Al-Sudani chairs the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Implementing the Development Path
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani chaired the fifth meeting of the Supreme Committee for the implementation of the Al-Faw Grand Port and Development Road project.
The Prime Minister’s Media Office has issued a statement stating that an Italian consultant presented an economic feasibility study for three projects during a meeting. These projects include the Al-Faw port project and its attached docks and squares, the associated railway project, and the land road project, and its details.
During the meeting, they reviewed the latest proposals from reputable international companies to implement the project.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shi`a al-Sudani completed his first year in office on October 27 with a mixed record of successes and failures owing to objective domestic and external circumstances that impacted his parliament-approved government program. The program was a hybrid, two-part document. In the first part, Sudani laid out his own goals, which were firmly oriented toward improving services to citizens. The second was a political agreement adopted by the State Management Alliance, a post-2022 election coalition forged between the Shia Coordination Framework (CF), the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance led by Speaker of the House of Representatives Mohammed al-Halbousi, and the two Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The agreement embodied political demands made by each of the allies, and provided the basis for the formation of Sudani’s government in October 2022. The program spelled out five broad priorities—combating corruption; creating jobs; addressing poverty; reforming the economic and financial systems; and improving public services—and elaborated steps to address them. What was absent from Sudani’s governing document were the overtly political goals that were left to the overarching political agreement forged by the State Management Alliance, an absence that in the end may have impacted the prime minister’s ability to make headway on his much-vaunted goals of government.
Hit and Miss on the Economy
During his first year in office, Sudani harnessed his energies to improving services and presented parliament with an unprecedented and record-setting three-year budget to secure continuity of funding for projects and programs. However, the $153 billion 2023-2024 budget(about one-third of which is a budget deficit) is heavily weighted toward operating costs, and only $38 billion is allocated for developmental investment, an imbalance criticized by many observers. To ease unemployment quickly, as many as 600,000 government jobs were addedto the already inflated government payroll, in a clearly populist move to win public approval and avert renewed protests.
Sudani oversaw the expansion of the social welfare network to include hundreds of thousands of needy families and individuals.
To alleviate poverty, Sudani oversaw the expansion of the social welfare network to include hundreds of thousands of needy families and individuals. He has pushed the Ministry of Health to improve service in the abysmally broken health sector. The government has launched road and highway projects that can be completed quickly. But these remain short term solutions to deep economic problems, such as a negligible private sector contribution to the gross domestic product, heavy dependence on hydrocarbons and imports, and almost total reliance on government as the employer of first resort. What makes this worse are a sclerotic byzantine bureaucracy and entrenched political interests that impede progress in long term and necessary economic reform.
To improve the economic outlook in the medium term, Sudani has energetically pursued foreign investment, but only with some success. The multi-pronged $27 billion agreementwith TotalEnergies to develop Iraq’s oil and gas sectors was signed in its final form in July 2023 after languishing for years following objections by Iraqi politicians. Gulf countries have also stepped in: the deal with TotalEnergies includes a 25 percent investment by QatarEnergy. In July also Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each pledged $3 billion dollars in investments in Iraq. Although these are capital-intensive investments, they will serve two important Sudani objectives: to create associated private sector jobs and to reduce Iraq’s dependence on fuel and gas imports from Iran and other sources. More ambitiously, last May Sudani proposed a “Development Road,” a $17 billion transport projectthat will link Al-Faw Port in southern Iraq with Turkey, and thence to Europe, and generate $4 billion annually and create thousands of jobs.
While partnerships in the energy sector are forthcoming with international corporations, there is little foreign appetite for investment in industries like agribusiness or manufacturing. Red tape, corruption, an opaque legal environment, and uncertain security are all barriers. To top off challenges to the economy, the Iraqi dinar’s decline against the dollar has persisted. Ironically, in February 2023, the government revaluated the Iraqi dinar from IQ1,460 to the dollar to IQ1,320, hoping to strengthen the national currency. While this rate has officially held, the move backfired in the parallel market: the dinar fell to 1,560 to the dollar in early October, creating even larger profits for speculators, but also prompting the Central Bank of Iraq to announce a halt to dollar cash withdrawals that commences on January 1, 2024. And despite multiple banking measures, some under pressure from the United States Treasury, dollar smuggling out of Iraq continues unabated.
Inability to Fight Entrenched Corruption
On Sudani’s first stated priority, combating the “pandemic” of corruption, the record is patchy. There have been several convictions on corruption charges, some of which may be politically driven, of former provincial governors, mid-level officials, and others, yet Sudani’s anti-corruption drive has failed to target the powerful political parties and individuals who instigate, benefit from, and provide cover for corruption rackets. Government contracts, whether by federal or provincial authorities, are a rich mine for personal or party enrichment. Impunity has reached epic proportions. This was illustrated by what was called the “heist of the century” in which a monumental $2.5 billion sum was embezzled from the tax authorities of Iraq. In this bizarre and convoluted case, three prominent people were convicted: a businessman, a former member of parliament, and a senior official in the state-owned Rafidain Bank. Despite their admission of guilt and their conviction, both the businessman and the former MP were released after returning a modest percentage of the funds they stole, and they are said to have left the country soon after.
Sudani’s anti-corruption drive has failed to target the powerful political parties and individuals.
There is a national consensus that such a huge theft could not have been carried out without the involvement of political parties and influential politicians, yet none has been named or accused. Such impunity and the government’s failure to get to the roots of corruption has made the public rightly skeptical of the government’s will or ability to arrest this scourge. With political cover, corruption is systemic, entrenched, and often backed by intimidation from armed militias. Indeed, Sudani cannot challenge the political parties that brought him to power, despite the fact that corruption undermines virtually every aspect of his agenda.
Ambitious but Circumscribed Foreign Policy
The same gap between Sudani’s goals and the political reality preventing him from realizing them is seen in relations with Arab neighbors. Sudani has successfully advanced the steps taken by his predecessor, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to strengthen economic and security relations with them, including Jordan, Egypt, and the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A major goal is to improve the availability of electrical power and diversifying sources of gas and fuel away from dependence on Iran. For example, by the end of 2024 Iraq will join the electric grid established by the GCC Electricity Interconnection Authority, providing Iraq with much needed power from GCC surpluses. Iraq and Jordan have also established an electricity connection that will supply electrical power to western provinces in exchange for oil exports to Jordan. In addition to energy cooperation, Iraq has stepped up security coordination with both Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
However, the rapprochement with Arab countries is not welcomed by some Shia political parties and members of the Iran-friendly Popular Mobilization Forces. To be sure, detente between Saudi Arabia and Iran has made it easier for Sudani to woo GCC countries, but suspicions remain. Militias like al-Nujaba Movement, a radical group closely aligned with Iran, has
condemned the building of a long-proposed oil pipeline between Basra and Aqaba, Jordan, and Iraqis who support it. Even as PM Sudani, in his September 22, 2023 address to the UN General Assembly, asserted Iraq’s commitment to respect UN resolutions, MPs from the Coordination Framework were decrying the 2012 agreement with Kuwait over the Khor Abdullah waterway, which was ratified by the Iraqi parliament. Simultaneously, the Supreme Federal Court issued a ruling declaring the agreement unconstitutional and void. The backlash from Kuwait and the GCC countries was immediate and unequivocal, infectingcarefully nurtured relations with Iraq.
Sudani has to look over his shoulder at the hardline Shia armed groups both inside and outside the Coordination Framework.
In his UN address, the prime minister declared Iraq’s determination to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy, preserving good relations with all nations. Meanwhile, the social media of Shia militia groups were denouncing US and NATO presence in Iraq as a form of occupation and accusing them of promoting “moral deviance.” While Sudani attempts to achieve some stability and even-handedness in foreign policy, he has to look over his shoulder at the hardline Shia armed groups both inside and outside the Coordination Framework.
Endless Political Dysfunction
Such messaging confusion raises a broader question about Sudani’s freedom to pursue his agenda. To the frustration of Sunnis and Kurds, the prime minister has not been able to, or possibly has not been willing to, fulfill the demands laid out in the political agreement that underpins the State Management Alliance and the formation of the current government. The political agreement stipulated a major Kurdish demand: negotiation and approval of a gas and oil law within six months; by the end of the first year, the law is still stalled and differences between Baghdad and Erbil persist. Sunni demands for the return of internally displaced persons to their original homes within six months have not been implemented, and the Amnesty Law eagerly advocated by Sunnis has met with firm opposition from Shia leaders. Similarly, Sudani has been unable to re-deploy paramilitary units (militias) out of urban areas, as stipulated in the agreement, and restrict their activities to national defense under his authority as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Coordination Framework parties are using obstruction tactics to assert their authority over their putative Sunni and Kurdish partners. Shortly after the formation of the government in October 2022, the parties within the CF launched a virulent campaign to vilify and unseat Speaker Halbousi. They also attacked vital Kurdish interests, applauding, if not instigating, two Supreme Court
rulings that effectively shut down the Kurdistan Regional Government’s oil sector and Kurdish revenues. The Kurds have complained of increasing moves toward centralization. While the prime minister tries to avoid the labyrinths of politics, keep the peace among his backers, and pursue his service agenda, he is inevitably hampered by political divisions and acrimony.
Sudani has done nothing in the past year to bring armed militias under state control, as promised in his political program. Thus the question of who controls policy and decision-making came to a head over the current war on Gaza. On October 19, Prime Minister Sudani published an op-ed in a leading Arab daily in which he condemned Israel’s attacks on civilians, stressed the need for a cease-fire and delivery of humanitarian aid, and called for a unified Arab stance on Palestinian rights. After October 17, however, militia groups launched repeated drone and rocket attacks on bases housing US military personnel. In an explicit interview on October 22, a leading member of the Coordination Framework stated that the Iraqi Resistance Factions (militias) “do not need to coordinate with the Iraqi government regarding their positions and actions against the U.S., ” and will make their own decisions regarding operations against the US presence in Iraq. As if in response, the following day Sudani’s military spokesperson issued a statement rejecting attacks on US military personnel and promised to pursue perpetrators. Nevertheless, over the next several days, attacks by militias against the United States only intensified, and no government action was forthcoming. Leading members of the Coordination Framework called for the expulsion of the US ambassador to Iraq and the closure of the embassy, despite the prime minister’s pledge to protect foreign missions. Such security and political instability, a veritable fog of uncertainty, is sure to severely undermine what Sudani set out to do twelve months ago.
On December 18, Iraq will hold its first provincial elections in ten years. These will be vigorously contested, not least among the different factions within the Coordination Framework, several of which will compete against each other in the central and southern provinces and in some predominantly Sunni ones. Depending on the outcome of these elections, Sudani’s ability to maneuver between the factions, as he does now, may be further restricted. Equally unsettling for the prime minister, the outcome of the provincial elections is likely to determine the outcome of parliamentary elections in 2025 and his own political future. It is thus likely that the post-provincial elections period will be a touchstone for Sudani’s political acumen and resolve, as well as an important moment in the history of the country as it deals with the difficulties facing his multi-faceted and ambitious government program.
The Arab World: Charting a Course Towards a Brighter Future
The Arab world, a tapestry of rich history and diverse cultures, has weathered a myriad of challenges and threats. From the zenith of the Arab Golden Age, a time of unprecedented civilization advancement, to today’s convoluted geopolitical landscape, the region has experienced a tumultuous journey. One of the most significant threats is the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab nations between France and the UK, redrawing Middle East borders and tearing apart clans and families.
The Fall from the Golden Age
The Arab world’s illustrious history is marked by the Islamic Golden Age, a period of profound contributions to human knowledge and culture. Despite the strides made during this era, the region tumbled from this peak, unable to protect its enlightenment stage from external conspiracies and intrigues.
Navigating Complex Alliances and Animosity
Today, the region treads a delicate balance of alliances and animosities, with questionable dynamics between the West, Iran, and Israel. While there is declared hostility, actions often contradict official positions, seemingly serving declared enemies at the detriment of Arab nations. Iran’s expansionist ambitions, with evident control over countries like Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon, add to the region’s instability. The enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to threaten regional peace.
The Threat of Unity
The unity and stability of the Arab world appear to unsettle Western countries and their partners. It begs the question: is it in the interest of America, the West, and Israel to join forces with Iran to hinder the Arab world’s progress, prosperity, and potential return to its golden age?
Charting a Path Towards a Brighter Future
In the face of looming dangers, the Arab world must prioritize unity, cooperation, education, and innovation to secure its future. Collective action at regional and international levels is crucial to confront the complex issues facing Arab nations. The Arab League could potentially serve as a platform for cooperation and conflict resolution.
The recent Gaza war poses a unique challenge for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, straining their relations with Israel amidst escalating public sentiment. Iran’s role in the Gaza conflict and the growing frustration among the Arab public against Palestinian injustice potentially create a recipe for chaos in the Middle East.
The upcoming COP28 climate summit in Abu Dhabi unfolds against this geopolitical discord and anticipated record-breaking heat. The summit’s focus on emissions reductions, compensation for climate-impacted countries, and renewable energy capacity increase could face resistance, adding another layer of complexity to the Arab world’s challenges.
Ultimately, the Arab world confronts a maelstrom of challenges, including geopolitical tensions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iranian expansionist ambitions, and the Gaza war. The path to a brighter future entails prioritizing unity, cooperation, education, innovation, and conflict resolution. The region’s resilience and historical contributions to human civilization provide a beacon of hope for surmounting modern era dangers and steering towards a brighter future.
Welcome, everybody to the big call tonight, It is Tuesday, November 7th and you're listening to the big call – thanks for tuning in all over the globe, wherever you're listening from hopefully you're hearing me in your own language - which is an amazing software deal set up with our satellite team, or sat team for short. So we've had a really good time getting the call out to 182 or 184 countries and or near around 19 to 20 million listeners.
Let's go into the Intel tonight. let's see where we are. Now, what's interesting is Saturday, we had word that the NESARA had been activated.
I don't believe it has fully been implemented, but at least it's started. It started. It's moving along. Have we had a major announcement about it? No, we had a few little entreatments, announcements about NESARA - I think we're definitely in the month to receive some benefit from NESARA.
But don't confuse NESARA with GESARA -The GESARA is the global economic Strategic and Recovery Act. That's for all the countries outside of the United States, it’s an international program.
Ours is NESARA the National Economic Strategic and Recovery Act.
And it's a real thing. And it's gonna, we've talked about it for I don't know maybe for a couple of years on the big call as far as what it includes and one of the things as part of NESARA is our new currency our new asset back primarily gold backed currency we call the USN - United States notes. Some call it United States Treasury note that they're using the 3 letter designation - but on the actual money, the bills, the spendingfoldable money, it should say United States Treasury note no longer FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE – the FED is dead.
Federal Reserve has gone that was part of the old corporations of the United States. We are now under the restored Republic of the United States under a constitutional form of government and that's what we're operating in now.
Seems like Johnson was was sworn in by Steve Scalise last week. That was an indicator that he was actually Speaker Number 44 - Whereas Pelosi was Speaker Number 52.
So the number the nomenclature of that has gone back to what happened after the Republic of 1873.
So that's why the numbers are gonna seem to change when it comes to the President of the Republic, etc, because we're no longer under the corporation of the United States.
So the USN has been out and being traded for a couple of weeks now and we're moving forward in that direction, - the currency – The USN currency that's foldable – putting in your purse or money clip – whatever - that money has been at the redemption center ready for us - for about two years now - it's been making its way to the various banks in the last week, it hadn't been shuffled around and moved – and is in play – Now when will it come out ? to everyday citizens? – to everybody – not just us going to the redemption centers - To the everyday citizens who everybody, not just us, we're going to the redemption centers. When will it come out to the general public?
I don't know for sure if it's going to be this week, but you would think it should be this week - based on the information that we're getting, will explain that in a minute . We know that the redemption center so when we go in to do our exchanges and redemption of Zim It will be there - And even though they do not want us to take more than about $3,500 in new money in the cash if you will - we can do that
They just don't want us to be hit so to speak for too much cash or whatever – I don’t know
If you're not gonna take any cash - That's okay - you don't have to – it’s going to be available. There's probably in 500 or 1,000 increments. So you just get it like that –
Alright, so let's go back to the timeline. We were on a timeline that looked like we could get notified today - But no notification not yet. I'm always looking for that trying to find out when the numbers coming
So here's the latest information that we got today. and even another piece that came in tonight -This is what it's centering around - tomorrow night 7pm Eastern Standard Time - It's going to be on Newsmax alternative news sites.- right side broadcasting Breitbart etc
President Trump's rally in Hialeah, Florida, which is sort of north and west of Miami as I remember – a cool little cuban community – don’t know what the venue is - where he will actually be speaking, but he's gonna be speaking - because it's hard to start those exactly on tim,e - when he appears at them. They may not be on time. There are several reasons for that.
But let's just take it between seven and eight. That timeframe is when President Trump is supposed to be making a blockbuster announcement, and hopefully, several announcements. I hope he makes five or six announcements. In that time I can think of a few that I'd like to hear.
So we'll see what he actually brings out. And here’s the point we've been told by several people, make sure you hear his speech make sure you hear the announcements that he's gonna make. sometime between seven and eight Eastern tomorrow night Wednesday, the eighth oh, oh no, you didn’t .
The 8th Yes, guess whose favorite day the eighth besides me. CHINA !!!! that's right.
I just, you know what, I should have caught this last week. I should have caught this. Because the eighth is the day that China likes because of the number of new beginnings and financial prosperity and so on. And I think it's very possible that what we're going to get comes out tomorrow.
Now here's, Here's where we had information that said, the notifications that we're looking for the 800 numbers that could come out right before announcements, or a few hours after his announcements are over - the latest and I think maybe the most accurate piece that we got was that would speak in a place betyween 7 and 8 and then shortly after he speaks we would get our notifications .
To me it makes the most sense. It's not going to come out of the morning that it may as well come out after he speaks and I don't know what he's gonna say exactly. I can think of several things, but I think we just need to tune in and watch it. I'm going to watch it on Newsmax, supposedly fun Newsmax and I'll record it and watch it on that.
But here's the point At three o'clock this afternoon. - The 800 numbers were being reloaded and reworked with the emails, the emails tied to us you know our emails, they know everybody's email and everything about the email for us that have already been sent in. They know that they have a treasury and what we're saying is that they have reorganized, reposition the email, to work alongside and part of the Starlink satellite system.
Now, in so doing, they have eliminated approximately half a million emails.
Why would you say why? Because they know who these people are. They are not worthy of this exchange. They’re bad people are on the edge and most people will not be getting the toll free numbers or email.
They may try to get it somewhere else they might go to the big call universe and see it there. But the point is there when they get to the redemption center, they will not be allowed to exchange.
Now what's happening is you know this, this is ready to go and you know, I told you guys I wouldn't call it but this is probably as close as I've ever been.
I like today. I like tomorrow. I like it right before right after President Trump speaks tomorrow night.
From what we understand, we've got USN out we've gotten ready, guys, there's the only thing we were waiting for today right now is the okay by the military. To give to the Treasury they would have the green light to give to the redemption centers and banks.
So it's military says okay. Its time to go. Treasury. It said command from the military says Okay, its time to roll. They contact the banks and the redemption centers and then they are that we're ready to roll With these 800 numbers.
If anybody thinks that there are no 800 numbers or actually it's probably an 800 number.
Okay, if there isn't one, or there are no redemption centers or there is no zim --- if people are thinking that a certain person that I think believes that the way – they are way out in left field - they just don't know anything. They really don't know anything - if they don't know this.
And that's just what is – it is so obvious so clear - our contacts are at the redemption centers we know what's going on. We know, for example, that there was a very, very good dinar rate on the bank screens yesterday with on the back screens, and it'll migrate to the front screen. of the banks. but realize this, our redemption center rates will be higher than the regular bank screens.
Bank screens are tied to the Forex redemption centers are not. They have their own rates and will have the very best and highest rates for us. So that's why we are to use a toll free number - we think has an 800 toll free number, and to call tt set our appointments and then go to exchange - if Intel I gpt today from 4 separate military sources looks to be very good - If that occurs and we do get notifications tomorrow, Let's call it tomorrow night. Because that's what it is - tomorrow night. If that goes out as we've been told, we would set our appointments and start exchanges on Thursday the 9th
Okay, so that's really the long and the short of where we are on the Intel.
Like I said the email list is being trimmed down and they have the all of that email with the starling satellite system
So I'm excited about where we are. Yeah, I would have rather had it yesterday or today. But you know what I should have known when this rally the President Trump's gonna do I only have one great Cuban community, A lot of clothing manufacturers and so on to bring a little area outside of Miami
For that to occur, they should have told me something - especially that its on the 8th - but I was thinking we would get it sooner - So my bad on that.
I think everything is set - that's what I wanted to bring up tonight.
I think we're really getting down to the water you guys. I think this is fine that I would love to make sure that you do. However you find it in such rally tomorrow. Hopefully he makes several positive announcements for us. I think he will - Alright so let's pray the call out.