tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-366056162024-03-14T02:51:55.861-04:00The Ground Truth in IraqEPIC Dispatches from Iraq and around the world on the crisis facing Iraqis and on the agencies and individuals making a difference.Erik K. Gustafsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870861092770458296noreply@blogger.comBlogger777125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-21134734825868761672010-08-06T16:56:00.000-04:002010-10-19T16:59:01.189-04:00Disengagement from conflict--not from Iraq<div class="content"> <p>As the United States prepares for a reduction in our military forces in Iraq, we cannot abandon the people whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the seven-year American occupation. As President Obama has emphasized, the United States has a moral responsibility to the Iraqi people. Such were the themes of the recent hearing of the Helsinki Commission on Capitol Hill called "No Way Home, No Way to Escape: The Plight of Iraqi Refugees and Our Iraqi Allies."</p> <p>Congressman Alcee Hastings emphasized that the current Iraqi refugee crisis is the largest displacement in the Middle East since 1948. Among many hardships faced by refugees, Hastings noted that children are particularly at risk. Some haven’t attended school in over four. They represent the country’s future, and without education, they are more vulnerable to recruitment by extremist groups, he said.</p> <p>Ambassador L. Craig Johnstone of Refugees International said that in his conversations with Iraqi refugees, most named their children’s education as their top priority. Johnstone further emphasized it is largely the Iraqi middle class that is now living in squatter settlements as refugees. These refugees represent the best and the brightest of Iraqi society, and they will be able to contribute a great deal whether they return to Iraq or resettle in the United States.</p> <p>"While our military may be drawing down, our concern for and our commitment to the humanitarian and the protection needs of displaced Iraqis will remain robust," said Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration at the State Department. At $400 million, funding for Iraq represents a quarter of the State’s worldwide refugee budget. While Schwartz has urged other donor countries to increase their funding, he said that the U.S. can expect to provide the "lion’s share" of funding. Ambassador Johnstone similarly called on the United States to provide 50% of the UN appeal. </p> <p>Refugees and internally displaced persons are not the only Iraqis who have been endangered by our military operations there. Between 40,000 and 120,000 Iraqis risked their lives alongside Americans as interpreters, engineers, and advisors – work that left them targets for terrorist groups. While special immigrant visas (SIVs) expedite the process through which they can resettle in the United States, the process can still take up to a year – too long for Iraqis in urgent need of escape – and is more difficult to navigate than the regular refugee program. As a result, only 2,100 of the allotted 15,000 SIVs have been claimed. </p> <p>Kirk Johnson of the List Project, which assists Iraqi allies in navigating the refugee resettlement process, spoke to the urgency of the situation. There are no serious contingency plans to evacuate our Iraqi allies as the U.S. military withdraws – but there need to be, he said. There is precedent for such an evacuation: Iraqi Kurds were airlifted to Guam in 1996. Schwartz said that his bureau was not currently considering such contingency plans but would do so. </p> <p>Several of the speakers drew on past American successes and failures to protect those who worked with us. Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) spoke regretfully about the fact that we "walked away" from Koreans who had helped our soldiers, and Ambassador Johnstone – who left the Foreign Service to help our Vietnamese allies to safety – reflected that the United States didn’t plan adequately for the fall of Saigon, and we seem poised to make the same mistake in Iraq. </p> <p>As Ambassador Johnstone reflected, "The important message, I think, for us today, is as we disengage from this conflict, we cannot disengage from our humanitarian obligations." America must live up to our values as a nation that protects its friends. Although the U.S. relationship with Iraq is changing, our responsibilities to the Iraqi people are ongoing.<br /></p></div><span style="font-style: italic;">This post was written by Anna Mysliwiec. </span>Lauren Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711698096111051755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-2265135637471408852010-07-12T16:54:00.000-04:002010-10-19T16:55:43.501-04:00IDPs in Iraq Still Waiting for Solutions<div class="content"> <p>Seven years of conflict, not to mention decades of violence under Saddam Hussein, have left more than 2.8 million Iraqis displaced inside Iraq but far from home. Like refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) have lost their homes, property, and livelihoods. They’re often separated from their families and they may face violence in their host communities. Unlike refugees, however, they are not formally protected under international law, and post-conflict governments often lack the capacity to protect them.</p> <p>Recently, the <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2010/0630_us_idp_policy.aspx" target="_target">Brookings Institution released a report called <em>Improving the US Response to Internal Displacement</em></a>. In a panel discussion on June 30, the reports' authors, Department of State and USAID administrators, and leading experts came together to discuss the need for a more comprehensive response to the needs of internally displaced persons around the globe. IDPs need assistance not just at the emergency stage, but also when dealing with protracted displacement, said report co-author Dawn Calabia. Calabia further stressed that no IDP situation has ever been solved by humanitarian assistance alone; we also need hard political solutions.</p> <p>Nowhere is the need for a comprehensive strategy more evident than in Iraq. With the international response to IDPs replete with "gaps rather than overlaps," as Calabia said, a decisive solution to the Iraqi internal displacement crisis has long eluded Iraqi, American, and international actors alike. The panelists emphasized that Iraqi government policy has inadequately addressed the reintegration and return of IDPs. Many Iraqi IDPs are stuck in informal squatter settlements and can't access services from their government because they lack proper documentation. </p> <p>On the American side, the huge disparity in funding between U.S. military and civilian efforts in Iraq hasn't helped. While the Defense Department requested $533.7 billion for fiscal year 2010, the State Department, USAID, and other civilian agencies requested only $51.7 billion. According to Allison Stanger's One Nation under Contract, the fact that the Pentagon has shouldered so much of the physical reconstruction of Iraq has hindered development – as has the top-down manner in which it disbursed funds to American contractors instead of Iraqis. As a result, civilian efforts through agencies like USAID are chronically understaffed and underfunded. </p> <p>As President Obama has said, <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-Responsibly-Ending-the-War-in-Iraq/" target="_blank">the United States has a "moral responsibility" to assist Iraq's displaced.</a> Like he acknowledged, displaced Iraqis are "a living consequence of this war" and "they must become a part of Iraq's reconciliation and recovery." Part of this means supporting the Iraqi government with reintegrating those displaced who wish to return to their homes. One step the Iraqi government has taken is the establishment of the Commission for the Resolution of Real Property Disputes (CRRPD), which is tasked with settling land and property disputes for people displaced during Saddam Hussein's regime. </p> <p>In <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2010/0216_iraqi_displacement.aspx" target="_target">an earlier report called <em>Resolving Iraqi Displacement</em>, Brookings noted that long-term development is key to solving the IDP crisis</a> because it will create the housing, jobs, and security necessary to rebuild communities and make return realistic and appealing. Iraq must integrate internally displaced persons into its plans for national reconciliation and economic development if return is to ever be a viable option. </p> <p>What is the United States' role? The Brookings reports suggest that the United States can be most effective by providing development assistance and by working with the Iraqi government to create political solutions. The latter approach has already met with some success. In 2009, <a href="http://iraq.usembassy.gov/pr_11142009.html" target="_blank">the State Department and the NSC negotiated the US-Iraq Joint Statement on Iraqi Refugees</a> in which the Iraqi government promised a 250 percent budget increase for the Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Further, the administration has tasked two senior officials to work with the Iraqi government on implementing strategies that would assist and protect displaced persons. </p> <p>What lessons can we learn from internal displacement in Iraq? First of all, more robust funding for civilian efforts will be critical to the recovery of IDPs in Iraq and elsewhere. When fully funded, American development assistance has the capacity to do immense good in the world. Iraq, for its part, can make important progress in national reconciliation and peacebuilding by creating a long-term strategy for reintegrating IDPs into their communities. IDPs are Iraqis too, after all, and their future will be critical to the future of the country.</p> </div><span style="font-style: italic;">This post was written by Anna Mysliwiec. </span>Lauren Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711698096111051755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-61098592980558472492010-06-29T16:52:00.000-04:002010-10-19T16:54:17.884-04:00No Relief from Sweltering Heat in Iraq<div class="content"> <p>While Iraq’s politicians attempt to knit together a coalition and a new government, everyday Iraqis are left coping with even more fundamental problems: severe shortages in electricity and water. Combined with political limbo and violence, surging temperatures are resulting in a torrid summer in Iraq. </p> <p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_electricity_woes" target="_blank">Protests in Basra</a> over the Iraqi government’s failure to provide the population with consistent electricity turned violent when police fired into the crowd on June 20. The crowd had been demanding the resignation of electricity minister. After revolts later spread to Nasiriya, Karbala, Baquba, and Ramadi, electricity minister Karim Wahid al-Aboudi resigned last Monday.</p> <p>Basra, like most Iraqi provinces, receives about five hours of electricity on the best days and only a single hour on the worst. In recent weeks, electricity has been even more scarce, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iW0uzHZc-rhMe9MVzrdLAhtnPwYwD9GJ1FRO0" target="_blank">leaving most Iraqis to swelter in temperatures as high as 120 degrees.</a> Even hospitals, though connected to an emergency power grid, have had power failures during recent weeks forcing some to relocate patients outdoors for the night. </p> <p>Despite the electricity minister’s resignation, the crisis is unlikely to be resolved in the foreseeable future. Although he promised that he would "give priority to the electricity sector in the next government," President Nouri al-Maliki also stated that it will be two years until the national grid can provide reliable electricity to the entire country. Now, many families must compensate by buying electricity from privately-owned neighborhood generators, which can cost between $50 and $100 a month. </p> <p>Electricity is not the only necessity in short supply; persistent water shortages both dehydrate Iraqi civilians and undermine their faith in their government’s ability to deliver basic services. Twenty-five percent of Iraqis do not have access to safe drinking water. As a result, <a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/21/could_water_undermine_the_american_game_plan_for_iraq_does_a_bear" target="_blank">citizens have called on the government to devote more of its budget to revitalize water infrastructure</a> and to implement sustainable management policy. The Red Cross and other NGOs <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65C0QK20100613" target="_blank">truck thousands of gallons of water to neighborhoods</a> that the dilapidated pipe system doesn’t reach. </p> <p>Like the Red Cross, other actors have stepped in to fill the gap in basic services. Since the onset of the war, a vibrant Iraqi NGO sector has arisen that provides access to water and other basic services. The <a href="http://www.wateo.org/" target="_blank">Women and the Environment Organization</a>, founded by Iraqi academics, trains women in the Iraqi marshlands to make the most of what natural resources are available through conservation and sanitation efforts. In another project, <a href="http://www.mpt-iraq.org/WaterForPeace.html" target="_blank">Muslim Peacemaker Teams</a> are supplying water filtration systems to schools and hospitals because sewage still leaks into the existing water infrastructure. </p> <p>What policy wonks would call a deficiency in state capacity--Iraq just landed at #8 on Foreign Policy’s Failed States Index--has concrete repercussions for a hot, thirsty population. While non-governmental efforts are invaluable, they cannot replace national infrastructure that will ensure Iraqis a stable, secure quality of life. When the new government is eventually seated, it must deliver on its promises and meet the basic needs of its populace.<br /></p></div><span style="font-style: italic;">This post was written by Anna Mysliwiec. </span>Lauren Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711698096111051755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-66906219686626919992010-06-23T16:37:00.001-04:002010-10-19T16:52:43.609-04:00A Woman's Right to Health Violated in KurdistanIraqi Kurdistan has gained a reputation as an emerging democracy in the Middle East, but a major human rights violation persists without little action from the government: the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/06/16/they-took-me-and-told-me-nothing-0" target="_blank">A new report by Human Rights Watch details the practice</a>, which is defined by the World Health Organization as "the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons." According to a study by the Iraqi NGO WADI, 72 percent of Kurdish women over the age of fourteen have been circumcised, most of them when they were between 3 and 12 years old.<div class="content"> <p><img src="http://www.hrw.org/en/sites/default/files/imagecache/scale-200x/media/images/report-covers/wrd0610.jpg" align="left" />Fear and pain is what Kurdish women emphasized about their experiences with FGM. Held down by their female relatives, and cut without their consent, women are given no anesthetic and the same razor blade is used for multiple procedures. The cutting can cause heavy bleeding and infection and have lifelong health consequences that include pain, infertility, and the loss of sexual pleasure. In short, "FGM violates women's and children's rights, including their rights to life, health, and bodily integrity," said lead researcher Nadya Khalife.</p> <p>FGM is defended as linking Kurds to their cultural identity. While many senior Islamic clerics have publicly opposed it, many women believe that it is spiritually beneficial. Mothers, aunts, and other female relatives hope it will allow their daughters to make good marriages.</p> <p>The government of Kurdistan has been progressive in addressing many forms of violence against women, but has yet to ban FGM. A draft law banning FGM was introduced in Parliament in 2008 only to be abandoned because the occurrence of FGM was deemed rare.</p> <p>HRW proposes a comprehensive approach to eradicating FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan, including both policy measures and awareness-raising efforts. The Kurdistan Regional Government must take the lead by passing strong legislation to ban the procedure, provide appropriate penalties for those responsible, and support women who have been hurt by it. </p> <p>While a ban is important, it must be supplemented by public health campaigns. To criminalize the procedure is to risk sending it underground, making it even more dangerous. Kurdish authorities must thus address the underlying factors that make women choose the procedure for their daughters, especially the lack of information on its harmful effects. Religious and community leaders must set an example and affirm their commitments to ending FGM. </p> <p>So far, the Kurdish authorities’ reaction to the report has been to downplay the problem of FGM. During their research, WADI was even told by a minister that their <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/node/90862/section/8" target="_blank">"work was ruining the reputation of Kurdistan."</a> Areyan Rauf, a governmental human rights officer, stated that <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9se38lr1pzPUYTmSviqbx8BZF6QD9GCFJ701" target="_blank">"Female circumcision isn't such a pressing matter for us because there are only one or two cases that we discover a year."</a> Similarly, Mariwan Naqshbandi, spokesman for the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, suggested that the study was based on rumors. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/middleeast/17kurd.html?ref=middleeast" target="_blank">"Circumcision exists as an isolated occurrence, rather than as a phenomenon in Kurdistan," he said.</a></p> <p>If the Kurdish government is serious about its commitment to human rights and women’s rights, it must take concrete steps to address the high incidence of FGM and its negative consequences for women. Kurdish women and children have a right to health and autonomy over their bodies, and those rights are being violated by the persistence of female genital mutilation.</p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">This post was written by Anna Mysliwiec. </span><br /></p> </div>Lauren Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711698096111051755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-64077067919121988552010-01-18T23:39:00.000-05:002010-01-18T23:39:11.293-05:00The Continuing Saga Of The Candidate Banning In IraqThe story of the Iraqi Accountability and Justice and Election Commissions’ <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2010/01/election-commission-okays-ban-on-mutlaq.html">banning of 500 candidates</a> from the March 2010 voting for alleged Baathist ties has taken a few new turns. First, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has finally <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-iraq-politics17-2010jan17,0,591109.story">come out in favor of the ban</a>. He said that the decision of the Accountability and Justice Commission should be adhered to. He also commented that the process should not be politicized, which ignores the fact that the Commission members <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2010/01/accountability-and-justice-commission.html">have used it as a partisan tool</a> since its inception in 2003, and that its head, Ali al-Lami, <a href="http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/the-bloc-that-has-no-de-baathification-worries/">is running as a candidate</a> for the Iraqi National Alliance. Second, the Election Commission is debating whether just the 400 politicians are barred from participating in the balloting <a href="http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/104262/">or all their parties as well</a>. As Reidar Visser of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs <a href="http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/constitutional-disintegration-3-the-ihec-is-making-up-the-law/">points out</a>, there is no legal basis in the constitution or election law that mentions blocking entire parties from running. Of course, the Accountability and Justice Commission’s members haven’t even been appointed by parliament, but everyone is going along with their decisions, so legality may not matter in this situation. Third, <a href="http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2010/01/17/three-sunni-candidates-for-the-presidency-zebari-to-the-vice-president/">a document has emerged</a> that allegedly shows that Saleh al-Mutlaq, the head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front and the most prominent politician banned, had contact with Iraqi intelligence in 2002. This was supposedly used in the Accountability and Justice Commission’s ruling against him. There is no reporting on whether the document is real or not, and again, given the circumstances, may not matter. Fourth, Mutlaq and all those banned can appeal their cases to a 7-member board of judges that was just created a few days ago. There is a concern that they may not be able to go through all the cases before the March 2010 balloting however, which may exclude candidates even if they are ultimately found innocent. Finally, there is news that the Accountability and Justice Commission may not be finished and could demand that a total of 1,200 candidates be blocked from running. <br />
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It was hoped that the 2010 parliamentary vote would be a continuation of the 2009 provincial elections where nationalist parties did much better than ethnosectarian ones, and Sunnis came out in high numbers. This in turn, would usher in a new wave of politicians to replace a group of lawmakers that have achieved very little in their four years in office, and are very unpopular as a result. The decisions of the Accountability and Justice and Election Commissions however have not only marked a return to sectarian politics, but also threatened to undermine the legitimacy of the 2010 balloting, along with bringing into question the legality of the entire Iraqi political process. Unless some institution challenges the chicanery going on, this fiasco will only continue, and could get worse. <br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
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AK News, “Electoral commission discusses the issue of excluded entities and candidates,” 1/17/10<br />
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Roads To Iraq, “Three Sunni candidates for the presidency, Zebari to the Vice-President,” 1/17/10<br />
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Sly, Liz, “Iraqi prime minister backs ban on 500 election candidates,” Los Angeles, 1/17/10<br />
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Visser, Reidar, “The Bloc That Has No De-Baathification Worries,” Iraq and Gulf Analysis, 1/17/10<br />
- “Constitutional Disintegration (Part III): The IHEC Is Making Up the Law,” Iraq and Gulf Analysis, 1/15/10Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-56714036543399609542010-01-11T00:21:00.002-05:002010-01-11T00:21:51.423-05:00Iraq Could Become Game Changer In OPECIn mid-December 2009 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a1ede244-ee98-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html">held its annual meeting in Angola</a>. Besides agreeing to keep oil prices at their current level of between $70-$80 a barrel, Iraq was the other hot topic of debate.<br />
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After Iraq completed its second bidding round on its oil fields earlier in the month, Iraq Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani has been claiming <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/2nd-round-of-bidding-on-iraqs-oil.html">that Iraq could reach 12 million barrels a day in capacity</a>. That would <a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5033275,00.html">rival Saudi Arabia</a>, which currently has the largest capacity and is the largest oil producer in the world. The Oil Minister came into the OPEC conference claiming that Iraq has been denied its fair share of oil output in the past because of wars and international sanctions. He warned that was about to end, and that OPEC should reconsider how it calculates its quotas by taking into account a country’s development needs. He said that he expected some changes by 2011. <br />
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If Iraq does reach its potential, it has the ability to drastically affect the petroleum organization. Iraq has been exempt from OPEC’s quotas since it invaded Kuwait in 1990. Now it wants to export as much as it can because it desperately needs the money to rebuild. That could flood the market and undermine OPEC’s control over prices. Given this, Iraq could force compromises on quotas, ignore them, or leave OPEC altogether. It could also challenge the group’s leader, Saudi Arabia, which has <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.arabianbusiness.com/557102-no-more-gestures-to-saudis-iraqs-maliki">given Iraq the cold shoulder</a> since the U.S. invasion because it fears Shiite rule and Iran’s influence. <br />
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This could be a huge step in Iraq returning to the international stage. Baghdad was once a leading capital in the Arab world, but after 2003, Iraq was so caught up in internal divisions and civil war that it lost its place. Not only that, but all of the regional players have become involved in Iraqi politics, mostly to the detriment of the country. Iraq’s new oil deals, if successful, could give the nation the leverage it needs to once again be a player in the Middle East, but that’s still a big if as its petroleum industry has some massive hurdles to overcome before it can produce as much as the Oil Minister wants it to. It is a change though to talk about Iraq influencing others rather than it being the other way around as has been the norm since the overthrow of Saddam. <br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
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Agence France Presse, “No More Gestures To Saudi Arabia – Iraqi PM Maliki,” 5/28/09<br />
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Amies, Nick, “Iraq oil auctions cause concerns over stability in Gulf hierarchy,” Deutsche Welle, 12/23/09<br />
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Blas, Javier, “Iraq to challenge Opec on ‘fair share’ of output,” Financial Times, 12/22/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-82352759225420475292010-01-08T20:27:00.002-05:002010-01-08T20:27:31.424-05:00What Do The New Oil Deals Mean for The Kurds?In mid-December 2009 the Iraqi Oil Ministry <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/2nd-round-of-bidding-on-iraqs-oil.html">carried out its second round of bidding</a> on oil fields by international companies. Winning offers were made on seven of the ten fields up for auction. Afterward Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani said Iraq could reach eleven million barrels a day in capacity in six years, which could make it one of the largest producers in the world. This may turn out to be a major setback for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and its own petroleum policy.<br />
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Since 2003 the KRG has been hoping that its oil reserves would give it greater autonomy, and perhaps eventually independence. <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5750">They signed their first oil deal with a Turkish company in January 2003</a>, and then finalized over twenty others in the following years. None of these went through the Oil Ministry. Most of these deals were for exploration, but with Iraq’s oil production at below pre-invasion levels, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINGEE5B30FW20091217">Kurdistan believed that Baghdad would eventually have to accept their oil policy</a> and allow them to export. The KRG also attempted to <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6207">foster closer ties with Turkey and Europe</a>, offering to export oil directly to the former, and trying to get involved with the proposed Nabucco natural gas pipeline to the latter. If these deals succeeded than Kurdistan would be connected to the international energy trade, could put more pressure on Baghdad to accept its energy policy, and gain greater autonomy from the central government. Some believed that this would give the Kurds the self-sustainability and influence they would need to declare independence sometime in the future. <br />
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All of these goals are now in jeopardy because of the Oil Ministry’s second bidding round. With international companies finally agreeing to Baghdad’s terms, and Iraq’s hopes of becoming one of the largest oil exporters in the world, there is no reason for the central government to give into the Kurds’ demands. The Oil Ministry has always vigorously protested the Kurds’ actions, and blacklisted any petroleum corporations that do business with them, leaving only small businesses investing there. They and the KRG still hope that Baghdad will eventually allow them to export because no government will turn down money, but that’s becoming less and less likely now. In fact, the Kurds may be the biggest losers if Iraq’s oil potential is finally tapped. <br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
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AK News, “Iraq’s oil and gas assets are shared: Barzani,” 11/11/09<br />
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International Crisis Group, “Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble Along the Trigger Line,” 7/8/09<br />
- “Oil For Soil: Toward A Grand Bargain On Iraq And The Kurds,” 10/28/08<br />
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Lando, Ben, “In the theater of oil, the politics of Iraq,” Iraq Oil Report, 12/17/09<br />
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Yackley, Ayla Jean, “Iraq’s new oil deals seen weakening Kurds’ hand,” Reuters, 12/17/09<br />
- “UPDATE 2-Kurds say Iraqi oilfield auction is being rushed,” Reuters, 12/10/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-28655297035119470202010-01-04T23:21:00.000-05:002010-01-04T23:21:08.985-05:00What’s In The Future For Iraq?Iraq is entering its seventh year since the U.S. invasion. Many things have changed in that time period, from the chaos that followed the collapse of the state after Saddam was overthrown, to the civil war that erupted, to the Surge. At the end of 2009 three Iraq analysts, Sam Parker of the United States Institute for Peace, Michael Hanna of the Century Foundation, and Reidar Visser of the Norwegian Institute of International Relations, wrote pieces speculating on what lay ahead for Iraq. All three agree that politics is the main forum for disputes within Iraq now, but don’t see much hope for the country’s elites to overcome their differences any time soon. <br />
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Sam Parker in his article <a href="http://www.currenthistory.com/Article.php?ID=733">“Is Iraq Back?”</a> for Current History, and Michael Hanna in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091126/REVIEW/711269994/1008">“Transitional state”</a> in the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National start off by talking about Iraq’s current political situation. Both believe that politics has replaced violence as the main way groups in the country now resolve their problems. This started in early 2005 <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2008/06/demise-but-not-death-of-al-qaeda-in.html">when some militants first began turning on Al Qaeda in Iraq</a>, which would eventually snowball into most of the insurgency switching sides and giving up the fight to join the Anbar Awakening and the Sons of Iraq. Sunnis also greatly regretted boycotting the 2005 elections, which isolated them from local and national governments. In the 2009 provincial elections, <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/02/comparing-january-2009-to-january-2005.html">Sunni turnout was very high as a result</a>, and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/nov.html">deaths have taken a sharp drop since then as a result</a>. This process will continue in the 2010 vote, and has led Iraq from being a failed state to a fragile one.<br />
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What the central government now faces are three large and daunting problems, the first of which is sectarianism. Parker believes that this is now more about identity than religious differences, as Iraqis tend to vote for candidates of their own community. That means any future government will have to continue to include representatives of each of the major groups, the Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. These large groups however, are breaking up into smaller factions. The Shiites for example, ran on one large list in 2005, the United Iraqi Alliance, but in 2010 will be competing in two lists, the State of Law led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the National Alliance made up of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the Sadrists. Reidar Visser of the Norwegian Institute of International Relations in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://gulfanalysis.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/coin-to-nowhere-lessons-from-iraq-questions-for-afghanistan/">“COIN to Nowhere? Lesson from Iraq, Questions for Afghanistan”</a> adds that he believes that these sectarian divisions have solidified rather than weakened. For example, while Maliki’s State of Law tried to create new cross-sectarian alliances after the 2009 elections and attempted to reach out to Sunnis and former Baathists, he was later stopped by criticisms by the other Shiite parties, pressure from Iran, and the Obama administration, which continues to stress a grand bargain between the three major groups. He then agrees with Parker and Hanna that any new Iraqi government will look and operate very much like the old one as a result. <br />
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The ethnosectarian groups also have long-standing differences over things like federalism versus centralism, oil policy, and the Arab-Kurd dispute. Hanna writes that there have been no serious efforts to deal with any of these issues, and that any new government is likely to be just as divided as the current one. Many of these problems have their origins in the 2005 constitution, which was drafted while the Iraqi state was weak and the sectarian war was just about to take off. The Arab-Kurd divide prevents any major changes to the document, leading to more deadlock. Hanna doesn’t believe that these divisions will lead the country back to civil war, and oddly adds that not dealing with them right now may be the best thing for Iraq right at the moment. He’s afraid that any move towards majority rule, and away from consensus could do more harm than good because the country’s weak institutions may not be able to deal with winners and losers. Visser has written extensively arguing the opposite, that the Iraqi system of consensus and quotas within the government should be ended because it only maintains the sectarian divisions. <br />
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The paralysis in Baghdad means that more mundane issues like basic governance, services, the displaced and refugees, corruption, jobs, poverty, etc. can’t be addressed. Technical issues like boosting oil production, and election laws for example get endlessly delayed because of the larger disputes between the ethnosectarian groups. The lack of development and the Arab-Kurd divide also allows militants to continue their attacks in Iraq. <br />
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All three analysts bring up important issues for Iraq’s future. Iraq is no longer a failed state as it once was. It is gaining back both its sovereignty and domestic standing. Violence is also down to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion, and the struggle for political power through peaceful means is now paramount. The inability of Baghdad to deliver on many basic needs however, its corruption, and sectarianism continue to eat away at its standing with the public. The continued factionalization of Iraq’s three major groups also means that it will be harder rather than easier to put together a new government and get things done. Parker and Hanna point out that this makes Iraq not much different from many other Third World countries who not only struggle with development, but also power sharing and ethnic differences. The problem is that public dissatisfaction with a government that seems dysfunctional can undermine a nascent democracy, and lead to a return to autocracy or worse, and that may be Iraq’s largest dilemma in the long-term. <br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Hanna, Michael, “Transitional state,” The National, 11/26/09<br />
<br />
Parker, Sam, “Is Iraq Back?” Current History, December 2009<br />
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Visser, Reidar, “COIN to Nowhere? Lessons from Iraq, Questions for Afghanistan,” Iraq and Gulf Analysis, 12/1/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-499118039376039092010-01-03T21:11:00.000-05:002010-01-03T21:11:01.416-05:00Iranians Planned Kidnapping And Held British Captives Taken In IraqOn December 30, 2009 British computer technician Peter Moore <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6972092.ece">was released from captivity</a> by the Iranian backed League of the Righteous in return for the freeing of their leader, Qais Khazali. Moore and four British bodyguards, Alan McMenemy, Alec MacLachlan, Jason Swindlehurst, and Jason Creswell, were originally kidnapped from the Iraqi Finance Ministry building in downtown Baghdad on May 29, 2007. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012502199.html">The Guardian claims</a> that not only was this an Iranian organized operation led by their Revolutionary Guards Qods Force, but that the British hostages were held in Iran for most of their two and a half year captivity.<br />
<br />
The events surrounding the kidnapping are a complicated one beginning with a series of American raids against Iranian operatives working within Iraq. In 2006, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/31/british-hostages-baghdad-iraq-iran">President George Bush okayed the killing and capturing of Iranians in Iraq</a> who were supplying weapons and training to Shiite militias. In December 2006 that led to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011100427.html">the arrest of General Mohsen Chirazi</a>, the number 3 man in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qods Force, which is in charge of Tehran’s Iraq policy. That was followed by a speech by President Bush in January 2007 where he said that the U.S. would stop Iran’s interference in Iraqi affairs. Later, on January 11, <a href="http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/1092">five Iranians were arrested in Irbil</a>, Kurdistan. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-botched-us-raid-that-led-to-the-hostage-crisis-443102.html">The Americans actually missed their targets</a>, Mohammed Jafari, the deputy of Iran’s National Security Council, and General Minojahar Frouzanda, the intelligence chief of the Revolutionary Guards, <a href="http://www.nysun.com/foreign/gis-raid-iranian-building-in-irbil/46598/">when Kurdish peshmerga stopped U.S. forces at the Irbil airport</a>. Tehran retaliated by leading a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/12/us_releases_dangerou.php">raid on the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center</a> in conjunction with the League of the Righteous that led to the deaths of five U.S. soldiers in January. In March 2007, U.S. and U.K. forces <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/iranian-shia-clerics-release">detained the League’s leaders</a> Qais and Latih Khazali in Basra in March 2007.<br />
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<a href="http://www.understandingwar.org/report/fragmentation-sadrist-movement">Qais Khazali was one of the leading figures in the Sadr movement</a> when Moqtada’s father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, created it in the 1990s. Qais helped keep the movement alive underground after Saddam killed the elder Sadr. When Moqtada emerged as one of Iraq’s new leaders after the 2003 invasion, Qais was one of his top lieutenants. He would split and then rejoin Moqtada several times before creating his own group, the League of the Righteous in 2006. That year he was also selected to lead the Special Groups that Iran was creating to gain more direct control of Shiite gunmen in Iraq. <br />
<br />
Iran planned the May 2007 raid on the Finance Ministry as part of the tit for tat exchange with the United Sates, while the League of the Righteous wanted hostages to gain the release of the Khazali brothers. 80-100 members of the League drove up to the Ministry’s buildings in SUVs in Baghdad, and kidnapped the five Britons in just about 15 minutes. Iraqi intelligence officers from the Defense Ministry who happened to be in the Ministry at the time told the Guardian that they followed the kidnappers to Sadr City where the captives were kept for one day before being transferred to Iran. They passed this information to the Defense Ministry who did nothing. In Iran, the Britons were moved around to several locations. General David Petraeus confirmed this in a recent interview with the BBC where he said <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/petraeus-90-certain-that-uk-hostage-was-in-iran-1854147.html">he was 90% sure that Tehran held the captives for a time</a>. All negotiations for the release of the hostages occurred in Qom, Iran, but the British Foreign Office refused to directly talk with them, which greatly complicated things. <br />
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Almost two years later, Iraq, England, the U.S., Iran, and the League worked out a release plan with <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-challenges-to-sadrs-leadership.html">Lebanon’s Hezbollah acting as a middleman</a>. In March 2009 a deal was cut whereby the Americans would release all of the League of the Righteous members they held including Laith and Qais Khazali in return for the British captives. In that month a video was released of Moore, followed by the freeing of Laith Khazali. After that U.S. prisons were emptied of <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6971841.ece">some 300 League followers</a> they held under the guise of an Iraqi reconciliation program, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/07/5-revolutionary-guards-members-let-go.html">along with some of the top Qods Force members</a> that were arrested in 2006-2007, in return for the bodies of Jason Creswell, Jason Swindlehurst, and Alec MacLachlan. Alan McMenemy has yet to be released, but it’s believed that he is dead as well. Sources told the Guardian that the Iranians killed all four bodyguards because for one, they were not considered important since they were only security men, and two to show that they were serious to the British government. The process finally ended with the release of Peter Moore and Qais Khazali. Some American military officers were against this deal, but the Status of Forces Agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad at the very end of the Bush administration in December 2008 requires the U.S. <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6972102.ece">to release all the detainees they hold</a> unless they have broken Iraqi law.<br />
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The kidnapping and release of Moore, MacLachlan, Swindlehurst, Creswell, and McMenemy mark the end of one period of post-Saddam Iraq. Washington and Tehran were involved in a covert war for influence within Iraq after the 2003 invasion. The U.S. focused upon Iran’s Qods Force and their support for Special Groups like the League of the Righteous. The U.S. tried to kill or capture as many militiamen and Qods Force operatives as they could, but interference by Iraqi officials meant that this effort could only go so far. The smashing of Shiite militias by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s offensives in 2008, along with Iran’s greater interest in political influence through support of Shiite parties in the 2009 and coming 2010 elections, means that their military policy has been put on the back burner. The League even renounced violence in 2009, and briefly flirted with running in the upcoming vote, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/league-of-righteous-breaks-off-talks.html">before withdrawing in early December</a>. What that means for the League is unknown. Qais Khazali is said to still have sway with many Sadrists, which has made Moqtada very worried about his leadership, but its too late for them to run as a party in 2010, which would greatly limit their influence if they wished to join Iraqi politics. There’s a good chance that the League will fade from the scene just as the military confrontation between Iran and the U.S. in Iraq has. <br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Chulov, Martin, “Shia cleric’s release by US forces provided key to Peter Moore’s freedom,” Guardian, 12/30/09<br />
<br />
CNN, “U.S. raid on Iranian consulate angers Kurds,” 1/11/07<br />
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Cochrane, Marisa, “The Fragmentation of the Sadrist Movement,” Institute for the Study of War, January 2009<br />
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Cockburn, Patrick, “The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis,” The Independent, 4/3/07<br />
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Fordham, Alice, “Hostage Peter Moore’s fate tied to that of Laith and Qais al-Khazali,” Times of London, 12/31/09<br />
- “Peter Moore freed after US hands over Iraqi insurgent,” Times of London, 12/31/09<br />
<br />
Hines, Nico, “Peter Moore: 31 months of Iraqi captivity,” Times of London, 12/30/09<br />
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Lake, Eli, “GIs Raid Iranian Building in Irbil,” New York Sun, 1/12/07<br />
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Linzer, Dafna, “Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq,” Washington Post, 1/26/07<br />
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Mahmood, Mona, O’Kane, Maggie, Grandjean, Guy, “Bush threats and an $18bn secret: why Iran’s kidnap squad struck,” Guardian, 12/31/09<br />
<br />
Roggio, Bill, “US releases ‘dangerous’ Iranian proxy behind the murder of US troops,” Long War Journal, 12/31/09<br />
<br />
Woodcock, Andrew and Johnson, Wesley, “Petraeus ‘90% certain’ that UK hostage was in Iran,” Independent, 12/31/09<br />
<br />
Wright, Robin and Trejos, Nancy, “U.S. Troops Raid 2 Iranian Targets in Iraq, Detain 5 People,” Washington Post, 1/12/07Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-78208515917459547762009-12-31T14:07:00.002-05:002009-12-31T14:07:53.650-05:00Will New Oil Deals Provide Jobs For Iraqis?<a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/2nd-round-of-bidding-on-iraqs-oil.html">Iraq recently completed the second round of bidding on its oil fields</a>, which will hopefully usher in the return of international petroleum companies to Iraq that will bring in much needed investment and know how. This round went much better than the first with deals for seven of the ten fields up for auction. Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani believes that Iraq <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8409473.stm">could reach 12 million barrels a day in capacity in six years</a> as a result, which would make it a rival to the world’s largest producer Saudi Arabia. With such high expectations, many Iraqis, especially in southern Iraq where most of the oil resides, are hoping that this wealth will trickle down in the form of jobs and better services. <br />
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Currently southern Iraq has some of the poorest sections of the country despite the huge petroleum reserves. <a href="http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=123445">A recent report</a> by the government’s Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology, found that 49% of the population in Muthanna and 41% in Babil lived in poverty, the highest rates in Iraq. Residents of Dhi Qar <a href="http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20091218com6.html">told Agence France Presse</a> that they didn’t expect much from the new oil deals, feeling that the best jobs would go to those that had political connections or paid bribes. In contrast, the Italian head of Dhi Qar’s Provincial Reconstruction Team, U.S.-funded groups that are aimed at improving the political and economic development of Iraq at the local level, believed that there would be plenty of job opportunities, and the complaints about corruption were overblown. <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/200911393815285306.html">Provincial officials in Basra also expressed similar optimism</a>.<br />
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If jobs do appear, they will have to be from spin-offs such as construction and services, because its estimated that Iraq <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B915T20091210">will only need 40,000 new oil workers by 2015</a>. That’s a drop in the bucket when compared to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/opinion/16gunter.html">the 250,000 young Iraqis who enter the job market each year</a>. In Wasit for example, the sole foreign petroleum company currently operating in Iraq, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/09/wasit-residence-protest-against-chinese.html">only hired 450 Iraqis</a> since it started working there in late-2008. They have also been accused of damaging farmland that has set off a wave of protests and small-scale sabotage against the corporation. <br />
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The problem as ever is that petroleum is not a labor-intensive industry. There will be a flurry of construction early on to improve the oil fields, which could offer opportunities to Iraqis. After that, probably in the best case, the increased revenues from higher exports will give Baghdad the necessary funds to improve services to placate the public. Otherwise the new oil deals will just give people another excuse to complain about their government. <br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Agence France Presse, “Southern Iraq town hopes for jobs boom after oil auction,” 12/17/09<br />
<br />
Aswat al-Iraq, “COSIT: Unemployment, poverty drop in Iraq,” 12/13/09<br />
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BBC, “Iraq oil capacity ‘to reach 12m barrels per day,’” 12/12/09<br />
<br />
Gunter, Frank, “Liberate Iraq’s Economy,” New York Times, 11/16/09<br />
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Al Jazeera, “Iraq’s oil wealth eludes the poor,” 11/4/09<br />
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Yackley, Ayla Jean, “Iraqi oil deals mean reams of steel, miles of pipes,” Reuters, 12/10/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-6263066189593625082009-12-29T21:27:00.002-05:002009-12-29T21:27:38.864-05:00United Nations Human Rights Report On IraqThe United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) released its <a href="http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-7YRQ9X?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq">latest human rights report</a> for Iraq covering the first half of 2009. The U.N. noted the decrease in violence in Iraq, but that there were still deaths everyday in the country. More importantly, it recorded continued institutional abuses in the justice system, and reminders of the old regime.<br />
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The number of deaths and unidentified bodies found are down greatly. In the last half of 2008 for example, 434 people were found dead in the streets, compared to 210 in the first six months of 2009. There were still daily attacks, but the U.N. made an important observation that it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell political violence from ones involving crime, especially because many gangs also work as militias and insurgents. The major targets in Iraq are the security forces, government officials, professionals, Sons of Iraq (SOI) members, and tribal leaders. Two generals were killed and one escaped a car bombing during the first half of 2009, along with four SOI leaders killed or wounded in four areas in Diyala. <br />
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Iraq’s minorities are also targets. Yazidis, Sabeans, Shabaks and Christians claim that their numbers have been drastically reduced because of the violence, with many becoming refugees. Yazidis say their population went from 500,000 before the war to 300,000 now. Sabeans reported 35,000 followers in 2003, and 7,000-8,000 now. There were 1.4 million Christians in the 1987 census, and they now believe there are only 500,000-800,000. All of these groups complain about being arrested by the Kurdish security forces, and being pressured to vote for pro-Kurdish parties. <br />
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With the dramatic decrease in militant activity, cultural and institutional abuses are gaining more prominence. UNAMI has been focusing upon women’s issues for the last year or two, concentrating upon the Kurdistan region. The U.N has found continued honor killings and suicides due to abuses there. Few of these cases are ever reported to the police, as they are considered family matters. Journalists also say they face regular harassment by the security forces and politicians’ bodyguards. One NGO reported 64 cases of abuse in 3 days in Baghdad, Basra, Babil, and Anbar. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has also arrested and convicted journalists for criticizing the authorities. <br />
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Most importantly the U.N. reports that Iraq’s justice system remains overwhelmed by the number of detainees, and its reliance upon confessions leads to widespread abuses. From January to June 2009 the number of prisoners held by the government increased from 27,466 to 29,871. Detainees are regularly held for long periods of time without charges or seeing a lawyer. Torture and beatings are common, and this includes against children held. That led to a series of protests by prisoners in June 2009 against corruption, lack of trials, and abuses in Maysan and Qadisiyah provinces. That same month, the Interior Minister announced that 43 police officers were going to be prosecuted for abuses. Similar conditions and treatment are also prevalent in Kurdistan. UNAMI interviewed people who were held for 5 years or more in the region without charges or trials, while noting that the KRG has begun a program to renovate and improve conditions in its prisons. <br />
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Finally, the authorities are finding remains of the Saddam era. In May and June 2009 dozens of mass graves were found in Qadisiyah, Najaf, Basra, Karbala, and Tamim. Most of those contained hundreds of Kurdish victims of Saddam’s Anfal campaign, while two sites were found in Karbala that had Kuwaiti prisoners of war that were killed during the Gulf War. The Ministry of Human Rights believes that they may be 270 unopened mass graves throughout the country. <br />
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Iraq remains a troubled nation. The insurgency has been largely defeated, but there are still terrorist attacks everyday that continue to take a human toll. With the fighting largely over, other problems are coming to the fore including overcrowding and abuses in Iraqi prisons and the justice system, lack of rights for women, and limits on press freedom. This shows that Iraq remains a fragile, developing state, with a large terrorist threat. <br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, “Human Rights Report 1 January – 30 June 2009,” 12/15/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-28727030621992449432009-12-28T21:28:00.002-05:002009-12-28T21:28:21.560-05:00Oil Production Down in Nov. 09, But Exports UpThe latest numbers for Iraq’s oil industry are out, and <a href="http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-7YURZ5?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq">they show that while production declined in November 2009, exports actually increased</a>. Last month, Iraq produced an average of 2.36 million barrels a day of petroleum, while exporting 1.99 million barrels a day. In October Iraq produced an average of 2.50 million barrels, and exported 1.89 million barrels. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/iraqs-oil-exports-drop-for-third.html">Iraq’s oil industry has never had steady output</a>, and constantly goes up and down. So far this year, Iraq is average 2.39 million barrels in overall production, the second highest since 2003, while exporting 1.91 million barrels, marking a post-invasion high. Both are below marks set by the Oil Ministry and 2009 budget however. <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">The Ministry wanted to achieve 2.50 million barrels a month this year</a>, which was only achieved in September and October. The 2009 budget called for 2.00 million barrels in exports each month. That only happened in July, 2.08 million barrels, and August, 2.00 million barrels. This has led to a deficit, which is going to continue into next year, especially because the new budget <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/10/iraqs-budget-problems-will-continue.html">calls for 2.15 million barrels of exports per day</a>. Iraq’s economy is still largely state-run, and relies upon oil for almost all of its revenue, so these deficits are holding up reconstruction and development of the country. The first two rounds of bidding on Iraq’s oil fields will not help in the short-term either as the new production is not likely to come on line for several years. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Monthly Averages of Iraqi Oil Production/Exports in Millions of Barrels Per Day<br />
</b></span></span><br />
<div><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><colgroup><col style="width: 29px;"></col><col style="width: 54px;"></col><col style="width: 60px;"></col><col style="width: 48px;"></col><col style="width: 48px;"></col><col style="width: 42px;"></col><col style="width: 42px;"></col><col style="width: 42px;"></col></colgroup><tbody valign="top">
<tr style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(196, 188, 150) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid black; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2003</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2004</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2005</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2006</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2007</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2008</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: solid solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>2009</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Jan.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.44/1.53</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.36</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.73/1.05</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.66/1.30</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.24/1.93</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.15/1.91</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Feb.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.27/1.38</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.43</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.83/1.47</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.08/1.50</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.39/1.93</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.32/1.77</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>March</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.43/1.82</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.09/1.39</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.32</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.08/1.58</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.38/1.93</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.37/1.81</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>April</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.38/1.80</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.14/1.39</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.14/1.60</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.14/1.50</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.40/1.88</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.37/1.83</span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>May</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">0.3/0.0</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.88/1.38</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.30</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.13/1.51</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.03/1.64</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.60/1.96</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.41/1.90</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>June</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">0.675/0.2</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.29/1.14</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.17/1.37</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.30/1.67</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.00/1.47</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.52/1.96</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.43/1.96</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>July</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">0.925/0.322</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.20/1.40</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.17/1.55</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.22/1.68</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.07/1.71</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.54/1.85</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.48/2.08</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Aug.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.44/0.646</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.12/1.11</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.16/1.50</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.24/1.68</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.91/1.69</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.50/1.70</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.48/2.00</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Sep.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.72/0.983</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.51/1.70</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.11/1.60</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.23/1.65</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.3/1.90</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.37/1.65</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.50/1.95</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Oct.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.05/1.14</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.45/1.54</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.91/1.23</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.26/1.55</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.34/1.91</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.37/1.69</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.50/1.89</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Nov.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.52</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.95/1.32</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.98/1.16</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.10/1.44</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.38/1.88</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.40/1.88</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.36/1.99</span></span></span></span></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Dec.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.30/1.54</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.16/1.52</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.92/1.07</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.15/1.45</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.42/1.93</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.35/1.73</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-style: none solid solid; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;"><b>Yr. Avg.</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">1.44/0.795</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.25/1.47</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.07/1.36</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.11/1.50</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.11/1.66</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.42/1.84</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 78%;">2.39/1.91</span><br />
</td><td style="border-style: none solid solid none; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>SOURCES<br />
<br />
</b>Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Iraq Status Report,” U.S. Department of State, 12/16/09<br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United Sates Congress,” 10/30/09<b><br />
</b>Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-41204471580196943482009-12-27T14:15:00.002-05:002009-12-27T14:15:26.052-05:00Iraq Still Has Problems Spending Its Money<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">The new Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction report to Congress</a> was released at the end of October 2009. It notes that Iraq is still having problems spending its budget. By June 2009 50% of Iraq’s $58.6 billion budget had been released, but only $16.4 billion, 27.9%, had been spent as of that month. $1.6 billion of that was for capital projects that are investments in infrastructure and services. The provinces had $16.4 billion, and only spent 30% of that during the same time period. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Jan09/Default.aspx">80% of the 2009 budget is for operational costs</a> such as salaries, pensions, and the food ration system. Of the money spent in the first six months of the year, 90.3% came from the operational budget. That’s because from 2005 to 2008 Iraq’s spending increased each year and the ministries and agencies went on a hiring spree. In 2005 for example, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/collapse-in-iraqi-oil-price-shatters-hope-of-recovery-1649553.html">there were 1.2 million government employees</a>. By 2008 that had more than doubled to 2.8 million. Last year the country was also flush with money due to high oil prices and doubled most salaries for public employees. Now Iraq has no money to cover those costs because the global recession has caused a drop in the oil market, which is the nation’s main source of revenue. <br />
<br />
Since Iraq got its official sovereignty back in 2005 its budgetary expenditures have gone up and down, with the majority of spending going to operational costs. <a href="http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081031.pdf">In 2005 Iraq did its best</a>, spending 73% of its $30.2 billion budget. Then followed 67% in 2006, 65% in 2007, and <a href="http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/9010_Report_to_CongressJul09.pdf">69% in 2008</a>. Barely any of the capital budgets were spent during those years, while the majority of the operational budgets were. In 2005 91% of the operational budget was spent, compared to 23% for the capital budget. <a href="http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-294SP">In 2006 it was</a> 83% operational versus 19% capital, 2007 it was 80% operational versus 28% capital, and in 2008 Baghdad did its best job spending 39% of its capital budget. Iraq’s major ministries responsible for security and services <a href="http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-837">did an even worse job</a>. In 2005 they spent 14% of their budgets, in 2006 13%, 2007 11%, and 2008 23%. <br />
<br />
Iraq is now facing the triple pressures of reduced American and international aid, low to moderate petroleum prices, and increasing government costs. The bureaucracy, centralized control, and lack of trained staff has gotten no better since 2005, which are some of the main reasons why expenditures have so many problems. What that’s leading to is a bloated government, with limited money for development to raise the standard of living for its public. <br />
<b><br />
Iraq’s Budget Expenditures</b><br />
2005 73% of total budget, (4) 91% of operational budget, 23% of capital budget<br />
2006 67% of total budget, 83% of operational budget, 19% of capital budget<br />
2007 65% of total budget, 80% of operational budget, 28% of capital budget<br />
2008 69% of total budget, 39% of capital budget <br />
<br />
<b>Budget Expenditures By Security and Services Ministries</b><br />
2005 14% <br />
2006 13%<br />
2007 11%<br />
2008 23%<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Cockburn, Patrick, “Collapse in Iraqi oil price shatters hope of recovery,” Independent, 3/20/09<br />
<br />
Department of Defense, “Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq,” June 2009<br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report and Semiannual Report to the United States Congress,” 1/30/09<br />
- “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 10/30/09<br />
<br />
United States Government Accountability Office, “IRAQ Key Issues for Congressional Oversight,” March 2009<br />
- “Iraqi Revenues, Expenditures, and Surplus,” August 2008<br />
- “Progress Report: Some Gains Made, Updated Strategy Needed,” June 2008Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-40455852409241219002009-12-24T21:30:00.000-05:002009-12-24T21:30:35.806-05:00U.S. Reconstruction Coming To An EndSince the invasion of Iraq in 2003 <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">the United States has promised the country $52.8 billion in reconstruction funds</a>. That was <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/Default.aspx">the largest rebuilding effort in American history</a>. Now this program is expected to end by 2014. <br />
<br />
Of the $52.8 billion made available to Iraq, $43.57 billion of it has actually been obligated to specific projects, and $39.54 billion has been spent. The Obama administration has asked for $800 million for the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year. There is also $1 billion in supplemental funding for 2010 and $1.5 billion in 2012. The reconstruction effort is already winding down as only $58 million of the $1 billion in 2010 money has been obligated as of September 2009, and only $300,000 has been spent. That’s largely the result of the beginning of the withdrawal of U.S. forces. With less troops out in the field and the planned drawdown of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams, there are fewer opportunities for new projects to be planned. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) estimates that by 2012-2014 all of the money currently in the pipeline for Iraq will run out. After that the U.S. will continue to provide aid, but not in the large amounts that it has in the past. <br />
<br />
The largest chunk of reconstruction funds ended up going to security. In total, $24.52 billion was allocated for various security endeavors, with $20.72 billion actually being spent. Creating a new Iraqi Army is considered the one success of the U.S. effort. There are 245,000 Iraqi soldiers, and over 400,000 police. They now have control of all of Iraq’s 18 provinces, are in the lead of the country’s counterinsurgency program, and the Army is considered competent enough to handle internal security. <a href="http://csis.org/publication/withdrawal-iraq-0">The police are more open to political and local influences, thousands have not been trained, and are still considered a work in progress</a>. Both forces remain almost completely dependent upon the U.S. for logistics and procurement however, and Iraq is not capable of protecting itself from outside threats. <br />
<br />
In comparison, $21.2 billion was spent on the economy and government. $12.36 billion was allocated for infrastructure, $7.28 billion for governance, and $1.56 billion for the economy. Of that, $18.83 billion has actually been spent. The sectors that got the most money were electricity, $5.16 billion, water and sanitation $2.74 billion, government capacity $2.50 billion, oil and gas $2.06 billion, and developing democracy and civil society $2.03 billion. <br />
<br />
There is still over $11.6 billion in on-going projects. Baghdad has the most with $2.92 billion, followed by $543.46 million in Basra, $362.23 million in Tamim, and $1.11 billion across the country. In terms of sectors, there is $5.07 billion in electricity projects, $3.08 billion in water and sanitation, $1.77 billion in oil and gas, $1.27 billion in transportation and communication, and $467.97 million in governance and infrastructure. <br />
<br />
Reconstructing Iraq’s infrastructure and government has run into many problems. While things like electricity production <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/electricity-output-reaches-post.html">is at an all time high, it is still not meeting demand</a>. There are also millions of dollars worth of projects that are either <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-on-wasted-reconstruction-projects.html">not operating at capacity or have been abandoned because Iraqis cannot staff, supply, or afford them</a>. Most importantly, just over half of the money got diverted to security rather than developing the country. <br />
<br />
Overall, the SIGIR believes that the U.S. failed in this endeavor because of a lack of pre-war planning and coordination, bad contracting practices, and building projects that Americans wanted, not Iraqis. Another major problem was that the lack of security derailed many projects, and led to huge cost overruns. That’s seen in the fact that as the reconstruction effort winds down, more money was spent on the Iraqi military and police than the economy or government. There are some successes like the Iraqi Army, but many continuing problems like the lack of adequate services. The U.S. invasion ended the dictatorial rule of Saddam, but the $52.8 billion reconstruction effort is leaving behind a rather typical, dysfunctional Third World country. <br />
<br />
<b>Status of Major U.S. Reconstruction Funds<br />
</b><br />
<div><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><colgroup><col style="width: 66px;"></col><col style="width: 89px;"></col><col style="width: 54px;"></col><col style="width: 54px;"></col><col style="width: 60px;"></col></colgroup><tbody valign="top">
<tr style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(199, 142, 85) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid black; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Area</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Sector</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Allocated</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Obligated</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Expended</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Security</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Equipment</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$7.29 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">6.82 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">6.03 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Training</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$6.11 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.68 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.45 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Infrastructure</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.81 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.55 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$4.84 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Sustainment</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.55 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.41 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.17 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Rule of Law</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.50 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.48 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.27 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Related Activities</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.27 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.15 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.97 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Subtotal</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$24.52 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$23.09 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$20.72 bil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Infrastructure</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Electricity</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.16 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$4.99 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$4.86 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Water and<br />
Sanitation</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.74 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.63 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.47 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Oil and Gas</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.06 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.92 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.91 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">General<br />
Infrastructure</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.25 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.24 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.24 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Transportation and<br />
Communication</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.15 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.09 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.99 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Subtotal</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$12.35 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$11.88 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$11.47 bil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Governance</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Capacity<br />
Development</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.50 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.29 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.91 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Democracy and<br />
Civil Society</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.03 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.04 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.66 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Public Services</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.93 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.91 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.73 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Humanitarian<br />
Relief</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.82 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.82 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.75 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Subtotal</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$7.28 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$7.06 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$6.04 bil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Economy</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Economic<br />
Governance</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.82 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.80 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.74 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Private Sector<br />
Development</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.74 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.74 bil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.57 bil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Subtotal</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$1.56 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$1.54 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$1.32 bil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>TOTAL</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$45.72 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$43.57 bil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$39.54 bil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
<b>Remaining Infrastructure Projects by Province<br />
</b><br />
<div><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><colgroup><col style="width: 59px;"></col><col style="width: 50px;"></col><col style="width: 52px;"></col><col style="width: 48px;"></col><col style="width: 49px;"></col><col style="width: 47px;"></col><col style="width: 54px;"></col></colgroup><tbody valign="top">
<tr style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(199, 142, 85) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid black; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Province</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Electricity</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Water and <br />
Sanitation</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Oil and<br />
Gas</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Transporta-<br />
tion and<br />
Commun-<br />
ication</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>General<br />
Infra-<br />
structure</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;" valign="middle"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>Total</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Baghdad</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1,504.22 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$755.31 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$40.6 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$282.17 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$341.68<br />
mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2,923.97 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Basra</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$543.46 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$238.32 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$558.55 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">%171.8 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$8.39 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1,520.52<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Tamim</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$362.23 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$42.87 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$187.39 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$21.09 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$8.47 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$622.05<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Dhi Qar</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$106.67 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$399.69 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.43 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$21.42 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$13.06 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$541.26<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Salahaddin</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$311.19 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$59.51 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$71.52 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$65.75 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$7.37 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$515.36<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Anbar</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$251.58 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$188.88 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$70.15 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$3.92 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$514.53<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Ninewa</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$118.74 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$126.87 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.08 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$66.06 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$6.97 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$318.72<br />
mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Iirbil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$102.54 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$201.67 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.08 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$5.07 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.46 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$311.82 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Diyala</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$80.66 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$143.47 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.89 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$23.79 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$6.24 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$257.05 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Muthanna</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$15.02 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$189.79 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.07 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$19.12 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$3.87 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$227.87 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Babil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$121.65 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$47.63 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$36.01 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$3.49 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$208.78 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Najaf</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$72.79 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$60.84 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$14.26 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$4.43 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$152.31 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Qadisiya</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$86.78 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$30.46 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$21.75 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.65 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$141.63 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Maysan</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$76.31 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$20.26 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.06 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$14.06 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$6.32 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$117.01 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Wasit</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$45.38 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$30.21 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$19.18 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$10.23 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$105.01 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Karbala</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$46.99 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$39.0 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$4.88 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.58 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$92.45 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Dohuk</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$61.4 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$8l.34 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$0.93 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$7.63 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$78.3 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Sulaymaniya</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$49.03 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$15.28 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">-</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2.98 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1.06 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$68.35 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">Nationwide<br />
& Regional</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$1,115.1 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$487.18 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$916.14 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$418.14 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$28.16 mil</span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;">$2,964.71 mil</span><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>TOTAL</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$5,071.73 mil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$3,085.58 mil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$1,777.81 mil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$1,278.6 mil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$467.97 mil</b></span><br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt;"><b>$11,681.69 mil</b></span><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div> <br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b>SOURCES</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Cordesman, Anthony, “Assessing the Readiness of the Iraqi Security Forces,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 8/12/09<o:p></o:p><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Hard Lessons,” 1/22/09<o:p></o:p><br />
</div>- “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 10/30/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-90807985192928057842009-12-23T22:41:00.002-05:002009-12-23T22:41:30.651-05:00Electricity Output Reaches Post-Invasion High, But System Still Plagued By Problems<a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">The Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction reported</a> that for the fifth straight quarter Iraq’s average electricity supply increased from August to October 2009. For the 3rd quarter of 2009 Iraq produced 6,439 megawatts, a post-invasion high. That was a 10% increase from the 2nd quarter. In 2007 Iraq produced 4,488 megawatts, with 4,198 coming from the Ministry of Electricity, and 290 being imported. In 2009 the Ministry was responsible for 5,209 megawatts, 669 megawatts came from other countries, and 560 were from private generators. Iraq saw a 1,951 megawatt increase over those two years.<br />
<br />
The growth in power supply comes from multiple sources. Half of the increase came from working on existing power plants at a cost of more than $2 billion in U.S. reconstruction aid since 2003. 29% of the increase was from two new private power plants opening in the Kurdistan Regional Government. 19% of this quarter's increase came from importing electricity from Iran and Turkey. In 2007 Turkey was the main supplier, providing 60% of imports, but since then Iran was eclipsed them, now accounting for 80%. The Electricity Ministry has also been able to make some small increases in its capacity. It has added two power plants on boats in Basra in 2009 for example, run by a Turkish company. They have a combined capacity of 250 megawatts.<br />
<br />
The Ministry has bigger plans in store as well. In 2009 <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/09/work-begins-on-improving-iraqs.html">they finally got funding to buy turbines from General Electric and Siemens</a>. These will be installed in twenty locations throughout the country. Every province except the three in Kurdistan will get at least one new power plant out of the deal. Construction is expected to begin in late 2010 or early 2011, and the new capacity will come on line in 2-6 years. When finished, the turbines will add an estimated 10,000 megawatts. There is a major problem with this plan however. Iraq's power grid cannot handle this increase. The transmission and distribution systems need to be renovated, but there are no plans to do so. There are also questions about whether the government will be able to provide fuel for all of these new plants adequately. The Electricity's Ministry promises therefore, may never be fulfilled. Baghdad will also have a hard time coming up with any extra money as it is <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/10/iraqs-budget-problems-will-continue.html">facing a second year of budget deficits</a> due to moderate oil prices, which provide almost all of its revenue.<br />
<br />
Despite the recent increases, the national grid still does not meet the country’s demands. The Special Inspector General believes that the gap between supply and demand is twice what it was in 2003, although it has been slightly reduced since 2007. Based upon estimates it’s believed that the Electricity Ministry served 69% of the national demand in the 3rd quarters of 2009. In the 3rd quarter of 2007, it only met 54%. In terms of the provinces, Sulaymaniya, Basra, Irbil, and Diyala in that order did the best supplying electricity, meeting anywhere from 83% to 99% of demand. That’s because those governorates either have their own power plants or import large amounts from Iran. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Wasit, 51%, Maysan, 53%, Babil 56%, Ninewa and Najaf at 58%, do the worst serving their people. Because Iraqis cannot rely upon the government for its power, most rely upon private generators.<br />
<br />
<b>Electricity Supply And Demand By Provinces<br />
</b><br />
<div><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><colgroup><col style="width: 98px;"></col><col style="width: 62px;"></col><col style="width: 63px;"></col><col style="width: 66px;"></col></colgroup><tbody valign="top">
<tr style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: rgb(253, 233, 217) none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid black; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><b>Province</b> <br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><b>Avg. Daily Electricity Load Served (MW)</b> <br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><b>Avg. Daily Estimated Electricity Demand (MW)</b> <br />
</td><td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><b>Avg. Daily Demand Met</b> <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Sulaymaniya<br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">352 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">357 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">99% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Basra <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">806 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">929 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">87% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Irbil <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">356 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">411 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">86% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Diyala <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">196 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">236 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">83% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Dhi Qar <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">289 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">405 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">71% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Salahaddin <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">275 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">385 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">71% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Tamim <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">222 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">325 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">68% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Muthanna <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">137 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">202 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">68% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Anbar <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">219 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">329 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">67% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Baghdad <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">1,718 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">2,571 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">67% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Dohuk <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">132 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">203 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">65% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Karbala <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">164 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">273 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">60% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Qadisiyah <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">150<br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">253 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">59% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Najaf <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">216 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">375 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">58% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Ninewa <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">491 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">851 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">58% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Babil <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">240 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">425 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">56% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Maysan <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">145 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">273 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">53% <br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">Wasit <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">155 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">304 <br />
</td><td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 0.5pt 0.5pt medium; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;">51% <br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
Iraq’s generators also do not operate up to their capabilities. Nameplate capacity is how much a generator should be able to produce in ideal conditions. Feasible capacity is how much it can produce given the actual conditions. Iraq has a nameplate generating capacity of 15,300 megawatts, and a feasible capacity of 11,150. Both were 4% increases from the 2nd quarter of 2009. However in the 3rd quarter Iraq only operated at 38% of nameplate capacity and 52% of feasible capacity. The Qudas power plant in Baghdad for example, which the U.S. spent $250 million to renovate, has a nameplate capacity of 910 megawatts, but only averages 429 megawatts of actual production, 47% of its nameplate capacity.<br />
<br />
After the overthrow of Saddam, Iraqis went on a buying spree of consumer electronics. This has greatly increased demand for power, which has not been met by the increase in production. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/07/problems-with-iraqs-electricity-network.html">The lack of </a>adequate funds, the inability of the Electricity Ministry to spend what it gets, not enough skilled and trained personnel, poor maintenance and aging equipment, along with subsidized energy and a large black market in generators encourages use rather than conservation. These all mean that demand will continue to increase in the near future, and even with the new power plants and renovations, the power system will still probably be running a deficit.<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, "Quarterly Report to the United States Congress," 10/30/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-26091992133059824452009-12-18T22:00:00.002-05:002009-12-18T22:00:15.013-05:002nd Round of Bidding On Iraq’s Oil Fields Ends As A SuccessThe second round of bidding on Iraq’s oil fields ended on December 12, 2009. It was much more successful than the first round that occurred in June 2009. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/first-day-of-new-bidding-round-on-iraqi.html">That auction only produced one successful contract, although two more were negotiated afterward</a>. This round <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091212/BUSINESS/712129994/1011/NEWS">garnered seven deals</a> for the ten fields up for bid.<br />
<br />
Initially, the second round did not get off to a good start. On the first day, December 11, only two bids were accepted. The next day went much better with five more. If all of the companies are able to meet their projections, Iraq has the potential to add 4,765,000 extra barrels to its production total, <a href="http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/KHII-7YM7VU?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq">which is currently averaging 2.39 million barrels a day</a> in 2009. The deals from the first round <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/iraq-moves-ahead-with-oil-deals.html">could add an additional 6,075,000</a>. Within thirteen years these oil companies are promising Iraq up to 13.23 million barrels a day in capacity, which would make it the largest oil producer in the world. Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani was even more optimistic, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8409473.stm">claiming that Iraq could reach 12 million barrels a day in six years</a>, while noting that actual production would be determined by demand. <br />
<br />
There are many that doubt Iraq’s ability. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B915T20091210">Oil analysts believe</a> that all of the new facilities required to develop this potential would set off inflation in services, and be hard for the government to complete. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/middleeast/01iraqoil.html">Iraq has also not had to follow OPEC production quotas</a> since it was placed under international sanctions after the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq is working to ends those, and thus would eventually have to comply with the organization’s prescriptions again. Some Oil Ministry officials however, are talking like they would not have to. <a href="http://www.arabianoilandgas.com/article-6507-12-million-barrels-a-day-is-unrealistic-for-iraq/">The CEO of France’s Total oil company said</a> in November that 10-12 million barrels a day in Iraqi production was “crazy.” He believed a much more realistic potential was 7-8 million barrels a day. Other experts believe that Iraq’s increased production would hurt it in the long run. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSGEE5B61KK20091207?type=marketsNews">The Director of the Center for Global Energy Studies in London, England for example</a>, believes that greater petroleum production would lead to a fall in prices and profits for Iraq in the long run. Even Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s oil adviser said recently that Iraq could not reach the 10-12 million barrel plateau, and thought 6 million barrels was more achievable. <br />
<br />
Whatever the final outcome is, Iraq is finally garnering the foreign investment and expertise it desperately needs to boost its oil production. Since the U.S. invasion the country has become more dependent upon petroleum than ever before as the other sectors of the economy have faltered due to American and government polices and violence. It needs to garner as much money as possible from its one major resource so that it can develop and sustain itself. As always, it’s up to the bureaucracy to fashion this into a successful venture. This may be a Catch 22, as other oil producing countries do not provide much hope. Few have diversified their economies, and remain tied to one industry that does not provide much employment. The development of petroleum could thus make Iraq even more reliant upon it. <br />
<br />
<b>First Day Deals December 11, 2009</b><br />
<br />
Halfaya<br />
Reserves: 4.098 billion barrels<br />
Winner: China’s CNPC, Malaysia’s Petronas, and France’s Total<br />
Terms: $1.40 for each extra barrel produced, will boost production to 535,000 barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids:<br />
1. Norway’s Statoil and Russia’s Lukoil – Asked for $1.53 per extra barrel and promised 600,000 barrels a day output<br />
2. India’s ONGC and India Oil, and Turkey’s TPAO – Asked for $1.76 per extra barrel and promised 550,000 barrels a day output<br />
3. Italy’s Eni, South Korea’s Kogas, U.S. Occidental Petroleum, Angola’s Sonangol, and China’s CNOOC – Asked for $12.50 per extra barrel and promised 400,000 barrels a day output<br />
<br />
Majnoon<br />
Reserves: 12.58 billion barrels<br />
Winner: Anglo-Dutch Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas<br />
Terms: $1.39 for each extra barrel produced, will boost production to 1.8 million barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids: France’s Total and China’s CNPC – Asked for $1.75 per extra barrel and promised 1.405 million barrels a day output<br />
<br />
Qayara<br />
Reserves: 807 million barrels<br />
Winner: Angola’s Sonangol<br />
Terms: $5 per extra barrel produced, will boost production to 120,000 barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids: None<br />
<br />
<b>Second Day Deals December 12, 2009</b><br />
<br />
Badra<br />
Reserves: 109 million barrels<br />
Winner: Russia’s Gazprom, South Korea’s KoGas, Malaysia’s Petronas, and Turkey’s TPAO<br />
Terms: $5.50 per extra barrel produced, will boost production to 170,000 barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids: None<br />
<br />
Garraf<br />
Reserves: 863 million barrels<br />
Winner: Malaysia’s Petronas and Japan’s Japex<br />
Terms: $1.49 per extra barrel produced, will boost production to 230,000 barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids:<br />
1. Turkey’s TPAO and India’s ONGC – Asked for $2.76 per extra barrel and promised 200,000 barrels a day output<br />
2. Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGas, South Korea’s KoGas and Italy’s Edison – Asked for $2.55 per extra barrel and promised 185,000 barrels a day output<br />
3. Indonesia’s Pertamina – Asked for $7.50 per extra barrel and promised 150,000 barrels a day output<br />
<br />
Najmah<br />
Reserves: 858 million barrels<br />
Winner: Angola’s Sonangol<br />
Terms: $6 for each extra barrel produced, will boost production to 110,000 barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids: None<br />
<br />
West Qurna 2<br />
Reserves: 12.876 billion barrels<br />
Winner: Russia’s Lukoil, Norway’s Statoil Hydro<br />
Terms: $1.15 for each extra barrel produced, will boost production to 1.8 million barrels a day<br />
Losing Bids:<br />
1. Malaysia’s Petronas, Indonesia’s Pertamina, Vietnam’s Petro Vietnam – Asked for $1.25 per extra barrel and promised 1.2 million barrels a day output<br />
2. France’s Total – Asked for $1.72 per extra barrel and promised 1.43 million barrels a day output<br />
3. British Petroleum and China’s CNPC – Asked for $1.65 per extra barrel and promised 888,000 barrels a day output<br />
<br />
<b>Fields Receiving No Bids</b><br />
<br />
East Baghdad<br />
Eastern Fields<br />
Middle Furat<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
BBC, “Iraq oil capacity ‘to reach 12m barrels per day,’” 12/12/09<br />
<br />
Brock, Joe, “Firms overstate Iraq oil potential – govt adviser,” Reuters, 12/7/09<br />
<br />
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Iraq Status Report,” U.S. Department of State, 12/9/09<br />
<br />
Canty, Daniel, “12 million barrels a day is unrealistic for Iraq,” Arabian Oil and Gas, 11/17/09<br />
<br />
The National, “Iraq oil deals,” 12/12/09<br />
<br />
Williams, Timothy, “Oil Companies Look to the Future in Iraq,” New York Times, 12/1/09<br />
<br />
Yackley, Ayla Jean, “Iraqi oil deals mean reams of steel, miles of pipes,” Reuters, 12/10/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-26484412152279990582009-12-17T21:04:00.000-05:002009-12-17T21:04:27.887-05:00Is The Security Situation In Iraq Getting Worse?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every time there is a massive, headline-grabbing bombing in Iraq, it sets off a wave of reports and commentaries in the West about how the security situation in the country is getting worse. The most recent such attack was on <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/terrorists-strike-baghdad-with-massive.html">December 8, 2009 when four targets in Baghdad</a> were assaulted resulting in <a href="http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1152727&SMap=1">127 deaths and 448 wounded</a>. In August and October there were similar bombings of government ministries and the Baghdad provincial council building. A typical response was by John McCreary of AFCEA Intelligence who <a href="http://nightwatch.afcea.org/NightWatch_20091208.htm">wrote on December 8</a> that, “Day by day, the security situation is deteriorating. This should surprise no Readers and it will get much worse in the next few months.” Thomas Ricks, author of the books The Fiasco and The Gamble, member of the Center for a New American Century think tank, who runs <a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/">the Best Defense blog on the Foreign Policy website</a>, is another who has an on-going series of posts called “Iraq, the unraveling” that argues things are going downhill in the country. The problem with these writers is that they appear to be basing their writings purely upon press reports, which focus almost exclusively on violence. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/10/mass-casualty-bombings-and-views-of.html">As reported before</a>, that gives a distorted picture of the situation. What they lack is any kind of research or background into the larger trend in violence that can put these attacks into context.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First, there is no direct correlation between large bombings and the overall security situation. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/nov.html">In June 2009 for example</a>, there were 14 mass casualty bombings that resulted in 174 deaths and 517 wounded. The next month there were 35 such attacks that led to 180 dead and 655 wounded. <a href="http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/">According to Iraq Body Count</a> however, there were more deaths in June, 488, than July, 395, even though the latter had more bombings. <br />
</div><br />
<b>Comparison Of Bombings and Overall Deaths In Iraq – June vs July 2009</b><br />
<br />
<b>June 2009</b><br />
Mass Casualty Bombings: 14<br />
Deaths Caused By: 174<br />
Wounded Caused By: 517<br />
Overall Monthly Death Count: 488<br />
<br />
<b>July 2009</b><br />
Mass Casualty Bombings: 35<br />
Death Caused By: 180<br />
Wounded Caused By: 655<br />
Overall Monthly Death Count: 395<br />
<br />
Second, even if one were to judge Iraqi security by multiple fatality bombings, they have been declining since their peak in 2006. <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx">The Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index</a> tracks such attacks from May 2003 to the present. According to their numbers, there were an average of 5.1 of these bombings a month in 2003, 13.5 in 2004, 29.1 in 2005, before they reached their highest point in 2006 with an average of 50.9. After that there was a steady decline with an average of 38.5 bombings a month in 2007, followed by 21.0 in 2008, and 15.5 this year from January to November 2009. <br />
<br />
<b>Average Number of Mass Casualty Bombings 2003-2009</b><br />
2003: Avg. 5.1<br />
2004: Avg. 13.5<br />
2005: Avg. 29.1<br />
2006: Avg. 50.9<br />
2007: Avg. 38.5<br />
2008: Avg. 21.0<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2009: Avg. 15.5<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPUvLTr9-I/AAAAAAAAAB8/YBw1xx_vjT8/s1600-h/1.+Bombings.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPUvLTr9-I/AAAAAAAAAB8/YBw1xx_vjT8/s400/1.+Bombings.gif" /></a><br />
</div><br />
Third, attacks overall are down to their lowest levels since 2004. <a href="http://csis.org/publication/iraq-security-trends">From January to March 2004 there were around 250-300 security incidents each week</a>. Attacks took off as the sectarian war started with the bombing of the Samarra mosque in February 2006 peaking at 1,800 per week in May 2007. After that point, weekly attacks steadily decreased with a few up-ticks. Since July 2009 they have averaged below 200 per week.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPV8-njiJI/AAAAAAAAACE/avIQavziCuQ/s1600-h/2.+Weekly-security.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPV8-njiJI/AAAAAAAAACE/avIQavziCuQ/s400/2.+Weekly-security.gif" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Some thought that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq’s cities on June 30, 2009 would negatively affect security, but that hasn’t happened either. From mid-February to June 30, 2009 there were an average of 250 security incidents per week. From the withdrawal date to early November 2009 there has been an average of just under 200 attacks per week. The number killed has also seen a very slight decrease from before and after the pullout. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPX5TygokI/AAAAAAAAADE/9VMnXhkgIjY/s1600-h/3.+Security-Incidents-Before-%26.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPX5TygokI/AAAAAAAAADE/9VMnXhkgIjY/s400/3.+Security-Incidents-Before-%26.gif" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYACa0BDI/AAAAAAAAADM/LkgvcpapBeU/s1600-h/4.+Tota-Killed-beforeafter-Jun.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYACa0BDI/AAAAAAAAADM/LkgvcpapBeU/s400/4.+Tota-Killed-beforeafter-Jun.gif" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like bombings, there is also no correlation between overall attacks and casualties in Iraq. As the chart below shows, security incidents reached their highest level at the middle of 2007, yet the number of deaths had been declining since the very end of 2006. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYD9okJDI/AAAAAAAAADU/mhwKb808Iag/s1600-h/5.+Security-IncidentsDeaths.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYD9okJDI/AAAAAAAAADU/mhwKb808Iag/s400/5.+Security-IncidentsDeaths.gif" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Regarding deaths, 2009 has seen the fewest number since the Iraq war began. From May to December 2003 when the invasion ended and the insurgency was just beginning, there was an average of 578.8 deaths per month according to Iraq Body Count. In comparison, from January to November 2009 there have been an average of 388.7. In fact, August 2009 was the only month this year that casualties reached the 500 mark. Deaths reached their highest levels in late-2006 to early-2007 when over 3,000 were being killed a month. Since then they have seen a steady decline, with November 2009 having the fewest fatalities since 2003. <br />
</div><br />
<b>Iraqi Monthly Deaths 2003 vs 2009</b><br />
<br />
<b>2003</b><br />
May 545<br />
June 593<br />
July 650<br />
Aug. 790<br />
Sep. 553<br />
Oct. 493<br />
Nov. 478<br />
Dec. 529<br />
Avg. Monthly Deaths: 578.8<br />
<br />
<b>2009</b><br />
Jan. 276<br />
Feb. 343<br />
March 416<br />
Apr. 484<br />
May 332<br />
June 488<br />
July 395<br />
Aug. 593<br />
Sep. 299<br />
Oct. 438<br />
Nov. 212<br />
Avg. Monthly Deaths: 388.7<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYHMIIODI/AAAAAAAAADc/TFBzmRBMmVc/s1600-h/6.+Civilian-casualties.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yCnIK3xg848/SyPYHMIIODI/AAAAAAAAADc/TFBzmRBMmVc/s320/6.+Civilian-casualties.gif" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall, there is nothing to support the thesis that the security situation is worsening in Iraq. Mass casualty bombings, security incidents, and deaths have all gone down since the sectarian war of 2006-2007. The situation has not gotten worse since the U.S. pulled out of Iraq’s urban areas either at the end of June 2009. The major reason for this change is the fact that the majority of the Sunni insurgency gave up and switched sides to join the Anbar Awakening and Sons of Iraq program from 2005-2007. More recently, many Sunnis have decided to join the political process after they boycotted the first election in 2005. There are still militants in Iraq who carry out attacks every day, but their numbers and areas of operation are severely limited. Their violence will likely continue for the foreseeable future however as Iraqi politics are still divided, and some religious zealots still feel that Iraq is their cause. It should also be stressed that despite the drop in deaths and attacks, and the weakening of the insurgency, Iraq remains one of the most violent countries in the world. These incidents need to be put into a larger political context however, instead of the knee-jerk commentary that is currently prevalent. <br />
</div><br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Cordesman, Anthony, “Iraq: Security Trends,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 11/19/09<br />
<br />
McCreary, John, “Night Watch For the Night of 8 December 2009,” AFCEA Intelligence, 12/8/09<br />
<br />
O’Hanlon, Michael Livingston, Ian, “Iraq Index,” Brookings Institution, 12/11/09<br />
<br />
RTT News, “Chief Of Iraqi Security Forces In Baghdad Replaced After Deadly Bomb Attacks,” 12/9/09<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-537947953084666232009-12-16T21:26:00.000-05:002009-12-16T21:26:04.413-05:00Iraq Lacks Will To Confront CorruptionIraq continues to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In its recent report, Transparency International <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/iraq-moves-down-list-of-most-corrupt-in.html">ranked Iraq the fourth most corrupt nation</a> out of 180, tied with Sudan. While Iraq’s anti-corruption agencies continue their work at the national and provincial level, the real problem is the lack of will and commitment by the country’s leaders to the fight. <br />
<br />
From January 1 to August 3, 2009 <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">there were 80 successful convictions for corruption</a>. The problem is that there are 445 other cases waiting to be adjudicated from just this year according to Iraq’s High Judicial Council. Of those found guilty, 45 were in Baghdad, 14 in Ninewa, 6 in Tamim and Babil each, 4 in Wasit, 2 in Muthanna, and 1 each in Karbala, Najaf, and Dhi Qar. In fourteen cases, the value of the crimes together was worth $136,000. The Ministry of Defense was implicated the most with 12 cases, followed by 9 from the Finance Ministry, 7 from Interior, 1 from Oil, 1 from Labor, 1 from Electricity, 1 from Transportation, 1 from Justice, and 1 from Displacement and Migration. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/09/integrity-commission-report-on-iraqi.html">A 2008 report by the Integrity Commission</a>, one of three anti-corruption agencies in Iraq, found that the Defense Ministry was one of the most corrupt in the government. In 2008 there were $1.3 billion worth of cases pardoned, most from the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry also accounted for the third most convictions overall in the country last year. A major problem was that 42% of those found guilty in 2009 were absent for their sentencing, probably meaning they had fled. <br />
<br />
This year has also seen some of the highest profile cases since the 2003 U.S. invasion. In May the Trade Minister was arrested for corruption charges surrounding the food ration system, which he is in charge of. In September the Deputy Transportation Minister was detained for attempting to obtain a $500,000 bribe from a private security company. The newly elected provincial councils have also indicted a number of people at the local level. In Karbala for example, four officials were arrested for embezzlement. Just recently in November, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.alrafidayn.com/2009-05-26-22-07-53/4512-2009-11-23-20-35-56.html">13 members of the Baghdad mayor’s office were found stealing $20 million by forging checks for ghost employees</a>.<br />
<br />
Despite these successes, the anti-corruption agencies face an uphill battle in Iraq. The greatest impediment is the country’s leadership. Publicly, Iraq’s government says it is committed to dealing with corruption. In June 2009 Baghdad announced it would address bribery in public agencies. The next month the Kurdistan Regional Government said it was creating a program to promote good government and transparency. Then in October Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraqi_Premier_Warns_Of_Dangers_Of_Political_Corruption/1853819.html">gave a speech warning that political corruption was more dangerous than financial improprieties</a> because it undermine the government. Yet Iraq’s ministries consistently stand in the way of investigations. Article 136B allows any minister to stop an inquiry into corruption. In 2008 210 cases were stopped using 136B, including two involving ministers and one case worth $6 million. Many high government officials also refuse to follow rules and regulations. For instance, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraqi_Deputies_Chided_For_Not_Making_Financial_Declarations/1846799.html">only 92 of 275 members of parliament had made their financial declarations this year</a>. Others have also tried to defer blame. Maliki for example, <a href="http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/22637.htm">recently answered questions from reporters online</a>, and while he said that corruption was more widespread now than under Saddam, he blamed Al Qaeda and Baathists for spreading fake stories about the government that influenced organizations like Transparency International.<br />
<br />
With little to no accountability at the top, lower level corruption is allowed to flourish. In Diyala for example, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/iraq/090909/corruption-rampant-iraq">the two former deputy governors fled after they heard they were going to be prosecuted</a>. A U.S. officer in charge of reconstruction projects there said that he had found several fake projects, or contractors not doing their work because they were paid upfront. Iraqi officials in Diyala also said they suspected the police were extorting money from prisoners. <br />
<br />
It’s no wonder than that <a href="http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-357696">few Iraqis have any confidence in their public officials taking care of this very serious problem</a>. That is the most costly affect of corruption. It undermines the standing of the authorities, which is especially important in Iraq that is struggling after years of dictatorship to establish a new government. A country is only as democratic as its people want it to be. If they become apathetic or disheartened, then the government assumes more and more power, and becomes more corrupt. This is the situation that Iraq now faces. <br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Dawlat Al-Qanon, “Al-Maliki Answers Reporters’ Questions Online,” MEMRI Blog, 12/8/09<br />
<br />
Inside Iraq, “$1.3 billion is pardoned in Iraq and more,” McClatchy Newspapers, 9/13/09<br />
<br />
Al Rafidayn, “Gang steals millions of dollars in Iraq, regardless of names and fake checks,” 11/23/09<br />
<br />
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “Iraqi Deputies Chided For Not Making Financial Declarations,” 10/8/09<br />
- “Iraqi Premier Warns Of Dangers Of Political Corruption,” 10/16/09<br />
<br />
Al-Shara, Hazim and Mohamed, Abeer, “Iraqis Critical of Anti-Corruption Efforts,” Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 11/24/09<br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 10/30/09<br />
<br />
Tom, Peter, “Graft the next great hurdle to a ‘new’ Iraq,” Global Post, 10/16/09<br />
<br />
Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2009,” 11/17/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-46892204205627515822009-12-15T22:29:00.002-05:002009-12-15T22:29:10.709-05:00Baghdad Bombings Set Off Political Bickering Amongst Iraqi ElitesThe December 8, 2009 bombings have led to a wave of accusations amongst Iraqi politicians. First <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/92479/">members of parliament demanded</a> that the Interior, Defense, and National Security ministers, the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the chief of the Baghdad Operations Command, along with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appear before them for questioning over the lapses in security that have led to the attacks. <a href="http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41519-Iraq-Interior-Minister-set-for-accountability.html">Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said</a> he would do so as long as the hearings were in public, while <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2009/12/09/al-sadrs-election-campaign-questioning-maliki-is-the-next-political-crisis/">members of the Dawa Party said</a> that the Prime Minister would never be questioned by the legislature because that would only serve his detractors who want to attack him.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=120920091309">Maliki also dismissed the Baghdad Security Chief General Abboud Qanbar</a>, who is a close ally of the Prime Minister. At the same time, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41520-MP-blames-blasts-on-Iraq-Interior-Ministry.html">Maliki is calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Bolani</a> for the bombings. A Dawa parliamentarian said that Bolani is responsible for the attacks, and that he had filled the Interior Ministry with members of his Constitution party, which prevented him from firing incompetent people. Bolani countered by saying that Maliki is at fault since the Baghdad Operations Command answers directly to his office, not the Interior or Defense ministries. Bolani also implied that some of Iraq’s political parties were involved in yesterday’s incident. <br />
<br />
The 2010 parliamentary elections loom in the background of these charges. Maliki and Bolani are rivals, and head separate political list that are competing against each other. Maliki and his Dawa Party are in the lead of the State of Law coalition, while Bolani’s Constitution Party <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=3145">is part of the Unity of Iraq Alliance</a> that also includes Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha of the Anbar Awakening Conference, the head of the Sunni Endowment Ahmed Abed al-Ghafur al-Samarraie, and the former speaker of parliament <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2009/11/19/current-situation-and-the-three-options/">Mahmoud Mashhadani of the National Independent Trend</a>. One of Maliki’s main campaign points is that he has brought security to Iraq. The August, October, and December bombings have severely tarnished his image. In response, the Prime Minister has focused upon blaming others, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/iraq-returns-to-blame-game-over-baghdad.html">at first Baathists in Syria for the attacks</a>, and now Minister Bolani to defer responsibility. The Iraqi public doesn’t seem to care about the political attacks, and are increasingly blaming the entire government for failing at their job to protect the people.<br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
AK News, “Parliament will question Premier as well over bombings,” 12/9/09<br />
<br />
Ali, Ahmed, “Iraq’s Elections Challenge: A Shifting Political Landscape,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 11/20/09<br />
<br />
Alsumaria, “Iraq Interior Minister set for accountability,” 12/9/09<br />
- “MP blames blasts on Iraq Interior Ministry,” 12/9/09<br />
<br />
Roads To Iraq, “Current situation and the three options,” 11/19/09<br />
- “Al-Sadr’s election campaign, questioning Maliki is the next political crisis,” 12/9/09<br />
<br />
RTT News, “Chief Of Iraqi Security Forces In Baghdad Replaced After Deadly Bomb Attacks,” 12/9/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-80288306465898341402009-12-14T21:02:00.000-05:002009-12-14T21:02:13.534-05:00Security Situation In Mosul, November 2009The security situation in Iraq was a little different in November 2009. Unlike previous months, Baghdad province was not the deadliest place in the country. Rather Ninewa, largely driven by events in the provincial capital Mosul, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/nov.html">had the most deaths for the month</a>. Last month Ninewa had 61 attacks resulting in 41 dead and 80 wounded, compared to 59 attacks in Baghdad, 38 deaths, and 165 wounded. Around 90% of the violence in Ninewa occurred in Mosul. There were 55 attacks there in November, resulting in 37 deaths, and 71 wounded. That averaged out to 1.83 attacks per day, 1.23 deaths, and 2.36 wounded. That was the lowest number of attacks <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/changing-picture-of-violence-in-mosul.html">since January 2009</a> when there were 52, and an average of 1.67. 37 was also the lowest number of deaths since at least 2006, if not before. <br />
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Mosul is the second most violent city in Iraq after Baghdad. That’s because it is the largest urban stronghold of the insurgency. There are daily reports of assassinations, bombings, and attacks on local officials and security forces. That has begun to change however. Starting in November 2008 attacks and casualties began to see a steady decline. That coincided with the run-up to the January 2009 provincial elections, and the formation of the al-Hadbaa List. <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6318&l=1">The coalition was a collection of Mosul business elites, tribal leaders, and Kurds opposed to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan</a>. (3) Al-Hadbaa was eventually able to work out a cease-fire with local insurgents, and got the backing of local Baathists and their fighters, who by 2008 had been able to assume command of the fighting there from Al Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Hadbaa ended up winning the election, which marked a return of Sunni Arabs to politics in Ninewa after they had boycotted the 2005 vote. The greater participation is directly responsible for the reduction of attacks in Mosul. The divide of the city between Arabs and Kurds however, still gives some reason to turn to violence, and the continued security incidents there. <br />
<br />
<b>Attack and Casualty Statistics for Mosul – January to November 2009</b><br />
<br />
<b>January</b> 52 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 1.67/day<br />
56 Deaths, Avg. 1.80/day<br />
56 Wounded, Avg. 1.80/day<br />
<br />
<b>February</b> 81 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.89/day<br />
58 Deaths, Avg. 2.00/day<br />
111 Wounded, Avg. 3.96/day<br />
<br />
<b>March</b> 86 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.77/day<br />
69 Deaths, Avg. 2.22/day<br />
169 Wounded, Avg. 5.45/day<br />
<br />
<b>April</b> 79 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.63/day<br />
53 Deaths, Avg. 1.76/day<br />
191 Wounded, Avg. 6.36/day<br />
<br />
<b>May</b> 83 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 3.06/day<br />
64 Deaths, Avg. 2.06/day<br />
164 Wounded, Avg. 4.70/day<br />
<br />
<b>June</b> 73 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.43/day<br />
58 Deaths, Avg. 1.93/day<br />
123 Wounded, Avg. 4.10/day<br />
<br />
<b>July</b> 73 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.35/day<br />
79 Deaths, Avg. 2.54/day<br />
169 Wounded, Avg. 5.45/day<br />
<br />
<b>August</b> 77 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.48/day<br />
102 Deaths, Avg. 3.29/day<br />
171 Wounded, Avg. 5.51/day<br />
<br />
<b>September</b> 72 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.40/day<br />
65 Deaths, Avg. 2.16/day<br />
60 Wounded, Avg. 2.00/day<br />
<br />
<b>October</b> 66 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 2.12/ day<br />
60 Deaths, Avg. 1.93/ day<br />
82 Wounded, Avg. 2.64/ day<br />
<br />
<b>November</b> 55 Attacks/Incidents, Avg. 1.83/ day<br />
37 Deaths, Avg. 1.23/ day<br />
71 Wounded, Avg. 2.36/ day<br />
<br />
<b>Averages:</b><br />
<br />
<b>4th Quarter 2007:</b> 38.66 Attacks/Incidents/month, Avg. 1.26/day<br />
77.33 deaths/month, Avg. 2.52/day<br />
114.66 wounded/month, Avg. 3.73/day<br />
<br />
<b>1st Half 2008:</b> 57.5 Attacks/Incidents/month, Avg. 1.89/day<br />
88.00 deaths/month, Avg. 2.90/day<br />
210.00 wounded/month, Avg. 6.92/day<br />
<br />
<b>2nd Half 2008:</b> 75.33 Attacks/Incidents/month, Avg. 2.45/day<br />
80.83 deaths/month, Avg. 2.63/day<br />
168.33 wounded/month, Avg. 5.48/day<br />
<br />
<b>1st Half 2009:</b> 75.66 Attacks/Incidents/month, Avg. 2.50/day<br />
59.66 deaths/month, Avg. 1.97/day<br />
135.66 wounded/month, Avg. 4.49/day<br />
<br />
For a history of the violence in post-invasion Mosul see:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/changing-picture-of-violence-in-mosul.html"> The Changing Face of Violence In Mosul</a><br />
<br />
<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
Aswat al-Iraq, “2 charred bodies found inside car bomb,” 11/1/09<br />
- “2 civilians killed in Mosul,” 11/19/09<br />
- “2 civilians wounded in cab bomb blast in Mosul,” 11/1/09<br />
- “2 gunmen killed in IED blast they planted,” 11/8/09<br />
- “2 policemen wounded in hand-grenade blast in Mosul,” 11/12/09<br />
- “3 children wounded in Ninewa blast,” 11/15/09<br />
- “3 mortar shells hit central Mosul,” 11/9/09<br />
- “3 soldiers wounded in Mosul blast,” 11/15/09<br />
- “13-year-old Christian boy shot down in Mosul,” 11/13/09<br />
- “Army officer killed in Mosul blast,” 11/23/09<br />
- “Asiacell employee gunned down in Mosul,” 11/2/09<br />
- “Body found, civilian killed, another wounded separately in Mosul,” 11/12/09<br />
- “Bomb kills child, wounds 5 civilians in Mosul,” 11/15/09<br />
- “Car bomb causes slight damage in Mosul,” 11/25/09<br />
- “Child wounded in Mosul blast,” 11/11/09<br />
- “Civilian killed in eastern Mosul,” 11/9/09<br />
- “Civilian killed, son wounded in western Mosul,” 11/16/09<br />
- “Civilian wounded as police detonates IED,” 11/22/09<br />
- “Civilian wounded by Iraqi fire in Mosul,” 11/10/09<br />
- “Cop wounded in Mosul blast,” 11/11/09<br />
- “Employee shot down by gunmen in Mosul,” 11/1/09<br />
- “Gunmen kill employee in Mosul,” 11/22/09<br />
- “Gunmen wound lawman in Mosul,” 11/3/09<br />
- “Gunmen wound policeman in Mosul,” 11/8/09<br />
- “Hand grenade wounds woman in Mosul,” 11/28/09<br />
- “IED injures 2 cops in Mosul,” 11/20/09<br />
- “IED wounds 2 civilians in Mosul,” 11/16/09<br />
- “IED wounds 5 in western Mosul,” 11/6/09<br />
- “Iraqi soldier shot down by gunmen in Mosul,” 11/26/09<br />
- “Judge survives assassination attempt,” 11/17/09<br />
- “Lawyer shot dead by gunmen in Mosul,” 11/1/09<br />
- “Mortar attack on Sunni endowment leaves 3 wounded,” 11/3/09<br />
- “Officer killed, 2 cops wounded by roadside bomb in Mosul,” 11/5/09<br />
- “Policeman killed by gunmen fire in Mosul,” 11/7/09<br />
- “Security element killed in Mosul,” 11/30/09<br />
- “Soldiers wounded in clashes with gunmen,” 11/21/09<br />
- “Teacher gunned down in Mosul,” 11/21/09<br />
- “Thermal bomb kills, injures 2 cops in Mosul,” 11/30/09<br />
- “Thermal bomb leaves child killed, 4 wounded in Mosul,” 11/22/09<br />
- “Thermal bomb wounds civilian in Mosul,” 11/16/09<br />
- “Turkmen politician assassinated in Mosul,” 11/22/09<br />
- “Unidentified body of young man found in Mosul,” 11/13/09<br />
- “Unknown bodies found in Mosul,” 11/4/09<br />
<br />
DPA, “Bomb kills three in northern Iraq,” 11/17/09<br />
<br />
Hammoudi, Laith, “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Tuesday 3 November 2009,” 11/3/09<br />
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Tuesday 10 November 2009,” 11/10/09<br />
<br />
International Crisis Group, “Iraq’s New Battlefront: The Struggle Over Ninewa,” 9/28/09<br />
<br />
Issa, Sahar, “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Friday 6 November 2009,” McClatchy Newspapers, 11/6/09<br />
- “Round-up of Daily Violence in Iraq – Sunday 8 November 2009,” McClatchy Newspapers, 11/8/09<br />
<br />
Reuters, “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Nov. 9,” 11/9/09<br />
- “FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Nov 26,” 11/26/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-59657023701001348992009-12-13T12:36:00.002-05:002009-12-13T12:36:58.188-05:00Foreign Investment Increasing In Iraq, Led By UAEA recent report by the Dunia Frontier Consultants company <a href="http://www.arabianbusiness.com/574432-uae-tops-foreign-investors-in-iraq-in-2009">found that foreign investment in Iraq is increasing</a> over the last year, led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The report said that direct foreign investment had more than doubled in the first nine-months of 2009 compared to all of 2008. Total investment is now estimated at $156 billion, a 241% increase from 2008. There are now 53 companies operating in Iraq from 24 countries. The UAE has placed $37 billion in Iraq, 25% of all investment. Their most recent deal was just announced on November 29, <a href="http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=122743">when a UAE company signed a contract to build a five-story, 5-star hotel in Karbala</a> for 3,000 guests that is to be completed in the next four years. Karbala is a major destination for Shiite religious tourists. <a href="http://www.bbkonline.com/BBK/EnBbk/Latest%20News/Financial%20News?strFinid=4229">UAE businesses are also involved in</a> a $20 billion real-estate deal in Baghdad and an $8 billion energy deal in Kurdistan.<br />
<br />
Other countries putting money into Iraq are South Korea with $24.7 billion, the United States at $22 billion, England at $10.5 billion, Lebanon at $10.1 billion, and Kuwait with $6.8 billion. Overall, <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx">according to the Brookings Institution Iraq Index</a>, foreign investment has increased from an average of $10 million a month from 2004-2007, to now $100 million a month in 2008 and 2009. The vast majority of these funds are going into Iraq’s energy sector, which is slowly opening up to foreign companies.<br />
<br />
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction however points out that foreign companies are still severely limited in Iraq. The World Bank’s “Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times” <a href="http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Oct09/Default.aspx">ranked Iraq 153 out of 183 countries</a> for promoting private enterprise and investment. That placed it at the bottom of the region. The major reasons are Iraq’s legislation and bureaucracy. The most cited example is that Iraqi law restricts foreign ownership of land, and requires companies to pay for the cost of services wherever they do business. The Iraqi parliament has tired to fix this by passing a new law recently <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AM2CY20091123">that allows 100% foreign ownership of property</a> except for places with oil, gas or minerals. The Kurdistan Regional Government already has such a law, and is seen as being much more successful in attracting foreign companies because of its better security situation, and more inviting laws. An August 2009 survey of 120 Iraqi businessmen pointed out other problems that make Iraq a difficult place for investors. Those include the lack of an effective legal system and regulations, poor protection of property rights, corruption that adds 20-30% to costs, excessive red tape, and difficulty in getting licenses and credit.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">World Bank Ranking “Doing Business 2010”</span><br />
Saudi Arabia #13<br />
Kuwait #61<br />
Turkey #73<br />
Jordan #100<br />
Syria #143<br />
Iraq #153<br />
<br />
The improved security situation and the recent efforts of the Iraqi Oil Ministry are largely responsible for the increase in foreign investment in Iraq. Outside of Kurdistan however, almost all of this money is going into natural resources because Iraqi laws are still seen as creating a negative environment for companies. Baghdad has only just recently begun to promote itself as a destination for foreign companies to do business, and still retains a top heavy, state-run economy. The government needs to find a balance between its national interests and those of foreigners, and adjust its laws appropriately because the country needs as much money as it can get right now to develop as U.S. and foreign aid is declining, and oil is not bringing in enough to cover its budget.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SOURCES</span><br />
<br />
Aswat al-Iraq, “Contract with UAE firm to build highest hotel in Karbala,” 11/29/09<br />
<br />
Ibrahim, Waleed and Benham, Jason, “Iraq passes key investment law,” Reuters, 11/23/09<br />
<br />
MENAFN, “UAE firm to build tourist hotel in Karbala,” 11/30/09<br />
<br />
O’Hanlon, Michael Livingston, Ian, “Iraq Index,” Brookings Institution, 11/20/09<br />
<br />
Sambidge, Andy, “UAE tops list of foreign investors in Iraq in 2009,” Arabia Business, 11/24/09<br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 10/30/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-65856537453257863892009-12-11T21:11:00.002-05:002009-12-11T21:11:13.922-05:00More On Wasted Reconstruction Projects In Iraq<a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/01/iraqis-unwilling-or-incapable-of.html">It’s been reported here</a> <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/08/centerpiece-of-iraqi-army-maintenance.html">many times</a> before that one of the greatest signs of failure of the United States’ effort to rebuild Iraq was the number of large reconstruction projects that the Iraqis have not been able to maintain after they were handed over to them. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/world/middleeast/21reconstruct.html?_r=1">The November 21, 2009 New York Times</a> provided a few more examples:<br />
<br />
• $270 million water treatment plant in Nasiriya, Dhi Qar. Works only at limited capacity because the equipment is too sophisticated for its Iraqi workers.<br />
<br />
• $4 million maternity hospital Hilla, Babil. Doesn’t have staff or enough supplies. Iraqis were never trained on equipment that U.S. installed.<br />
<br />
• $98 million wastewater treatment plant Fallujah, Anbar. Serves only 1/3 of homes it’s supposed to because government doesn’t deliver enough fuel for it to operate at full capacity.<br />
<br />
• Ibn Sina Hospita, Baghdad. Was the largest American military medical facility in Iraq with $7.9 billion worth of equipment. Iraqi Ministry of Health didn’t have staff or supplies to maintain it so it was shut down.<br />
<br />
• $165 million Basra Children’s Hospital. Has been under going construction for last four years and is $115 million over budget. Iraq hopes it will open sometime in mid-2010, but doesn’t have enough staff for it.<br />
<br />
Based upon reports by the Congressional Research Service, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and Government Accountability Office the major cause of these problems were that the Americans never asked the Iraqis what they wanted or could handle, didn’t provide enough training, the poor management skills of the Iraqis, a lack of funds from Baghdad, middle class flight due to the sectarian war that robbed the country of many of its professionals, and poor maintenance standards after years of wars and sanctions.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SOURCES</span><br />
<br />
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Hard Lessons,” 1/22/09<br />
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Williams, Timothy, “U.S. Fears Iraqis Will Not Keep Up Rebuilt Projects,” New York Times, 11/21/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-34061918162001760592009-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:002009-12-11T00:01:19.622-05:00Iraqi Parliament Passes Election Law – AgainJust before midnight on December 6, 2009 <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-iraq-election7-2009dec07,0,6115697.story">Iraq’s parliament passed a second draft of the election law</a>. The new legislation mixes versions of the original law and the amended version, and seems to be headed for confirmation by the Presidential Council.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/11/vp-hashemi-shoots-himself-in-foot-with.html">The first version was passed on November 8</a>, and used statistics from 2009 provided by the Ministry of Trade to determine how many seats were up for grabs in each province. Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi vetoed the bill saying that more seats should be made available to Iraq’s two million refugees, many of whom are Sunnis, which is Hashemi’s constituency. The Kurdish Alliance took advantage of the veto to amend the law so that it used 2005 numbers instead, which increased the number of seats available to the three Kurdish provinces, while reducing seats in eight other governorates. That was heading for another veto by Hashemi until the recent compromise came about. <br />
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The new election bill <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.historiae.org/hashemi.asp">uses parts of both the original and amended election laws</a>. First the Kurds will get three extra seats, second refugees will be counted as part of their home provinces, and third every governorate will get an increase in seats.<br />
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The Kurds were still holding out for more, but calls from President Barak Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convinced them to vote for the legislation. In turn, the U.S. promised that there would be a national census in 2010, and that the status of the disputed territories would be resolved. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/10/iraqi-national-census-returns.html">The former has already started</a>, and needs no American help. However little has happened with the disputed areas since the U.S. invasion in 2003. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6207&l=1">A referendum was supposed to be held at the end of 2007 to determine their future</a>, but that was delayed and then abandoned. The United Nations also offered reports on each disputed territory, but that led nowhere. The issue remains another intractable one in Iraqi politics.<br />
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For now, Iraqis can rejoice that elections are finally moving forward. They are still going to happen past the January 31, 2010 deadline set by the constitution. March is being mentioned as the new date. The problem is the current government’s term expires in March, and it’s predicted that it will take the major parties several months to put together a new one. That means some kind of caretaker regime will have to be created in the meantime, which will open up a whole other can of constitutional worms showing that when one issue is resolved in Iraq, there is always another one in the wings. <br />
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<b>Seat Distribution 2005 Election Law vs. 2010 Election Law</b><br />
Anbar 9 vs 14<br />
Babil 11 vs 16<br />
Baghdad 59 vs 68<br />
Basra: 18 vs 24<br />
Dhi Qar: 12 vs 18<br />
Diyala 10 vs 13<br />
Dohuk 7 vs 10<br />
Irbil 13 vs 14<br />
Karbala 6 vs 10<br />
Maysan: 7 vs 10<br />
Muthanna 5 vs 7 <br />
Najaf 8 vs 12<br />
Ninewa 19 vs 31<br />
Qadisiyah 7 vs 11<br />
Salahaddin 8 vs 12<br />
Sulaymaniya 15 vs 17<br />
Tamim 9 vs 12<br />
Wasit 8 vs 11<br />
Compensatory Seats 45 vs 15<br />
<b>TOTAL</b>: 275 vs 325<br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
<br />
International Crisis Group, “Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble Along the Trigger Line,” 7/8/09<br />
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Parker, Ned and Salman, Raheem, “Iraq lawmakers approve election law,” Los Angeles Times, 12/7/09<br />
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Visser, Reidar, “No Second Veto: The Election Law is Approved by Tariq al-Hashemi and the Iraqi Presidency,” Historiae.org, 12/6/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-18596974184970373092009-12-09T22:11:00.002-05:002009-12-09T22:11:13.028-05:00Terrorists Strike Baghdad With Massive Bombings For Third Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/12/08/GR2009120803865.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/12/08/GR2009120803865.gif" width="161" /></a><br />
</div>Terrorists again struck downtown Baghdad on December 8, 2009. This time several targets were attacked including <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120800587.html">the Karkh federal appeals court</a> in <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/80223.html">Mansour west Baghdad</a>, a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/world/middleeast/09iraq.html?_r=1">police patrol in front of a technical college in Dora</a> south Baghdad, the headquarters of the state-run Rafidain Bank in downtown where many Finance Ministry workers had relocated after their building was destroyed in an August 2009 bombing, and Iraq’s Judicial Institute in northeast Baghdad. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=123166">The courthouse was totally destroyed</a>, and overall at least 127 people were killed and 500 wounded. <br />
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<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1208/p06s17-wome.html">These bombings follow</a> the August attacks on the Foreign and Finance Ministries, and the October bombings of the Justice Ministry and Baghdad provincial council building. The bombings could have been predicted. Since the beginning of 2009 casualties have gone up and down. <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/12/nov.html">November saw the fewest monthly deaths since the U.S. invasion in March 2003</a>. December therefore is going to be a bloody time in comparison even though fatalities are at their lowest level since the beginning of the war. The bombings have followed the same pattern of occurring every other month. <br />
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The attacks are meant to undermine the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who has built a large part of his popularity upon bringing relative calm to Iraq. It also allows militants to gain media attention, raise money, and appear much stronger than they actually are. Finally, it effects the operation of the government, which already works at a snails pace. Many basic services were no longer available immediately after the bombings in August and October because the various ministries and bureaucracies were disrupted. <br />
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Iraq’s insurgents, who were behind the bombings, have lost most of their standing with the Iraqi public. They can’t even launch these massive attacks every month like they use to. Unfortunately, the country’s society and politics remain so divided that there is still plenty of space for militants to operate and kill hundreds of people each month. <br />
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<b>SOURCES</b><br />
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Arraf, Jane, “Baghdad bombings: Iraqis demand security,” Christian Science Monitor, 12/8/09<br />
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Aswat al-Iraq, “Today’s blasts leave federal appeal court 100% devastated,” 12/8/09<br />
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Londono, Ernesto, “At least 127 dead in string of Baghdad bomb attacks,” Washington Post, 12/8/09<br />
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Myers, Steven Lee and Santora, Marc, “Election Date Set in Iraq as Bombs Kill Scores,” New York Times, 12/8/09<br />
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Parker, Ned and Salman, Raheem, “At least 127 killed as explosions rock Baghdad,” Los Angeles Times, 12/8/09<br />
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Roggio, Bill, “Suicide attacks killed more than 120 Iraqis in Baghdad,” 12/8/09<br />
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Strobel, Warren and al Dulaimy, Mohammed, “String of bombings in Baghdad kills 127 people,” McClatchy Newspapers, 12/8/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36605616.post-38164287219329545132009-12-08T21:05:00.002-05:002009-12-08T21:05:50.459-05:00League Of Righteous Breaks Off Talks With BaghdadOn December 1, 2009 <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g6B50ws38WMquqlnpJcTofWPIJHw">it was announced</a> that the Iranian-backed, breakaway Sadrist group, the League of the Righteous, had ended its talks with Baghdad and would not run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The cited reason was that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused to release the League’s leader Qais Khazali who is being held by the Americans at Camp Cropper outside of Baghdad. At the beginning of August 2009 <a href="http://www.zimbio.com/Prime+Minister+Nouri+al-Maliki/articles/p-IE5uSbaDx/Iraqi+PM+met+group+behind+kidnap+Britons">Maliki met with members of the League</a> and said that they had renounced violence, and that they wanted to run in the 2010 balloting. The two sides also agreed to release League members held by the U.S. as long as they hadn’t killed Iraqis. By the end of September <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gXyQbbLIEpFjcHkXJ2J_QyIrHF3A">over 100 had been set free</a>.<br />
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Around the same time, the League’s spokesman, former Transport Minister Salam al-Maliki, <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6820635.ece">unveiled the group’s list, the Covenant</a>, which would run in the 2010 elections. <a href="http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2009/09/21/iraqi-pre-election-political-map-%E2%80%93-the-shiites-scene/">This seemed to worry Moqtada al-Sadr</a>, who was afraid that the new party would cut into his supporters, some of which were upset that he had decided to turn away from the Iraqi street and militancy to try to participate in the government again. It probably worried him even more when rumors spread that Maliki was <a href="http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=355816&apc_state=heniicr200909">thinking of having the Covenant join his State of Law list</a>, and Sadr’s overtures to the League to get them to rejoin his movement were rejected. Those all seems over now that they are withdrawing from the voting.<br />
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The talks between the government and the League began months earlier when Baghdad was acting as a mediator between the British government that wanted the release of five of their nationals that were kidnapped by the League back in May 2007 during a raid on the Finance Ministry. In March 2009 the group said that it would exchange the British hostages in return for ten of their leaders being freed by the Americans. On June 20, the bodies of two of the Britons were released, Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell who were security guards. On September 4, a third guard, Alec MacLachlan, was turned over, but he too was dead. Another guard is also believed to be deceased, but Peter Moore, an internet technician is thought to still be alive. His fate is now up in the air as the talks between the League and Baghdad have fallen apart.<br />
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Qais Khazali, a former leader in the Sadrist movement when it was led by Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, Moqtada’s father, <a href="http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/10/sadr-tries-to-reconcile-with-breakaway.html">formed the League of the Righteous in 2006</a>. Khazali was chosen by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force to lure members of the Mahdi Army away from Sadr, and bring them closer under Tehran’s wing. The League quickly made a name for itself when it attacked the Karbala Joint Coordination Center in January 2007, killing five U.S. soldiers. <a href="http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/asaib-ahl-al-haq-and-special-groups">That led to the March arrest</a> of Qais, and his brother Laith, as well as a Lebanese Hezbollah commander Ali Musa Daqduq that was coordinating Iran’s financing and training of the League and other Special Groups. The group retaliated with its raid on the Finance Ministry in Baghdad in May 2007, which resulted in the five Britons being kidnapped. Some think they were pawns to be traded for the release of the Khazali brothers. That took far longer than they thought, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/world/middleeast/09release.html">Laith was only just released in June 2009</a> as part of the deal worked out with the Prime Minister, two years and one month after the Baghdad attack. Qais is still in custody, which is why the talks with the government broke down. This leaves the group in limbo, as it does not have its leader, has renounced both violence and participation in the upcoming elections, and is probably not receiving much attention from Iran either as it is more focused upon the major Shiite parties that it wants to win the vote. It’s not even clear what constituency the League has, so this could be a sign of its demise.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">SOURCES</span><br />
<br />
Agence France Presse, “2nd UPDATE: Iraqi PM Met Group Behind Kidnap Of Britons,” 8/3/09<br />
- “Iraqi kidnappers abandon govt talks,” 12/1/09<br />
- “Over 100 from Iraqi group who killed Britons freed,” 9/27/09<br />
<br />
August, Oliver, “End the torment, says Brown as death of British hostage is confirmed,” Times of London, 9/4/09<br />
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Awan Daily, “Maliki announced next week, the electoral coalition,” 9/25/09<br />
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Cochrane, Marisa, “Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Khazali Special Groups network,” Institute for the Study of War,” 1/13/09<br />
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Felter, Joseph and Fishman, Brian, “Iranian Strategy in Iraq, Politics and ‘Other Means,’” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, 10/13/08<br />
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Mohammed, Abeer, “Maliki’s Chess Game,” Institute of War & Peace Reporting, 9/10/09<br />
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Roads To Iraq, “Iraqi pre-election political map – The Shiites scene,” 9/21/09<br />
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Rubin, Alissa, and Gordon, Michael, “U.S. Frees Suspect in Killing of 5 G.I.’s,” New York Times, 6/9/09Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.com1