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Iraq’s human rights commission calls on Baghdad to fulfil promises to protesters

3 hours ago
 
 

Iraq’s human rights commission calls on Baghdad to fulfil promises to protesters
A recent wave of violent, nationwide protests in Iraq have reportedly led to the deaths of at least 100 people and thousands more injured. (Photo: Archive)
 
 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq on Monday called on the federal government in Baghdad to fulfill promises it made to protestors and implement its reform package.

The announcement comes after a recent wave of violent, nationwide protests which began in early October. The demonstrations have reportedly led to the deaths of at least 100 people and thousands more injured.

Security forces cracked down on protesters, with many accusing them of using excessive force and gunfire to prevent the demonstrations from spreading.

The central government in Baghdad also imposed a curfew and cut internet connections in many southern provinces where the unrest was taking place.

“We call on the government to implement its promises in the reform package, and to give the Iraqi citizens the rights guaranteed by the constitution,” Fadhel al-Gharawi, a member of the Iraqi human rights commission, said in a statement.

“We call for those who gave orders to attack peaceful demonstrators with live bullets and arrest them to be held responsible, whether they are commanders or others, and that they are brought to justice.”

Violence permeated protests since they began in Baghdad and spread to major southern cities, marking the worst instance of instability since the so-called Islamic State was defeated nearly two years ago. Many were killed by direct sniper fire.

On Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi said his government was committed to improving living conditions and affirmed that an investigation into the deadly demonstrations would be announced “soon.”

‘It's too late:’ Populist Iraqi cleric Sadr sides with protesters

The Iraqi human rights statement underlined the need for authorities to announce the results to the Iraqi people “with full transparency and accountability of all the negligent who caused this humanitarian tragedy.”

“The families of martyrs and the wounded should be compensated,” it added, “and all detainees should be released.”

Activists have told Kurdistan 24 that another major demonstration is planned for Baghdad and other cities on Oct. 25. This follows the Shia religious observance called Arbaeen, during which millions of worshippers will be marching to holy sites in Iraq.


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The finance minister discusses in Washington with banking institutions new policies to accelerate the implementation of projects

 

The finance minister discusses in Washington with banking institutions new policies to accelerate the implementation of projects
 
 
2019/10/21 13:20

 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Fuad Hussein and his delegation in Washington held a number of meetings and meetings within the delegation's program to strengthen economic and financial relations with international organizations and institutions.

The Minister of Finance met the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund Mitsu Hero Furusao and during the meeting discussed the possibility of strengthening cooperation between Iraq and the Fund in the interest of Iraq and contribute to the development of the economic sector. Separately, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance met with the World Bank Group and MIGA and thanked them for their support to develop economic sectors, as well as discussing the continuation of support to create new jobs, support small and medium enterprises and contribute to giving expertise to carry out general reforms of the economic institution.

On the other hand, the Iraqi delegation met with Farid Balah, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa, during which the meeting reviewed the projects implemented by the Bank in Iraq and agreed to adopt new policies to accelerate the implementation of projects. He also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance representative of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development Christine Toetzk and discussed with them the possibility of long-term cooperation to help the Iraqi government in achieving economic development goals.

It is worth mentioning that the delegation held a series of meetings with international monetary institutions and international banks such as Lazard Freres and Deutsche Bank in order to strengthen relations and cooperation in the financial sector and banking and contribute to infrastructure projects and reconstruction. The meetings were attended by advisers to the prime minister and general directors of the Ministry of Finance and the ambassador of Iraq in Washington.
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Iraq And Norway Have Several Understandings, Including The Oil-For-Development Agreement


Iraq and Norway sign oil-for-development agreement

 

21st October, 2019

 

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, Erna Solberg, discussed the development of relations between the two countries in all fields, and benefit from the expertise and Norwegian companies in the reconstruction of Iraq, and continued cooperation against terrorism.

The Prime Minister said that "Norway has a successful experience on the generational funds, and its highly qualified companies can contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq as well as experiences in the areas of development of women and childhood and social reconciliation."

He added, “This visit is of special importance and gave a strong impetus to the relations between the two countries and the two friendly peoples towards the establishment of strategic relations in the cultural and social aspects and fighting corruption. In order to achieve the building, progress and prosperity of our two peoples, we stressed together the importance of maintaining security and stability in the region and working towards achieving global peace and security.”

The Prime Minister called on the Kingdom of Norway to brief the European Union on the role played by Iraq and the need to support it as an important factor in the stability of the region and the world and in the face of ISIS and make sacrifices and victory, and that the role of Iraq has achieved a better regional and global peace and eased the transition to the countries of Europe and the world.

In the presence of the Prime Minister and his Norwegian counterpart, the oil-for-development agreement was signed at the end of talks in Baghdad on Monday morning. "This is my first visit to Iraq, and I thank the Prime Minister for the warm hospitality and warm reception," said the Norwegian Prime Minister, stressing that Iraqi sovereignty is very important. Stabilizing Iraq, praising the Iraqi government's support for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Stabilization Fund, and indicated that her country signed this agreement with Iraq to start a new phase of the oil-for-development program for three years, which will contribute to the original agenda.  Iraq also stressed Norway's desire to strengthen bilateral cooperation and looked forward to building a long-term partnership with Iraq. 


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Abdul-Mahdi makes a request to his Norwegian counterpart  

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Iraq and Norway sign oil-for-development agreement

 

Iraq and Norway sign oil-for-development agreement
 
 
2019/10/21 11:33 

 
Iraq and Norway have signed the oil-for-development agreement, the prime minister said on Monday.

"Iraq and Norway have signed the oil-for-development agreement," Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's office said in a statement received by the Euphrates News. 
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The Kurdistan Region sends its budget to the federal government

 

The Kurdistan Region sends its budget to the federal government
 
 
2019/10/21 11:56


 

Fares Issa official representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in the capital, Baghdad, to send the budget estimate to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

 

Issa said in a press statement that "the Kurdistan region sent several days before the estimated budget for 2020 to the Federal Ministry of Finance, noting that the budget included the volume of oil imports and expenses accurately."

For his part, said a member of the Finance Committee Shirwan Mirza during a press statement that "the Federal Ministry of Finance will discuss the estimated budget of the Kurdistan region and can amend it." He added, "The Ministry of Finance will add the estimated budget of the Kurdistan region to the federal budget for 2020 and will be submitted to the Council of Ministers and then sent to the House of Representatives for approval."
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Transparency International: Iraq has made significant progress in applying the International Standard for Oil and Gas Governance

 

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21st October, 2019

 

A report by the Transparency International Extractive Industries Corporation (ISI) on Monday confirmed that Iraq's performance in implementing the requirements of the Transparency Standard has improved significantly since the country's first validation in 2017.

And quoted the site of the Foundation in a report translated / information / Chairman of the Foundation Helen Keller as saying that "Iraq's implementation of the criterion of transparency revealed 45 billion dollars the amount of Iraqi crude oil sales annually." "The challenge now is for Iraq to strengthen multi-stakeholder control over its extractive industries and use this emerging transparency to enhance accountability in managing its natural resources," she said.

The report continued that "the Foundation recognized the progress made by Iraq, through the initiative (EITI), in the disclosure of information that was not accessible before, from data on oil fields and oil property rights to the publication of financial statements of state-owned oil and gas institutions." .

For his part, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Thamer Ghadhban that "the results of the second verification reflects our concerted efforts to open the management of the Iraqi oil and gas industry through regular and comprehensive disclosures."

The report noted that "However, this transparency arising not been matched by equal efforts to ensure that the data in the public debate and decision - making, as would the systematic disclosure of the data required by the standard to enable Iraq to focus on the use of data to improve accountability in the oil and gas sector management”. The decision of the Board of Directors of the Transparency Foundation on Iraq gave the country 18 months to address 12 gaps in the implementation of the standards before the third ratification on April 17, 2021.

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Iraq: Preparations for a new wave of protests

 

- 4 Hours Have Passed
 

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Public and government circles in Iraq are awaiting the start of popular demonstrations on the 25th of this month in Baghdad and a number of Iraqi provinces to demand better services and disclose the results of investigations into the killing of 108 demonstrators and the injury of more than 6100 others in the first week of this month in Baghdad and other cities.

Calls and tweets spread through social networks in Iraq to prepare for these demonstrations, while the National Security Council called in an extraordinary session chaired by Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces Adel Abdul-Mahdi to speed up the processing of law enforcement forces recently formed by the Iraqi government to confront the demonstrators instead of the army Police used excessive force against demonstrators using live bullets, tear gas, sticks and batons, killing 108 protesters and wounding 6,100 others, including security personnel.

Hoshyar Qardagh, the rapporteur of the Iraqi parliament, told Al-Sabah newspaper on Monday that more than 100 deputies in the Iraqi parliament have submitted a request to the parliamentary presidency to hold the parliament session during the week instead of next Saturday. This month. ”

He added that "everything the parliament will do in the interest of the Iraqi street and its tendencies to provide services and jobs and improve the economic reality in the country."

The Iraqi government launched a package of decisions to secure billions of dinars to meet the demands of the demonstrators through grants and loans and solve the problem of unemployment and provide thousands of jobs in the armed forces and security services and in other sectors.

The Iraqi government did not announce the results of the investigations conducted by a high committee headed by the Minister of Planning on the violence that accompanied the demonstrations after it had explicitly stated that security forces were not ordered to use live bullets to disperse demonstrators and that the excessive use of force was borne by the security leaders. .

MP Shirwan Mirza, a member of the Iraqi parliament, told Al-Sabah newspaper that the parliament is going to vote on a number of resolutions that will help calm the Iraqi street and the demonstrators. Calms them and respond to most urgent claims.

Arab Jerusalem

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A cheap price for liberated cities… Real estate Iraq without buyers and donors freeze reconstruction promises

 

- 4 Hours Have Passed
 

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Destroyed real estate and rubble piled on the roads everywhere .. Scene still surrounds the liberated cities and areas of ISIS north and west of Iraq, despite more than two years since its defeat and Baghdad regain control of those areas, and the promises of reconstruction for which international conferences were held.

Government justifications include a lack of adequate funds and international donors' fears that their money will be diverted away from reconstruction. With corruption rampant in Iraq, liberated cities and regions have become the title of poverty, unemployment and marginalization.

The ability to leave the place is no longer available even to those who made the decision. The absence of reconstruction has pushed the prices of real estate and other properties to collapse, and the offer at low prices is no longer attractive to buyers.

According to government reports, Iraq needs between $ 80 billion and $ 90 billion to rebuild 180 cities, districts, towns, and districts spread across Anbar, Nineveh, Diyala, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, the Baghdad belt and northern Babylon, cities that ISIS had invaded in northern and western Iraq in mid-2014. It was released in 2017, while accounting for 49 percent of the country's total area.

In February of last year, Kuwait sponsored an international conference for the reconstruction and development of Iraq, with the participation of more than 40 countries and hundreds of foreign companies in various sectors, while the Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, International pledges at the conference amounted to $ 30 billion.

But these pledges did not find their way to activate, while a senior official in the Ministry of Planning in Baghdad, told the "new Arab", that six Arab and foreign countries told Iraq that the influence of armed militias and parties and the corruption of Iraq and the failure of the government to provide a clear road map on how to spend money on projects Reconstruction, is what prompted it to hesitate to fulfill its pledges.

The Iraqi official added that the reconstruction efforts are currently based on contributions from the United Nations and local and other efforts of the federal government, and focused on the cleaning and removal of debris and repair roads, but there are more than 200 thousand destroyed housing units and dozens of hospitals and health centers and hundreds of schools out of service, and nearly 10 Thousands of kilometers of roads and bridges need reconstruction.

In the absence of international reconstruction efforts, government promises of compensation for the affected are also missing, and there are no provisions, either in this year's budget or the government's agenda.

Qasim Awwad, director of Al Furat Construction and Reconstruction Company, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the failure to enter the northern and western cities in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase made them plunge further into poverty. "They don't have money to build their houses, and even if they offer them for sale, they don't find buyers. Everyone is waiting for the government or investment companies, and both are absent."

He continued, “Fear of the next is what hangs on these areas, the multiple parties that hold arms and their interference in projects and reconstruction is one of the most prominent what makes the investor afraid of entering and implicating himself, while the government has reneged on its previous promises in the reconstruction and care of cities liberated from ISIS.”

Bank promises of loans to those wishing to rebuild their destroyed homes could not help resolve the impasse, he said, because they were found to be preceded by incapacitating conditions that did not apply to 80 percent of the population.

According to recent data from the Ministry of Planning, the poverty rate in the oil-rich country reached 22.5 per cent in 2019, equivalent to 8.6 million people.

"It is shameful that Iraq is taking grants, an oil-producing country," Intifad Qanbar, head of the Future Party of Iraq, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed.

Iraq is one of the largest Arab countries producing oil. According to statements by Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi, in August, his country is working to raise production in the coming years to 7.5 million barrels per day, compared to about 4.5 million barrels per day now, while proven oil reserves of about 112 billion barrels.

“Giving foreign grants or loans is not only a threat to Iraqi sovereignty, but a threat that the money of future generations will be stolen,” Qanbar said. Theft is not limited to stealing money now, but theft of Iraq's future money, and this is very dangerous, may lead to the collapse of Iraq economically, financially and sovereignly.

He continued: "There is a political desire, especially from the pro-Iranian parties, not to rebuild the liberated Sunni areas, and therefore is stolen funds allocated to those areas, especially with the presence of armed groups controlled."

In turn, Atheel al-Nujaifi, a leader in the Salvation Front and Development and former governor of Nineveh, told the "new Arab", it is "unfortunate that foreign organizations have fallen under the control of local Iraqi authorities and no longer follow the methods known globally to award contracts and implementation, but are closer to the satisfaction of Iraqi officials , Who have the right to allow them or prevent them from working. ”

Nujaifi explained that "some organizations have fallen victim to the exploitation of officials in the liberated provinces in the beginning, and then that these organizations offered dissatisfaction with this method to former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and told him that they could not deal with local administrations, but unfortunately no action was taken" .

He added that "the non-arrival of financial grants pledged at the Kuwait International Conference to Baghdad to date, comes because of corruption on the one hand, and on the other hand because of Iraq's inability to open reassuring investment outlets for those countries."

Iraq ranked 168 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International's 2018 report.

Ghaith al-Tamimi, leader of the opposition Citizenship Party, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “there is corruption and systematic looting of the people's money. In the name of reconstruction and construction, international grant funds will not and will not reach Baghdad if current corruption and armed groups control the liberated cities, to which the funds are allocated.

A deputy in the parliament had told the "new Arab", earlier, that "there are more than 40 cases of corruption in Iraq worth up to $ 100 billion."

Joseph Saliwa, a member of parliament and head of the Democratic Warka Bloc, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, A joint committee should be formed between Iraq and donor countries in order to have transparency in how to spend the money allocated for reconstruction so that the destroyed cities can be seriously rebuilt.” Proposing the supervision of the United Nations on the work of this Committee.

Jassim al-Bukhati, a member of parliament's services committee, told Al-Arabi al-Jadeed earlier this October that the number of illusory projects between 2003 (after the US-British invasion) to 2019 had exceeded 6. Thousands of projects, "pointing out that the amounts incurred by Iraq because of that amounted to nearly 200 trillion dinars (about 178 billion dollars).

The New Arab

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Geopolitical Stakes in Iraq

 

- 4 Hours Have Passed
 

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When President Trump announced the US withdrawal from northeastern Syria, he abandoned the Kurdish forces that fought alongside the United States against ISIS in favor of Turkey and paved the way for the return of the "second version" of ISIS. Apart from the moral and humanitarian dimensions of this decision, subsequent developments showed that it was a reckless one. It came as a disaster that showed all the enemies of the United States and its allies that the world 's sole superpower cannot be relied upon as irresponsibly volatile. Worse still, the decision was disconnected from the Trump administration's strategic foundations in the US National Security Strategy of 2017. The rivalry between the superpowers was supposed to be the dominant agenda today, but the moves in Syria were a clear concession to Russia. And Iran.

Amid the public uproar, the specific implications of the Trump decision were lost. Iraq is a good case study. Despite Trump's talk of withdrawing from the Middle East as a whole, the United States remains engaged in Iraq in the near future. Indeed, a number of US troops will be transferred from Syria to Iraq, as the United States continues to support Baghdad's counterterrorism efforts. Although US commitment to the country - and to the broader Middle East - has become more uncertain in the long run in recent events, it is worth considering geopolitical stakes in Iraq, particularly with regard to Russia, in order to better understand how These bets are compromised by the last step taken by Trump.

There are elements of soft power and hard power that characterize Russia's strategy in Iraq and have had a tangible impact for some time. The Kremlin deals and builds relationships in energy, security structures, the country's media landscape, and with the government. When Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim in Moscow in January 2019, he said, “We are very interested in increasing our trade, economic and investment relations.” Regarding Lavrov's visit to Iraq, Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haider Mansour Hadi said that the Russian minister's visit shows not only an interest in developing better relations with Iraq, but also in "settling the situation in the region." During Lavrov's recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil this month, he said Russia and Iraq shared the same view on Syria.

Russia's total energy investment in Iraq has exceeded $ 10 billion, as a result of years of Kremlin efforts to return to Iraq after the 2003 war, when the new government in Baghdad canceled several energy contracts with Russia under Saddam Hussein. In February 2008, Moscow canceled the bulk of Iraq's $ 12.9 billion Soviet-era debt in exchange for a $ 4 billion oil deal that included access to West Qurna 2, one of the world's largest oilfields.

In 2012, Russian oil companies Lukoil and Gazprom Oil entered the energy market in Iraqi Kurdistan and won a number of contracts. Three years later, as US energy companies began to partially reduce their presence in Iraq because of security concerns, the KRG invited more Russian companies. Russian oil giant Rosneft, which was sanctioned by the United States in 2014, has signed oil contracts with Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Moscow also provided a $ 3.5 billion loan to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which will be repaid in the future to Rosneft through oil. The funding restored the KRG's financial lifeline to its problems and gave it a degree of leverage toward Baghdad, which wants to control KRG oil sales, but now has to deal with Rosneft on the issue. In addition, the Russian company bought a major stake in a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oil pipeline to Turkey and agreed to build a parallel gas pipeline. For Moscow, energy is largely a foreign policy tool, and control of a pipeline has long-term strategic implications, not only for the KRG and Baghdad, but also for Turkey.

In October 2013, Moscow began delivering weapons to Iraq as part of a $ 4.2 billion arms deal, which was revived after Iraq withdrew the previous year due to allegations of corruption. In early 2014, Washington delayed the delivery of F-16 fighter jets and Apache helicopters to Iraq due to Congressional stalling and the long bureaucratic process of the program not coinciding with the immediate situation on the other. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appealed to Putin, who quickly provided 12 combat aircraft to Baghdad, without any restrictions. The first batch of F-16s arrived in July 2015, followed by more aircraft over the years. More importantly, in early 2014, Iraqis also needed US air strikes against ISIS, but the White House postponed it until August of the same year. During my talks in Baghdad last month, Iraqis still remember how quickly Russian weapons arrived at a time when they needed them most. Moscow's swift delivery of weapons helped shape Putin's perception of someone who helped Iraq fight the Islamic State.

In October 2015, days after Moscow announced its intervention in Syria, a new intelligence-sharing center was opened in Baghdad, with Russian, Iranian and Syrian personnel, with the participation of Hezbollah members, to provide intelligence on air strikes targeting ISIS fighters. "Islamic country". In fact, the center did nothing, but instead succeeded in giving Moscow a legitimate reason to maintain an intelligence presence in Iraq.

Moscow hardly looks like the dominant body in Iraq, but it has adopted the perception that, unlike the United States, it promises little - but when it promises to deliver. Since December 2018, planning for the reopening of the Iraqi-Russian Cultural Center in Baghdad, which Moscow closed in 2003, has begun. Information project. One of the allegations of the channel "RT Arabic" that Russia has fought the Islamic State "continuously. Moscow also shows itself as a state concerned with human rights by returning the children of Russian citizens who joined the organization in Iraq and Syria [to Russia]. At the same time, the Iraqi government suspended the broadcast of the US-funded al-Hurra Iraq TV channel after it broadcast allegations of clerical corruption.

Moscow offers Iraqi university students a small number of scholarships to study in Russia, and Lavrov noted that "dozens of diplomats from Iraq participate in special training courses at the" Diplomatic Academy "of the Russian Foreign Ministry." In this context, Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Qusay al-Suhail signed a memorandum of understanding in September to increase Russian scholarships for Iraqis and expand cooperation. Iraqis tend to prefer to study in the West, but high costs and bureaucratic hurdles often stand in their way. In addition, many senior Iraqi Army officers with experience in pre-2003 Iraq received training in the Soviet Union, unlike the younger generation who worked primarily with the United States.

Moscow faces competition in Iraq from Iran, but the Russians tend to try to cooperate with Iran rather than work toward conflicting goals. Anti-Americanism and joint opposition to US influence in the Middle East have united both countries for years, but the two countries have not been so consistent for centuries, but the war in Syria, in particular, has elevated the partnership to unprecedented levels.

Baghdad is also expanding its outreach to China as part of a broader effort to fund reconstruction. As Beijing's energy appetite continues to grow, it will increasingly look to the Middle East. According to high figures, Russia's bilateral trade with Iraq, which amounts to $ 1.7 billion, is small compared to Baghdad's $ 30 billion business with Beijing. However, when it comes to developing security and energy, Iraq is turning to Moscow instead of Beijing.

For many Americans, there is a deep sense of fatigue from Iraq. What many do not realize is that despite the country's problems, some hard-won freedoms have taken root since the fall of Saddam, a brutal tyrant who publicly admired Joseph Stalin. Today, Iraq faces many daunting challenges, but Iraqis are not afraid to ask difficult questions to their government in public forums, something that I myself saw during my last trip. This is hard to find in any country in the broader Middle East, except Israel and perhaps Tunisia. In another positive development, opinion polls show that sectarianism in Iraq has declined in recent years, with an increasing number of citizens identifying themselves as Iraqis first.

President Trump's withdrawal is seriously damaging US credibility in the broader Middle East, but Washington is still capable of engaging in Iraq - and must do so - not only to ensure security and counter Iranian influence (which remains significant). The White House, presumably), but also Russian influence, where Russia is one of the emerging rivals defined in the US national security strategy.

That would not be an easy start, but if the United States continues not to prioritize Iraq, it is certain to be lost to the rising tyranny of the region. First, we must remember the obvious fact that what happens in the Middle East rarely stays in the Middle East.

The Washington Institute

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To give oil to the Kurds and protect Israel .. US plan to keep troops in Syria

 

- One Hour Has Passed
 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is considering allowing 200 troops to remain in eastern Syria, and the leading Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, has hinted to take advantage of Syrian oil there for Kurdish forces and "to protect Israel," The New York Times reported.

A senior administration official told The New York Times that Trump would accept a Pentagon plan to keep 200 troops in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq for two reasons: combating Islamic State and preventing oil areas in the hands of the regime and Russia.

The New York Times pointed out that three officials in the US administration and the Department of Defense confirmed the decision makers in Washington to study this option.

In a tweet on Twitter, Trump quoted Defense Secretary Mark Esper as saying that the ceasefire was generally coherent in northeastern Syria despite sporadic clashes that quickly end, adding that US soldiers were not in combat zones or under the agreement, and that the United States had worked On securing oil, and stressing at the end of his tweet on ending “endless wars”.

Late last year, Trump announced an immediate decision to withdraw nearly 2,000 troops from Syria, and soon ordered a phased withdrawal.

Two weeks ago, Trump reiterated that his country would withdraw its 1,000 troops, and then the secretary of defense hinted they would go to western Iraq.

Witnesses told Reuters on Monday morning that more than 100 US armored vehicles have crossed the Syrian border into Iraq through the Suhaila crossing in the province of Dohuk.

The United States has about 125 troops in Syria's al-Tanf area on the border with Iraq and Jordan.

Protecting Israel
On the other hand, Lindsay Graham said during a meeting with Fox News that Trump's proposal regarding dealing with oil fields in Syria may generate revenue for the region and generate income from which to pay the costs of the US commitment in Syria, hinting Trump's readiness to use the air force "So that ISIS fighters do not get out of their hideouts."

"I think we are about to embark on a joint project with the SDF to modernize the oil fields and ensure that they are the ones who are earning revenue, not Iran or Bashar al-Assad's regime. Our main goal is to protect Israel," the senior Republican senator said.

Graham said that Trump's efforts reinforced his optimism that a solution could be found that would guarantee the security of Turkey and the security of the Kurds and contain ISIS fighters.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies

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This Just In From A Possible Umbertino Vatican Associate - Sergio ...

 

:D  :D  :D 

 

 

 

10-20-2019   Intel Guru Sergio  

Hello everyone. I have a UN update.

I just got off the phone with the person who heads the communication with IRAQ.

Call went like this...

i have a question on Iraq Chapter 7 and their currency. ...

I said i wanted to know if Iraq has to come out of chapter 7 before they can have a tradable Currency?  

He said NO!!  
i then told him i was told from a person in the UN before that they would have to come out of Chapter 7 he said the person gave me the wrong answer...

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10-21-2019   Intel Guru Sergio 

My Conversation with the WTO ...

1 Question:  

Does the WTO have anything to do with the exchange rate of Iraq

Answer:

No the WTO facilitates the trade of goods and services between countries.

2 Question:

What is the hold up of Iraq becoming a full member of the WTO?   

Answer: ...

The stats on Iraq is that they still have not provided a service and goods assessment. 

3 Question: 

Do you know anything that if Iraq becomes a full member of the WTO that Iraq's exchange rate would go up.   
Answer: 
I can not say with any type of authority or knowledge that that will happen,

our main position as i said before is to facilitate Trade. ...

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33 minutes ago, DinarThug said:

The finance minister discusses in Washington with banking institutions new policies to accelerate the implementation of projects

 

The finance minister discusses in Washington with banking institutions new policies to accelerate the implementation of projects


And This Just In From The Blue Couch Where Weegie Is Disguised As A Smurf Sofa Cushion ! :o 

 

:D  :D  :D 

 

 

 

 

10-20-2019   Intel Guru Frank26   Article quote: 

"Together with my delegation,

I met today in #Washington with @FeridBelhaj ,

@WorldBank VP- ME and NA and his team.

We discussed the various projects the WB is undertaking in #Iraq & agreed to adapt new methodologies to expedite implementation." 
"
EXPEDITE IMPLEMENTATION" ...FUAD/IMF/WB/UST/WDC...

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Parliamentary Finance: The government borrowed from Iraqi banks three trillion to build housing complexes

 

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21st October, 2019

 

The Federal Finance Committee announced on Monday that the federal government to borrow four trillion from three government banks to build housing complexes and resolve the crisis of slums across the country's provinces.

A member of the Committee, Siham Al-Aqili, told Al-Maalouma that the government borrowed four trillion from Al-Rasheed, Al-Rafidain and Commerce banks to build housing units in all governorates.”

She added that "these funds will be allocated for the construction of housing complexes throughout the country and not for a particular province," noting that "the reconstruction plan and construction will be implemented urgently and immediately to achieve the demands of the demonstrators."

The Committee on Economy and Investment parliamentary, confirmed last Saturday, the Government's intention to send a draft budget law 2020 on schedule, indicating that the budget will include the demands of the demonstrators.

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15 minutes ago, DinarThug said:

these funds will be allocated for the construction of housing complexes throughout the country and not for a particular province," noting that "the reconstruction plan and construction will be implemented urgently and immediately to achieve the demands of the demonstrators."

The Committee on Economy and Investment parliamentary, confirmed last Saturday, the Government's intention to send a draft budget law 2020 on schedule, indicating that the budget will include the demands of the demonstrators.

Nice I love this part let’s hope this comes with some sort of change in rate

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To implement the demands of the demonstrators .. Launch financial allocations for service projects in Babylon within 24 hours

 

To implement the demands of the demonstrators .. Launch financial allocations for service projects in Babylon within 24 hours
 
 
2019/10/21 13:57

 
Trade Minister Mohammed al-Ani, Monday, the launch of financial allocations for the implementation of service projects in Babylon within 24 hours.
 
A statement of the trade received (Euphrates News) a copy, that "the Minister of Commerce representative of the Prime Minister in the ministerial committee to implement the demands of the demonstrators Mohammed Hashem al-Ani, arrived today, to the city of Hilla in the province of Babylon accompanied by MP Salam al-Shammari, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities and the Governor of Babylon and Director General Sectors in the Ministry of Planning, the representative of the Prime Minister's Office and the Director General of Commercial and Financial Control in the Ministry of Commerce."

He added, "The minister, immediately after his arrival to Babylon, held a meeting with the governor of Babylon and his aides and heads of service departments, during which they discussed the mechanisms of implementing service projects and launching financial allocations related to operational and investment budgets and projects related to liberated areas, as well as problems facing the implementation of projects in an urgent manner.'' He pointed out that "a dialogue was held with a number of demonstrators regarding the implementation of their demands and the preparation of implementation plans directly," pointing out that "Ani conducted a tour of service projects in the province accompanied by a number of deputies from the province and the Deputy Minister of Housing and Municipalities and representative of the Prime Minister's Office, where he visited Bridge at all and a number of secondary and main streets."

The statement pointed out that "the visit comes to see the reality of the province and listen to the demands of the demonstrators directly." The minister announced, according to the statement "the launch of financial allocations for service projects and infrastructure in the province of Babylon, during a meeting with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning and the representative of the Prime Minister to discuss the demands of demonstrators in the province of Babylon and address the problems faced by the province."

The statement quoted Al-Ani as stressing the importance of launching all financial allocations planned in the general budget for 2019, as well as making all efforts to address the problems facing youth through the implementation of the reform package decided by the Council of Ministers to accommodate youth initiatives and the establishment of small projects supported by the government financially And morally." He added, "The next stage requires more efforts that serve the aspirations of our young people and provide them with a decent life, both through attracting initiatives and providing financial support for them, as well as absorbing those capabilities through training, qualifying and preparing them to set up projects in different service disciplines, as well as addressing housing problems. During the initiative of the government in the distribution of land, which was launched in a number of provinces while the work continues to sort other areas with the aim of distributing them to our dear people."

He pointed out, "The demands of the people of the province of Babylon are important and necessary to improve the reality of services that affect the lives of citizens and fight corruption and choose the right person in the right place, most of which falls within the priorities of the government program announced by the Prime Minister and approved by the House of Representatives and the government, has achieved a very wide steps and we are working now "The time frame for implementing the reform package approved by the Council of Ministers in the recent period has been reduced." Al-Ani stressed the importance of forming a law-enforcement force that deals with demonstrations in a way different from what happened in previous demonstrations, especially as a high-level ministerial committee set up by the government has verified the attacks that have taken place on demonstrators.

The Minister of Commerce called the people of Babylon province, "to cooperate in solving all the problems facing the province, especially as the demands of the demonstrators were transferred to the Council of Ministers and there are mechanisms to develop appropriate solutions, especially those related to the problems of youth and find jobs and fight administrative and financial corruption and launch financial allocations for the establishment of projects SOA as well as address the housing problem."
 
Edited by DinarThug
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4 minutes ago, DinarThug said:

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To implement the demands of the demonstrators .. Launch financial allocations for service projects in Babylon within 24 hours

 

To implement the demands of the demonstrators .. Launch financial allocations for service projects in Babylon within 24 hours
 
 
2019/10/21 13:57

 
Trade Minister Mohammed al-Ani, Monday, the launch of financial allocations for the implementation of service projects in Babylon within 24 hours.
 
A statement of the trade received (Euphrates News) a copy, that "the Minister of Commerce representative of the Prime Minister in the ministerial committee to implement the demands of the demonstrators Mohammed Hashem al-Ani, arrived today, to the city of Hilla in the province of Babylon accompanied by MP Salam al-Shammari, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities and the Governor of Babylon and Director General Sectors in the Ministry of Planning, the representative of the Prime Minister's Office and the Director General of Commercial and Financial Control in the Ministry of Commerce."

He added, "The minister, immediately after his arrival to Babylon, held a meeting with the governor of Babylon and his aides and heads of service departments, during which they discussed the mechanisms of implementing service projects and launching financial allocations related to operational and investment budgets and projects related to liberated areas, as well as problems facing the implementation of projects in an urgent manner.'' He pointed out that "a dialogue was held with a number of demonstrators regarding the implementation of their demands and the preparation of implementation plans directly," pointing out that "Ani conducted a tour of service projects in the province accompanied by a number of deputies from the province and the Deputy Minister of Housing and Municipalities and representative of the Prime Minister's Office, where he visited Bridge at all and a number of secondary and main streets."

The statement pointed out that "the visit comes to see the reality of the province and listen to the demands of the demonstrators directly." The minister announced, according to the statement "the launch of financial allocations for service projects and infrastructure in the province of Babylon, during a meeting with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning and the representative of the Prime Minister to discuss the demands of demonstrators in the province of Babylon and address the problems faced by the province."

The statement quoted Al-Ani as stressing the importance of launching all financial allocations planned in the general budget for 2019, as well as making all efforts to address the problems facing youth through the implementation of the reform package decided by the Council of Ministers to accommodate youth initiatives and the establishment of small projects supported by the government financially And morally." He added, "The next stage requires more efforts that serve the aspirations of our young people and provide them with a decent life, both through attracting initiatives and providing financial support system" rel="">support for them, as well as absorbing those capabilities through training, qualifying and preparing them to set up projects in different service disciplines, as well as addressing housing problems. During the initiative of the government in the distribution of land, which was launched in a number of provinces while the work continues to sort other areas with the aim of distributing them to our dear people."

He pointed out, "The demands of the people of the province of Babylon are important and necessary to improve the reality of services that affect the lives of citizens and fight corruption and choose the right person in the right place, most of which falls within the priorities of the government program announced by the Prime Minister and approved by the House of Representatives and the government, has achieved a very wide steps and we are working now "The time frame for implementing the reform package approved by the Council of Ministers in the recent period has been reduced." Al-Ani stressed the importance of forming a law-enforcement force that deals with demonstrations in a way different from what happened in previous demonstrations, especially as a high-level ministerial committee set up by the government has verified the attacks that have taken place on demonstrators.

The Minister of Commerce called the people of Babylon province, "to cooperate in solving all the problems facing the province, especially as the demands of the demonstrators were transferred to the Council of Ministers and there are mechanisms to develop appropriate solutions, especially those related to the problems of youth and find jobs and fight administrative and financial corruption and launch financial allocations for the establishment of projects SOA as well as address the housing problem."
 

Thanks bro

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BANK OF BAGHDAD

image.jpeg.6c4055904eb7f7bfb11bc7450d23ec17.jpeg

(Announcement on front page of their website)

 

“Dear customers.. we would like to inform you that our correspondent bank in US dollar currency is Citibank of New York through our account with the following details:

 

Citi bank N.A.  
SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33XXX  

ROUTING: 021000089

 

Therefore, please make sure to use the above account details for all your incoming transfers to your accounts with the Bank of Baghdad

 

Edited by DinarThug
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19 minutes ago, DinarThug said:

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BANK OF BAGHDAD

image.jpeg.6c4055904eb7f7bfb11bc7450d23ec17.jpeg

(Announcement on front page of their website)

 

“Dear customers.. we would like to inform you that our correspondent bank in US dollar currency is Citibank of New York through our account with the following details:

 

Citi bank N.A.  
SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33XXX  

ROUTING: 021000089

 

Therefore, please make sure to use the above account details for all your incoming transfers to your accounts with the Bank of Baghdad

 

Good news...thanks bro

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3 hours ago, DinarThug said:

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BANK OF BAGHDAD

image.jpeg.6c4055904eb7f7bfb11bc7450d23ec17.jpeg

(Announcement on front page of their website)

 

“Dear customers.. we would like to inform you that our correspondent bank in US dollar currency is Citibank of New York through our account with the following details:

 

Citi bank N.A.  
SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33XXX  

ROUTING: 021000089

 

Therefore, please make sure to use the above account details for all your incoming transfers to your accounts with the Bank of Baghdad

 


Between this, and Western Union, the currency auctions are about to be history. 

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$ 100 billion Iraq's economic losses from the Iran-Iraq war


17692.jpg

 

22nd October, 2019

 

The Budget Research Department of the Iraqi Council of Representatives estimated that Iraq's loss from the first Gulf War, the Iraq-Iran War, was about $ 100 billion

A report by the Budget Research Department and seen by Al-Iqtisadiah, said, "The first Gulf War cost an estimated $ 100 billion in losses," pointing out that "Iraq was heavily indebted after the war ended and economic factors had a greater role in fighting Iraq the Second Gulf War." Two years after the end of the first Gulf War

He stressed that "Iraq relied during the period of the blockade economy on the oil-for-food program, which was implemented in 1996, which contributed to the partial lifting of the suffering of the Iraqi citizen," noting that "the United Nations was deducting 28% of the funds of Iraqi oil exports for the United Nations staff and administrative operations related to the program Oil for Food

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The Cabinet holds its session inside the Green Zone

 

The Cabinet holds its session inside the Green Zone
 
 
2019/10/22 13:56


 

The Council of Ministers held its regular session chaired by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

 

It is noteworthy that the meeting was held today in the government palace inside the Green Zone and not in its new location outside the region after Abdul Mahdi became prime minister for the first time after 2003.

The Council held its first meeting in October 2018 in a recently repaired government complex located opposite the Central Railway Station in Allawi area in central Baghdad.

The new site is about three kilometers away from the Green Zone.
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