My Conversation with my CBI Contact 12/13/23:
As you know I try to talk to my Iraqi CBI contact each week on Wednesdays and sometimes also on Saturdays. My contact is a very god friend that I met when I was stationed in Iraq during the occupation timeframe. I trust what my contact says to me. Besides we are getting information first hand from an actual citizen living, working and experiencing everything happening in Iraq without bias or propaganda.
We began our conversation with talk about the disputes going on with the US forces and all the bombings. This is important I was told. Who is conducting the bombings and does the US forces have a right to protect themselves? It was confirmed to me that this is all a movement to rid Iraq once again of US forces. There is lots of propaganda being told to the people about this to get pressure on the government to rid them of the US.
Remember too, the Iranian militia has remained in Iraq post ISIS war. That was over 16 years already since the war ended (2007) and so many look at them now as Arabic, Moslum brothers compared to the western armed forces, at least this is what many Iranian Shia think. Remember there are patriotic Shia and then there are Iranian Shia. This is the middle eastern culture. But even the citizens are afraid (mostly Sunni) of what will happen if the US forces do pull out entirely again. Who will fill the gap this time as there will be a gap and the Iraqi forces are not strong enough yet. It is like a double-edged sword. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. So many Iraqi people are confused.
This time, if the US does pull out, it is widely felt by the average citizen the Iranian Hezbollah militia forces and not ISIS the citizens will fear the most. They walk the streets in their uniforms with arms. They claim they are still here to protect the Iraqi people from ISIS. Really? But, my contact says this is just an excuse to occupy Iraq and a contradiction. Like the US forces, but there are even more Iranians, they too are occupiers. My contact does not understand why the US does not challenge them as occupiers too and put this issue on the table with the government.
Then we changed the subject and talked about the currency reform. I asked about the impact of the confrontations with the US over their military stationed in Iraq. I was told the situation it does impact the progress of the planned events for December as the committee was brought into a meeting with the leadership and told everything was now “on hold”. I know, I know I too was a bit shocked at the news and did not like it. But I know for a fact that January is the best and most opportune time to revalue and drastically change the program rate to an international rate on the global exchanges. But the program rate is already on a pseudo-float within the country.
I asked what the next targeted steps where and I was told that the committee does not even know and were told just to standby and the CBI is going to try to “push” to continue as they are ready for the next step in the process. I was told the IMF is negotiating the new peg for the dinar but to remember it impacts all countries in this new peg not just Iraq. I was told this is close to being completed an should be done this week ending. This lines us up for next week to begin the currency sway out, but they told me it is delayed until further notice. So, at least we now have a timeline when they did plan it and still could do it based on what happens with the US bombing issue. My contact did reiterate that the process now is irreversible” and must go forward. The US had already given assurances they would not back out if the CBI moved ahead. So all I can say is let’s sit tight and watch what does happen in the coming week.
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