Aid To Iraq Revisited

SEARCH BLOG: IRAQ

The New York Times reports:

BAGHDAD — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here unannounced on Saturday to reassure Iraqis that the United States will support them, even as it withdraws combat troops. But with Iraq reeling from a week of suicide bombings, she got a jittery reception from a country that still plainly relies on the United States for security, stability and economic survival.

In an encounter with Iraqi students, journalists and activists, Mrs. Clinton was peppered with questions about how the United States could help Iraq in ways large and small — from building confidence in the Iraqi armed forces to supplying farmers with more up-to-date machinery.

What is the U.S. doing in Iraq? The USAID site has some information:

USAID/Iraq Newsletter: Volume I, Issue 2 [PDF, 1 mb]

USAID provides a focused approach to essential issues, addressing the root causes of instability and building the foundation for a prosperous Iraq. It bridges the transition from the short-term provision of essential services to long-term, integrated, and Iraqi-led development. USAID's overarching goal is to contribute to stability and security as part of the U.S. government National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.

USAID is a key element of the United States plan for victory in Iraq. Emphasizing responsiveness and sustainability, USAID/Iraq's new strategy calls for an expanded role in supporting focused stabilization, establishing the foundation for economic growth, and building national capacity. These efforts, in the short-term, will help stabilize areas impacted by the insurgency and mitigate the appeal of insurgent recruitment efforts. Over the longer term, the establishment of democratic institutions and sustainable economic development will form the foundations of a stable, democratic, and prosperous Iraq.

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Latest Iraq Success Stories

USAID Partnership with Iraqis Helps Revitalize Orchards, Vineyards - March 9, 2009
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Christopher D. Crowley and Future Agriculture Development Organization (FADO) Chairman Hyder Mohan participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to begin a program that will help invigorate Iraq's horticultural industry.

USAID Conference Advances Ideas on Farm Water Management in Iraq - March 4, 2009
Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Dr. Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Mission Director Thomas R. Delaney today inaugurated an irrigation symposium focused on improving farm productivity through effective water management and crop selection.

USAID Opens Shawakeh Fish Market to Attract Businesses, Restore Stability - February 20, 2009
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Karkh District Council, neighborhood councils, and the U.S. military, opened the Al Shawakeh Fish Market today to stimulate employment and business opportunities in the community.

What are the Iraqis doing to help themselves?

Saturday, 25 April 2009, 10:18 EDT

Oil export ban costs Iraq dearly, Kurds say

Ashti Hawrami, Iraqi Kurdistan's natural resources minister, gestures during an interview with Reuters in the city of Arbil April 16, 2009. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

The Kurdish Globe

Iraqi oil ministry still seen as a major barrier for export of oil.

Iraq, hungry for investment after six long years of war, is losing millions of dollars a day due to Baghdad's refusal to permit the Kurdish north to export oil, a top official in the largely autonomous region told Reuters.

«Iraq is losing millions and millions of dollars a day. We lost several billion dollars last year by not exporting from Kurdistan,» Ashti Hawrami, Iraqi Kurdistan's natural resources minister, said in an interview.

«Who is responsible for that? Not us. We are ready for that oil to be exported,» he said.

Iraq, where insurgent attacks persist even as U.S. and Iraqi officials hail a falling sectarian bloodshed from the dark days of 2006-07, is struggling to boost oil output and clinch deals with major global firms to develop its massive reserves.

But a dispute over where Kurdistan's boundaries lie is at the heart of ominous strains between Arbil and the government of Shi'te Arab Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad.

As Kurds complain of what they see as Maliki's increasingly authoritarian ways, some fear the rift could undermine Iraq's growing security. Especially sensitive is a Kurdish quest for control of disputed areas like the strategic oil city of Kirkuk.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry has repeatedly condemned oil contracts Kurdistan has signed with foreign companies as illegal, pitting Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani against Hawrami in a public war of wills.

'World class reserves'

Hawrami, from his residence in the town of Masif Salahuddin, perched on a hilltop outside the Kurdish capital Arbil, spoke of mismanagement and flawed strategy in Shahristani's steps to reinvent an underperfoming oil sector and make new deals.

Iraqi output is 2.3-2.4 million barrels per day, below what it was before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

On principle, Baghdad has spurned production-sharing deals investors prefer as it seeks long-term oil and gas deals. Hawrami called that impractical and inefficient-a «failed model.»

«It is a dogma-driven process, this nationalistic approach ? It's done for political reasons. Once you politicize the contracts you're asking for trouble. You're asking for reduction of state revenue and you frighten the contractors,» he said.

Hawrami had an indignant response to Shahristani's suggestion in a recent interview that partners in Kurdish deals, like DNO International of Norway, were

«They are professionals with excellent track records, but even if they are fourth rate or fifth rate companies as the ministry of oil may wish to label them, they have discovered world class reserves, first class operations, at the minimum cost possible.» There are few signs Baghdad is poised to end a long-running spat and let Kurdistan export oil through a national pipeline.

Hawrami said Shahristani reneged on promises last year to do so. Shahristani has said Kurdistan is holding back its own oil.

Such rancor bodes poorly for hopes for a swift end to Kurds' and Arabs' long impasse over a national oil law, needed to ease investors' concerns about hunkering down billions of dollars in an unproven democracy still mired in violence.

It may be even harder to render tough concessions as politicians of all stripes look to December's national polls.

«I'm not very optimistic at the moment,» Hawrami said.

The need to leverage Iraq's oil resources becomes all the more urgent as the government, which relies on oil for more than 95 percent of its revenue, grapples with low oil prices.

The drop from a record of $147 a barrel last year to near $50 threatens plans to buy weapons, build schools, pave roads and much more.

«We need to rebuild the country now-this year, not next year ... We wasted all that time and should not waste any more.»

It looks as if the new democracy in Iraq has achieved one thing: Iraq has perfectly mimicked the U.S. political self-interest system.

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