Why only [spend] 20% [of their budget] in 11 months? IOO they're waiting for a new exchange rate. They're going to use their currency...pressure will be reduced on the citizens by adding value to their currency...Stop using the dollar on January 1, 2024 because the monetary reform education is the key and we're telling you what we are doing. IMO they are telling them all so they will understand where the monetary reform process is at at this moment.
Why only [spend] 20% [of their budget] in 11 months? IOO they're waiting for a new exchange rate. They're going to use their currency ...pressure will be reduced on the citizens by adding value to their currency...
Stop using the dollar on January 1, 2024 because the monetary reform education is the key and we're telling you what we are doing. IMO they are telling them all so they will understand where the monetary reform process is at at this moment.
The 1st of January is when no other currency will be used by Iraqi citizens inside the country except their own currency. Don't you think that's a clue! They are pretty much telling you without telling you. Can you pick up on this intent? You don't have to be a detective to pick up on a clue like this!
REVEALING A DEEP DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN BAGHDAD AND WASHINGTON OVER THE AMERICAN PRESENCE IN IRAQ – URGENT
The past weeks have witnessed a long series of attacks on positions occupied by American soldiers in Iraq. Iraqi factions also targeted the American embassy building in Baghdad, and fired missiles towards the Americans in Syria
It was noteworthy that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made repeated contacts with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, and visited Baghdad once, and US statements always indicated the need to protect American soldiers and diplomats, and considered this the responsibility of the Iraqi government “because it is the host government”.
Serious Disagreement
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the Sudanese at least once, and the Pentagon statement at the time repeated what the State Department had said, including thanking the Sudanese government because it considered the attacks a “terrorist act .”
However, upon verifying the content of the communications between the American ministers and the Prime Minister of Iraq, it became clear, according to Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath sources, that there is a deep disagreement between the two parties .
Sources in Washington confirmed to Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath that the Iraqi government’s words denouncing the attacks were limited to the headquarters of the American embassy, and did not include attacks on American soldiers. Ministers Blinken and Austin expressed in their communications their commitment to the Iraqi commitment and condemnation of the attacks on American soldiers .
There are not many details about the outcome of the claim, but it seems that it has not reached a conclusion .
” The American raid is an assault “
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani expressed his categorical rejection of the American raid in response to the attacks launched by the Iraqi factions, and in his conversations with American officials, he considered that the United States had “blatantly” violated Iraqi sovereignty when the American forces took the initiative and bombed the positions of one of the Iraqi factions and killed a number of members, hours after an attack on American soldiers .
(These are Iranian militia targeting US soldiers in order to force the GOP to force the withdrawal of American soldiers. Iran does not like the US presence and what will happen AGAIN once they are gone, if they pull out. Remember 2004 and ISIS? )
The Americans repeated during their contacts that this was the right of reply, and they insisted on doing the same in the future .
Sources for “Al-Arabiya” and “Al-Hadath” said that this dispute prompted the two parties to begin seriously discussing a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi territory .
Disagreements Accumulate
These sources did not confirm that Iraq was the one who initiated the request, but it is clear that talk of the Americans’ withdrawal occurred more than once .
Previous information stated that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken indicated in talks with the Iraqi Prime Minister that repeating the attacks would mean the withdrawal of the Americans and the rest of the coalition forces from Iraq because the matter is unacceptable, and this time it appears that the Iraqis were the ones who raised the issue of withdrawal due to the US raid on the site. The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades on November 21 .
The impasse begins with the fact that the Iraqi government considers it difficult to oppose attacks on American forces. Many Iraqis view the American forces as “occupying” forces and cannot be defended, just as they are obligated to protect American diplomats on the territory of the host country .
They are no longer consultants
The Iraqis also consider that after the bombing, the presence of American forces in Iraq is no longer advisory and auxiliary, as was agreed upon with the Joe Biden administration at the end of 2021, and the new mission for the Americans began in the year 2022 .
The Americans consider Iraq to be a strategic interest for them and do not want to withdraw from it. This was confirmed by US government spokesmen two weeks ago when they were asked about the situation in Iraq .
The Americans also say that their mission in Iraq is still necessary to confront ISIS and ensure that the terrorist organization does not return to any previous activity, and they do not disclose that their presence in Iraq helps them achieve other goals, such as balancing the rising Iranian influence on Iraqi territory .
Exit by mutual consent
The Iraqis, for their part, at least the Prime Minister’s government did not want the Americans to leave, and now they do not want a chaotic exit or in a turbulent atmosphere.
When the American forces left at the end of 2011, the Iraqi government was keen for things to appear to be in agreement between the two parties, and the two parties showed clear concern for some details such as the handover and delivery programs .
One of the oddities of the relations between the two countries is that Joe Biden, the current President of the United States, visited Iraq at the time and was the US Vice President at the time, and Lloyd Austin was the commander of the US forces in Iraq when they lowered the flag and left, and he is now the US Secretary of Defense .
The Iraqis assert that they do not want to replace the American presence with any other presence or influence, alluding to the Iranian military and political presence, but the current government will find it necessary to balance the various Iraqi movements. So far, there is no opposition to the American exit, but the Kurdistan Regional Government and some Iraqi Sunni movements may find The Americans’ departure created a vacuum that they had not hoped for, while other movements, such as the Sadrist movement and the Iraqi factions loyal to Iran, called for the departure of American forces and considered them “occupation forces.”
Al-Sadr directs his supporters: Do not attack their “corrupt” elections and preserve Iraq’s stability
Al-Sadr directs his supporters - Do not attack their corrupt elections and preserve Iraqs stabilityShafaq News/ On Wednesday, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, directed his supporters not to attack electoral centers for the provincial council elections, which he described as “corrupt elections.”
Al-Sadr said in his account on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), “We are people who are purified of the filth of their corruption and the ploy of their elections. They are people who corrupt… and God does not like corruption. So be pure and do not attack their corrupt elections… and preserve Iraq’s security and stability and Gaza’s dignity.. The Commander of the Faithful also maintained stability after the robbing of his caliphate and the attack on his beloved Fatima al-Zahra. Iraq is your responsibility, religion is your responsibility, and doctrine is your responsibility.”
Provincial council elections are scheduled to be held next Monday, December 18, in all Iraqi governorates except the Kurdistan Region.
CORRUPTION IN IRAQ: PARLIAMENTARY STATEMENTS ABOUT THE LOSS OF $21 BILLION
Statements about corruption in Iraq raised controversy again, after a member of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Parliament, Muhammad Nouri Al-Khuzaie, announced the disappearance of 35 trillion Iraqi dinars (more than 21 billion dollars). The dispute escalated in Iraqi circles, and a sharp division occurred within the ranks of the Finance Committee in Parliament, amid the severe criticism directed by Al-Khuzaie regarding the financial policies adopted by the Central Bank of Iraq .
Al-Khuzaie said in press statements related to corruption issues in Iraq that more than 35 trillion printed Iraqi dinars do not exist inside Iraq, and that there are only two neighboring countries that deal with Iraq in dinars , including Iran.
He added that the control of the parties and the existing quotas within the financial system are what established the failure of the economic system in Iraq, criticizing the financial and administrative policy under which the Central Bank of Iraq operates.
He pointed out that the control of some influential parties over the Central Bank’s decisions affected the exchange rate of the dollar , adding that “the biggest mistake was pricing the dollar in the budget at 132 thousand compared to 100 dollars because it cost Iraq a loss of more than 9 trillion dinars and the difference between it and the market prices became large.”
Criticisms and Denials
Al-Khuzai’s statements about corruption in Iraq aroused the anger and dissatisfaction of the Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, the representative of the State of Law coalition, Atwan Al-Atwani, who issued a statement in which he said: “We followed with great astonishment and disapproval the irresponsible statements made by Representative Muhammad Al-Khuzai during his hosting on one of the satellite channels for the talk. About the monetary policy in the country and the procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq.
Al-Atwani added in a statement issued by the Finance Committee, which he chairs: “We categorically deny the allegations that Mr. Representative (Al-Khuzaie) spoke about, as they lack credibility, accuracy, and objectivity, and indicate his lack of familiarity with the committee’s procedures and duties. We express our strong rejection of these allegations because of the great offense they carry.” “For the tasks and duties of the Parliamentary Finance Committee in particular and the legislative authority in general,” stressing that an investigation has been opened to determine the authenticity and source of these statements, which he described as “dangerous.”
epresentative Muhammad Nouri Al-Khuzaie responded quickly to the statement issued by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, stressing that this statement was not known to the members of the Committee, and that he would legally demand that the Chairman of the Finance Committee be withdrawn due to this personal decision, as he described it.
Exceeding Powers
Al-Khuzaie said during a phone call with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the statement issued by the Chairman of the Finance Committee on December 9 was issued personally by the Chairman of the Committee without the knowledge of the rest of the members.
He added that this statement contains a lot of “lies”, attacks and personal transgression outside the limits of the authority of the Chairman of the Committee, stressing that Al-Atwani replaced the Central Bank and defended its failed financial and monetary policy.
Al-Khuzaie confirmed that he bears full responsibility for the information he disclosed to the media, about the disappearance of huge amounts of money, and the Central Bank’s mismanagement of the file of preserving funds and managing the crisis of the rise in the dollar exchange rate.
The Central Bank denied the accusations made by Representative Muhammad Nouri Al-Khuzaie about the disappearance of large amounts of local currency and their smuggling to neighboring countries, indicating the nature of the Iraqi currency and its quantities.
The Central Bank said in a statement that the alleged accusations of the disappearance of large amounts of Iraqi currency and their smuggling to some neighboring countries are not true, and that the quantities of Iraqi currency are printed according to the needs of the Iraqi economy within strict standards.
He stressed that the Central Bank is the only institution in Iraq that is subject to auditing of accounts and financial operations from four parties, which are: the Financial Supervision Bureau, an international auditing company, a committee of external auditors, and the Internal Audit Department.
He pointed out that making accusations about corruption in Iraq without providing any evidence to confirm them calls into question the intentions, and their goal is to harm the state’s economic interests, stressing his legal right to prosecute anyone who promotes such accusations.
Corruption is on the rise in Iraq
In its statement last year on corruption in Iraq, the former Parliamentary Integrity Committee estimated the volume of smuggled funds since 2003 at about $350 billion, equivalent to 32 percent of Iraq’s revenues during these years.
Last Sunday, the head of the Federal Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, met with a delegation of officials in the United States of America, including Jesse Baker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury, to discuss the possibility of cooperation between the Iraq Money Recovery Fund and the US Treasury.
In a statement issued by the Integrity Commission, the head of the commission expressed the urgent need to help the US Treasury recover Iraqi funds that were lost before 2003 by the previous regime.
In this context, the economic researcher, Omar Al-Halbousi, believes that the issue of smuggling Iraqi funds abroad is greater than the procedures of the Integrity Commission, because there are influential parties with strong authority within the Iraqi state that stand behind the smuggling of funds.
Speaking to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, Al-Halbousi accused unnamed regional countries, militias and parties of being behind the Iraqi currency smuggling operations, pointing out that there are countries that used their powerful tools to provide facilities for smugglers, until there was a conflict inside Iraq between these countries to bring in the largest number of smugglers. For her own good.
Al-Halbousi explained that the Integrity Commission will not be serious in confronting the disappearance of Iraqi funds, regardless of their value, and the issue of announcing the recovery of lost funds from Iraq before the year 2003 is an attempt to cover up the larger thefts that occurred after the year 2003.
(Sounds like the corruption in the U.S. When will it be exposed and justice served.)