Bush: Iraqi government not met political goals

[rodeodance]

Source: Source: Reuters


Bush: Iraqi government not met political goals
18 Aug 2007 22:11:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Updates with White House comment, New York Times report)

By Tabassum Zakaria

CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug 18 (Reuters) -.
.............

In his weekly radio address, Bush said political progress was being made at the local level in restive Anbar province, with a mayor and municipal council now functioning in almost every town. "The rule of law is being restored," he said.

"Unfortunately, political progress at the national level has not matched the pace of progress at the local level," Bush said.

"The Iraqi government in Baghdad has many important measures left to address, such as reforming the de-Baathification laws, organizing provincial elections, and passing a law to formalize the sharing of oil revenues," he said.

But political progress at the local level should have a positive impact at the national level, Bush said.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18232817.htm

[bemildred]

1. The US government hasn't met any political goals for quite some time now.

The war on poverty to the war on terror, what have they not fucked up?
So what's the big deal?

[cliss]

3. You are right.

I guess I'm surprised he even brought it up.

Blue Ribbon Prize goes to George "Einstein" Bush for pointing this out:smoke:

[partylessinOhio]

2. It's all about the ...

O I L !

* ought to quit already.

[annabanana]

4. He's just pissed that Maliki went to Iran..

and acted like he was in charge of a sovereign nation or some such foolishness. .

[Skip Intro]

5. wtf does that talking hemorrhoid know about "the rule of law" - ?!

[truth2power]

6. sharing oil revenues..Bwa hahahahahaha...

I'm sure that's at the top of Little Lord Pissypants' list.

Soon as we get our hands on ALL the oil, it's "Good bye Charlie"!!

I don't think I've mentioned today how much I despise that little psychopath! :puke:

[jaybeat]

7. No F'ing Shit, Sherlock!

"The rule of law is being restored"

See, we gotta in-force it over there, so we can destroy it over here!

"The Iraqi government in Baghdad has many important measures left to address, such as..."

undoing the DISASTER we created when we decided we should marginalize not only the Sunnis but everyone else who made nice with the old regime in order to get by. Now, we're blaming THEM for OUR mistakes! Pretty clever, eh? (I dun learned that one from all my suc..., success..., successf..., er, all the years I sucked in bidness!)

"organizing provincial elections,"

'Course, first they gotta stop all that provincial civil warrin' they got going on, what with them militias 'n all. That's why we're given them militias new arms made in the USA, so that they'll have to buy bullets from US, instead of the Chinese. See, I AM workin' to protect US jobs!

"and passing a law to formalize the sharing of oil revenues"

with US!!! Heh, heh, heh, heh!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[stillcool]

8. This article says maybe September....

for that all important "bench-mark" to be met, so stability will come to the region, and troops can be re-deployed.

Earthtimes.org

Iraq oil law up in Sept., official says
Posted on : 2007-08-16 | Author : General News Editor
News Category : World

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) A top official in the Iraqi Embassy in Washington expects the oil law to top Parliament's agenda when lawmakers return to session at the start of next month.

Ghaleb El-Anbaki, third secretary and head of the Iraqi Embassy's political affairs department, told UPI the oil debate is "a sensitive issue," one related to history and entwined with the country's future.

"This will come up on the first item on the agenda of the next session of Parliament," he said, adding the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq's central government have compromises on "technical" issues, such as sharing power.

There has been no announcement on any deal, however, as Parliament is on recess this month. The oil law has been negotiated for more than a year but is stuck on issues such as the extent of federalism in controlling the exploration, development and production of the third-largest reserves in the world. Also unresolved is the extent foreign and private companies will be allowed into the sector.
Ben Lando, UPI Energy Editor
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Print Source :
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/94429.html

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/94980.html
Iraq gov't summit won't discuss oil law
BAGHDAD, Aug. 17 (UPI) Iraq's prime minister's spokesman said the meeting between political leaders to salvage their fledgling governing coalition will not discuss the oil law.

"The fundamentals are: political agreement among parliamentary blocs, possible reforms to the government and reviewing the government's program," said Ali al-Dabbagh, the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

"The summit will not discuss the oil and gas draft laws and the deBaathification law," he said.

Both laws are prickly in Iraq's fragile and terse political climate. Various factions can't agree on how much access foreign and private companies should have to Iraq's reserves, as well as how strong the central, regional and local governments should be in deciding how the reserves are explored, developed and produced.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/94980.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AD19F8CA-E314-4901-8DDE-450A31ED2255.htm
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2007
16:01 MECCA TIME, 13:01 GMT
Prominent Iraqis criticise oil law
By Ahmed Janabi

Al-Chalabi says Iraqi oil experts must be consulted
A statement, signed by 419 Iraqi oil experts, economists and intellectuals, expresses grave concern that the newly proposed law would deprive Iraq from its most vital natural resource, oil, and give foreign oil companies ultimate domination over Iraq's oil wealth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al Jazeera spoke to Kamal al-Kaisi, a former oil ministry official and Iraq's representative to Opec 1979-1985. He said: "The question is: Do we really need that oil law? Is it really that urgent, and cannot wait until Iraq is better off?

"Iraq has achieved the nationalisation of oil in 1973, we ran our oil industry effectively for decades, before and after the nationalisation, and our experience has become a model for the region's countries.

Production-sharing agreements, which would allow foreign oil companies to invest in oil, and pay a profit margin to the government have been widely criticised by Iraqi oil experts.

Al-Kaisi said: "If we want to increase oil production, then we do not need to risk our necks by surrendering our oil to foreign companies, it could be done internally. Iraq is full of high-quality oil engineers. All we need is to borrow some money, may be, but we definitely do not need the production share agreements (PSA).

"The nation is in ruins, people are afraid to stay in their own homeland, foreign troops are occupying the country, the government alliance is falling apart - among many other problems. Is the oil law a priority in such circumstances?

The proposed oil law licenses PSA for the first time in decades. The law states that foreign oil companies would pay 12% profit margin to the Iraqi government. Oil experts say this is an unjustifiably small figure in the light of the current high oil prices.
Source: AlJazeera