DontTreadOnMe wrote:i am not one of them. for the mess in iraq, i blame the bush/cheney team.
so i want to fire them and hire someone else.
simple democracy
There is not the MESS you people would like to believe there is. That's what you get for not looking past what the Democrat leadership and the main stream media is telling you.
The good news from Iraq most others somehow forgot mention
http://911familiesforamerica.org/
The Iraq of never-ending strife--the insurgency, terrorism, crime and all-too-slow reconstruction makes for interesting news stories and exciting footage. The Iraq of steady recovery, returning normalcy and a dash of hope rarely does. By the way, the Newsweek story did not mention even one positive development in Iraq. So here is another story--"Iraq: Not Quite as Bad as You Thought." Read the stories below in addition to--not to the exclusion of--all the bad news. Only by knowing both sides of the story you can make an informed judgment about how things in Iraq are really going.
Economy. John Taylor, a U.S. Treasury undersecretary, recently had some good news to report on Iraqi currency reform: "Before the fall of Saddam, the Kurdish region in the north of Iraq used 'Swiss' dinars while the rest of the country used 'Saddam' dinars, Taylor said. Taylor said the exchange rate of the new dinar appreciated about 25 percent in the months following its introduction in late 2003, while prices have been stable and inflation low. 'This stability is providing the basis for much-needed public confidence in the management of its currency,' Taylor said. The under secretary said at the time that the new dinar was introduced, the Central Bank of Iraq was made independent of the Finance Ministry, which had been under the control of the Baathist Party."
There is also good news at the Iraqi stock exchange:
There's an old Arab proverb: Throw a lucky man in the sea and he will come up with a fish in his mouth. As Iraq rebuilds its economy, the country's businessmen are hoping that Mr Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam will prove to be a lucky man.
This 40-year-old's onerous task, the lucky fish he's been asked to deliver, is the new Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX), a centrepiece of the country's financial reconstruction. (It's a replacement for the former Baghdad Stock Exchange, a now-defunct plaything of Saddam Hussein's family, especially his late son, Uday.)
The news so far is good: At a time when many Iraqis find themselves in very stormy seas, the ISX, of which Mr Taha Ahmed is chief executive, is able to report progress.
For another look at the Iraqi Stock Exchange see this story.
The Ministry of Trade is currently setting up a series of bilateral committees to facilitate commercial relations with the U.S., Europe and Japan. In banking news, "National Bank of Kuwait, the Arab lender with the highest credit rating, agreed to buy the Credit Bank of Iraq in what may be the first foreign purchase of an Iraqi lender in at least four decades." Ibrahim Dabdoub, National Bank's chief executive is positive about the future: "Iraq's medium-term prospects are very good, because in the end, this insurgency has to end." The Arab Banking Corp. is also planning to shortly enter the Iraqi financial market.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been doing a lot of excellent work in Iraq, has recently awarded a $20 million contract to Virginia-based BearingPoint Inc. "to develop and implement international economic practices aimed at improving economic governance in Iraq and developing a policy-enabling environment for private sector-led growth in the country. The three-year contract is expected to assist in reforming tax, fiscal and customs policies as well developing an IMF acceptable monetary policy through building the capacity of Iraq's Central Bank. Under the terms of the contract, BearingPoint will also assist the Iraq Ministry of Finance to develop a modern, well regulated banking sector. BearingPoint will also work with the Ministry to create an environment that promotes private sector-led growth through housing finance reforms and commercial law and institutional reforms." More here.
Britain and China have expressed their willingness to cooperate in rebuilding Iraqi communications infrastructure; Britain wants to build communication networks, while China is interested in training communication specialists. Singapore's e-Sys Group is already unrolling its IT network through Iraq: "Plans are to have multiple channel partners in the country which, despite the present problems, could emerge as one of the bigger regional markets for technology requirements over the medium term."
Meanwhile, at the Iraq Reconstruction 2004 conference held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center, Batelco offered to assist with rebuilding Iraqi telecommunication infrastructure. Israelis and Palestinians will be able to use their cell phones in Iraq without switching networks, thanks to a roaming agreement reached between the Israeli company Cellcom and Kuwaiti-owned Asiacell, which supplies cellular phone services to Iraq.
In oil news, Iraq is planning to lift its output to 3.25 million barrels a day at the end of next year, from 2.8 million currently. This would bring the oil production to the levels not seen since before the first Gulf War. Overall, according to the Oil Ministry, the authorities are planning "oil infrastructure projects worth $20 billion to boost production and exports. . . . The projects include developing the Basra and Khor Al Amaya oil terminals." Another refinery in central Iraq, capable of processing 200,000 barrels per day, is in planning stages.
In transport news, direct flights are expected to start soon between Iraq and Syria. In addition, "the minister of Transportation singed with his Syrian counterpart during his visit to Damascus an agreement memorandum of activating the joint cooperation in field of transportation by sea, air, land, and railways. The memorandum dictated to facilitate transport of imported goods to Iraqi lands through Syrian harbors, activating Iraqi Company for Naval Navigation, mutual work to implement development programs and exchange expertise and technical studies in scope of harbors, and considering buying a ship to invest in transporting goods."
Meanwhile, the first Iraqi Airlines flight in 14 years has flown from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad. Several Turkish airlines are also eyeing the Iraqi market. And the Malaysian Merchant Marine Berhad is planning to set up a joint venture company with Iraqi Oil Tankers Company to provide bunker fuel and other shipping services in Iraq and other Arab Gulf ports.
Reconstruction. The Iraqi authorities are making an effort to better organize and coordinate the reconstruction effort:
The Iraqi Ministry of Planning has formed a supreme body to lay down reconstruction strategy for the war-torn country. . . . The body would be responsible for laying down an international mechanism to finance the reconstruction projects and to help coordinate the efforts of the Iraqi side and the donor countries in the fields of loans and financing.
In the south of the country, a reconstruction conference has already heard some detailed plans for the region's near future:
Nearly 200 Iraqi and international construction contractors heard this week how reconstruction efforts in the country's southern region will soon quicken, providing a renewed infrastructure and additional jobs. The demands and opportunities that come from the planned massive surge in reconstructing the south served as the keynote of the region's first reconstruction forum at the Basra International Airport. . . .
The more than 10 new medical clinics, 400 renovated schools and new police stations planned for the region are slated for construction before the end of the year; each is aimed at improving the aging infrastructure of southern Iraq and adding thousands of jobs across the region.
Najaf, which has seen much trouble recently, is now receiving 12 billion dinars ($8.2 million) of a World Bank grant towards urgent reconstruction works, in addition to 100 billion dinars ($68.5 million) recently allocated from the Ministry of Labor and Municipalities for emergency reconstruction.
As physical reconstruction moves ahead, plans for social reconstruction are also being drawn up:
The Planning Ministry and Development Cooperation has discussed the strategy of social development to create suitable environment for comprehensive humanitarian development. . . . Dr. Mehdi al-Hafdhi said that the reform plan includes putting limits for long-term social reform representing in realizing protection and social justice and participation through judicial mechanisms to eradicate poverty, make work chances available and realizing the social incorporation. "The ministry's middle-term preparations took into consideration the role of the government through shifting to the market economy without neglecting its role in supplying requirements of security, health, primary education," he confirmed.
With more reconstruction projects, foreign donors come up with additional funds. The International International Monetary Fund has hinted at additional emergency financial aid for Iraq later on this year. "IMF experts have estimated that Iraq may be eligible for about 850 million dollars in reconstruction assistance." The talks are progressing well. And international donors pledged over $2 billion for development of housing in Iraq at a recent conference in Tokyo. Omar al-Farouq al-Damlouchi, the minister of housing and construction, says the ministry is planning to construct 2 million units over the next 10 years and is currently researching housing needs around the nation.
There is also some much-needed relief on the way for Iraqi economy:
The Paris Club of creditor nations has agreed in principle to a major reduction of Iraq's outstanding debt, with a final announcement expected before the end of this year. . . . Officials from the Paris Club's 19 members, including the United States, France, Russia, Germany and Japan, met last week and agreed to cut Iraq's estimated 120 billion dollars (97.9 billion euros) of debt by at least 50 percent
