U.S. asked (sic) Iraq to set aside contract cash

[Cocoa]

US asked Iraq to set aside contract cash

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373914362

Less than two weeks before he left Iraq, Paul Bremer, the former US administrator, persuaded the incoming interim administration of Iyad Allawi to set aside at least $800m (€652m, £433.5m) of Iraqi funds to make sure contracts granted by Mr Bremer's occupying authority would be paid.

The move, designed to ensure that the former US-led Coalition Provisional Authority does not become embroiled in legal disputes with contractors, has been criticised by some Iraqi politicians as emphasising that the sovereignty of the new administration is only partial.

According to Zaab Sethna of the Iraqi National Congress, an opposition group led by the former exile Ahmad Chalabi: "They made the government hand over money. It raises large questions about sovereignty."

But Beth Marple, US spokeswoman in Baghdad, said that all requests for payment from the set-aside funds would have to be submitted to the interim administration, emphasising that Iraq rather than Washington controlled the resources.

more...

[UpInArms]

1. so when did that EO expire?

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/eo-13290.htm

Executive Order 13290 of March 20, 2003

Confiscating and Vesting Certain Iraqi Property

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990,

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, hereby determine that the United States and Iraq are engaged in armed hostilities, that it is in the interest of the United States to confiscate certain property of the Government of Iraq and its agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities, and that all right, title, and interest in any property so confiscated should vest in the Department of the Treasury. I intend that such vested property should be used to assist the Iraqi people and to assist in the reconstruction of Iraq, and determine that such use would be in the interest of and for the benefit of the United States.

I hereby order:

Section 1. All blocked funds held in the United States in accounts in the name of the Government of Iraq, the Central Bank of Iraq, Rafidain Bank, Rasheed Bank, or the State Organization for Marketing Oil are hereby confiscated and vested in the Department of the Treasury, except for the following:

(a) any such funds that are subject to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, or that enjoy equivalent privileges and immunities under the laws of the United States, and are or have been used for diplomatic or consular purposes, and

(b) any such amounts that as of the date of this order are subject to post-judgment writs of execution or attachment in aid of execution of judgments pursuant to section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (Public Law 107 297), provided that, upon satisfaction of the judgments on which such writs are based, any remainder of such excepted amounts shall, by virtue of this order and without further action, be confiscated and vested.

Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to perform, without further approval, ratification, or other action of the President, all functions of the President set forth in section 203(a)(1)(C) of IEEPA with respect to any and all property of the Government of Iraq, including its agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities, and to take additional steps, including the promulgation of rules and regulations as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate such functions in accordance with applicable law. The Secretary of the Treasury shall consult the Attorney General as appropriate in the implementation of this order.

Sec. 3. This order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.

George W. Bush

THE WHITE HOUSE,

March 20, 2003.

Oh, that's right - those things don't expire - they just keep chugging along.