Ambassador Paul Bremer Interview Call Notes !

[DinarThug]

CNN. Broadcasting Under Diplomatic Immunity !

 

 

 

Recaps Note: We will post the Replay Recording Link as soon as available 

Post From Intel4U Chat - Transcription By FLPatriot

Jan 11 4:27 PM [FLPatriot59] LIVE STREAM OF AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER CONFERENCE CALL - BEING TRANSCRIBED HERE --- Intel4U.

Jan 11 4:31 PM [FLPatriot59] Mr. Bremer is most know as the administrator for the Head of State of Iraq during the Bush years, from 2003. In June 2003 he became head of the office of the Provisional Coalition Authority.

Jan 11 4:32 PM [FLPatriot59] D - Do you feel the Iraqis will be able to win the battle over terrorism in their country or do you think the UN will have to step in?

[FLPatriot59] PB - I think it's a close call at this point. They did it once before when our troops were there. Whether they can do that now without our troops on the ground is a question. 
...
 

 

PB Continues:  I think we need to give them more military equipment. The key will be whether the Suni-based tribes will decide to fight alongside the Iraq Gov. That's a key question that's still open. 

I don't think the UN will get involved and I doubt the political support is there for the USA to put troops back there.

[FLPatriot59] PB - It's important to remember that the violence level is 1/3 what it was 4 years ago and much less than under Saddaam. During the height of civil unrest it was like a 9/11 attack every day.

[FLPatriot59] D - Mr. Bremer, since you aided in writing their Constitution, can you describe Article 14 that's in the news now, with contracts, oil contracts, the HCL law? Can you explain?

[FLPatriot59] PB - It's part of a broader problem because it concerns a division of power. We supported a model of a Federal structure, like India and Germany and not so much like the USA. 

The Kurds had this in their demands. The first question was "what about the oil wells?" When I was there they hadn't even begun drafting the oil law. 

The question will not be resolved until the GOI can bring the civil unrest in thewestern provinces under control. Otherwise, I don't expect to see much motion

4:39 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - If they can't hold it together, I expect the Kurds will start making their own deals with Turkey and that will be a big problem for Baghdad and could take years to solve.

4:41 PM [FLPatriot59] D - How can they ever power-share? 

PB - You need to step back. They've had 5 elections since we left. They have the most liberal Constitution but it's still the best Constitution around, and another election in April. 

Maliki has certainly done some back-sliding trying to sideline the Sunni politicians. There is a lot of pressure to work together.

4:42 PM [FLPatriot59] Note: Can't hear the current speaker so I'll use "Q" for his question.

4:44 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - What were you feeling when Saddaam was captured? 

PB - What got me was the reaction of the Iraqi audience when I said "we got him.

" There were 200-300 of them who stood up and shouted, which is uncommon for them. They didn't believe it until we showed the pictures. 

It was a moment when we could hope that there would be a broader reconciliation in Iraq and we saw a significant attack against coalltion forces in the following months because it took Saddaam off the stage

4:46 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - As we speak of the separation of the different tribes and the HCL, Baghdad and Kurdistan seem to be on the right side regarding the HCL. Do you think this will calm the waters? 

PB - Yes, it would certainly help to have the HCL because it would reduce the tension between the north and south. The more immediate question is whether they can bring the two back together.

4:46 PM [FLPatriot59] S = SHREDD

4:49 PM [FLPatriot59] S - Now that your highly-decorated service is well-documented, in a nutshell what is your current assessment of Iraq from back then economically and politically? 

PB - It's a good question that doesn't get asked by the mainstream media. The Iraqi people are dramatically better off today than they were under Saddaam. 

The per capita income is 6 times higher than when I arrived there in 2003. Infant mortality has plunged. 27M Iraqis have cell phones now. 

The test right now is whether they can bring this Al Queda terrorism under control and have an open election in April.

4:51 PM [FLPatriot59] S - Do you have any comments regarding the upcoming elections and what they Iraqi people will look for? 

PB - I'm not involved in the day to-day politics to give that. But the important thing is that they are having elections in April and that they are open and fair.

One of the things I tried to emphasize when I was there is that "majority rule" is fine but "majoritarian rule" is not. You have to remember that the Sunni has been running Iraq for over a thousand years. 

So when Saddaam was overthrown it was a major power shift for the control and the Shia had to learn that just because they had the majority didn't mean they could always have their way.

4:52 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - They had to realize that the lesson of being in the minority is an important lesson to learn. The question about going forward with this election will be an important benchmark for them.

4:55 PM [DinarBlessed] Courtesy of top_gun AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIBED JANUARY 11 @ 4:00 PM EST http://www.intel4u.com/F ··· -pm-est/

4:55 PM [FLPatriot59] B - Between 2003 and 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority printed new dinar notes. These new bank notes lead to a new industry of selling them to the overseas investors who hope to make a profit. 

How does this as well as 13303 benefit and protect investors like us, as speculators. On one side we hear it's a scam and then banks selling it makes it seem it's okay. Does 13303 cover us as well?

4:58 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - When I left Iraq I made a decision not to have any economic interest in Iraq. I am not well-enough informed to know how the exchange rate will work.

When I got there I found that the GOI was only producing 2 different notes. It's the equivalent of running a government with $3 notes  and nickels. 

The effect of this was that my advisors said there is a real risk we would dollarize the economy if we didn't do something.

4:59 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - We made it clear from the start that the Iraqi currency would flow freely. In terms of the economy it is doing quite well and will grow over 6% this year (GDP). If the currency reflects the economy then the dinar should reflect that growth.

5:00 PM [FLPatriot59] B - Executive Order 13303 was issued on May 22, 2003 by United States President George W. Bush to protect the Development Fund for Iraq for the rebuilding of Iraq from any legal attachments or liens. 

Further, it protects Iraqi oil products and interests and ownership by US persons (defined to include US corporations) from attachment as well.

Executive Order 13303 also terminates sanctions specified in EO 12722, EO 12724, EO 13290, as it applies to the development fund. 

In effect, EO 13303 provides an extraordinarily broad legal shield for any and all contractors and mercenaries working in Iraq on behalf of US corporations in any oil related enterprise.

5:01 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - Sounds like the objective of this was to protect the reserves and I would be very surprised if it was designed to protect investors.

5:03 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - I'm not an attorney and I have no economic interest in Iraq. I think there is no mechanical way to predict what a currency will do. 

But the market will reflect an assessment of the economic situation as well as the currency. There is a risk with the dinar where there isn't one with other country.

5:05 PM [FLPatriot59] T - They have imposed more tariffs in the country recently. Based on your knowledge, do you think Iraq's assension into the WTO is imminent? 

PB - I'm not sure about their discussions but it is within Iraq's interests to join the WTO and it's in America's interests for them to join as well. We have some important interests in Iraq. 

I don't follow the negotiations but I would be strongly in favor of them joining the WTO but that would involved long negotiations including tariffs.

5:06 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - They produce 3.5M barrels/day and have the capacity to be a major supplier in the world. But it is good in general to have additional capacity coming online. If they can solve their political problems the outlook for the economy is good.

5:06 PM [FLPatriot59] Q&A FROM MEMBERS...

5:09 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - (caller is quoting from Bremer's parting statement when he left 2004). What is the 1 thing you wish you could have done differently during your time in rebuilding Iraq? 

PB - The biggest mistake I made is when I issued the decree on de-Bathification, what I did was say that the top 2% of the    could not have jobs in the GOI. 

The mistake was turning that over to the politicians who used that to punish their enemies. I should've turned it over to a panel of Iraqi lawyers who are judges instead of turning it over to the GOI

5:12 PM [FLPatriot59] S - Do you feel confident the Iraqi army can win the battle over the terrorists and has the current administrations helped or hurt Iraq in becoming a completely autonomous country? 

PB - It's the most important question. I certainly hope they can win. They are fully sovereign, that is clear. It was a serious mistake for America to pull its troops out in 2011 and was absolutely predictable in what would happen. 

The Iraqi army was not able by itself to maintain what we did, as I wrote about in my book. I hope we don't make the same mistake in Afghanistan.

5:14 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - What was the total amount of Iraqi dinar printed and what was the intended duration of this project? 

PB - I don't remember the value. We had a $20B GDP which went up 20% in 2004, so we were looking at a GDP of 30-40% when oil came back online. 

As far as the actual currency exchange, we set out to start the exchange all over the country in October 2003 and finish 3 months later. 

We took this 6000 tons of new currency out into the villages and country. Remember, there were not banks or wire transfer capability, no    system. Other than that it was a piece of cake.

5:16 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - I cannot fathom the logistics of that, with no roads. 

PB - We had roads but they were littered with IEDs. It was an extraordinary thing, doing in 3 months what the Europeans took 3 years to do. 

The amount of weaponry in the country when we got there was staggering. We flew over one in a BlackHawk and it took 20 minutes to fly over it in the desert.

5:19 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - We talked earlier about the capture of Saddaam. I never met a single Iraqi who didn't have a story about a family member or friend who wasn't tortured or killed by Saddaam. 

It was extraordinary. A good day is when your neighbor's daughter is taken away and tortured because it wasn't your own daughter. 

It's simply beyond the understanding of most Americans. When he was finally captured in December 2003 I had several conversations with someone in government. 

Her brother had been taken away and she never told her children about their uncle that he had been taken away 25 years earlier.

5:20 PM [FLPatriot59] PB - Another story was about a woman whose son was burned with acid by Saddaam and fled to Netherlands. It wasn't until 30 years later that she was able to speak to him by    after Saddaam was captured.

5:24 PM [FLPatriot59] SHREDD - Do you think it was the plan back then for Iraq to be using the USD like they are today? 

PB - It wasn't the calculation for it to be around so long. Our intention was for them to be using their own currency. It's up to them and not something we Americans should be lecturing them about.

5:24 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - Do you remember how much dinar was printed back them? PB - It was over 6,000 tons but I can't tell you the value.

5:25 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - Was there a cut-off time? 

PB - I don't think you can put a timeframe on it. I think realistically we had to assume it would take time for them to put together an economic and political system. But we didn't have a timeframe attached to that happening.

5:32 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - What was your monetary policy when you got there? 

PB - The monetary policy had a major element to create the independence of the Central Bank, which it never had. Under Saddaam, every Friday they figured out how much currency they needed and then they'd call down to the Central Bank and ask them to print more money. 

They caused over 115,000% inflation annually. So the first thing we had to do was create an independent central bank. The second thing we had to do was get a credible currency.

 The third thing was free the interest rates. Under Saddaam interest rates were set by bureaucrats. What you paid in interest depended on who you knew. So we had to create interest rates determined by the market.

5:34 PM [FLPatriot59] Q - Touch briefly on what led you into art?

 PB - I was an art historian in college and decided to try it myself. It is a form of stress-relieft. All the paintings are on bremerenterprises.com.

Most of the landscapes are of Vermont in the winter and some from Washington. They're all oil.

M [FLPatriot59] Q - Where can we find your book? They are available on Amazon.

[Zigs]

I thought today was clowns day off!  Great job.  

[dinarbeleiver]

Thanks thugster

[DinarThug]

I thought today was clowns day off!  

News Never Sleeps - That's Why We're Up At The Crack Of Noon !

- CNN

[Artitech]

What does it all mean?

[bigwave]

What does it all mean?

It means he does not know about  the dinar and he is us sure if the Iraqi's can keep the violence down,

[MyLadiesDaddy]

He's not very good at lying.

"I have no economic Interests in Iraq"

Give me a break, the man who gave Iraq its constitution created a new central bank

and basically gave birth to a nation, doesn't care were it goes.

Not to mention when asked directly about dinar he seems to become defensive and

critic. Ask ourselves, if he's no interest in Iraq today then why write a book totally

lambasting the Obummer administration? This man is extremely interested in Iraq

and knows more than he can say.

[Nadita]

LGD,

 

Agree... if he were to disclose about dinar.. it will create a feeding frenzy of people buying dinar.. he won't do it.  He is trying to deter people from buying and discouragement

[Maggie123]

News Never Sleeps - That's Why We're Up At The Crack Of Noon !

- CNN

:D

 

   

 

Thank You Thuggie... Great Work And Real Interesting.

 

Also A Big Thank You To Bondlady And Her Team... Much Appreciated.

[aitshioud]

Thanks for posting the transcript!

[RodandStaff]

Great job by our resident news clown....and that's no joke!!! ;o)

[dontlop]

I'm pretty sure the central bank law only gave it independence from govt control

It wasn't a new central bank

From what I read they did that to prevent saddam from using the central bank from financing the war

Thanks thug

And who ever did the interview

[doctor robbins]

He's not very good at lying.

"I have no economic Interests in Iraq"

Give me a break, the man who gave Iraq its constitution created a new central bank

and basically gave birth to a nation, doesn't care were it goes.

Not to mention when asked directly about dinar he seems to become defensive and

critic. Ask ourselves, if he's no interest in Iraq today then why write a book totally

lambasting the Obummer administration? This man is extremely interested in Iraq

and knows more than he can say.

 

I think when he says he has no economic interest in Iraq it means that he isn't invested in Iraq so whatever happens there doesn't affect him financially.  I don't think it means he isn't interested or doesn't care. 

[DinarThug]

I think when he says he has no economic interest in Iraq it means that he isn't invested in Iraq so whatever happens there doesn't affect him financially. 

I Think That When He Speaks To An Audience Like Us With An Obvious Potential Interest In His Iraqi Based Book

That It Does Effect Him Financially !

[doctor robbins]

Certainly his book sales affect him financially, but I was referring to LGD's claim.  I don't think he was lying at all.  If he has no financial interest in the developments in Iraq then he's not going to be as motivated to keep up with events as people who have invested thousands of dollars in dinar.

[DinarThug]

I think when he says he has no economic interest in Iraq

Certainly his book sales affect him financially, but I was referring to LGD's claim. I don't think he was lying at all. If he has no financial interest in the developments in Iraq then he's not going to be as motivated to keep up with events as people who have invested thousands of dollars in dinar.

Reread The First 12 Words From Ur Original Quote Above !

I See That My Buddy Fibby Is Currently Reading This Thread !

Yo Bump, It's A New Year - Can We Release Our Buddy Fibby From The Downstairs LOPster Cage ?

At Least He Has A Sense Of Humor !

As Opposed To Our Designated 'Upstairs' Self Appointed 'Pretend MD' LOPster !

[Nadita]

Yo Bump,

 

I second Thuggie's request

[storm1]

He's not very good at lying.

"I have no economic Interests in Iraq"

Give me a break, the man who gave Iraq its constitution created a new central bank

and basically gave birth to a nation, doesn't care were it goes.

Not to mention when asked directly about dinar he seems to become defensive and

critic. Ask ourselves, if he's no interest in Iraq today then why write a book totally

lambasting the Obummer administration? This man is extremely interested in Iraq

and knows more than he can say.

if you listened to the interview, he said he had to sign a statement stating he would have no financial interest or economic dealings in iraq(paraphrased)

he didnt create the iraqi constitution.

he wrote the book for 2 reasons, 1 to make money 2 the obama admin needs to be lambasted

i didnt catch any lies

[billio0]

Thanks Dinar Thug for the post, and thanks to the Bonlady team for arranging the interview.

 

That said, Mr. Bremer didn't say anything I didn't already expect him to say, which I predicted earlier when we got wind of this upcoming event to be nothing more than PR BS.

 

Now, I think the thing we should try and glean from it is what is actually meant from the things Mr. Bremer said, as well as those he avoided saying. Whether he has a vested monetary interest or not, he certainly is interested enough to still be involved in Iraq, whether as an author, and ambassador, or as a puppet for the Authors-of-the-Plan.

 

I am not convinced for one moment that the very guy who set up the entire system of government there, as well as its economy, has somehow now chosen to turn a blind eye to those very specific issues. Certainly, he could never honestly deny his concern for how the success of the IQD affects the everyday Iraqi citizen, their neighboring Mideast countries, and those American and other foreign investors (including us) who have much to gain or lose based on the outcome of a country with such massive potential, both economically and politically as it is situated in that region of the world.

 

To feign ignorance is a convenient tool of those who fear the consequences of admitting the truth!

 

Billio0

[jeepguy]

I did  listen to much of this interview,  at one  point  he stated  that   the  u.s.  sent over 6,ooo  to  7,ooo  tons <---  THAT  IS   TONS    of dinar ,    where did  it  all go  ?   any body  here on vets  have  enough dinar  close too half a ton,  just to figure out  how much  6 or  7 tons  would amount to ?    if  they had tons of dinar , and  the average  Iraqi  business  is  still getting  worn out, crap  paper that is  hard  to handle,   those  folks  are  really putting  the  paper  to use .....    I think  I see  what  doc.  robins  is  saying  p/b/    isn`t  invested in  say  Iraq  stock  exchange,  or  has  mo0ney  with  warka ,  but   p. b.   did  say  he  had  1  old saddam  note,    -------  and  his  wife  has  several  new   notes ?  <---- o kay  that  last part I  told a fib ,,  but  it  might  be right !    thanks   thug

[AmericaInc]

He's not very good at lying.

"I have no economic Interests in Iraq"

Give me a break, the man who gave Iraq its constitution created a new central bank

and basically gave birth to a nation, doesn't care were it goes.

Not to mention when asked directly about dinar he seems to become defensive and

critic. Ask ourselves, if he's no interest in Iraq today then why write a book totally

lambasting the Obummer administration? This man is extremely interested in Iraq

and knows more than he can say.

LGD - I think he meant no "personal" gain from Iraq - that would look bad if you came back with a boatload of dinar, or US cash...

He has in interest in Iraq, in general, as you say.

 

What we gain from this is - no set timetable, 115,000% inflation from Saddam's currency printing and the plan was no dollarization - they should have been using the dinar by now.

 

These are three big points.

At first glance, my feeling is - why would they have continued the past inflation in exchanging the old dinar for the Bremmer? How did that work? That needs some investigation. Because this hits at the lopster argument at its heart. Think about it - they see Saddam overprinted. They print a new currency. Why print a new currency that is just as diluted and undervalued as the overprinted Swiss dinar? It doesn't make sense.

 

Secondly, timetable - not sure what this means. Today's current situation was not the plan.  Why, I am not sure. Who is in control? I tend to think the GOI / CBI are not in total control because they are a US client state. But if an RV were in store, then the powers that be would have forced an RV already. So something's up.

Edited January 12, 2014 by AmericaInc

[Zigs]

Sometimes I think, the plan was to have changed their currency to a new currency before 2013 but they didn't.  From past articles the government complained, they did not want to pay the cost of a new currency and did not want to risk counter fitting and money laundering.  I have a sneaking suspicion the answer lies with the cards, (smart cards, mustard cards, Q cards.)  This process would be a huge effort towards preparing banks to access cards and distribute cards.  They would need to restructure their electricity availability.  They would need ATM machines, they would need to educate banking employee's, they would need to educate the Iraqi's.  We have watched the process for awhile.  The cards in my opinion is what has held anything to do with currency back.  Their goal is a cashless Iraq.

 

With some banks stating they have no cash, people not getting paid, tattered dinar which has not been replaced for new ones is very interesting.  It appears they don't intend to replace it with crisp dinar, I think they will replace the dinar with cards.

 

Another think LDGD made me wonder, if Iraq has been dollarized, why is the dinar the tattered currency?  My guess would be the dinar is used the most in everyday purchases.  Just some thoughts. 

[Dinarian64]

I Think That When He Speaks To An Audience Like Us With An Obvious Potential Interest In His Iraqi Based Book

That It Does Effect Him Financially !

Yup - and of course an opportunity to collect his art work.

Zigs that is an astute analysis.

On other comments- it isn't Obamas fault that we didn't leave troops in Iraq - we tried and they refused. Please adjust brain waves accordingly. Here is an interview of a Brookings Institute Fellow which is the most objective interview I have EVER seen on Fox.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3023918845001/is-al-qaeda-threat-in-iraq-growing/

115,000 inflation? Holy moly that is why it is .00089 - where does this leave room for our beloved RV? Has anyone calculated the true value of currency to assets? I am loving the rv idea just wondering if the cash to value equation lines up with our hopium dreams...

[EagleEye]

did anyone feel that is answers re: currency & RV lacked a "ring of truth"....seemed calculated to squelch thoughts of RV   

[Dinarian64]

did anyone feel that is answers re: currency & RV lacked a "ring of truth"....seemed calculated to squelch thoughts of RV

I think he wants to make book and painting sales and he won't comment on the rv for many possible reasons including reputation amongst the communities that believe its a scam