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Economic sources: Gulf states on the verge of reducing their budgets to cover the deficit BAGHDAD - Iraq Press - February 11: agency Standard & Poor's international credit rating, the lower oil prices will push the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, to a deficit in their budgets this year, and over the next three years, but the largest share of the deficit would be Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, saw the rating agency, that Qatar will represent an exception among oil-producing countries in the region, it will be able to contain the deficit. The agency cut its forecast for global oil prices in the phase between 2015 and 2017, noting that the price of Brent crude will reach $ 55 a barrel in 2015 from a previous forecast of $ 105, and $ 70 between 2015 and 2017. Oil prices have lost more than 50% of its value since mid-2014, and came close to its lowest level in almost six years during the last January, when it hit $ 45 a barrel. The credit rating agency said in a statement, seen by (Dar es Salaam), that: the deficit is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia's budget to 6% of GDP, and lowered the outlook for the Kingdom to "negative." She pointed out that "In view of the spending from outside the budget approved by the Saudi king, Salman bin Abdul Aziz, recently estimated at 110 billion riyals package ($ 29 billion) spent in the phase between 2015 and 2017, the UK will face a deficit of continuing in its budget until 2018" . She added that "oil and gas sector accounts for 90% of the sources of government revenue, and 85% of the total volume of exports to the kingdom," pointing out that "the UK economy is diverse, and prone sharp decline, in spite of the government's policy to encourage the non-oil sector growth." The agency, downgraded the outlook for Saudi Arabia in December last from "positive" to "stable." As predicted, that "Bahrain recorded a deficit of 5.5% of GDP between 2015 and 2017, and 3.7% of the Sultanate of Oman, and 2% of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi between 2015 and 2018". In Qatar, the rating agency is expected to reduce the Doha government spending an average of 4% in the period between 2014 and 2017, what will make the government is able to contain the fiscal deficit, which may arise in 2015 and 2016, and has maintained Standard & Poor's credit rating sovereign Qatar at a stable level the long term. Exacerbated oil losses, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decision (OPEC) last November, not to cut production, preferring to defend its market share in the face of competing sources such as US shale oil. According to the International Energy Agency, yesterday, the price of oil may be subject to further downward pressure, before recovering later this year in light of an oversupply. And fell all the GCC stock markets, with the exception of Bahrain, which recorded a slightly upward, and the Saudi stock market closed the largest decline of 0.96%. inShare

Citizen's / Iraq Press /: formal issues delayed the National Guard Law House BAGHDAD - Iraq Press - February 11: National Alliance said that the pro forma issues delayed the reading of the National Guard Law of the previous meeting of the Council of Representatives, and it will be read in the coming sessions. " A member of the National Alliance for the mass citizen, Hassan Khalati, L / Iraq Press / "The Law of the National Guard of the important laws that awaits the Iraqi street and the House of Representatives and approval will save volunteers who offer sacrifices by confronting Daash and reading postponement first came because of formal rights issues a copy of the receipt to the House of Representatives without a formal letter believing the Presidency to speed up its approval has been put forward. " And on the objections to the Helms project of the National Guard Act, particularly with respect to the guard correlation General Commander of the Armed Forces said that "when you read the law as reading first be without debate but to modify and opinion it would be in the second reading but Cray proposal OK Iraqi constitution will be Tdmnyh within Guard Law National and political blocs have not submitted their objections formally him because he has not been read. " Admiral ended inShare

Strong indications of rising world oil prices by taking effective measures China BAGHDAD - Iraq Press - February 6: economic well-informed sources said that oil prices rose in Asian trade after China took steps to inject new liquidity into the second largest economy in the world to stimulate activity. . The sources pointed out that prices rose in Asian trade, supported by optimism that the reduced reserve requirements for banks at the Chinese central bank, the first in more than two years will stimulate economic activity and energy demand. It is said that economic sources indicated earlier that world oil prices continue to rise, bypassing the barrier of $ 57 per barrel of Brent crude, a higher dollar than the price at which built upon Iraq's budget for 2015, $ 56 was the previous closing prices of $ 56.98 a barrel. The source continued that "the Iraqi parliament passed last Thursday, the budget of $ 119 trillion dinars $ 105 billion and a deficit of 25 trillion dinars based on the export of 2.9 million barrels and is priced at $ 56." He said the "price of Brent futures rose by 0.94 cents to $ 57.94 a barrel."

Is not the time to delete the zeros of the Iraqi currency Baghdad-Iraq Press -6 February: Parliamentary Finance Committee denied, on Friday, the Central Bank to determine a time limit for the deletion of zeros from the Iraqi currency, and as confirmed that it supports the project, said that the bank believes that the time is not right to take this step. The committee member said Jabbar al-Abadi in a press statement, said that "the project to delete the zeros were traded within the Finance Committee," adding that "the central bank rejects this on the grounds that the time is not right now." He added, "The Finance Committee with the deletion of zeros is subject to many positives reflected on the economic reality," noting that "the numbers in the dinar currency loses its value, and the deletion of zeros because the value of the dinar and the fall of the value of the dollar." He economist Jamil Antoine, earlier, the deletion of zeros is a restructuring of the coin, and to alleviate the large digital accounts burden treasurers, and alleviate the burden of accountants in counting the transfer of numbers, "but he pointed out that" this is not the time to replace the currency, and that the lack of security and economic stability in Albulad.anthy (1) http://www.iraqpressagency.com/

Trillion dinars awaiting signature of the Minister of Finance to be sent to the region Erbil - Iraq-Presse September 15: A member of the House of Representatives from the Kurdistan Alliance, Najiba Najib, that tomorrow, Tuesday, will resolve the last details of the salaries of the staff of the province, as noted deputy from the Kurdistan Alliance that "advance trillion dinars awaiting signature Minister of Finance to be sent to the staff of the province. " She said Najib's / Iraq Press / "we will get tomorrow on the last details of the salaries of the staff to be sent after deducting the topic , "pointing out that the value of the receivables of up to 8 billion and 550 million dollars of the total money the province remaining, owed ​​by the central government since the beginning of the current year" . For his part, said a member of the House of Representatives from the Kurdistan Alliance, dress News Hajuan Abdullah, said that "an agreement signed between Baghdad and Erbil, to send trillion dinars from the first advance for staff region for the ninth month only." Abdullah said that "the advance awaits the signature of the Minister of Finance, Rose Nuri Shaways, and which it is hoped to arrive in the capital, Baghdad, on Tuesday, to resolve the matter." It is said that "members of the House of Representatives from the Kurdistan Alliance, headed Monday evening, from Arbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dahuk, to Baghdad, to attend the regular meeting of the Council of Representatives, which is scheduled to

Collapse of Iraqi security pays to buy real estate abroad to seek stability BAGHDAD - Iraq Press -21 July: head for many Iraqis these days about buying real estate in neighboring countries and far in anticipation of the collapse of the situation in Iraq again, as happened in the years of sectarian strife or to escape from the hot zones where battles that revolve or sectarian conflicts. The Kurdistan region first destination for those wishing to purchase apartments and houses the fact that their prices are reasonable and the available safety who misses the Iraqis which is close to the original areas of residence within Iraq. It has been observed an increase in the demand for purchase of real estate by a lot of displaced people to the region of the current conflict zones, especially Mosul, Salahaddin, Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad belt areas where months ago a military conflict between government forces and militias and the armed organizations. According to Mohamed Kader owner Real Estate Office in Sulaymaniyah that "Iqbal Arabs focused on the purchase of modern residential complexes in the newly created on the outskirts of Sulaymaniyah or near the places of the summer." "The turnout has increased recently with the spiraling numbers of displaced persons coming from conflict zones or from Baghdad complains that inhabitants of the deterioration of the security situation." He is capable, according to the movement of Al Quds Al Arabi said that "the province of Sulaymaniyah has recently issued a decision not to sell the role of housing or land to the displaced people who have arrived in the province, and after that resulted in the increase of buying real estate to increase their prices as well as the escalation of rent allowances are also generating a complaint with the indigenous population of the province. " The pro-age pensioner who lived in Baghdad Ghazaliya go toward Turkey to escape the increase in militia activity and the spread of the killings, arrests and fears of a collapse of security expected. Previously, the age that fled to Syria during the years of sectarian strife and returned to Iraq two years ago, but he has now decided to flee again to stability abroad. He said he chose to travel to Turkey and where to buy an apartment which enjoys stability and a good atmosphere and the prices of apartments are cheaper than Iraq, so he sold his home and bought two apartments in Turkey and one for housing and other lease for their livelihoods. He spoke Ammar al-Dulaimi, a restaurant owner in Baghdad's Mansour that he and many of his relatives and his friends had been recently purchased real estate in Georgia, which is characterized by its cheap real estate prices compared with other regions. He stated that he personally bought a full building in the Georgian capital and has rented some apartments where some of his relatives has also displaced from Anbar travel and stability until the end of military operations has been going on for more than six months there. Haj confirms Khudair al-Janabi of Alexandria in Babylon, he bought an apartment in Amman and make it a turn to the family and relatives whenever the security situation has seen a collapse. He who is visiting Iraq, now that the apartment filled with his family now fleeing militias and military operations in his area, and that many of his relatives are now thinking to buy apartments in Jordan, which has become the Iraqis at the forefront of the Arabs who own property there. And many in Baghdad confirms desire to leave Iraq, which does not seem to stabilize it possible in the foreseeable future amid the collapse of the security conditions and complex, especially after the recent developments and the increasing military operations following the control of armed groups on some of the northern and western provinces. Ended. M j.

Thursday .. the pay of workers to retirees May and June BAGHDAD - Iraq Press -20 July: The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs the end of this week, the date for the launch of retired workers' salaries for the months of May and June. He said Labour Minister Nassar al-Rubaie said in a statement reported L / Iraq Press /, said on Sunday that "the date of the pay retired workers for the months of May and June will be next Thursday, coinciding with the Eid al-Fitr, as supplemented by the Department of pension and social security all the procedures related to the distribution salaries in coordination with the Center for e-Baghdad and the provinces. " Al-Rubaie added that "retired content which has 30 years of service and more will receive a pension of $ 400 000 dinars for two months, as will receive the retired content which has a service less than 30 years 340 000 dinars for two months, and will take over the family of deceased pensioner, which has more than three eligible 300 000 dinars for two months. " He noted that "the family of the deceased, retired, consisting of two beneficiaries will receive a salary of $ 280 000 dinars for two months, while the family of deceased pensioner will receive consisting of one receivable amount of 260 000 dinars for two months." The Minister of Labour, "The Ministry calls for retired workers to review postal offices competent for the purpose of receipt of their pensions, Mstsahpin archives them probative of the identity of the Civil Status and identity card, pensions and housing." "The ministry is continuing measures to grant pensions secured the more than 300 000 workers in Baghdad and the provinces, especially that it is working at the moment of self-financing system that allowed not to delayed payment of workers' salaries for the specified dates. Ended. Q.

to approve the budget BAGHDAD - Iraq Press - July 12: Many experts have speculated that the loss of Iraq by the monthly non-adoption of the budget for the year 2014 more than 12 billion dollars a month. He said economic expert, Mustafa Mahdi, said that "the loss incurred by Iraq every day on the back of a failure to approve the budget will amount to more than 400 million dollars a day which will reflect negatively on the living standards and economic reality of the country." Mustafa added that "the only budget that was approved at the time the 2005 budget year and the percentage rate of 40% and wondered about the rate of exchange in the budget did not acknowledge to this day." It is said that the parliamentary Finance Committee announced on 30 September 2013 to the current 2014 budget, amounting to 174.6 trillion dinars, indicating that the bulk of which was allocated to the energy sector and security. A finished. H

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Economists indicates that "the demand of the Iraqi citizen to store foreign currency will be temporary, arguing that" the Iraqi economy because the governor to balance the dinar per covered 1.3% of the dollar. " To that, the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank and the Agency Abdel Basset Turki, said that "the task of the Iraqi Central Bank, according to the law is to keep the dinar stable against other currencies," noting that "the bank's management has examined the course of the security situation experienced by the country and its impacts on the financial situation in the country ". The Turkish that "what exists of a reserve of hard currency to the Central Bank will be capable of controlling the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar," he said, adding that "cash reserves in support of the Iraqi dinar is 70 billion dollars and that the central bank is able to support the exchange rate of the dinar, which currently stands at 1200 dinars to the dollar, so there is no fear on the dinar at the moment. "

BAGHDAD (AP) — With the country in turmoil, rivals of Iraq's Shiite prime minister are mounting a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights. On Thursday, their effort received a massive boost from President Barack Obama. The U.S. leader stopped short of calling for Nouri al-Maliki to resign, saying "it's not our job to choose Iraq's leaders." But, his carefully worded comments did all but that. "Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis," Obama declared at the White House. "We've said publicly, that whether he (al-Maliki) is prime minister or any other leader aspires to lead the country, that there has to be an agenda in which Sunni, Shiite and Kurd all feel that they have the opportunity to advance their interest through the political process," the president said. An "inclusive agenda" has not been high on the priorities of al-Maliki, whose credibility as an able leader suffered a serious setback when Sunni militants of the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launched a lightning offensive last week that swallowed up a large chunk of northern Iraq, together with the nation's second city, Mosul. Al-Maliki, who rose from relative obscurity to office in 2006, when Iraq's sectarian bloodletting began to spiral out of control, quickly became known for a tough hand, working in alliance with American forces in the country since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Over the years that followed, Sunni tribes backed by the Americans rose up to fight al-Qaida-linked militants, while al-Maliki showed a readiness to rein in Shiite militiamen — and by 2008, the violence had eased. Since the withdrawal of American forces in late 2011, however, it has swelled again, stoked in part by al-Maliki himself. The Iraqi leader's moves last year to crush protests by Sunnis complaining of discrimination under his Shiite-led government sparked a new wave of violence by militants, who took over the city of Fallujah in the western, Sunni-dominated province of Anbar and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi. Iraqi army and police forces battling them for months have been unable to take most areas back. At the same time, many Iraqis complain of government corruption, the failure to rebuild the economy and too close ties with mostly Shiite Iran, a non-Arab nation that Sunni Arab states, including powerhouse Saudi Arabia, see as a threat to regional stability. Shiite politicians familiar with the secretive efforts to remove al-Maliki said two names mentioned as possible replacements are former vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a French-educated economist who is also a Shiite, and Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who served as Iraq's first prime minister after Saddam's ouster. Al-Mahdi belongs to a moderate Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which has close links with Iran. Also lobbying for the job is Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite lawmaker who recently joined the Supreme Council and was once a favorite by Washington to lead Iraq a decade ago. Another Shiite from the Supreme Council who is trying to land the job is Bayan Jabr, a former finance and interior minister under al-Maliki's tenure, according to the politicians, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. An Iraqi Shiite lawmaker, Hakim al-Zamili, said he was aware of a meeting in recent days between Iraqi political leaders and U.S. officials over the issue of al-Maliki's future, though he did not know who attended the meeting. Al-Zamili belongs to a political bloc loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has publicly demanded that al-Maliki be replaced. But, he said, efforts to replace al-Maliki should come only after Iraqi security forces beat back the Sunni militants. "My view is that safeguarding Iraq is now our top priority," al-Zamili said. "We will settle the accounts later." Mohammed al-Khaldi, a top aide to outgoing Sunni speaker of parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, said: "We have asked the Americans, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran to work toward denying al-Maliki a new term. The Shiite bloc must find a replacement for him." Besides the Sunnis and Shiites, al-Maliki's former Kurdish allies have also been clamoring to deny him a third term in office, charging that he has excluded them from a decision-making circle of close confidants and is meddling in the affairs of their self-rule enclave in the north. "We wanted him to go, but after what happened last week, we want it even more," said Mahmoud Othman, a veteran Kurdish politician. Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region, put the case against al-Maliki much more emphatically. Without mentioning the prime minister by name, he said al-Maliki had discarded his counsel and he alone now "takes direct responsibility for what happened to Iraq." Al-Maliki, who has long faced criticism for not making his government more inclusive, has been adopting conciliatory language in recent days toward Sunnis and Kurds. He said the militant threat affects all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation, and called on Iraqis to drop all "Sunnis and Shiites" talk. The ongoing crisis, al-Maliki said, had made Iraqis rediscover "national unity." The pro-al-Maliki media also made a show of a meeting Tuesday night between the Iraqi leader and Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders. A joint statement issued after the meeting said they agreed to set aside differences and focus on "national priorities" and warned against rhetoric that could potentially stoke sectarian tensions. In a reference to street parades by armed Shiite militias, it also condemned any armed displays not authorized by the government. Despite the conciliatory words, al-Maliki is not known to have made any concrete offers to bridge differences with the Sunnis, the Kurds or even his fellow Shiites. Rather than build bridges of national unity, al-Maliki has over the past week given efforts to mobilize against the Islamic State's militants a distinctly sectarian slant. He brought in Iran's most powerful general, Ghasem Soleiman of the secretive Quds Force, to help organize the war effort, and declared that Shiite volunteers who joined the security forces were the backbone of Iraq's future army and would be paid salaries equivalent to what their counterparts in the army and police make. Al-Maliki has also accorded the Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen a level of legitimacy, allowing them to fight along army and security forces and turning a blind eye to their muscle flexing on the streets of Baghdad and other cities. These militias fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and joined the Syrian civil war on the side of President Bashar Assad's regime against Sunni rebels. Perhaps unwittingly, a call to arms by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, has given the fight against the Islamic State militants the feel of a religious war between Shiites and Sunnis. A recluse who does not give media interviews, al-Sistani routinely addresses all Iraqis in his edicts, but they in effect target only Shiites, who wait on his every word. Al-Maliki insists that Sunnis were among the volunteers, but he never produced any evidence to back the claim. And, although he declares himself fed up with "Shiites and Sunnis" talk, the volunteers he spoke to earlier this week south of Baghdad chanted Shiite slogans, while Shiite police and army troops continued to fly Shiite banners at checkpoints and posts. ___ Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad and Lara Jakes and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report. Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on printShare on emailMore Sharing Services

BAGHDAD (AP) — With the country in turmoil, rivals of Iraq's Shiite prime minister are mounting a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights. On Thursday, their effort received a massive boost from President Barack Obama. The U.S. leader stopped short of calling for Nouri al-Maliki to resign, saying "it's not our job to choose Iraq's leaders." But, his carefully worded comments did all but that. "Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis," Obama declared at the White House. "We've said publicly, that whether he (al-Maliki) is prime minister or any other leader aspires to lead the country, that there has to be an agenda in which Sunni, Shiite and Kurd all feel that they have the opportunity to advance their interest through the political process," the president said. An "inclusive agenda" has not been high on the priorities of al-Maliki, whose credibility as an able leader suffered a serious setback when Sunni militants of the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant launched a lightning offensive last week that swallowed up a large chunk of northern Iraq, together with the nation's second city, Mosul. Al-Maliki, who rose from relative obscurity to office in 2006, when Iraq's sectarian bloodletting began to spiral out of control, quickly became known for a tough hand, working in alliance with American forces in the country since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Over the years that followed, Sunni tribes backed by the Americans rose up to fight al-Qaida-linked militants, while al-Maliki showed a readiness to rein in Shiite militiamen — and by 2008, the violence had eased. Since the withdrawal of American forces in late 2011, however, it has swelled again, stoked in part by al-Maliki himself. The Iraqi leader's moves last year to crush protests by Sunnis complaining of discrimination under his Shiite-led government sparked a new wave of violence by militants, who took over the city of Fallujah in the western, Sunni-dominated province of Anbar and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi. Iraqi army and police forces battling them for months have been unable to take most areas back. At the same time, many Iraqis complain of government corruption, the failure to rebuild the economy and too close ties with mostly Shiite Iran, a non-Arab nation that Sunni Arab states, including powerhouse Saudi Arabia, see as a threat to regional stability. Shiite politicians familiar with the secretive efforts to remove al-Maliki said two names mentioned as possible replacements are former vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a French-educated economist who is also a Shiite, and Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who served as Iraq's first prime minister after Saddam's ouster. Al-Mahdi belongs to a moderate Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which has close links with Iran. Also lobbying for the job is Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite lawmaker who recently joined the Supreme Council and was once a favorite by Washington to lead Iraq a decade ago. Another Shiite from the Supreme Council who is trying to land the job is Bayan Jabr, a former finance and interior minister under al-Maliki's tenure, according to the politicians, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. An Iraqi Shiite lawmaker, Hakim al-Zamili, said he was aware of a meeting in recent days between Iraqi political leaders and U.S. officials over the issue of al-Maliki's future, though he did not know who attended the meeting. Al-Zamili belongs to a political bloc loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has publicly demanded that al-Maliki be replaced. But, he said, efforts to replace al-Maliki should come only after Iraqi security forces beat back the Sunni militants. "My view is that safeguarding Iraq is now our top priority," al-Zamili said. "We will settle the accounts later." Mohammed al-Khaldi, a top aide to outgoing Sunni speaker of parliament, Osama al-Nujaifi, said: "We have asked the Americans, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran to work toward denying al-Maliki a new term. The Shiite bloc must find a replacement for him." Besides the Sunnis and Shiites, al-Maliki's former Kurdish allies have also been clamoring to deny him a third term in office, charging that he has excluded them from a decision-making circle of close confidants and is meddling in the affairs of their self-rule enclave in the north. "We wanted him to go, but after what happened last week, we want it even more," said Mahmoud Othman, a veteran Kurdish politician. Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region, put the case against al-Maliki much more emphatically. Without mentioning the prime minister by name, he said al-Maliki had discarded his counsel and he alone now "takes direct responsibility for what happened to Iraq." Al-Maliki, who has long faced criticism for not making his government more inclusive, has been adopting conciliatory language in recent days toward Sunnis and Kurds. He said the militant threat affects all Iraqis, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation, and called on Iraqis to drop all "Sunnis and Shiites" talk. The ongoing crisis, al-Maliki said, had made Iraqis rediscover "national unity." The pro-al-Maliki media also made a show of a meeting Tuesday night between the Iraqi leader and Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders. A joint statement issued after the meeting said they agreed to set aside differences and focus on "national priorities" and warned against rhetoric that could potentially stoke sectarian tensions. In a reference to street parades by armed Shiite militias, it also condemned any armed displays not authorized by the government. Despite the conciliatory words, al-Maliki is not known to have made any concrete offers to bridge differences with the Sunnis, the Kurds or even his fellow Shiites. Rather than build bridges of national unity, al-Maliki has over the past week given efforts to mobilize against the Islamic State's militants a distinctly sectarian slant. He brought in Iran's most powerful general, Ghasem Soleiman of the secretive Quds Force, to help organize the war effort, and declared that Shiite volunteers who joined the security forces were the backbone of Iraq's future army and would be paid salaries equivalent to what their counterparts in the army and police make. Al-Maliki has also accorded the Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen a level of legitimacy, allowing them to fight along army and security forces and turning a blind eye to their muscle flexing on the streets of Baghdad and other cities. These militias fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and joined the Syrian civil war on the side of President Bashar Assad's regime against Sunni rebels. Perhaps unwittingly, a call to arms by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite cleric, has given the fight against the Islamic State militants the feel of a religious war between Shiites and Sunnis. A recluse who does not give media interviews, al-Sistani routinely addresses all Iraqis in his edicts, but they in effect target only Shiites, who wait on his every word. Al-Maliki insists that Sunnis were among the volunteers, but he never produced any evidence to back the claim. And, although he declares himself fed up with "Shiites and Sunnis" talk, the volunteers he spoke to earlier this week south of Baghdad chanted Shiite slogans, while Shiite police and army troops continued to fly Shiite banners at checkpoints and posts. ___ Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad and Lara Jakes and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report. Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on printShare on emailMore Sharing Services

Take the money and run!

Iraq recount finds no fraud Iyad Allawi's bloc holds on to its two-seat lead in parliament after a laborious manual recount of votes in Baghdad turns up no evidence of electoral fraud. May 15, 2010|By Liz Sly and Raheem Salman, Los Angeles Times Ali Abbas, EPA Reporting from Baghdad — In an embarrassing rejection of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's efforts to overturn his rival's lead in Iraq's inconclusive parliamentary election, a laborious manual recount of votes in Baghdad has turned up no evidence of electoral fraud and will not change the final outcome, officials said Friday. Ads by Google Advertisement The recount was ordered nearly a month ago after Maliki's Shiite-dominated electoral slate alleged that as many as 750,000 ballots had been manipulated, with the worst violations occurring in Baghdad. Had the allegations been upheld, the recount could have eroded the two-seat lead of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's faction. Allawi, a secular Shiite supported by Sunni Arabs, is claiming the right to form the next government as the head of the largest, if not majority, bloc in parliament. Iraq's election commission announced that the recount of Baghdad's 2.5 million votes had found no fraud. Officials familiar with the process said that though there would be some minor adjustments to the final tally, due to be announced Monday, none was attributable to fraud and they were not sufficient to alter the overall result, which gave 91 seats in the 325-member parliament to Allawi's Iraqiya bloc and 89 to Maliki's State of Law coalition. "There is no evidence that there was manipulation, or forgery or any grievous mistake," commissioner Qassem Aboudi said at a news conference. Khalid Asadi, an official with Maliki's coalition, said the prime minister would await the release of the tally before deciding whether to take any further steps to challenge the results. The recount, conducted by dozens of workers in the cavernous ballroom of a Baghdad hotel, has delayed the final certification of the results of the March 7 election. That is a source of intense frustration for U.S. officials, who hope a new government will be in place by the end of August, when the American military is due to complete its withdrawal of nearly 50,000 combat troops. U.S. officials say the pullout, which will leave 50,000 troops in Iraq as advisors and trainers until the end of 2011, is on track regardless of whether a new government is formed. "We are on pace to be at 50,000 by Sept. 1, as the president directed," said military spokesman Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza. Ads by Google 1 | 2 | Next Ads by Google FIND MORE STORIES ABOUT Recount from dinar trade

go to usa today

Adam, thank you for the update pete

I hope that we get to see the rv or ri soon

My turn to try

thank you for your service! stay saff

i'm with all of you.