Iraq Oil Report

Plus:
*Parliament held up on election law
*Voter registration low
*Alive in Baghdad: Getting to School in Iraq

The Bush administration would press the Iraqi government to adopt an oil trust fund for distributing revenue or risk economic assistance under a bill proposed by Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Ensign, Ben Lando reports for United Press International.

The New York Democrat and the Nevada Republican see their legislation as an end-around the Iraqi political debate over an oil law and a measure to rally Iraqis while ensuring oil transparency.

If approved, the State Department must give the Iraqi government an “oil trust plan” and certify it to six congressional committees within 90 days of enactment of the legislation.

If the department fails to do so, 10 percent of certain reconstruction aid in the Economic Support Fund to Iraq would be withheld immediately, and another 10 percent every 30 days until the certification is completed.

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Iraqi lawmakers failed to agree Wednesday on a new U.N. proposal aimed at breaking the deadlock over a law paving the way for provincial elections, which the U.S. considers key to building peace among the country’s rival religious and ethnic communities, The Associated Press reports.The balloting has been delayed due to Kurdish objections to power-sharing proposals for oil-rich Kirkuk, which Kurds want to annex into their semiautonomous region.

As Iraq’s parliament haggles over an election law, election officials say they are disappointed by low voter registration ahead of provincial polling that could take place this year, Gina Chon and Zaineb Naji report for The Wall Street Journal. Last month, only 2.9 million out of 17 million eligible voters went to election centers during a registration drive, according to election-commission figures. That was after officials extended their deadline by a week. Just 100,000 of Iraq’s internally displaced population of more than two million have applied for absentee ballots.

Alive in Baghdad: Getting to School in Iraq

Over the last five years violence, terrorism, and fundamentalism have a severe impact on the ability of Iraq’s children to receive an adequate education. This week Alive in Baghdad’s Isam Rasheed speaks with parents, teachers, and children about the issues facing the Iraqi education system.

Vice President Dick Cheney gave former House Majority Leader Dick Armey misleading information to win his support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a book says, UPI reports.

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