Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 22 - Iraq &
Turkey's Role.
Turkey, the largest trading partner of and investor in Iraq's
Kurdistan, is a NATO partner of the US and a key as well as a key corner
of a strategic triangle involving American and Israeli forces. . . .
IRAQ - Al-Qaeda Weakened.
On Oct. 23 in Iraq's Anbar Province, where al-Qaeda once
enjoyed sanctuary, Sunni tribesmen turned out en masse to commemorate
Shaikh Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, a leader killed for helping the US . . .
IRAQ - Bin Laden Urges Sunni Insurgents To Unite.
In an audiotape broadcast on Oct. 22 on al-Jazeera TV, Osama bin
Laden called for Iraq's Sunni insurgents to unite and avoid
divisive "extremism". Apparently admitting weakness and
seeking to win . . .
IRAQ - Partitioning Iraq.
The following is an article published on Oct. 22 written by
O'Brien Browne, professor of Middle Eastern history and politics at
Schiller International University and inter-cultural communication . . .
IRAQ - Back To Iraqi Front.
Kurdistan President Barzani on Oct. 19 raised the stakes in the
standoff by warning Turkey the KRG would defend itself against any
cross-border strike on PKK bases. He stated: "We frankly say to . . .
IRAQ - Kurdish Militants' Iran Front.
A similar battle has been under way on the Iraqi border with Iran.
Kurdish guerrillas ambush and kill Iranian forces and retreat to
mountain hideouts in north-eastern Iraq. Tehran says Washington . . .
IRAQ - The Oct. 21 Attack & Regional Implications.
PKK's Oct. 21 attack caused Armagan Kuloglu, a retired Turkish
general, to express the public mood: "With this incident, the arrow
has left the bow, and no room is left for the government to...fail . . .
IRAQ - Why Turkey Fears The Kurds; The Viability Of Iraq, Iran
& Syria.
Turkey's Kemalists, including the powerful military, have
never forgiven the US for calling Erdogan's neo-Islamist government
as a model for good democracy in the Muslim world. And, in an . . .
IRAQ - Oil Markets Are Boiling.(Brief article)
An incursion could stifle E&P investment, especially in the KRG
area, and put at risk Turkey's position as a vital transit route
for the world's crude oil supply. Institutional investors . . .
IRAQ - Efforts To Avert Turkish Move.
Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki on Oct. 23 ordered the closure of
PKK's operation in northern Iraq in an effort to prevent a Turkish
invasion. This came after intense international pressure to crack . . .
IRAQ - Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 20 - Iraq - The
Kurds & Partition.
Two developments in Iraq will have major implications for
conventional oil worldwide: The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is
proceeding with its oil and gas exploration and production . . .
UK Close To Deal On Troops.
British PM Gordon Brown on Sept. 18 said the UK was close to
agreeing with the US the next stage of Britain's withdrawal from
southern Iraq, looking to reduce the UK's role solely to training
the . . .
Blackwater Expansion.
Blackwater is also contracted to operate in Afghanistan and has had
domestic contracts, such as guarding and policing New Orleans after
Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater appears set to begin offering . . .
Baghdad Reviewing Security Contractors.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh on Sept. 18 said Baghdad was
reviewing the status of all foreign and local security companies working
in Iraq. Blackwater, an American contractor providing . . .
The Costs.
The various costs of the Iraq war to the US has been projected to
reach $1.8 trillion in the near future, according to calculations in a
new documentary on the Bush administration's policies, "No . . .
A US Base On Iran Border.
High ranking Tehran officials have indicated that the US was
planning to have a military base built on the border with Iran -
reportedly to check on and stem the flow of weapons and insurgents . . .
The Iran & Syrian Threats.
Gates said the US could deal with Iranian meddling in Iraq without
attacking Iran and that the US was intently watching Syria and North
Korea after reports of possible nuclear co-operation by . . .
Bush Keeps The Iraq Option To Next President.(George W.
Bush)
George W Bush has put off any declaration of defeat in Iraq to the
new US president. Two days after expressing hope that US forces in Iraq
might be reduced to 100,000 by end-2008, Gates on Sept. 16 . . .
Gates Refutes Greenspan Claim About The Oil Factor.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Sept. 16 rejected former
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's statement that the Iraq
war was "largely about oil", saying the conflict was driven by
the . . .
Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 18 - Iraq Is Getting
Costlier To The US.
The Iraq project has become an extremely expensive undertaking for
the US, with the war alone now costing almost $3 billion per week, up
from $2 bn in 2005 and $1 bn in 2004 - as well as an average . . .
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