UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 UNCLASSIFIED Iraq Status Report September 22, 2010 Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs U.S. Department of State UNCLASSIFIED [email protected] 1 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS 3 POLITICAL • Governance & Legislation 4 SECURITY • Situation Update 10 ECONOMIC • Oil 11 •Fiscal and Monetary Affairs 12 •Energy 14 •Public Services 15 • Industry Spotlight: Entrepreneurship 17 DIPLOMATIC • Political Engagement 18 BAGHDAD & BEYOND 20 Contact Information, Notes and Source Citations 21 [email protected] 2 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 HIGHLIGHTS • Iraqiyya Representative Says His Bloc Will Resist Maliki for PM (POLITICAL, page 4) • Car Bombings Kill over 30 People in Baghdad and Fallujah (SECURITY, page 10) • UN, International Partners Work with Iraq’s Future IT Professionals (ECONOMIC, page 17) • Zebari Addresses UN General Assembly (DIPLOMATIC, page 18) [email protected] 3 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Governance & Legislation Government formation negotiations continue Iraqiyya Representative Says His Bloc Will Resist Maliki for PM: • Ziyad al-Zharb, a legislator from Iraqiyya, stated on September 14 that his bloc would withdraw from the political process if the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) agreed to back Nuri al-Maliki for the premiership. Zharb said that Iraqiyya wants “everyone to participate in the decision-making process.” Iraqiyya Claims “Initial Agreement” Reached with INA, Kurds: • A leading member of Iraqiyya said on September 17 that her bloc has reached an “initial agreement” with the INA and the Kurdistan Alliance to have Adil Abd al-Mahdi as Prime Minister and Iyad Allawi as President, while the Kurds would assume Speakership of the Council of Representatives (COR). Aliya Nusseif said that Iraqiyya does not have ambitions for power but rather for “having political reforms and changes that would bring the political process back on its democratic track.” [email protected] 4 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Governance & Legislation Government formation negotiations continue INA Leaders Call for Reconvening the COR: • A leading member of the INA and the chairman of the previous COR’s Security & Defense Committee, Hadi al-Amery, said that the armed attacks throughout Baghdad on September 19 “had been part of a plan, adopted by Al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI)” to “exploit the political vacuum” in Iraq. Amery added that he expects such attacks will continue throughout government formation negotiations. Iraqi Vice President Abd al-Mahdi, who is also a member of the INA, called on the COR to hold a session and to resume its legislative activity. [email protected] 5 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Government of Iraq Coalition Affiliation (at (F) = Female time of appointment) ***Formerly Iraqiya President Prime Minister United Iraq Alliance Jalal Talabani Nuri Kamil al-Maliki Kurdistani Alliance Deputy President Tariq al-Hashimi Iraqi Accord Front Deputy Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Deputy President Iraqi National List Rafi Hiad Jiad al-Issawi Rowsch Shaways Adil Abd al-Mahdi Other / Independent Minister of Displacement & Minister of Culture Minister of Defense Minister of Electricity Minister of Agriculture Minister of Communications Migration Mahir Dilli Ibrahim al- Dr. Husayn Ibrahim al- Vacant Faruq Abd al-Qadir Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Qadr al-Mufriji Hadithi Dr. Abd al-Samad Rahman Sultan Shahristani Minister of Education Minister of Environment Minister of Finance Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Health Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr. Khudayr Mousa Jaffar al- Dr. Nermin Othman Hassan (F) Bayan Jabr Hoshyar Mahmud Zebari Salih Mahdi Mutlab al-Hasnawi Khuzai Abid Dhiyab al-Ujayli Minister of Industry & Minister of Housing & Minister of Human Rights Minister of Interior Minister of Justice Minister of Labor & Social Minerals Construction Jawad Kadhum Eidan al- Affairs Eng. Wijdan Mikhail Salim (F) Fawzi Fransu Hariri Dara Nur al-Din Bayan Dizayee (F) Eng. Mahmud Muhammad Bulani Jawad al-Radi Minister of Science & Minister of Municipalities & Minister of Minister of Oil Minister of Planning Minister of Trade Technology Public Works Transportation Dr. Husayn Ibrahim al- Ali Ghalib Baban Vacant Dr. Raid Jahid Fahmi Riyadh Abd al-Hamza Gharib Amir Abd al-Jabar Ismail Shahristani Minister of State for Civil Society Minister of Water Resources Minister of Youth & Sports Minister of State for National Dialogue Minister of State for National Security Affairs Dr. Abd al-Latif Jamal Rashid Eng. Jasim Muhammad Jaffar Dr. Thamir Jafar al-Zubaidi Dr. Akram Mousa Hadi al-Hakim Eng. Shirwan Kamil al-Waili Minister of State for Foreign Minister of State for Provinces Minister of State for Tourism and Minister of State for Women’s Minister of State for CoR Affairs Affairs Affairs Antiquities Affairs Dr. Muhammad Munajid Aifan al- Dr. Khulud Sami Izzara al-Majun (F), Dr. Khulud Sami Izzara al-Majun (F) Dr. Qahtan Abbas Numanal-Jabburi Safa al-Din Muhammad al-Safi Dulaymi Acting) Minister of State at Large Minister of State at Large Minister of State at Large Muhammad Abbas Muhammad al-Uraybi Ali Muhammad Ahmad Hasan Radhi Kazim al-Sari [email protected] 6 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Key Legislative Issues Legislative Process Council of Council of Representatives (COR) Shura nd Presidency Published in Ministers Debate after 2 Reading, Vote Council rd Council Official Gazette (CoM) after 3 Reading, and Committee Reports Throughout . Hydrocarbons Package: The Framework Law was resubmitted to the Oil and Gas Committee on October 26, 2008 and then returned to the Council of Ministers. There has been no progress on the other three laws in the package. NGO Law: This law, approved March 3, will regulate the operations and funding of Non-Governmental Organizations operating within Iraq. [email protected] 7 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Refugee Update . There are almost 229,000 Iraqi refugees currently registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in neighboring countries and an undetermined number of unregistered refugees. UNHCR reports that 1.5 million Iraqis remain internally displaced due to sectarian violence following the Samarra Mosque bombing of February 2006. Since the beginning of 2008, some 464,000 Iraqis have returned to their neighborhoods in Iraq. The majority of the Iraqis returning were internally displaced persons. In FY09, the U.S. Government contributed $387 million to international and non- governmental organizations to assist Iraqi refugees, internally displaced, and conflict victims. Since the program’s inception in FY07, 50,563 Iraqi refugees have been admitted to the U.S. for resettlement. As of September 2009, a total of 1,143 Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) have been issued for Iraqi translators and interpreters (and their dependents) since FY07 (under the Section 1059 program). \ . As of September 2009, a total of 1,716 SIVs have been issued for Iraqis employed by the U.S. government (and their dependents) since FY08 (under the Section 1244 program). [email protected] 8 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 POLITICAL – Refugee Update [email protected] 9 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 SECURITY – Situation Update Insurgents continue to launch attacks aimed at destabilizing Iraq Car Bombings Kill over 30 People in Baghdad and Fallujah: • Six car bombs were set off on September 19 in an apparent coordinated attack in Baghdad and Fallujah that killed more than 30 people and wounded over 100 more. A car bomb in Mansour exploded near a popular market and restaurant at the same time that a car bomb in Kathumya detonated outside of a National Security Ministry office. The twin bombings took an estimated 29 lives. Separately, a bomb planted on a bus killed the driver and his son, and an Iraqi tribal leader, Salih Ali Hamdan, was killed when his car exploded. An Iraqi intelligence official’s car also exploded while parked, but there were no casualties. In Fallujah, a suicide car bomber killed four civilians and an Iraqi soldier. Several rockets were also fired at the U.S. Embassy this week, causing some injuries. [email protected] 10 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 ECONOMIC – Oil Crude oil average closing prices Price averages in world markets closed with the following prices: Basrah Light: $75.42/barrel Dated Brent: $78.29/barrel WTI Cushing: $75.65/barrel Oman/Dubai: $76.28/barrel Iraq Crude Oil Production and Exports 3.0 2.50 2.46 2.44 2.5 2.40 2.38 2.41 2.37 2.35 2.32 2.35 2.25 2.30 2.0 2.05 1.92 1.89 1.91 1.92 1.84 1.88 1.86 1.91 1.80 1.82 1.82 1.5 Million Barrels Per Day (MBPD) Day Per Barrels Million 1.0 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Production Exports Iraq’s Oil Revenue 2008: $61.9 Billion 2009: $39.2 Billion 2010 (ytd estimate): $37 Billion [email protected] 11 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 ECONOMIC – Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Economic Indicator This Week Last Week Last Month Last Year Iraqi Debt Swap Bond Prices and Yields Price (USD) $85.70 $85.76 $86.19 $64.50 Yield 7.26% 7.26% 7.21% 10.32% [email protected] 12 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED September 22, 2010 ECONOMIC – Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Iraq: Year-on-Year Inflation 4.0% 3.8% 3.6% 3.4% 3.4% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 2.7% 2.9% 2.5% 2.0% 2.2% 1.7% 1.7% 1.6% 1.0% 0.5% 0.0% Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Headline Inflation Core Inflation (excludes fuel, electricity, communications, and transport prices) • In 2010, the Central Bank of Iraq began using a new Consumer Price Index.