Bush Signed It And All Presidents Implemented It. Iraq’s Funds Have Been Under America’s Guardianship For 21 Years
Reports And Analyses USA President George Bush Iraqi Money Signing An Executive Order
2024-04-18 Shafaq News/ Successive American administrations are still renewing the implementation of the presidential executive order issued by former President George W. Bush regarding the protection of the “Development Fund for Iraq”, in which the proceeds of oil sales were deposited with the aim of protecting it from any legal prosecutions, in addition to other orders related to Iraq and aiming to protect its money.
This happened more than two decades after the regime changed in the country.
The current US President, Joe Biden, signed the decree extending the state of national emergency related to the situation in Iraq for another year, which stated:
“There are still obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, restoring and maintaining peace and security in the country, and developing political, administrative and economic institutions in Iraq.”"
The statement added that these obstacles "pose an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of Iraq and the United States of America as well.
Therefore, (Joe Biden) has decided that it is necessary to continue the state of national emergency declared under Executive Order 13303 regarding the stability of Iraq."
Order 13303
The executive order aims to protect the Development Fund for Iraq and some other properties in which Iraq has an interest. According to the text of the executive order, then-US President George W. Bush saw that there was a threat to seize or take other judicial measures against the Development Fund for Iraq, Iraqi oil and petroleum products, and the revenues that arise. about her".
The executive order also stated that this situation “poses an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and therefore a national emergency has been declared to deal with this threat.”
The order stipulates that any seizure, judgment, decree or other judicial action against the Development Fund for Iraq or Iraqi oil and petroleum products, and the proceeds and obligations relating to their sale or marketing, shall be considered null and void.
The executive order prohibits all US citizens and residents of the United States, as well as any entity organized under US laws, from filing lawsuits against Iraqi funds.
According to the US National Emergency Law, failure to renew the executive order within a period of 90 days from the date of the previous renewal means that it will become invalid.
Development Fund For Iraq
The Development Fund for Iraq was established after 2003, and before that, money from Iraqi oil sales was placed in an account managed by the United Nations within what is known as the Oil for Food Program.
In the mid-nineties of the last century, the UN Security Council resolution related to oil for food was issued and stipulated the sale of a portion of Iraqi oil in exchange for the purchase of medicines and food during the era of Saddam Hussein’s regime, which suffered international sanctions as a result of its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
This situation continued until 2003, when a new Security Council resolution was issued under which most of the economic sanctions were abolished, provided that issues related to the invasion of Kuwait were resolved, such as compensation, prisoners, and others.
In this regard, Iraqi writer and political researcher Aqeel Abbas said
“When the sanctions were lifted, a problem arose, which is that there are cases filed against Iraq by dozens or hundreds of companies that were harmed by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in European countries and others.” Abbas added to the Al-Hurra website that
"Iraqi embassies at the time did not attend court sessions to defend or reduce compensation, and thus the courts issued judgments in absentia for very high amounts." Abbas, who resides in Virginia, confirmed that
"there are judicial seizure orders on Iraqi funds until the amounts of the lawsuits ruled by the courts are satisfied."
“Thus, what saved Iraq from these lawsuits was the protection decision issued by former US President George Bush in 2003,” according to Abbas, who pointed out that
“under the presidential executive order, Iraqi funds in the Development Fund for Iraq became protected as if they were American funds.”
American Influence
In 2010, the Development Fund for Iraq was canceled by a UN decision, which also ended all international guarantees of immunity granted to Iraq from claims for compensation.
Instead of the canceled fund, an account affiliated with the Central Bank of Iraq was opened at the US Federal Bank in which all proceeds from the sale of Iraqi oil were placed.
However, the United States continued to renew the presidential executive order, issued in 2003, annually with the aim of protecting Iraqi funds from any judicial prosecutions.
The former member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Finance Committee, Ahmed Hama Rashid, said,
“The situation remaining as it is means that the fate of Iraq’s money will remain tied to the United States, which represents a strong pressure card in the hands of Washington,” indicating that.
“this issue cannot be resolved except by paying all debts.” "This will take years, if not decades."
On the other hand, Aqeel Abbas pointed out that linking the issue of protecting Iraqi funds from prosecution to the United States “gives Washington great influence over Baghdad,” adding that
“resolving the crisis requires a political decision, as happened with Greece and Argentina, for example, by seeking the help of a reputable and reputable law firm.” "She is given full powers."
The spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister apologized for the comment, and it was not possible to obtain a comment from the White House or the US State Department until the publication of this report, according to the Al-Hurra channel.