Middle East Peace talks resume September 2, 2010 in Washington ..

Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been invited to reopen direct talks in Washington on Sept. 2, with the final goal of establishing borders for two separate states.

Israel and the Palestinians will resume direct peace talks here in early September with the aim of reaching a deal within a year to create an independent Palestinian state, US officials announced Friday.

In the first direct talks in 20 months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will meet face-to-face in Washington on September 2 with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The peace talks will come after Netanyahu and Abbas meet separately the day before with US President Barack Obama, who has made Arab-Israeli peace a priority for his administration, Clinton told reporters.

Obama will also meet separately September 1 with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, Arab mediators whose states have signed peace treaties with Israel and who, Clinton said, play a "critical role."

Backed by a diplomatic quartet of world powers, the parties will "relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year," Clinton announced at the State Department.

She was referring to security for Israel, borders of a future Palestinian state, the future of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem, which both sides claim as their capital.

Clinton said that the "continued leadership and commitment to peace" of both Mubarak and King Abdullah will "will be essential to our success."

Clinton said she and Obama, as well as Netanyahu and Abbas, shared "the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

A top Palestinian official in Ramallah said Palestine Liberation Organization voted Saturday to accept the US invitation to peace talks, which Netanyahu had already welcomed.

The White House said it was "very hopeful" about the talks, while in London, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called them a "courageous step" towards peace in the region.

"Urgent progress must now be made. We call on all parties to refrain from any activity that could undermine negotiations," Hague added in a statement.

The diplomatic Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- reiterated past statements calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, which began in 1967.

The reference is important for the Palestinians, who want the borders of their future state along the boundaries that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in 1967.

Clinton said the new round of negotiations "should take place without preconditions and be characterized by good faith and a commitment to their success, which will bring a better future to all of the people of the region."

The point appeared designed to appease the Israelis, who reject Palestinian calls for a complete freeze of Jewish settlements.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who has shuttled between both sides for months, said the United States will be engaged in the peace talks, which he said could move at some point to the Middle East.

"We will be active and sustained partners, although we recognize that this is a bilateral negotiation, and we have indicated to both parties that, as necessary and appropriate, we will offer bridging proposals," Mitchell said.

He also said Hamas, which has for three years run the Gaza Strip since ousting Abbas's Palestinian Authority, would have no role in the peace talks.

Hamas on Saturday rejected the planned new talks, with spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri telling AFP in Gaza City that: "The Palestinian people will not feel bound by the results of this misleading invitation."

Clinton added that Obama will also host a group dinner on September 1 with the four Middle East leaders and the Quartet representative, former British prime minister Tony Blair.

With the launch of the talks, Clinton warned "there will be difficulties ahead. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. The enemies of peace will keep trying to defeat us and derail these talks.

"But I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times, and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region," she said, reading from a prepared statement.

The last round of direct talks collapsed when Israel launched a devastating three-week offensive in Gaza in December 2008 in a bid to halt rocket fire from the enclave ruled by the militant Hamas movement.

Netanyahu welcomed the news and declared: "Reaching an agreement is a difficult challenge but is possible."

"The prime minister has been calling for direct negotiations for the past year and a half," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. "He was pleased with the American clarification that the talks would be without preconditions."

"The PLO executive committee announces its acceptance of a resumption of direct negotiations with Israel," senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said in Ramallah.

Both Netanyahu and Abbas have visited Washington in recent months for talks with Obama, with the White House urging a speedy return to direct negotiations.

The two sides have accused each other of stymieing direct talks, but both parties agreed, albeit reluctantly, to indirect "proximity" talks that began in May, facilitated by Mitchell. ___

August 30, 2010

Egypt urges EU to bolster U.S.-led Mideast peace bid

PARIS - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged Europe on Monday to throw its weight behind U.S.-led efforts to secure a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis.

Mubarak, whose country in 1979 became the first Arab state to strike a peace deal with Israel, discussed the matter with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before heading to Washington this week for the first direct negotiations in 20 months.

"The American administration needs strong backing from the European Union for the peace process to continue," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are due to meet President Barack Obama on September 1, according to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and launch direct negotiations the following day.

Sarkozy said Europe planned to further promote the push for peace at a Euro-Mediterranean summit planned for November 20 in Barcelona, Spain, where key leaders from the Middle East would be present.

"After months of stalemate, a hope exists. This chance must be seized," Sarkozy said.

"I believe the U.S. role is very important but cannot be the only one."

Mubarak expressed concerns that Israeli building of further settlements would not help the peace process.

"We agreed that a peace deal should be reached within one year to end occupation and establish the Palestinian state," the 82-year-old president said.

"There is a hesitation among Israelis to stop settlements and that needs more effort and European support."

After their hour-long meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Sarkozy expressed a similar view.

"Firstly, every person in Israel should understand one thing. When there is hope for peace, everything should be done to bolster that," he said.
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE67T34M20100830

April 10, 2010 ~ By Fall 2010 ~ Obama weighs new peace plan for the Middle East (could be reached by fall 2010) ...

April 11, 2010 ~ Palestine growth hinges on Israel moves says IMF

August 27, 2010 ~ Thursday, September 2nd ~ US wants agreement now, peace later ~ President Obama to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah ...

IMF Prepares for Global Contagion ...

August 31, 2010

IMF Preps for Global Contagion

The International Monetary Fund has announced a new lending facility designed to combat global financial crises. This should worry us because it suggests further international economic crises are on the horizon, and their new facility is probably not the best way to combat them. At least, though, the institution tasked with attacking these problems is doing its best to get ahead of the curve.

So what exactly are we talking about? When countries face problems with currency reserves or sovereign debt, as Greece did earlier this year, other countries, the IMF, or both provide emergency loans to see the suffering state through the crisis. Generally, these loans require the country in question to meet a series of conditions for future fiscal probity, making IMF packages -- austerity in exchange for bailouts -- very controversial.

Sometimes, though, you see countries that have few fundamental problems with their economic policy (Spain is a good current example) that become victims of a financial panic, not mismanagement -- like a global bank run, but with countries. In order to protect these countries, officials in the late 1990s came up with an idea for Flexible Credit Lines (FCLs) so that states whose policies were preapproved by the IMF were also preapproved for loans in the case of a crisis. The IMF finally implemented this program after the 2008 crash, giving aid to Mexico, Poland, and Hungary. For a broader explanation of these issues, I suggest you read my story on Lael Brainard, the top U.S. official who manages these issues and who helped propose FCLs in the first place.

Today's news is that the IMF has decided that FCLs don't go far enough. Now, they're willing to commit IMF funds to countries that are just so-so in the economic policy department. This puts more of the global emergency reserve at risk, but it is the kind of proactive step that could halt a run. Here's the problem: While throwing enough money at these problems may work, sometimes it doesn't, as we saw throughout the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s; lenders eventually get paid off but the economic damage in victim countries tends to last. Instead of bailing out creditors, some scholars and practitioners think a better idea is creating a process to restructure a country's debts, with a haircut for lenders, so that the country has a reasonable chance of paying them off. Imagine a bankruptcy process for a country.

This is called a "Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism" or, more euphemistically, a "bail-in." It doesn't currently exist except informally; the U.S. and the IMF helped restructure Brazil's debt to end the 1990s financial crisis. At one time that was easy -- when most sovereign creditors were major banks and it was possible to more or less get everyone in a room. Now, with lenders coming from the less-supervised capital markets and with the rise of securitization, figuring out who can actually take that haircut is very hard. That, however, ought to be the impetus for reforming our international financial institutions to do a better job of handling global crises. Did I mention you should read my story about the U.S. role in the current international turbulence? If the IMF foresees trouble ahead, you're going to want to know what's going on.

read more articles @ http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=08&year=2010&base_name=imf_preps_for_global_contagion

related articles ~

Mexico ~ Statement by IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky and IMF’s Flexible Credit Line ...

IMF Boosts Credit Line Against Crises to $550 Billion ~ (NAB) New Arrangements to Borrow

*** IMF Decision Raises Hopes for G20 Summit in Seoul ...

*** IMF Decision Raises Hopes for G20 Summit in Seoul ...

Snip ~ "The revised FCL scheme has the potential to bring fundamental changes to foreign exchange policies. Currently, many Asian countries such as China, India and South Korea are holding enormous amounts of U.S. dollars in reserve so they can use them in case of an economic crisis.

The FCL will reduce such needs for foreign reserves, since the IMF guarantees to lend them hundreds of billions of dollars when necessary"

suggest reading the following articles to help explain the above statements ~ Links to ASEAN+3 Chiang Mai Initiatve and Currency Swaps and *** Overinterpreting “Currency Swap Agreement”

August 31, 2010

IMF decision raises hopes for G20 summit in Seoul

A decision to expand a credit line program by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised hope in Seoul that November’s G20 summit will be able to bring tangible results on the reform of the global financial system.

The IMF announced Tuesday that it will expand and enhance its lending tool called the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), as well as establish a backup program called the Precautionary Credit Line (PCL). The announcement was a morale booster for the G20 Seoul Committee.

“This is the first visible result of the G20 Seoul Summit,” an official of the committee told reporters in a news briefing. “The mission of the Global Financial Safety Net is now half completed, and the IMF and G20 will come up with more ideas before the summit,” another official said.

Skepticism had been around over whether the Seoul G20 summit will bring about any meaningful results. A correspondent of a U.S. newspaper here had told The Korea Times that the G20 seems like “a group struggling to justify its importance and maybe even its existence.”

Tuesday’s IMF announcement is taken as a sign to erase doubts about the G20. Seoul’s preparation committee was credited for playing a key role. “The government of Korea has taken a leading role in advancing this issue,” the IMF’s press release said.

The revision indicates that the IMF is gradually shifting its mandate from the role of post-crisis bailout fund to the role of a pre-crisis prevention insurance fund.

Under the new scheme, the duration of the FCL is doubled to one year and it gives countries unlimited access to the fund. So far, countries applying for the FCL were only allowed to tap 10 times the amount of their fund commitment to the IMF.

Only countries that do not meet specific qualifications of the FCL will be subjected to the same loan limit, which is separately labeled as the PCL.

“The FCL can be described as a platinum membership credit card, and PCL is a gold membership,” the G20 official said.

The reform of the IMF has been a key issue at the G20 since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. The fund has been criticized for failing to prevent a “spillover” of the crisis from the United States to other countries.

The G20 Seoul committee, hosting the summit in November, has taken the initiative in strengthening the role of the IMF under the slogan, Global Financial Safety Net. “It is a win-win situation for both Korea and the IMF. The IMF welcomes our efforts because the reform will give more power to them,” the Seoul official said.

The revised FCL scheme has the potential to bring fundamental changes to foreign exchange policies. Currently, many Asian countries such as China, India and South Korea are holding enormous amounts of U.S. dollars in reserve so they can use them in case of an economic crisis. The FCL will reduce such needs for foreign reserves, since the IMF guarantees to lend them hundreds of billions of dollars when necessary.

The FCL is especially appealing because it is cheap. Countries do not need to pay interest to the IMF unless they actually receive the fund. They only pay 0.6 percent of the credit line as a “commitment fee.”

“The 0.6 percent fee is nothing compared to the cost of holding foreign reserves,” the G20 official said. Countries may still want to keep their foreign reserves at a certain level but the FCL can be an attractive supplement, he said.

Not all G20 member nations appreciate the IMF reform. Germany was especially concerned that the expansion of the loan scheme may put countries in a moral hazard, the official said.

The G20 committee hopes that the IMF will introduce more reform plans before November. Issues being discussed now are primarily focused on measures to prevent the contagion of an economic crisis from country to country, he said.

The revamping of the voting quota and governance of the IMF are also key issues for the Seoul Summit.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/123_72329.html

*** France's Sarkozy Unveils G20 Leadership Agenda: Currency - Taxes - Financial Reform ...

This is a meeting before November ~ one to watch ~ October 22-23 - G20 Finance Meeting ~ October 22-23-2010 in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea ...

November 11-12 ~ G-20 Summit, Korea will set ‘Seoul Initiative’

The SDR Basket Composition is Reviewed Every Five Years by the Executive Board - Next Review Late 2010 ...

South Korea working with IMF on new emergency loan ...

Iraq hails sovereignty as US ends combat operations ...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Iraq hails sovereignty as US ends combat operations

BAGHDAD: Iraq celebrated its sovereignty as the US military formally ended combat operations yesterday, despite political deadlock and persistent violence, and warned other countries not to interfere as US troops depart. US troop levels were cut to 50,000 before the partly symbolic deadline of August 31 set by President Barack Obama as he seeks to fulfil his pledge to end the war launched by his predecessor George W Bush. The six remaining US brigades will turn their focus to training Iraqi police and troops as Iraq takes charge of its own destiny ahead of a full US withdrawal by the end of next year.

“Iraq today is sovereign and independent,” Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki told Iraqis in a televised address to mark the US forces’ shift to assisting rather than leading the fight against a Sunni Islamist insurgency and Shia militia.

“With the execution of the troop pullout, our relations with the United States have entered a new stage between two equal, sovereign countries.”

Obama promised war-weary US voters he would extricate the United States from the war, launched by Bush with the stated aim of destroying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. Almost a trillion dollars have been spent and more than 4,400 US soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the 2003 invasion. Obama’s Democrats are battling to retain control of Congress in November elections and he faces other challenges - a worsening war in Afghanistan and storm clouds over the economy.

Yesterday’s deadline was to some extent a symbolic one. The 50,000 US soldiers staying on in Iraq for another 16 months are a formidable and heavily-armed force. Iraqi security forces have been taking the lead since a bilateral security pact came into force in 2009. US soldiers pulled out of Iraqi towns and cities in June last year.

Nevertheless, Iraqis are apprehensive as US military might is scaled down, especially amid stalemate in efforts to form a new government six months after an inconclusive election and continuing violence. The impasse has raised tensions as politicians squabble over their share of power and insurgents carry out attacks aimed at undermining faith in the domestic security forces.

Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari warned Iraq’s neighbours against interfering as US troops withdraw by an end-2011 deadline set out in a bilateral security pact. “We have warned all of them there wouldn’t be any vacuum, and if there would be a vacuum, the only people who will fill that vacuum are the Iraqis themselves,” he said.

The White House said on Tuesday Iraq’s leaders should move forward with forming a government with a sense of urgency and Vice President Joe Biden flew into Baghdad on Monday not just to mark the end of combat operations but also to press for talks. “Notwithstanding what the national press says about increased violence, the truth is things are very much different. Things are much safer,” Biden told Maliki.

Toppled dictator Saddam Hussein’s outlawed Baath party crowed that the US pullback was a result of “devastating” strikes against US troops by Iraqi resistance fighters. “They withdrew dragging tails of failure and defeat, leaving by the same roads they used as invaders,” it said in a statement carried by Iraqi websites. “The end of the US combat mission in Iraq is a useless attempt to save face, if any is left.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/middle-east/125069-iraq-hails-sovereignty-as-us-ends-combat-operations.html

Obama: US combat in Iraq over, 'time to turn page' ...

August 31, 2010

Obama: US combat in Iraq over, 'time to turn page'

WASHINGTON — Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: "It is time to turn the page." Now, he said, the nation's most urgent priority must be fixing its own sickly economy.

From the Oval Office, where George W. Bush first announced the invasion that would come to define his presidency, Obama addressed millions who were divided over the war in his country and around the world. Fiercely opposed to the war from the start, he said the United States "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future — a price that now includes more than 4,400 dead, tens of thousands of troops wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars spent since March 2003.

In a telling sign of the domestic troubles weighing on the United States and his own presidency, Obama turned much of the emphasis in a major war address to the dire state of U.S. joblessness.

In his remarks of slightly less than 20 minutes, only his second address from the Oval Office, Obama looked directly into the TV camera, hands clasped in front of him on his desk, family photos and the U.S. and presidential flags behind him.

Even as he turns control of the war over to the Iraqis — and tries to cap one of the most divisive chapters in recent American history — Obama is escalating the conflict in Afghanistan. He said that winding down Iraq would allow the United States "to apply the resources necessary to go on offense" in Afghanistan, now the nation's longest war since Vietnam.

In Iraq, for all the finality of Obama's remarks, the war is not over. More Americans are likely to die. The country is plagued by violence and political instability, and Iraqis struggle with constant shortages of electricity and water.

Obama is keeping up to 50,000 troops in Iraq for support and counterterrorism training, and the last forces are not due to leave until the end of 2011 at the latest.

As the commander in chief over a war he opposed, Obama took pains to thank troops for their sacrifice but made clear he saw the day as more the marking of a mistake ended than a mission accomplished. He spoke of strained relations with allies, anger at home and the heaviest of wartime tolls.

"We have met our responsibility," Obama said. "Now it is time to turn the page."

To underscore his point, Obama said he had telephoned called Bush, whom he had taunted so often in the 2008 campaign, and he prominently praised the former Republican president in the heart of his speech.

"It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset," Obama said. "Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security."

In a post-Sept. 11, 2001, world, the Iraq war began with bipartisan congressional backing — based on what turned out to be flawed intelligence — over what Bush called a "grave danger" to the world posed by Saddam Hussein.

Now, Iraq is in political turmoil, its leaders unable to form a new government long after March elections that left no clear winner. The uncertainty has left an opening for insurgents to pound Iraqi security forces, hardly the conditions the U.S. envisioned for this transition deadline, which Obama announced 18 months ago.

Obama pressed Iraq's leaders anew, saying it was time to show urgency and be accountable.

Obama sought both to assure his own nation that the war was finally winding down and yet also promise Iraq and those watching across the Middle East that the U.S. was not simply walking away.

"Our combat mission is ending," he said, "but our commitment to Iraq's future is not."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7180463.html

Under the Strategic Framework Agreement ~ United States obliged to support Iraq when faced with a threat externally or internally ...

September 1, 2010

Foreign Affairs: United States obliged to support Iraq when faced with a threat externally or internally

بغداد- الصباح BAGHDAD - morning

Foreign Ministry confirmed that the United States are committed to supporting Iraq and support when faced with an external threat, internal or upon the occurrence of aggression on it, indicating that the bilateral relations between the two countries will witness a considerable progress through the activation of the strategic framework agreement.

The ministry said in a statement marking the completion of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq yesterday: «end of the day 3182010 completed the U.S. withdrawal of combat forces operating in Iraq, based on the agreement between the two countries on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the organization of its activities during its temporary presence when signed in 17112008, after proved that the Iraqi security forces ability to impose security in all parts of the country.

The ministry said that «the withdrawal of U.S. troops does not mean in any way give the United States abide by their responsibilities set forth in paragraph (1) of article twenty-seventh of the Agreement in respect of helping Iraq in the event of any external or internal threat or aggression and what it was, from would violate the sovereignty or political independence or territorial integrity, waters or airspace, or threat to its democratic system or its elected and take appropriate measures to deter such a threat.

The statement continued: it «In the time that will reduce this withdrawal of the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, which meets the requirements of Iraqi sovereignty, economic and political relations and cultural relations between the two countries will witness a considerable progress through the activation of the framework agreement strategic relationship of friendship and cooperation between Iraq and the United States signed in 17 11 2008, in order to establish relations of cooperation and long-standing friendship based on the principle of sovereign equality and the principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, to serve the common interests of both peoples and the two countries.

He also expressed the ministry's statement on «acknowledged the work of the United States from efforts to help the Iraqi people establish a democratic system and establish a government under the Constitution», he said: «We are very confident capabilities our national security to assume their historic responsibilities to protect those gains in the provide security and promote the rule of law.

Alsabah

Talabani talks about serious political negotiations ...

September 1, 2010

Talabani talks about serious political negotiations .. Biden and confirms that the formation of the government is an important factor for stability in Iraq

The rule of law announced agreement on a mechanism to choose a candidate coalition

National and Iraqi deny sharing positions

بغداد ـ الصباح Baghdad morning

Said President Jalal Talabani of the existence of a genuine and serious negotiations between the political blocs to form a government, with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, that constructing a new Ministry is an important factor for the stability of Iraq. These assertions

Announced at the time of the rule of law by a coalition agreement with the National Coalition on the mechanism to choose a candidate for prime minister within the coalition, while denied the coalition and Iraqi national get-sharing agreement between the two positions.

The President stressed during his meeting with Biden in Baghdad yesterday, on the pursuit of all political blocs to form a government of national partnership that includes all Iraqi factions.

And President Talabani »negotiations are serious and genuine relationship between the political blocs to form this government». For his part, U.S. Vice President hoped that the Iraqis can form their next government, to overcome the problems and obstacles that stand without it, indicating that the presence of such a government will be an important factor in the stability of the country, reiterated U.S. support for the political process in Iraq.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met yesterday with Joseph Biden, who arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday evening, where he was during the meeting they discussed the efforts of the political blocs to form a government of national partnership.

Meanwhile, the president revealed a unity coalition that Jawad al-Iraq coalition submitted a working paper to the political blocs include the distribution of 20 positions as Chairman in accordance with the electoral benefit to ensure formation of a government and a broad national partnership that includes all the winning lists as soon as possible.

Alsabah

Maliki: victory over terrorism is subject to national unity, Assurances on the ability of Iraqi forces to assume security responsibilities after ...

"Will be held in Baghdad on Wednesday, a ceremony marking the end the combat mission of U.S. forces in Iraq"

September 1, 2010

Maliki: victory over terrorism is subject to national unity

Assurances on the ability of Iraqi forces to assume security responsibilities after the withdrawal of American combat forces

بغداد ـ الصباح Baghdad morning

Under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, victory over terrorism to promote national unity and support the armed forces and the security services and raise readiness, returned the implementation of a U.S. withdrawal from the country «achievement for all Iraqis».

And ended U.S. combat troops on operations in Iraq yesterday after the withdrawal, which will start from today a new process called the «new dawn».

Maliki described the end of U.S. combat operations as a «new National Holiday» when Iraqis regain sovereignty of their country and draw their own future into their own hands, reiterated confidence in the ability of the armed forces and the security services to assume responsibilities.

Commander of the Armed Forces said in a speech yesterday on the occasion of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the end of the job of fighting: the «country is going through a new phase is the most sensitive requires all Iraqis to cooperate with security agencies to counter terrorist threats», calling on regional and neighboring states to support the Iraqi people this phase.

Will be held in Baghdad on Wednesday, a ceremony marking the end the combat mission of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that «the withdrawal of U.S. troops does not mean in any way give the United States abide by their responsibilities set forth in paragraph (1) of article twenty-seventh of Agreement in respect of aid to Iraq the event of any external or internal threat or aggression and what it was, would violate the sovereignty or political independence or territorial integrity, waters or airspace, or threat to its democratic system or its elected and take appropriate measures to deter such a threat.

Alsabah

Obama stresses Washington's commitment to Baghdad Announced change the combat operations in Iraq to support mission ...

September 1, 2010

Obama stresses Washington's commitment to Baghdad

Announced change the combat operations in Iraq to support mission

بغداد – متابعة الصباح BAGHDAD - A follow-up to the morning

U.S. President's commitment to support Iraq in the long term. This came during a speech Obama morning Baghdad time, where he dealt with ending the combat mission of U.S. forces in Iraq as of Wednesday.

Obama stressed the continued U.S. commitment to Iraq, Mr. stable and able to rely on its own.

For his part, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs that the mission of U.S. forces in Iraq turned from the day of the mission to a combat support missions.

Turning Gibbs at his press conference speech of President Obama, saying: «we shall see is a change task, the task of combat to support, I have seen the departure of approximately 100 thousand soldiers, and millions of pieces of gear, and were handed over hundreds of bases now under Iraqi control, and would political decision-making and security together, and we will support our allies ».

Gibbs announced the other hand, that Obama called his predecessor, George W. Bush before the speech, and discussed with him the Iraqi matter.

Gibbs pointed out that Obama did not change his mind, however, still considers the war on Iraq was a grave mistake.

Indicated that the number of U.S. military in Iraq has arrived in less than 50 thousand soldiers and will start from Wednesday to provide advice and help the Iraqi army to be the final withdrawal at the end of 2011.

Alsabah

JPMorgan Chase halting proprietary trading ...

previous article US Congress nears deal on bank trading crackdown needed to approve historic Wall Street reform ...

August 31, 2010

JPMorgan Chase closing proprietary trading desks to comply with new law

Boston, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is shutting down its proprietary trading desks and eliminating around 80 jobs to comply with new restrictions on investment banks, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The source spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because JPMorgan Chase isn't formally announcing the move.

The overhaul of U.S. financial regulations signed into law in July limits proprietary trading in which an investment bank trades on its own accounts for its own profit, rather than on behalf of clients.

The source says JPMorgan Chase is responding by phasing out proprietary desks that trade stocks, bonds and commodities. The desks are in several locations around the globe, including London and New York. Roughly 80 employees out of a total 29,000 staff in JPMorgan Chase's investment banking operations will lose their jobs.

The plans were reported earlier Tuesday by Bloomberg News.

The move doesn't affect far-larger operations that execute trades on behalf of clients of JPMorgan Chase, the second-largest U.S. bank ranked by assets.

The investment banking restrictions in the financial overhaul are part of what's known as the Volcker rule, named after Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman who advises the Obama administration. Volcker says banks should stick to taking deposits and making loans. He thinks dealmaking and investment banking should be left to firms that taxpayers wouldn't have to bail out.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Source-JPMorgan-Chase-halting-apf-1083257869.html?x=0

Links ~ Banking on a nation ... Volcker ...

IMF expands credit line to avert future crisis ...“The enhanced Flexible Credit Line: and a new "Precautionary Credit Line" ...

31 August 2010

IMF expands credit line to avert future crisis

Washington, The International Monetary Fund has unveiled new credit facilities for member countries to secure financial assistance in a timely manner, which will help prevent financial crises in the future.

In recent times, the multilateral lending agency extended financial aid to crisis-hit nations such as Greece and Romania.

The IMF's executive board has approved a new Precautionary Credit Line (PCL) that would allow countries having sound fiscal and monetary policies to take loans quickly in times of crisis.

In addition, the lender will increase the duration, as well as the credit available through existing Flexible Credit Lines (FCL).

The “insurance-type instrument” is aimed at encouraging countries to approach the fund in a more timely fashion to prevent a crisis, according to an IMF statement issued on Monday.

IMF managing director Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the new credit facilities would expand and strengthen the lender's crisis prevention tool-kit.

“The enhanced Flexible Credit Line and new Precautionary Credit Line will enable the fund to help its members protect themselves against excessive market volatility,” he noted. According to the IMF, countries' eligibility for PCL would be broadly based on factors such as the nation's fiscal policy, monetary policy, financial sector soundness and supervision.

“While requiring strong performance in most of these areas, the PCL permits access to precautionary resources to members that may still have moderate vulnerabilities in one or two of these dimensions,” it added.

http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=339908&catid=40

Defense Secretary: All Is Not Well In Iraq ...

August 31, 2010

Defense Secretary - All Is Not Well In Iraq - US To Withdraw Troops By 2012

MILWAUKEE -- All is not well in Iraq as the United States formally closes down its combat mission there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, warning that political paralysis and continued sectarian violence cloud that country's future.

He was speaking at the American Legion National Convention in Milwaukee.

Gates said conditions in Iraq are much better, however, as the United States shifts to an advisory role seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

"I am not saying all is, or necessarily will be, well in Iraq," Gates said, noting the lack of a new government more than six months after national elections, and continued sectarian tension.

"This is not a time for premature victory parades or self-congratulation, even as we reflect with pride on what our troops and their Iraqi partners have accomplished," Gates told the American Legion audience.

Despite recent high-profile attacks, overall violence is at its lowest level since the beginning of the war in 2003, and the U.S. hasn't had to order an air strike in more than six months, Gates said.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, author of much of the worst violence, has been marginalized, the secretary added.

President Barack Obama will talk to the nation Tuesday night to mark the formal end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, a transition set out in an agreement with Iraq's elected government two years ago.

Fewer than 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from more than 165,000 at the height of the fighting. The remaining forces are not out of harm's way, but their primary role is supposed to be to help train and equip Iraqi forces over the next year. The shift is largely symbolic, since U.S. forces have done little front-line fighting in Iraq for months and spend large amounts of time on their bases.

All U.S. forces are supposed to be out of the country by 2012.

Turning to Afghanistan, Gates compared rising U.S. casualties and intensified fighting there with Iraq during the early days of the rapid expansion of U.S. forces three years ago.

Gates acknowledged frustration at the lack of clear progress since Obama announced an expansion of the Afghan war last year. That expansion was smaller than the one former President George W. Bush had ordered for Iraq, but the goal is the same: to swamp enemy fighters in a few key places and hold them off in others, giving Afghan forces time to step up.

Gates and other U.S. officials have complained that evaluations of the war's progress this year did not account for the gradual pace of the troop additions, and that the full effect of the president's revamped strategy cannot be measured until all forces and resources were in place.

http://www.wisn.com/news/24825567/detail.html

Received by His Excellency President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad Tuesday 31/08/2010, U.S. vice-president Joseph Biden ...

The Republic of Iraq
Office of the President
Press office

President Jalal Talabani meets U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden

August 31, 2010

During the meeting, they discussed the process of withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq end its operations and change the functions and duties of the troops remaining until the full withdrawal from Iraq and the political developments in the country, notably the current talks to form Iraqi government, and ways to speed up the creation of a compromise formula for the participation of Iraqi political forces in this government.

Was also discussed bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, where the two sides stressed the importance of activating the agreements concluded between the two countries in all fields, and the need to work out the interests of both peoples.

The new President Talabani thanked the Government and people of Iraq to the United States for the sacrifices made by the U.S. military, beginning with the country's liberation from dictatorship abhorrent and work side by side with Iraqi security forces in establishing security and to hunt down terrorists, as well as support in developing the capabilities of military forces and Iraqi security, the development of infrastructure infrastructure of the Iraqi army in the areas of processing and training.

He confirmed all the political groups seeking to form a national partnership that includes all Iraqi factions, and work to avoid marginalizing any component or a political party in this process, adding that: "There is a real and serious negotiations between the political blocs to form this government."

President Talabani and the need to strengthen the Iraqi-US relations and the importance of the contribution of American companies in the reconstruction in Iraq, and take advantage of their expertise in all areas of economic and development.

For his part, told the greetings of President Joseph Biden, Barack Obama, warm to His Excellency President Jalal Talabani, wishing him continued good health and wellness.

He explained Biden His Excellency the President of the Republic the withdrawal of combat troops, saying look the United States to build strong relations with Iraq through agreements between the parties, adding that: "The United States looks forward to building long-term relationships with Iraq and is willing to strengthen ties and relations in the service the two countries."

The vice president expressed the hope that Iraqis can form their next government, to overcome the problems and obstacles that stand without it, pointing out that the existence of such a government would be an important factor in stabilizing the country, reiterating U.S. support for the political process in Iraq.

Biden and the price of the efforts of President Talabani in the reunion of all walks of life and standing at the same distance from all parties and political forces in Iraq.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://nahrain.com/d/news/10/08/100831ba.htm&rurl=translate.google.com

Is This the Real Reason US Troops Can Leave Iraq? ...

August 31, 2010

Is This the Real Reason US Troops Can Leave Iraq?

President Barack Obama will address the nation tonight to mark what his administration is calling the end of combat operations in Iraq. And already scholars are revisiting how a war once compared to the Vietnam quagmire reached this point of tentative success.

The most intriguing theory comes from Peter Berck and Jonathan Lipow, academics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Defense Resource Management Institute, respectively. In a recent paper, they argue that it was the Iraqi dinar, and its almost obscene appreciation, that played a crucial role in the decline of insurgent activity, ushering in the current period of relative peacefulness. "[The dinar] played perhaps as large a role as the Surge," Lipow tells AOL News.

Prior to the invasion, sanctions imposed against Iraq kept the dinar "unusually cheap," Lipow says -- so cheap that, during the first throes of the uprising against America's presence, foreign terrorists easily used their more lucrative foreign currencies as a way to recruit insurgents. Mercenaries in Iraq received as much as $5,000 (U.S.) per attack, the study says, the equivalent of three months' income for the average Iraqi family. Terror reigned.

But then the price of oil shot up. By July 2008, it had reached $134 a barrel, an increase of $107.33 from January 2004. This had an appreciative effect on the dinar. As did, frankly, the U.S.'s involvement in Iraq. The journal Military Review estimates that U.S. armed forces flooded the Iraqi economy with well over $20 billion in goods and services between 2003 and 2009. As a result, the dinar quadrupled in value, Berck and Lipow write.

This really hurt the Iraqi insurgency. When the dinar rose, the spending power of foreign currencies in Iraq declined; the Saudi riyal, for instance, buys today only a quarter of what it did in 2003 in Iraq, the study says. And so the insurgent groups in the country had to rely more and more on the dinar, which meant they had to find a way to keep their operations afloat using the domestic currency. The best way for the insurgents to do that was to "tax" the locals: basically, extorting and robbing them, and sometimes killing them for failing to pay up.

The locals didn't like that. And so, the authors argue, they quit supporting insurgent groups. Thereafter, the violence decreased: Average civilian fatalities declined from 72 per day in 2006 to 7.2 by the end of last year.

Berck's and Lipow's conclusions raise important questions for what happens next in the country. If Iraq got to this point because of oil prices and the economic benefits of heavy U.S. involvement, what happens when the price of oil is no longer $134 a barrel and less than 50,000 U.S. troops (and the money they represent) are in country?

Possibly nothing good. A depreciation in the dinar "seems almost inevitable," Berck and Lipow say in their paper, which was released in June. Indeed, it's already happened: The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Iranian imports are flooding the country, from bricks to buses to rice, because it is once more cheaper to import into Iraq. That means fewer jobs for Iraqis. The Journal quotes an Iraqi brick-factory owner predicting "bad things" will happen if he has to close his shop and lay off the young men who need to support their families. Berck and Lipow write, diplomatically, that what this means for Iraqi national security remains "unclear."

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/the-price-of-the-iraqi-dinar-and-the-real-reason-us-combat-troops-can-withdraw-from-the-iraq-war/19611389

MALIKI: NATIONAL HOLIDAY DECLARED: Withdrawal of U.S. combat troops and a New National Holiday Iatzbeh All the Sons of the Iraqi People ...

August 31, 2010

Maliki: the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops and a new national Holiday Iatzbeh all the sons of the Iraqi people

بغداد ( إيبا ) ... BAGHDAD (Iba) ...

Prime Minister General Commander of the Armed Forces Nuri al-Maliki that the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops represents a landmark in the history of the Iraqi people and their struggle long and hard for their freedom and save his dignity and to strengthen its role of human civilization, addressing Iraqis, a gala and a new national recover your where the rule of your country and ye shall point out future hands, Iraq today sovereign, and independent resolution and related activities have Bhadharh future and will remain on atheist thirty days of the month of August is proud to abide by all the sons of the Iraqi people.

Maliki said in his speech on this day will Qguatnausbandzatna security champion after this day, the leadership role in stabilizing security and defense of the country and prevent risks to both internally and externally, because of its professionalism and efficiency and keenness on the interests of the nation away from the accounts and orientation and narrow partisan and sectarian.

He said in spite of the great challenges and serious suffered by Iraq in years past, we were able to overcome many of them at the political, security, economic, social, and terrorism at the forefront of those challenges, it has completed the terrorist organizations Damarokherab caused by the dictatorial regime oppressive during the mass killings and Altahjiraltaivi which is added to a series of heinous crimes that the Iraqi people have suffered over thirty-five Aamamn oppression and tyranny, poverty, deprivation, underdevelopment and broken infrastructure and services, broken and strained relations with neighboring countries and the world.

He said al-Maliki has faced the Iraqi people during the past seven years as terrorism Nizaanthec all the holy sites and committed Avda crimes against unarmed civilians and plans to ignite sectarian war abhorrent taking advantage of the absence of Sultpaleghanon and the weakness of the state apparatus and its security forces that were in the process of formation, but our security forces were able in record time compared with the magnitude of terrorist attack Menthakiq major victories on the road to restoring the authority of the state and extend its authority and to achieve security and stability, and defeat terrorist organizations, which lost Hawwadhanha and sanctuaries and killing criminals symbols of terrorism, such as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri and several other princes, murder and slaughter. . .

He said Maliki's success in the eradication of sectarian war, strikes a major blow to al-Qaeda and its allies form a suitable platform for the signing of the withdrawal of foreign forces in November of the year two thousand and eight, by which the first phase and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from cities, villages and towns in the thirtieth of June last year .

He Knawathagin after the signing of the agreement that the withdrawal from the cities, villages and towns will be achieved despite the campaigns of skepticism and attempts to minimize its importance and to block its implementation, has already been achieved in the thirty-June of 2009, as we were equally confident in the implementation of the withdrawal, which is happening today, and we promise you that we are committed to the implementation of the withdrawal The final of foreign forces from all Iraqi territory at the end of next year, God willing, not for our full trust that Iraq and its people have been able to turn the page on the sectarian war as we move forward with the signing and implementation of the withdrawal of U.S. forces., and I, on behalf of the Government of National Unity, I promise you or who can post the brothers Alaazaan sectarian war will not return and will not allow this

Iraqis will live as loving brothers in the security of a sovereign, independent country, and assure you the capacity and security Kavaepqguatnausbandzatna to assume responsibility, and that of the cowardly terrorist acts targeting civilians, and institutions of the State service is only a desperate attempt by al Qaeda and the remnants of the former regime to prove their existence and rehabilitation.

He noted that Iraq is passing through the new phase is the most critical call of brotherly and friendly countries had supported and supportive of the efforts of the Government to strengthen national sovereignty and restore security and stability and dry up the sources of terrorism and preventing terrorist organizations from making territorial headquarters of the instability in Iraq under any pretext, and Nnashidnizp "motion and the League of Arab States and the United Nations to take decisive positions and decisions in this area and work to support Iraq to get the wrath of the Chapter VII.

He said al-Maliki said Iraqi people, who managed to overcome the most serious challenges of his determination to their national unity is looking forward to the formation of a national partnership genuine to be the level of aspirations and hopes, and compensated for decades of deprivation, oppression, repression, tyranny, and provide him with reasons for free and dignified life, depending on its energies and its human and Tabieipwalnhod the Iraqi economy with diverse sources and multimedia.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php

Obama speech on Iraq has risks ...

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Obama speech on Iraq has risks

President Obama is promoting the decision to end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday as a fulfillment of his campaign promise to draw the war to a close. But some of the president's detractors are using the same moment to question the wisdom of doing so - noting that Iraq is still afflicted with violence and has yet to form a government.

Obama will mark the occasion by flying to Fort Bliss, Tex., to meet with veterans. He will also deliver a prime-time Oval Office speech - only his second since taking office. On Monday, the president visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center and awarded 11 Purple Hearts to combat veterans. Vice President Biden traveled to Iraq to amplify the message.

"Maybe he's entitled to the partial victory lap, but this is not the right moment for it," said analyst Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, who has been critical of both Democratic and Republican approaches to the war. "If I were him, I'd wait until we have an Iraqi government, and do it with the Iraqis together."

O'Hanlon said he was "confused about the planned Oval Office speech." It could raise unrealistic expectations among the public about the chances for calm in Iraq, he said. And the timing of the pullout of combat troops may be seen as having more to do with the president's political needs than with real signs of progress on the ground.

White House officials said the speech, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and last 15 to 20 minutes, would acknowledge this week's deadline as a "milestone" and pay tribute to the 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq since 2003. Obama will address shifting U.S. options now that the country is no longer technically at war in Iraq, including a greater emphasis on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The president will say that "it's time for Iraq to step up and take responsibility for security in the country," one senior administration official said.

Obama will call former president George W. Bush before the speech, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. He did not say whether Obama will give his predecessor credit for the 2007 troop "surge" as Republicans have demanded.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, in an opinion piece last week, assailed Obama for taking credit for the drawdown. "While the administration continues seeking credit for 'ending the combat mission' in Iraq, it is important to remember that this transition was made possible by the very surge that President Obama and Vice President Biden opposed," Boehner wrote.

Obama's celebration of an arbitrary deadline - much like Bush's premature "Mission Accomplished" declaration in 2003 - could come back to haunt him if U.S. troops continue to die and the Iraqi government remains unformed.

"If the war is 'over,' what happens if a Black Hawk goes down next week, God forbid?" asked Paul Rieckhoff, a veterans advocate. While combat troops have departed, the tens of thousands of troops still in Iraq are expected to engage in defensive military action when necessary, and Special Forces troops will continue to conduct counterterrorism missions.

"It looks as if al-Qaeda in Iraq is targeting the Iraqi security forces rather than us, and in fact their statements have made it pretty clear that's their objective - trying to show that the Iraqi security forces can't provide the most basic services of government," said L. Paul Bremer, who was the U.S. government's civilian administrator in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. The Obama administration has acknowledged that "there will be some combat," he said.

Bremer believes the bigger threat may come in 2011, when Obama has promised to remove the approximately 50,000 troops who remain

Obama has been resolute in his pledge to withdraw all troops by the end of 2011, as arranged for by the Status of Forces Agreement signed by Bush. "By the end of next year, all of our troops will be home," the president said in his most recent weekly address.

continue reading @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083005369.html?hpid=topnews

Al-Maliki says Iraq gains "sovereignty" with US draw-down ...

August 31, 2010

Al-Maliki says Iraq gains "sovereignty" with US draw-down

Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday said the country was gaining back its sovereignty, with combat operations of the United States military coming to a close.

'Today Iraq is sovereign, independent and takes its own decisions for the present and future,' al-Maliki said in a televised address on the final day of the US combat mission.

The premier earlier met with US Vice President Joe Biden, who arrived Monday evening in Baghdad for events to mark the changing US capacity and said Iraq was 'much safer' than in the past.

He was also reprising a role he played in July, when he last visited Baghdad and held talks with Iraq's political parties in a bid to help end a five-month-long post-election stalemate preventing the formation a new government.

Al-Maliki's party, the State of Law list, came in a close second in the March 7 poll, winning two seats less than his arch-rival, former premier Iyad Allawi's Iraqiyah list. The third largest bloc is headed by Shiite cleric Amar al-Hakim and includes the anti-US Sadrist movement.

No party has an outright majority and they have been unable to reach a coalition deal.

The country's political deadlock was being compounded by a recent upsurge in violence against civilians and security forces, which al- Maliki said were 'desperate' acts by insurgents. He promised Iraqis better security.

Iraqi politicians were divided over how effective the Biden visit would turn out.

'All political blocs have set their eyes on Biden,' Izzat al- Shabandar, with the State of Law list, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Like other members of parliament, he believed the vice president would like to see the two largest blocs in Iraq sitting together in a joint cabinet, a formula that has been suggested in the past.

'There is no United States candidate in terms of the next Iraqi government,' insisted Antony Bilken, a national security advisor to the vice president.

'Options for forming the Iraqi government are the concern of the political elites in this country, and I do not think that Biden will force any new options on us,' said Jamal al-Batikh from the Iraqiya list, which bills itself as a secular group.

'Politicians in the country realize the solution should be an Iraqi one,' he added in an interview.

The more hard line Shiite bloc in parliament, led by the cleric Hakim, wants to be part of the government and has rejected an alliance between the larger parties which would leave them in the opposition.

During his stay, Biden was expected to sit with all the main blocs.

Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, a Kurdish leader, was among the first to meet the visiting vice president who said he wanted 'input' from Iraqi politicians ahead of a key speech to be delivered later by US president Barack Obama in Washington.

At the start of the meeting with Talibani, Biden quipped that he has been to Iraq enough times to qualify for Iraqi citizenship.

Biden's visit is his sixth to Baghdad since 2009 and comes as the Iraqi prime minister said that Baghdad's relationship with Washington was entering a 'new era,' to be based less on military cooperation and more on diplomatic ties and economic links.

Some 50,000 US troops, with only advisory, training and counter- terrorism capacity, are to remain in Iraq until 2011.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1581258.php/Al-Maliki-says-Iraq-gains-sovereignty-with-US-draw-down-1st-Lead

U.S. forces end the process of the liberation of Iraq to begin tomorrow, a New Dawn ...

2010-08-31

U.S. forces end the process of the liberation of Iraq to begin tomorrow, a new dawn

BAGHDAD (Iba) ... announced that the U.S. forces that Tuesday is the last day to shoot him (the process of the liberation of Iraq), and that it will implement this (new dawn), beginning on the first Wednesday of September.

Said the spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Stephen Lanza in statements published on the U.S. Army on his website we are shifting from military operations to perform operations associated with the state to promote stability and provide advice as part of Operation New Dawn.

The Lanza that the application functions (Operation New Dawn) will lead once they are implemented to achieve three big objectives: in the first place will lead to the establishment of U.S. forces in partnership with commando forces, Iraqi Special Operations in the implementation of counter-terrorism and insurgency, as well as that you provide advice and support the Iraqi security forces, and through the co-existence and with the actual presence of these forces generic in their positions, and even battalion level military.

He added that the second task is the formation of six teams or groups to provide specialized advice and guidance, has been allocated to enable the Iraqi security forces to build and develop their capacities and potential.

He and the task or the third incorporated in the process of the new dawn, it is that American troops will continue to support and sponsor the efforts of PRTs Iraq, which played the U.S. Embassy in Iraq to implement the tasks and duties, which aims to implement the project of a civil nature and development of civil institutions in Iraq.

Lanza said that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were working hard to achieve rapprochement between the parties and the Iraqi parties to break the deadlock situation in which almost, with respect to the formation of Iraqi national government.

He was not expected for major developments in this regard until the end of the month of Ramadan.

(End) / g / .. http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php

Basra ports receive 51 ships in August ...

August 31, 2010

Basra ports receive 51 ships in August

BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: A total of 51 commercial ships have arrived in Iraqi ports in Basra province this month, the public relations and media director at the State Company for Iraqi Ports said on Tuesday.

“The number of commercial ships which arrived in Basra in August reached 51 carrying varied cargos,” Anmar al-Safi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Seventeen ships arrived in Umm Qasr port, 22 in Abu Falous port while Khour al-Zubeir port received 12 ships,” he added.

The Shiite province of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has five commercial ports and two oil ports: al-Maaqal, established in 1916 by the British forces and handed over to Iraqi authorities in 1937; and Faw, a small port on the al-Faw Peninsula near the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf.

In the early 1970s, Umm al-Qasr port was built, and in 1974, Khour al-Zubeir and Abu Falous ports were established on the Shatt al-Arab.

Basra is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history.

The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock.

A network of canals flow through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East” at least at high tide.

Biden to Kurdistan on Wednesday to discuss new government ...

August 31, 2010

Biden to Kurdistan on Wednesday to discuss new government

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit tomorrow the Iraqi region of Kurdistan to discuss the process of forming the new Iraqi government, a local official media source said on Tuesday.

“Biden will travel to Arbil, the capital city of Kurdistan region, to discuss the process of forming the new Iraqi government and the distribution of major posts in Iraq,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

He explained that the two sides will also discuss the Baghdad-Arbil relations and the Iraq-U.S. ties as well.

Bident arrived in the Iraqi capital – Baghdad on Monday, August 30, 2010.

Aswat al-Iraq

A New Dawn ... a New Day ~ Wednesday September 1st Operation New Dawn begins in Iraq ... Message written by Phoenix ...

Link ~ A New Dawn ... a New Day ~ Wednesday September 1st Operation New Dawn begins in Iraq ... Message written by Phoenix ...

Indonesian volcano erupts again ...after being dormant for four centuries ...earth changes ...

August 31, 2010

Indonesian volcano erupts again

An Indonesian volcano dormant for four centuries erupted for the second straight day yesterday, shooting clouds of hot ash more than a kilometer into the air and forcing 30,000 people to flee.

Some domestic airplanes had to be diverted because of poor visibility.

Many villagers living along the slopes of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra Province wore masks as they packed their belongings and headed to emergency shelters, mosques and churches, said Andi Arief, a presidential adviser on disasters.

Their abandoned homes and crops were blanketed in gray soot and the air was thick with the smell of sulfur.

While two people died - a 64-year-old woman from respiratory problems and a 52-year-old man from a heart attack - it was too early to say if the volcano was to blame, said Priyadi Kardono of the National Disaster Management Agency.

Sinabung last erupted in 1600, so observers don't know its eruption pattern and admitted over the weekend they had not monitored it closely before it started rumbling days ago in the lead-up to Sunday's first, less-powerful blast.

Hours later, the alert was raised to the highest level.

Like other volcanoes along the Sumatra fault line - the meeting point of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates that have pushed against each other for millions of years - it has the potential to be very destructive.

Stiff magna forming inside the conical tip can act as a plug, allowing pressure to build up until it reaches a bursting point.

"A volcano with a long repose period could deliver a more powerful eruption," as was the case with Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which killed about 800 people, said Alain Bernard, a professor at the University of Brussels.

Sinabung could either go back to sleep or produce a series of blasts with increasing intensity, he said. "A Pinatubo-size eruption is a rare event and unlikely to appear during the following days. It takes normally weeks or months."

Though strong wind shifts or a powerful follow-up blast could affect air traffic in nearby Singapore and Malaysia.

Source: Shanghai Daily

Obama considering new ways to boost economy ... (change we can believe in) ...

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Obama considering new ways to boost economy

Washington, President Barack Obama, under pressure to bolster the U.S. economy, said on Monday he and his economic advisers are discussing additional steps to generate job growth such as more tax cuts for businesses.

Obama, just back from a 10-day vacation, appeared in the White House Rose Garden to show his concern about the economy, which some experts believe is in danger of slipping into a double-dip recession.

"My economic team is hard at work in identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term and increasing our economy's competitiveness in the long term," Obama said.

His comments amounted to an acknowledgment that, while the economy has made some improvements, the lingering impact of the worst recession since the Great Depression is proving particularly difficult to overcome.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama will in the coming days and weeks outline "targeted initiatives" to help spur the recovery and hopes Congress will approve them before stopping work to focus on Nov. 2 elections.

Pressed on whether Obama should take a bolder approach to stimulating growth, Gibbs said that "there's only so much that can be done, not having to do with politics."

Obama cited possible steps such as extending tax cuts for the middle class that are set to expire this year, increasing government support for clean energy development, and rebuilding more U.S. infrastructure.

He also said he was considering "further tax cuts to encourage businesses to put their capital to work creating jobs here in the United States." He provided no details.

Obama is under strong election-year pressure to increase U.S. job growth after an $814 billion stimulus plan he and his Democrats pushed through Congress in February 2009 has failed to inspire much confidence from Americans.

Experts say a Labor Department report due on Friday could show an uptick in the U.S. jobless rate in August to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July, which would add to Obama's dilemma ahead of the November congressional elections.

"The fact is that too many businesses are still struggling, too many Americans are still looking for work, and too many communities are far from being whole again," Obama said.

The president expressed his frustration that a $30 billion plan to make credit more easily available for small businesses has been held up by Senate Republicans, who have expressed doubts as to whether the plan would work.

"Simply put, holding this bill hostage is directly detrimental to our economic growth, so I ask Senate Republicans to drop the blockade," Obama said.

Republicans, sensing they stand to pick up seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November, are in no mood to join with Obama.

"We need real change to give the American people real hope, and that should start with changing the 'exhausted' authors of the president's unsuccessful economic strategy. We need to stop the spending spree, stop Washington Democrats' tax hikes, and create jobs," said Representative John Boehner, the House Republican leader.

Representative Paul Ryan, the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee, told reporters the economy is not growing as quickly as it should because businesses are worried about possible tax increases.

Uncertainty over tax rates, climate-change legislation and the impact on businesses of healthcare legislation are preventing many of them from expanding as well, he said.

http://www.einnews.com/unitedstates/

Two Currencies Coexist Together and Gradual Replacement ... a review ...

Links ~ Two Currencies Coexist Together and Gradual Replacement

*** Central Bank of Iraq: the rate of inflation to 2.7% encouraged the launch of liquidity to banks (2 articles) ...

The withdrawal of United States combat troops on August 31st falls during Ramadan ~ Iraq and the American Pullout: Separate We Must ...

previous article ~ The withdrawal of United States combat troops on August 31st falls during Ramadan ~ Iraq and the American Pullout: Separate We Must ...

Biden, in Baghdad, Urges Iraqis to Form a Government Now ...

"The U.S. has backed creating a new security council which would be led by Allawi - a body not provided for in the Iraqi Constitution - leaving Maliki to potentially remain as prime minister"

August 30, 2010

Biden, in Baghdad, urges Iraqis to form a government now

BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Baghdad on Monday to mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq and underscore America's "growing sense of urgency" that a new Iraqi government be formed.

Biden landed in Baghdad on a C-17 military transport plane - military flights are considered the only safe mode of air travel for United States officials despite the relative improvement in security - ahead of a ceremony on Wednesday marking the withdrawal of the last U.S. combat troops from Baghdad. The drawdown is in line with President Barack Obama's pledge to end the combat phase of the seven-year war by Sept 1.

Almost six months after Iraqis voted in national elections, talks to form a coalition government remain stalled over who would be prime minister.

"We are determined to build a long-term partnership with the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people, but to build a partnership you need a partner," Biden's national security adviser, Tony Blinken, told reporters shortly after arriving at the sprawling U.S. embassy in Baghdad's more secure Green Zone.

SECURITY FORCES ON HIGH ALERT AHEAD OF HANDOVER

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has placed security forces under high alert ahead of the Sept. 1 handover.

As Biden arrived in the country for his fifth visit as vice president, announcements sounded at the embassy warning personnel to take cover because of possible rocket or mortar attack.

Although Baghdad has been considerably calmer than a year ago, the U.S. embassy and the main military headquarters near the international airport have been the target of almost daily rocket attacks, which U.S. military officials blame on Iranian-backed groups. Visiting reporters were asked to wear body armor and helmets to move between buildings at the embassy compound.

The vice president was joined at the embassy by Gen. James Mattis, the visiting commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region, as well as Gen. Ray Odierno and Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, who takes over from Odierno as head of U.S. Forces-Iraq on Wednesday. Under the U.S.-Iraq security agreement, the remaining 50,000 troops here will stay on to advise and train Iraqi forces until the end of next year.

Blinken said the U.S. was not trying to dictate the outcome of talks to form a new government here but said: "There was a growing sense of urgency" that government formation move forward.

BIDEN TO BRIEF IRAQI LEADERS

Washington has called for an "inclusive government" to be formed and has been trying to find a way to bring in both Maliki and his major challenger Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who heads a political bloc with wide Sunni Arab participation.

The U.S. has backed creating a new security council which would be led by Allawi - a body not provided for in the Iraqi Constitution - leaving Maliki to potentially remain as prime minister.

National security adviser Blinken said the vice president would brief Maliki, the Iraqi president, vice president, and other political leaders on a major address on Iraq to be given by Obama on Tuesday night. He said among the themes were that the president was fulfilling his promise to "responsibly" end the war in Iraq and that the U.S. will remain engaged in the country, increasing its civilian presence here as troop levels decrease.

http://www.einnews.com/news.php?vid=CUueShFZ8FYBDUrJ