Iraq Oil Report

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No agreements have been reached yet in ongoing meetings between top ministers of the Iraqi national and Kurdistan regional governments, the top spokesman for the Iraqi government told United Press International.

“We stand on the same situation that all the oil contracts need to be approved by the central government,” Ali al-Dabbagh, speaking by phone from Baghdad, told United Press International. “Without such approval it is not operative.” …

A delegation from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government have been in Baghdad discussing the controversial oil deals signed by the KRG, as well as issues surrounding the KRG’s budget and security forces, and a timeline for a contentious referendum on the fate of the oil city of Kirkuk.

Read the entire story HERE.

Kirkuk and the Turkish Invasion

The Northern Oil Company marked the 80th anniversary of the drilling of the first oil well in the country in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, Marwan al-Ani reports for Azzaman.

Kirkuk was also the first stop on U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s surprise trip to Iraq, Anne Gearan reports for The Associated Press.

Kirkuk isn’t just any ordinary city in Iraq, as if there were one. Besides containing at least a dozen billion barrels of oil reserves, it’s a city mixed with Kurds, Turkomen, Christian and Sunni and Shia Arabs. But Saddam Hussein, looking to abuse his citizens and populate the oil-rich city with Arabs, kicked out a majority of Kurds, as well as others, and replaced them with Sunnis.

Kirkuk, and other locations outside the KRG official area, are part of disputed territories which the 2005 Constitution calls for settling by the end of this year. The referendum, allowing voters to choose to join the KRG, however, is technically impossible in the coming two weeks.

There apparently has been a deal reached to extend the referendum deadline for six months, the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

The United Nations special representative for Iraq was on the scene, meeting with Rice, in search of a solution.

The Kurds see Kirkuk as historically theirs, while others want it to remain under the purview of the central government. Sunni Iraqis think a KRG controlled Kirkuk will result in economic deprivation for them. And neighboring countries with a Kurdish population – Iran, Syria and Turkey, backing the Turkomen in Kirkuk – fear it will inspire nationalism.

Rice’s visit takes place while Turkish forces were bombing northern Iraq and sending troops across the border in a hunt for the separatist Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK. The organization, which was formed to fight for independence but now demands only basic Kurdish rights in Turkey, is accused of using Iraq mountainous hideouts to plan and stage deadly attacks across the border.

Turkey had threatened such a move but was calmed by U.S. agreement to share intelligence. And apparently, they did, as Ann Scott Tyson and Robin Wright report for The Washington Post.

Apparently the cross-border operation was limited, AFP reports, and oil prices that shot up upon the action settled, John Wilen reports for AP, but it nevertheless did not sit well with Iraqis.

Massoud Barzani, president of the KRG, refused to meet with Rice while, Shamal Aqrawi, Alaa Shahine and Giles Elgood report for Reuters.

“There was supposed to be a meeting between Rice and Mr. Massoud Barzani in Baghdad, but because of the U.S. position regarding the Turkish attacks and bombings, he preferred not to go,” Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (Massoud’s nephew) told reporters.

“The United States supervises (Iraq’s) air space, so it is not possible that a violation of this air space occurs without the knowledge or approval of the Americans,” he said.

Iraq’s Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Sumaida’ie issued a statement:

Whilst the Iraqi Government recognizes the concerns of Turkey for their own security, we strongly believe that the best way to deal with those concerns is through cooperation between all the relevant parties. This is fundamentally an internal political issue in Turkey which has spilt over our border, and has created problems for Iraq, which Iraq could do well without. The Turkish attacks add insult to injury and will not resolve the problem.

We again call upon our Turkish neighbors and our American friends to take the only wise course of action which is to work with the Government of Iraq including the Kurdistan Regional Government and take the necessary steps to thwart the efforts of any terrorist activity which threatens the neighbors of Iraq.

Iraq and Turkey have a mutual interest in stability and peace. These considerations and the prosperity of their respective peoples should guide their policies and actions, and not militaristic illusions that force solves everything.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also was not pleased because, as one might guess, there were civilians killed in the attacks.

Contrary to appearances, Ankara and Washington are now more closely aligned than at any time since the Iraq crisis started, Simon Tisdall writes for The Guardian.

The UK-based think tank Chatham House has a new report out titled The Kurdish Policy Imperative.

Society, Security & Politics

One person was killed by gunmen dressed in military garb in Basra, a day after the security file of the oil-rich province was turned over to Iraq, UPI reports.

For a roundup of the security handover, Amer Mohsen in IraqSlogger.

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to pledge British economic investment in Basra.

A roundup of Iraq’s press by UPI’s Hiba Dawood.

“In a city and country where outsiders are viewed with deep suspicion and attracting attention can imperil one’s life, Mohammed could never blend in, even if he wanted to.” Thus begins Cara Buckley’s excellent article in The New York Times titled: Gays Living in the Shadows of New Iraq.

Iraq’s teachers are demanding competitive pay, McClatchy Newspapers writes in its Inside Iraq blog.

The Mirage of Improvement in Iraq: Yet Another Facelift for the Failed Occupation, writes Dahr Jamail in IslamOnline.net.

Dollars and Bullets: The Role of US Aid in a Strategy for Iraq, by Anthony H. Cordesman for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on international pledges to support Iraq reconstruction, who has paid what and who is short on fulfilling promises.

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is opening 12 new universities in the country with the start of the academic year 2008-2009, Azzaman reports.

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