An Iraqi's point of view

[joeintt]

Yesterday afternoon I had an interesting telephone call with a gentleman who still has family in Iraq. His father, uncles, grandmother and many cousins are all still there and he considers Iraq his second home. His perspective on the IQD was shared to me from an Iraqi's point of view.

He said to me that the IQD will RV/RI - (however the rate he is unsure of). His reason for the RV/RI will be because the Iraqi people are a proud people and there is no way they will accept their currency's fall from 1IQD =US$3+ to its current worth of 0.00085. Whilst they understand why it had to fall - UN sanctions, etc. - once they are in a position to control their destiny they will want to do the honorable thing and resume their pride and position in the Middle East and the world. They know that their country is a rich one, they know that they are expected to be a beacon in the ME, they know that many people have made sacrifices towards Iraq becoming a free country (from Saddam, etc.). They are a proud people and will not want others to see them as people who cannot control their destiny or restore themselves to their former glory days.

He also said to me that the average Iraqi is NOT a corrupt person. Corruption is something that the average citizen does not understand - especially over the last 80 years. However, he knows that there are some corrupt people in Iraq, especially in high places (he stressed this by comparing govt. officials all over the world who have been corrupted by power). He further said that whereas many folks see the delay in forming the Govt. is due to selfish desires by those in power, in fact, the relationship between the many religious sects (Shia and sunny, kurds, etc.) do run deep and the miss trust between them are centuries old. Saddam did a great disservice to Iraq by using the "divide and rule" (used by the colonial powers throughout the 19th and 20th century in the ME) strategy effectively amongst the various groups, regions and religions. This situation is not one that can be easily overcome as there was much hurt and pain caused by all sides against each other.

IMHO - IT WAS VERY REASSURING TO HEAR HIS POINT OF VIEW - THAT IS, THROUGH AN IRAQI'S EYES. I AM EVEN MORE ENCOURAGED THAT IT WILL HAPPEN - NOT BECAUSE WE WANT IT TO, NOT BECAUSE THE GURUS SAY IT WILL - BUT BECAUSE OF IRAQI'S DESIRE TO RETURN TO THEIR FORMER POSITION OF PRIDE, GLORY & STATURE IN THE M.E.

WE ARE CLOSER TODAY THAN WE WERE YESTERDAY.

Be blessed my brothers and sisters and prepare yourself for a responsible life upon the blessings soon to be bestowed.

Joe

[awish30]

This is great news and thanks for posting.

[Walker Texas Ranger]

Wow. Thanks for the post and sharing this info..

Go RV!

[Richard88]

Thanks for the post!!!!!!!

[MrRich]

Thanks for posting joeintt. One thing I have never understood is how people insist that the pride of the Iraqi people will cause them to reclaim their former currency value. It might have some influence in the rate they RV at but ultimately market forces will determine where it goes. Am I wrong?

[saturday night]

Thank You for the post, and the message to others that this is a blessing from God. Please use it wisely

[Niko]

Thanks for sharing Joe.

[joeintt]

Thanks for posting joeintt. One thing I have never understood is how people insist that the pride of the Iraqi people will cause them to reclaim their former currency value. It might have some influence in the rate they RV at but ultimately market forces will determine where it goes. Am I wrong?

The country is a rich one. It can support a major adjustment. However, my concern was always why would they want/need to RV/RI at such a high rate. This is why the revelation that it will be one of PRIDE makes me feel more assured that it will be in the 3+ area. This, of course, is just my opinion.

[TR8Man]

Thank you for this update

[truckerron49]

The country is a rich one. It can support a major adjustment. However, my concern was always why would they want/need to RV/RI at such a high rate. This is why the revelation that it will be one of PRIDE makes me feel more assured that it will be in the 3+ area. This, of course, is just my opinion.

Thanks for sharing Joe. I appreciate that you would do this for the rest of us, especially after the way so many here have acted toward positive news.. I agree with all you have said.. Thanks again....

Ron

[rroadrunner]

Thank you joe,

This is a very encouraging post. I firmly believe, from my intel, that it will RV higher than $1 also. I don't know if it will be the $3 mark. I won't be disappointed with $1 but I just believe, in my opinion, it will be higher. Things are getting exciting now.

[ac63corvette]

Good to hear a grass roots point of view, THANKS

[TimS]

Good points Joeintt.....all makes sense to me. I get it that most people are not corrupt, just as in this country, we have corrupt politicians....just pick up a newspaper, BUT the average person is just trying to live life, support the family and have a little fun along the way. It's the minority that makes up the fanatics, crooks and so on....

Also, makes sense that Iraq wants to control thier own destiny, thier a proud people, and that they have thousands of years of distrust to deal with within the area. But the world is not what it was 40 or even 20 years ago......technology has made the world a much smaller place. Wants and wishes don't determine currency value once you decide to play in the global market as Iraq has chosen with thier oil and gas products to sell. Ultimately the market determines what the value of the RV will be....it must be supported by goods, production and confidence in their government. It won't be some arbitrary figure of $3+ to match old times and it won't be 5 cents either just so investors can get screwed......it will be the number the IMF, CBI and Forex determine through a calculation that can be supported by the country. Everybody, counrties and individuals that do business with and in Iraq are counting on a stable currency in order to conduct that business. How much us speculators are going to make on the RV is the last thing anyone cares about when it comes to a proper value.

There must be some intelligent world economics and banking "experts" that participate in this site......can't one of you come up with a RV number based on the economical facts that exist in that country today? I know the political situation makes the 'time" of the RV an unknown, that's a given I can live with, BUT why can't the value of the dinar be figured out based on things that drive the rest of currency values around the world. If the IQD is going to trade on the FOREX once it RV's, some one should be able to come up with a close approximation of what that value should be????????

[matthewd]

TimS , very good points! It is frustrating to hear the range of numbers out there that the so called experts think the RV will be set at! I'm sure alot of factors go into setting a value to a currency and the average Joe knows very little about them. I think eventually we will see $3 , but it may take a while to get there. Adam put alot of info in the "Guide to Cashing In" , don't know if you have that or not , I tend to agree that it will start out low $1 or less then gradually build as oil production and natural gas production rev up. Estimates are it could take up to six years for Iraq to match Kuwaits production of 12 million barrells per day! Hopefully the RV moves faster than that!!!!

[Cherysh]

Love your post Joe!! I always remind myself, this is not just about an investment, but this is history in the making!! History that I hope finds the people of Iraq, glory and honor in time. I hope others in the world truly wish this for Iraq, I have always felt, how fortunate I am (and rather spoiled) that I have never had to see war on my doorstep, I cant even begin to imagine what the Iraqi people have been through! I pray for speedy recover, and for the people of Iraq to heal!! God bless our troops, for also standing up and being in Iraq (for whatever reason it was...I don't think the US will truly ever understand the real reason.....still baffles me!!) and standing for Freedom even for other countries other than just the USA.!!

[pleasantvalleySunday]

Thank you joeintt for this glimpse of the thoughts of an Iraqi. We read the news, but seldom get a true feeling for the people of this country.

In the course of my education about Iraq I ran across this article from the Telegraph that shows the 2009 corruption index which rank orders 180 countries by level of corruption. I find it interesting that the us ranks 17, while Iraq is near the end of the list at 176!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6589735/Transparency-Internationals-2009-corruption-index-the-full-ranking-of-180-countries.html

May God bless and keep us all,

pvS

[Uncle Barkie]

Thanks for posting that point of view Joe ... Though I believe the Iraqi people need their currency to be worth more than toilet paper as much as we do , I can only hope that the everyday citizen appreciates the " historic " ( as Cherysh puts it) significance involved in what is happenning in their country. Litterally , the eyes of the world are upon them . Waiting to see if the " cradle of civilization " can rise from it's own ashes , and reclaim their place in the world. Hopefully a place where they can put aside their ancient hatreds and step forth into a new global awareness . As weird as this may sound, I pray for this more for the people of Iraq than for my family, as they may never know , truly , what the freedom of "Democracy" really means.

[6year wait]

Great post, the first one that I've seen from that perspective, interesting, and I hope true.