Adding fuel to Iraq's fire

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Adding fuel to Iraq's fire
By Kathleen Ridolfo


Iraq's oil minister losing his job is just one symptom of an industry plagued by underproduction, insurgent attacks, skyrocketing fuel costs and labor problems at refineries.

The outgoing Iraqi government placed Minister for Oil Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum on mandatory administrative leave after he publicly criticized Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's administration for implementing a plan to increase the cost of cooking fuel and gasoline to domestic consumers more than fivefold.

One unnamed government official was quoted as saying that Jaafari considered Ulum's criticism "unforgivable". The incident followed mounting tension between the two men after Ulum

withdrew from Jaafari's United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) ahead of the December 15 parliamentary election. He formed his own party, the Future Iraq Grouping, to compete in the election.

The government's decision to increase fuel prices was part of an agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund on December 23 for a US$685 million standby loan, granted by the IMF after Iraq secured an $11 billion debt-exchange agreement with its commercial creditors for debts incurred by the regime of former leader Saddam Hussein.


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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HA06Ak01.html