end to weeks of vote-counting in the high-stakes race. Iraqiya won 91 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives, while the State of Law bloc won 89 won seats. The Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of mainly Shi’ite groups, won 70 seats, and Kurdistania, made up of the autonomous Kurdish region's two dominant blocs, won 43 seats. Another 17 seats were won by independent candidates and candidates from smaller parties. The last 15 seats will be given to members of religious and ethnic minority groups, according to quotas. One quarter of the seats should be filled by women, according to the Iraqi constitution. In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the White House congratulates Baghdad and the Iraqi people on "a successful election.” “International observers and more than 200,000 domestic observers expressed their confidence in the overall integrity of the election and found that there’s no evidence of widespread or serious fraud," Crowley said. "This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing democratic development of Iraq.” As Iraqis waited for the election results today, fresh violence struck the town of Khales in Diyala Province north of Baghdad, with two explosions killing some 40 people. Reports say women and children were among the wounded. Wrangling Begins The release of the election results marks the formal start of what may be an even more difficult process: forming a governing coalition. By failing to produce a decisive winner, the national parliamentary election leaves the field open for not one, but two, major parties to try to seize the initiative in coalition building. And, by producing at least two potential "kingmaker" groups in the background, the election has opened the way for even some of the losers in the election to exert huge influence in the deal-making. The result is almost certain to be a months-long period of negotiations over forming a new government -- a process that could severely test the country's recently won stability. Nabil Ahmed, a correspondent for RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq, says there are no parties immediately strong enough to form a ruling coalition on their own. Even though former Allawi's Iraqiya took the most votes, his list and the other frontrunner, Maliki's State of Law bloc, emerged essentially neck-and-neck. Ahmed says that means tough fights ahead. "The winning lists are strong enough to try to make alliances with smaller parties,” he says. “But they also are strong enough to try to break each other apart by wooing away wavering loyalists. So there will be many battles and efforts to create new alliances in the days ahead." Religious Parties Lose Ground He notes that this is a much more complicated situation than the last parliamentary election in 2005, when Shi'ite religious parties swept the poll and later allied with the Kurdish bloc to dominate the new parliament. Even so, it took a full six months of tough negotiating to create a coalition stable enough to rule. This time, the front runners are not Shi'ite religious parties, but secularists or nationalists. Allawi is a Shi'ite secularist. Maliki heads a Shi'ite religious party but has used his years in power to rebrand as a nationalist. A dream team, from Washington's point of view, might be a coalition uniting Allawi and Maliki. That would marginalize the Shi'ite religious parties, which are actively supported by Iran. But Ahmed says this is highly unlikely. "There is quite a lot of personal animosity and that will play its part, too, in any deal-making,” he says. “One of the strongest feuds is between Allawi and Maliki. Neither wants to share power with the other, so they are both almost certain to try to outmaneuver each other by reaching out to the third- and fourth-place finishers instead." Coalition-Building The prospect of such maneuvering puts both the third- and the fourth-place finishers in potential kingmaker roles. The third-place finisher is the Shi'ite religious parties' Iraqi National Alliance and, strongest among them, the loyalists of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But the Sadrists themselves have deep-seated animosities toward both Allawi and Maliki, dating back to the efforts by both men to crack down on the Sadrists "Mahdi Army." Sadr opposes the U.S. military presence in the country and demands its immediate withdrawal. Since the election, both Allawi and Maliki have said they are open to alliances with Sadr. But it is not clear at what price. The Sadrists have suggested they could make a deal with Maliki's State of Law Coalition but that they would propose their own candidate for prime minister in Maliki's place. Both Allawi and Maliki have also held talks with the fourth-place finisher, Kurdistania. The alliance, composed of the two ruling factions in the Kurdish autonomous region -- the KDP and PUK -- is eager to retain its former king-making status despite losing some of their seats in the national parliament to the Kurdish opposition party, Goran. Ahmed says that because of the highly fragmented political landscape, almost any ruling coalition will -- of necessity -- be more inclusive than the governing coalition in Iraq today. "Maliki's government sought to include some key Sunni politicians despite the largely Sunni boycott of the parliamentary elections in 2005,” Ahmed says. “But today it is no longer a question of goodwill or national interest to reach out across the political spectrum. It will be the only way to put together a bloc large enough to form a government." All this makes the coming days a historic moment filled in equal measure with risk and promise. The risk is that Iraq will fall into an extended political vacuum that also produces a security vacuum -- exactly what happened after the 2005 election. When the new Iraqi government was finally sworn in six months later in 2006, it faced a significantly worse security situation than before. The country tumbled into a spiral of sectarian violence that was in large part due to the distancing of one group -- the Sunni Arabs -- from the political process. But the promise is that this time Iraq might break with that violent past. It could happen if forming a ruling coalition requires incorporating and working with parties across the political spectrum. It would be a major departure from Iraq's history of dictators, coups, and one-party rule, and a large step toward becoming a stable parliamentary democracy. Link did not work either

I know this is from a site that also sells Dinar, but the information contained is, imo, worthwhile and factual. DO NOT Go OUT and BUY MORE DINAR based on this article! Iraqi Dinar Redenomination and Exchangeability There have been a tremendous number of inquiries about the recent news that Iraq will be increasing the value of their currency and, at the same time, introduce new denominations into the Iraqi economy sometime in 2010 (currently planned). Specifically, it has been reported that the Iraq Finance Minister issued a statement saying they have prepared a plan to increase the value of the Dinar against the dollar and will introduce 25, 10, 5, 1, 1/2,

Great Post, thank you.

Militants declare campaign vs. Iraqi political parties BAGHDAD Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:40am EDTRelated NewsNo return to same Maliki rule-Iraq's Allawi Fri, Mar 19 2010BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked militant group that claimed responsibility for recent bombings in Baghdad has declared a new military campaign against Iraqi political parties, according to a group that monitors insurgents' communications. The threat from Islamic State of Iraq was contained in a speech from the group's leader, Omar al-Baghdadi, on an audio tape posted on jihadist forums on Thursday, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said. ISI threatened voters before Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, warning that they risked death if they cast ballots and calling the election a farce aimed at cementing Shi'ite domination over Sunnis. It also claimed responsibility for bombings at three Baghdad hotels in January that killed at least 36 people, and attacks on government buildings in December that killed 112. Sunni Islamist insurgents were blamed for rocket, mortar and other attacks that killed 39 people on election day, but 62 percent of Iraq's registered voters turned out to cast ballots despite the violence and threats. A successful election is considered a major milestone for Iraq's security forces and its fragile democracy as U.S. troops prepare to depart by the end of 2011. Washington launched its attack on Iraq on March 19, 2003. "With grace and success from Allah, a coordinated military campaign was started in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, to break the idol of democracy and its resulting polytheist elections," the ISI message said, according to a translation from SITE. It said it had been able to "strike the security plan in the heart of Baghdad" and other cities on election day despite increased security efforts to protect voters. The group cited as part of its campaign a series of pre-election attacks on the headquarters of political parties including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the National Dialogue Front, the Iraqi Communist Party and others, SITE said. ISI is believed by intelligence analysts to have been created by al Qaeda in Iraq as a local umbrella group for insurgent organizations. (Reporting by Jim Loney) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62I1R420100319?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r2:c0.200000:b32047038:z0

No return to same Maliki rule-Iraq's Allawi Yara Bayoumy BEIRUT Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:39am EDTBEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraqi challenger Iyad Allawi said on Friday he would not accept a return to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's "one-man rule", indicating a long struggle in the shaping of a new government following the March 7 election. The latest results of the parliamentary poll show a tight race between the Shi'ite prime minister, who was edging slightly ahead, and Allawi, who was dominating mostly Sunni provinces. "Our concern really is the welfare and well-being of the people, regardless of what kind of shape the government will take or how long it's going to take," said Allawi, a former prime minister who heads the cross-sectarian Iraqiya bloc. "Because we are not going to accept forming a very quick government, a very quick fix for a government, that would bring the same disasters of the last four years again to Iraq," Allawi said in Beirut. "The rule of one party, one-man rule, we don't accept this." The strong showing by the secularist Allawi among Sunnis promises to be a key factor in the coming talks and in Iraq's security as U.S. forces prepare to pull out by the end of 2011. Analysts have said a government excluding Iraqiya risked sparking resentment felt by the Sunni minority since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion ended its grip on power. Allawi said he was open to forming alliances, including with Maliki, providing he moved away from sectarianism and embraced reconciliation. Maliki's support for a move to bar hundreds of candidates for alleged links to Saddam Hussein's now outlawed Baath party has alienated many Sunnis and prompted criticism from Allawi who said it showed he was "committed against reconciliation". "We have seen so far that he is adamant not only on representing the sectarian move ... he has been appointing senior officials in the government all belonging not only to the sect, (but) to his party which we think is very dangerous and can cause a lot of problems in the country," Allawi said. "If he (Maliki) changes his attitude not by words but by deeds ... then of course we'll be very willing to cooperate with him. The dynamics have changed, maybe this will alert him that he will have no future if he persists in whatever he has done." VOTING IRREGULARITIES Allawi complained of several instances of voting irregularities and said his party had filed complaints to the electoral commission, the United Nations and the Arab League. When asked if he would reject the results, Allawi said "all options are on the table now" but conceded he was likely to deal with whatever the outcome is of the final vote. "We of course ultimately have no other choice but to accept this because there is no other way for Iraq but to go the democratic way that we have all decided upon," he said. "But what we need is an answer both from the government and from the electoral commission to talk about the mistakes that have been committed and problems and intimidation, at least for the future." With nearly 90 percent of the votes counted, Maliki's State of Law coalition was some 40,000 votes ahead of Iraqiya. Maliki's group was ahead in seven provinces compared to five for Iraqiya and three each for the next two challengers, the Shi'ite Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the bloc representing the two most powerful parties from Iraq's Kurdish north. Allegations of vote manipulation have also prompted Maliki's party and the INA to file complaints. (Editing by Myra MacDonald) http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE62I2KI20100319

good post ty

Ah yes, it can be risky, please be careful.