A request from members of Congress for the Biden administration regarding Iraqi officials (documents)

[yota691]

A request from members of Congress for the Biden administration regarding Iraqi officials (documents)

2023.02.11 - 09:57

 

Baghdad - people  

Members of the US Congress' Foreign Relations and Armed Forces Committee sent a letter to US President Joe Biden's administration to inquire about several Iraqi figures and officials.  

  

 

  

  

The letter, published by the Iraqi blogger residing in the United States of America Stephen Nabil, seen by “NAS” (February 11, 2023), indicated that “Have the Ministries of Foreign Affairs or the Treasury reached out to know whether Faiq Zaidan (the head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council) fulfills the conditions of the sanctions? America on severe human rights abuses...as well as corruption and subsidies."  

  

On the authority of Nabil, the letter carried another question, which read: "What is the status of the sanctions package against Nouri al-Maliki because of terrorism or corruption?...and the governor of the central bank?"  

  

According to the letter, "the deputies who submitted it gave the Biden administration 14 days to officially respond to the demands."  

  

 

[yota691]

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

 

Dear President Biden:
We request that the U.S. review its policy towards Iraq, especially as its government continues to align with the Iranian regime. Any holistic U.S. policy toward Iran must also simultaneously address Iraq as it is becoming a client state of Iran rather than continuing to pretend it is a healthy democracy. For example, in January 2023, Iraq’s Prime Minster, Mohammed Shia alSudani, and his government held ceremonies across Iraq, including inside parliament, commemorating the deaths of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Commander Qassim Soleimani, and his partner, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
We are pleased that the U.S. Treasury Department’s pressure resulted in the implementation of long-overdue oversight on U.S. banknote transfers, which helps prevent some of Iraq’s banks from serving as fronts for IRGC money laundering. These efforts were a good first step, but much more is needed to prevent further transfers that benefit Iran, the IRGC, and certain Iraqi militias.
The Iranian people continue to suffer as they revolt against the brutal terrorist Iranian Regime. At the same time, Iran is using Iraq’s government and financial system to weather international economic sanctions. A clear-eyed policy for confronting Iran thus must directly confront its significant influence and control in Iraq.
Now is the time for the United States to clearly communicate to the Iraqi government the
consequences of its alignment with Iran. This policy must acknowledge the reality of Iranian influence and should not continue to provide banknotes to Iraq’s banking system or grant sanctions waivers that prevent Iraqi independence and enable further Iran-backed corruption. The U.S. must also refocus its efforts with the Iraqi government so that one of our most reliable partners, the Kurdistan Region, does not continue to bear the costs while receiving none of the benefits from an Iraqi federal system that the U.S. was instrumental in designing and implementing.
Finally, effectively confronting Iran’s exploitation of Iraq’s political, legal, and military
institutions will require designating some of Iran’s most loyal Iraqi officials with significant and long-overdue sanctions for gross human rights violations, corruption, and support for terrorism. Anything less will continue to erode regional security, and the prosperity of the Iraqi people. 

 

As members of the Republican Study Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, we are committed to confronting malign Iranian behavior and its influence over Iraq’s economy and institutions. We request answers to the following questions as your administration meets with Iraq’s Foreign Minister and Prime Minister this week. We expect answers to these questions no later than Friday, February 24th, at 5:00 PM.
• Have the State or Treasury Departments has determined whether Faiq Zaydan, the President of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, meets the criteria for sanctions for gross human rights, acting as a foreign agent, corruption, and material support as defined by the Global Magnitsky Act and E.O. 13818.
• What is the status of sanction packages for terrorism and/or corruption against former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki?
• How will the U.S. ensure Iraq’s government protects the Constitutional rights of the
Kurdistan Region, particularly in the face of an Iran-aligned and unconstitutionally formed Federal Supreme Court that reportedly takes direction from the IRGC-QF?1 How will the U.S. government demand an Iraqi budget that affords Constitutional protections to the Kurdistan Region?
• How will the U.S. protect U.S.-financed energy investments in the Kurdistan Region?
Currently the largest U.S. commercial investments in Iraq are in the Kurdistan Region, which are essential for the Region’s self-sustaining revenue. These investments are under threat by Iran and the Iraqi government.
• How will the U.S. ensure Iraq’s government supports all of its military forces to include the Kurdish Peshmerga, and stops funding designated terrorist groups?
• The U.S. has provided funding for reconnaissance drones and military equipment for the Kurdish Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs forces, but the Iraqi Ministry of Defense continues to block its delivery.

2  How will the U.S. ensure the Kurdistan Region receives Congressionally
appropriated equipment and capabilities?
• The Iraqi Prime Minister reinstalled the former Governor of the Central Bank who previously oversaw Iraq’s banking system, which, with the benefit of U.S. banknote transfers, served as a money laundering front for Iran. Has the U.S. Department of State and Department of Treasury determined whether Muhsen Al-Allaq meets the criteria for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act?
• Has the Department of State determined that any members of Iraq’s government and
members of the visiting delegation, including its Central Bank Governor and the Chief
Justice, meet the criteria to be banned of a visa under Sec. 7031(c) of the 2019 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (SFOPs; P.L. 116-6; 8
U.S.C. 1182), which makes foreign officials and their immediate family members ineligible
for U.S. entry if there is credible evidence that such individuals “have been involved in
significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources, or a gross violation of human rights?”

 

Continuous sanctions waivers for the Trade Bank of Iraq have not spurred significant
improvement in Iraq’s electricity and gas sector or reversed energy dependency on Iran. How will the U.S. more effectively evaluate sanctions waivers to reduce Iraq’s dependence on Iranian energy?
• What measures is the U.S. is taking to prevent Iraq’s Ministry of Oil from engaging in
commercial cooperation with the U.S.-designated Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, and Iraq’s own designated militias including Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata’ib Hezbollah, and Kata’ib Imam Ali?
• What measures are the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve taking to verify that its current U.S. banknote transfers do not directly or indirectly benefit Iran and its proxies, including through the Iraqi Central Banks cash sales and support for dollar denominated wire transfers? Has there been a legal determination for the dollar transfers
while the Iraqi Ministry of Finance continues to financially support Iran-aligned militias,
including those designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S.?
• What measures the U.S. is taking to prevent the appointment of senior Iraqi officials
affiliated with designated terrorist organizations including Iraq’s Ministry of Higher
Education, the Ministry of Electricity, the Ministry of Defense, and Iraqi Intelligence
Services?
• What actions has the U.S. taken to Implement the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act provision that prevents the U.S. Department of Defense from providing support to any
Iraqi institution that directly or indirectly supports the Badr Corps? How has this changed the U.S. support for Iraq’s Minister of Interior?
Thank you for your attention to this important manner.

 

 Sincerely,

 

Michael Waltz

Kevin Hern

Joe Wilson

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

[yota691]

3 Republican representatives are calling on the Biden administration to freeze the banking sector of Iraq and review the aid program

11-02-2023 | 12:46 Source : Al-Nahar Al-Arabi

 

US Congress building.

 

3 deputies from the Republican Party called on the administration of US President Joe Biden to "re-evaluate US aid programs for Baghdad," under the pretext that Iraq has become "a client state of Iran that the regime in Tehran uses as a center for money laundering and schemes to evade sanctions."

 

Representatives Michael Waltz, Kevin Hearn, and Joe Wilson asked in a letter on Friday to the White House from the Biden administration to "freeze the Iraqi banking sector and cancel exemptions from economic sanctions that allowed Iran to use Iraq as a center for its money laundering efforts."

 

The lawmakers added, “Now is the time for the United States to communicate clearly to the Iraqi government the consequences of its alliance with Iran. This policy must recognize the reality of Iranian influence and must not continue to provide banknotes to the Iraqi banking system or grant waivers from sanctions that prevent Iraq’s independence and enable more of it.” Iran-backed corruption.

 

Waltz, Hearn, and Wilson declared that there is growing evidence that "Iran is using the Iraqi government and financial system to bypass international economic sanctions," stressing the need to punish a large number of prominent Iraqi political leaders with known ties to the Iranian regime.

 

According to the letter, the deputies also asked the Biden administration for an explanation of the actions it is taking "to prevent the appointment of senior Iraqi officials affiliated with designated terrorist organizations including the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Electricity, the Ministry of Defense and the Iraqi intelligence services."

 

The message comes as an Iraqi government delegation arrives in Washington for meetings with the Biden administration on increasing economic cooperation.

 

In this context, the deputies called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to "verify the backgrounds of the Iraqi delegation visiting Washington as a result of suspicions that some of them were involved in violating the US sanctions law against Iran," calling on the Biden administration to "hand over internal documents and answer questions about US policy towards Iraq, including Any information that emerges as a result of this week's meetings with the Iraqi delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein."

[yota691]

The US Congress calls on Biden to "take action" against the intelligence chief and Iraqi ministers

 

policy |Today, 15:28 |

    

 

Baghdad Today - Translator 

Republican members of the US Congress called on President Joe Biden to take action against Iraqi ministers on charges of "involvement in terrorism," according to correspondence between the two parties published by an American media network.

And the "Free Beacon" network stated in its translation report (Baghdad Today), that letters sent by members of Congress yesterday, Friday, to US President Joe Biden, include demands and pressures exerted on the US presidency to move and disclose procedures regarding the selection of ministers in Iraq that the US Congress accuses of having links to organizations. involved in terrorism," they said.

They also called for "disclosing the measures that the Biden administration will take and explaining them to the deputies regarding preventing high-ranking Iraqi officials linked to organizations accused of terrorism from running important ministries in Iraq."

These members of Congress, according to the American Network, referred to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Naim al-Aboudi, the Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Fadel, the Minister of Defense, Thabet al-Abbasi, and the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, and asked the American President to explain what he intends to do against them.

Yesterday, Republican members of Congress asked, in a letter they submitted to Biden, to impose sanctions on Iraq and freeze its bank assets. They also asked the US State Department to reveal the backgrounds of the members of the Iraqi delegation that is now visiting Washington, and if any of them was "involved in violating the sanctions law on Iran." .

 

 

[BETTYBOOP]

No offence to any American's but does your president have the abilities to answer any  of these questions? 

Edited February 11, 2023 by BETTYBOOP

[tn vol]

He does not have the ability to spell his name or wipe his buuuu nose!

 

[horsesoldier]

2 hours ago, BETTYBOOP said:

No offence to any American's but does your president have the abilities to answer any  of these questions? 

No offense taken. He's full blown into dementia, senility, decrepitude, a pathological liar and teller of the most outrageous falsehoods and fixated with sniffing little girls around the neck & Head - & yes the videos are out there.

Most likely he requires mild electroshock therapy to Zap ⚡ him back from the The Twilight Zone &  back into our reality.

Uh, and to your question, Nope.

 

[3n1]

1 hour ago, BETTYBOOP said:

No offence to any American's but does your president have the abilities to answer any  of these questions? 

 

no offence taken , he should , he got more votes when he was elected than any american president in history all from running his campaign from the basement of his house and never answering a question on his agenda for america completely odd ,when he was sworn in its been nothing but a stumbling bumbling mess with others around him making every decision his presidency has completely transformed america into a nation i can hardly even recognize anymore this my opinion only ,

this individual completely summed it all up perfectly at 9:50 in video recounts trip to iraq ... peace

 

 

 

[southbeach]

3 hours ago, 3n1 said:

 

no offence taken , he should , he got more votes when he was elected than any american president in history all from running his campaign from the basement of his house and never answering a question on his agenda for america completely odd ,when he was sworn in its been nothing but a stumbling bumbling mess with others around him making every decision his presidency has completely transformed america into a nation i can hardly even recognize anymore this my opinion only ,

this individual completely summed it all up perfectly at 9:50 in video recounts trip to iraq ... peace

 

 

 

Amen, and Sarah Sanders President down the road likely.

[Fairways&Greens]

6 minutes ago, southbeach said:

Amen, and Sarah Sanders President down the road likely.

Would definitely make a better President than another Governor from Arkansas 30 yrs ago. 😆

[screwball]

23 minutes ago, southbeach said:

Amen, and Sarah Sanders President down the road likely.

She’s great! 

[yota691]

Will Congress impose sanctions on Iraq? An analysis of America's member messages answers

2023.02.12 - 09:12

 

Baghdad - people  

An analysis explained the consequences of the letter sent by members of Congress to the administration of US President Joe Biden, which carried inquiries about Iraqi political figures.  

 

  

  

The investigative journalist, Riyad Muhammad, who monitors Iraqi affairs and resides in the United States, said in his analysis, which was reviewed by "NAS" (February 12, 2023), "Every day, members of the US House of Representatives (who are 435 members) and members of the Senate (who are 100 members) send Dozens or hundreds of letters to the White House."  

  

He added, "These messages are related to various and varied issues, most of which are internal and some are external, and they generally aim to put pressure on the president to make a decision or end a policy."  

  

And he continued, "Most of these messages are summarized by the president's aides (the president of the United States has an army of assistants that may reach hundreds) and send them to specific offices in the White House such as the budget office or the National Security Council ... etc., or to the office of the White House chief of staff or His deputy," noting that "the majority of these messages do not reach the president himself, because he does not have time to read every letter written to him, and resorts to reading the most important, then the important, and neglects what is not important."  

  

He pointed out that "when 3 members of the House of Representatives ask the President of the United States to take a policy, this does not mean that the president is bound by what they ask, nor is he obligated even to read their letter."  

  

And he stated, "Changing the American policy towards Iraq is possible, but it is moving slowly and is subject to a basic rule that is the lack of interest of the United States in the Iraqi issue in general," explaining, "The United States will enter the presidential election campaign after months, and this will be the first priority."  

  

He pointed out that "in foreign policy, Iraq is not a priority. Ukraine, Russia and the relationship with China are much more important," adding: "Fundamentally, foreign policy usually declines in importance in light of democratic administrations that are concerned with issues of the economy, combating inflation, preventing recession, reducing crimes, the issue of weapons, immigration and abortion." Homosexuals...etc.  

  

And he continued, "To complete the picture, the news of the message of the 3 members of the House of Representatives to the president about Iraq was not reported in any American media because it is not considered news at all, and certainly it is not urgent or important news."  

  

And he said: "In conclusion, a group of senators from both parties is preparing to issue legislation that ends the authorization given to the president with regard to the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 war, and thus officially ends America's wars with Iraq, and Biden supported the project because it is compatible with his ideas and policies related to Iraq, and their summary is ending American involvement." in this country."  

  

And he concluded, "All indications indicate that the US reserve will continue its decision taken two years ago and implemented months ago regarding the transfer of dollars to Iraq."  

  

Earlier, members of the US Congress' Foreign Relations and Armed Forces Committee sent a letter to US President Joe Biden's administration to inquire about several Iraqi figures and officials.  

  

The letter, published by the Iraqi blogger residing in the United States of America Stephen Nabil, seen by “NAS” (February 11, 2023), indicated that “Have the Ministries of Foreign Affairs or the Treasury reached out to know whether Faiq Zaidan (the head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council) meets the conditions of the sanctions? America on severe human rights abuses...as well as corruption and subsidies."    

  

On the authority of Nabil, the letter carried another question, which read: "What is the status of the sanctions package against Nouri al-Maliki because of terrorism or corruption?...and the governor of the central bank?"    

  

According to the letter, "the deputies who submitted it gave the Biden administration 14 days to officially respond to the demands."