Baghdad's Kassakhoon

It's time to buy that one-way ticket, other voice says.

2014-08-28T14:22:00.000+03:00


Only immigration door is open for Iraqis. Source: Al-Mada Newspaper

No other choice is left for Iraqis who still live on this cursed land only to leave. I have been lying to myself all these years that the country would be better. I acknowledge that I was wrong.

It sounds that the crazed psycho Sunni killers will not be dislodged easily from any area and their presence will draw an international coalition to fight them in a protracted war that none can imagine its consequences.

Also, there is no sign that the brainwashed Shiite militias, who see all Sunnis are terrorists, will disappear especially after enjoying the blessing of the influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Though Al-Sistani's decree stipulates that they have to work only with the security forces, but a lot of their leaders and members will definitely have a different interpretation.

Amid all that, the fate of Baghdad where I live is still unclear. Who will grab it, how and when? This is the big question in the minds of its residents.

But what is clear to me now is that I have to save my two little daughters. Whenever I look at them I feel like I'm committing a crime for keeping them grow up here.

The eldest is kept using the word "Daesh" (the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group) whenever she plays with others. Though she still doesn't know what does it mean and puts it as "Daesh Team" but I don't know what she is going to learn when she starts school few weeks ahead.

I feel like there are two voices quarrelling in my head.

The first: "Go! You have to leave that sinking ship."

The second: "Man, you are not the only one aboard. There are millions living the same situation just like you. It's not that easy to start a new life in diaspora...etc"

The first: "Of course the road will not be paved at the beginning, but at least you will guarantee your daughters' future. Can you guarantee that your eldest daughter will not get the real meaning of the word Daesh or what do the words Sunni and Shiite mean in coming months and how that will affect her thinking and then her entire life?"

The second: "Do you imagine what will happen to your parents who adore your kids and can't imagine a day without playing with them? Do you remember how they became ill when you raised the immigration issue few years ago?"

The first: "It's time to buy that one-way ticket. Yes, your parents will be sad at he beginning but later they will be happy when they see their grandchildren living healthy life with a bright future."

That quarrel was like a drumming noise inside my head over the past months until they reached a deal and both agreed on one opinion.

"OK, since immigration process usually takes time so submit your papers, don't tell your parents about the plan and when you get approved you can reevaluate the situation."

So I did.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Boosting morale or addressing evil inside us?

2014-08-11T12:12:00.000+03:00

I really can't take it anymore as dozens of pro-government songs that glorify the wars and death flooding the State and pro-Prime Minister TVs all the day and underlining the culture of violence in our society.

Whenever I watch a clip and listen to the lyrics I feel snakes coming out from the singers' mouths to whisper in our ears: "Take up the arms quickly otherwise you will be killed."

Listen to this one that I picked for unknown "singer" called, Hassan Al-Hayel. His song has become the most popular one among Iraqis who play it loud in cars, stores, parks and even wedding parties.

In a talk-show for a local radio, members of Iraqi security forces was calling from front lines in western and northern the country, asking specifically to hear that song. The director was repeating it over and over again.

In that song, called "Khali" or "My Uncle", al-Hayel addresses his maternal uncle who traditionally has a special place in the hearts of his nephews and nieces among many Iraqi tribes and families other than the uncle from the father side.

I’m not sure why, but maybe that’s because the sons and daughters are very close to their mothers rather than their fathers in our society given that a lot of the fathers are either busy with the daily life or maybe some of them are tougher with their kids other than the mothers.

Therefore, you can find that uncle mentioned in many poems, proverbs and stories that talk about love, kindness and care, as well as those related to the family support in bad times like wars.

In brief, Al-Hayel tells his uncle that he's ready to sacrifice himself in order to protect him, pledging to kill his enemies and making them a lesson to the world. He promises his uncle to rush to help him like a "plane" and to be "a sword in his hands to cut off the enemy's hands and the tongue of anyone who talks about us in bad."

Those behind these songs say they aim at boosting morals among the public and security forces amid growing Sunni-led insurgency, but I think these lyrics are addressing the evil inside the people especially the uneducated ones from each side/sect who consider all the members of the other side/sect are their enemies and that they have to get rid of them before they do so.

So scary!

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Caricatures from some Iraqi newspapers on current situation

2014-08-06T17:23:00.000+03:00

Bleeding Sinjar Mountain. Members of Yazidi community have trapped there since Sunday after militants of the Islamic State extremist group taking over Sinjar town. Dozens of children and elderly have reportedly passed away due to lack of food and water. Source: Al-Sabah Newspaper.

Who will be seated on Prime Minster chair? August 8 is the deadline for Iraqi president to ask the candidate of the biggest parliamentary bloc to form the government. Current Shiite Prime Minster, Nouri Al-Maliki, rejects calls to withdraw his nomination despite objections from Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Source: Al-Mashriq Newspaper.

While their hands are stained with Iraqi blood, Iraq's neighbors continue to blame each other for the bloodletting. Source: Al-Mashriq Newspaper.

A head of Assyrian King spitting cockroaches in a gesture that the residents of Mosul will dislodge the militants of the Islami State extremist group who have run the city since June 10. My be it refers to the growing anti-Islamic State sentiment inside the city that reportedly led to some armed confrontations. Source: Al-Distour Newspaper.

Here, the fat militant says that he realizes that he has reached his end in Iraq while a man in traditional Arabic gear (Gulf States) trying to convince him to continue fighting with money in his hand. Source: Al-Distour Newspaper.

A moving plea to help Yazidis in Iraq

2014-08-05T23:04:00.002+03:00

A moving plea from the Yazidi femal lawmaker, Vian Dakheel, about the atrocities Yazidis are facing now in the town of Sinjar at the hands of Sunni extremists affiliated to the Islamic State group. As she was addressing the parliament, she burst into tears and then collapsed.

"I'm not here to deliver a speech to the Iraqi people. I'm here to depict the bitter reality the Yazidis are living in Sinjar mountain...we are being beheaded under the banner of 'there is no God except Allah...'" (The Islamic Shahada, a creed that declares believe on oneness of God and the acceptance of Mohammed as Go's prophet.)

"Till now, 500 young and elderly Yazidi were beheaded... Our women are being captured and sold at the slave market...Yazidis are subjected to a genocide now...my people are being slaughtered like other Iraqis from Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Tirkoman and Shabak. Today is Yazidis turn."

"Save us, save us.Thirty thousand families are trapped in Sinjar mountain without water and food 48 hours now. Till now 70 children and 50 elderly passed away. Our women are being captured and are sold at the slave market."

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Isn’t selling oil harder than selling tomato and cocumber Kaka?

2014-07-29T18:12:00.002+03:00

The United Kalavrvta. Source: The U.S. Authorities

As much as I’m sad for the circumstances Iraq and Iraqis are going through, but I feel much better after hearing the news about the slap that Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, got today.

The slap came from the U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson of Galveston when issued an order for the seizure of more than $100 million of oil produced and shipped illegally by Iraq’s Kurds despite the central government objection, according to Bloomberg.

“This seems to be a legally charged issue at this point, and the last thing I want to do is get embroiled in some massive political dispute and have our name dragged through the mud,” Simon Duncan, the president of the Houston-based SPT company that was supposed to unload crude oil from the United Kalavrvta tanker, told the energy industry blog Fuel Fix.

As I was following the news, the picture of the Kurdish Prime Minister, Nechervan Barzani, came before my eyes when he was addressing the regional parliament earlier, like a peacock, to explain May decision to start exporting crude oil solely with the help of Turkey.

Barzani told the Kurdish lawmakers that the decision meant to tell Baghdad that they can sell oil in the international marker solely after a Baghdad official told him: “Kaka, selling oil isn’t like selling tomato and cucumber."

Isn’t now clear that selling oil harder than selling tomato and cucumber Kaka?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

رأي المتواضع: تخلصوا من الضباع لأجل العراق

2014-07-15T12:28:00.000+03:00

Iraq Today

مثل أكراد العراق اليوم مثل الضباع التي تعتاش على بقايا صيد وفرائس الحيوانات الأخرى والتي عادة ما تخرج للبحث عن هذا الطعام ليلاً.

نعم ، هذا هو حال العراق اليوم؛ مابين متطرف مفترس أدمن قطع الرؤوس وتفجير الأجساد ، وما بين ضبع دميم وخبيث وحقود يستغل عبث هذا المفترس ليشفي غليله من العراق ومن عربه.

يوم بعد يوم يثبت ساسة العراق كم هم ضيقي الأفق ولا يرون أبعد من مصالحهم الشخصية ، وإذا أرادوا ان يذهبوا أبعد من ذالك فانهم لا يتعدون مصالح طوائفهم وقومياتهم.

العراق يترنح مابين سياسي عربي شيعي جاهل وما بين أخر سني أكثر جهلا وثالث كردي يوهم كل منهما أنه معه ضد الأخر وأنه بيضة القبان في عملية سياسية عرجاء.

ان الدور المؤذي للأكراد في العراق معروف منذ عقود ، ولكنه أصبح جلياً منذ أحداث الموصل ، وخصوصا من قبل مسعود البارزاني ومؤيدوه.

ظهر هذا الدور جلياً منذ اليوم الأول بضيافتهم لشخصيات تتبجح بالقتال مع داعش وبألسن طائفية ، وأيضاً بتصريحات أكراد البارزاني التي تصب في صالح الحرب النفسية لداعش مثل "لا عودة الى عراق ماقبل الموصل"...."حرب طائفية"..."العراق يتقسم"... وغيرها....

ومع كل نفثة سم من فم البارزاني يتراقص مرحا مؤيديه في كل مكان على مواقع التواصل الأجتماعي وعلى الأرض هؤلاء الذي نجح الساسة الأكراد في ان يزرعوا في قلوبهم كره العراق وعرب العراق على مدى عقود مؤملين أنفسهم بأعلان دولتهم التي ما أنفك البارزاني أستخدامها لأغراض سياسية لأبتزاز الشركاء العرب.

أكراد العراق اليوم هم ورم سرطاني في الجسد العراق لايقل أذى عن ورم داعش وأخواتها؛ فهم يحوكون المؤامرات ويسرقون النفط ويستولون على الاراضي وبكل قباحه يطالبون بحصتهم في الميزانية ومناصب سيادية في الحكومة المركزية الجديدة.

لقد أعطاهم العراق منذ ٢٠٠٣ ما لم يحصلوا عليه طوال حياتهم من مناصب رفيعة في الحكومة وحصة فوق إستحقاقهم في الميزانية الفدرالية وكل هذا لم يمحي الغل في قلوبهم.

طبعا أنا لا أعني كل الأكراد لأن هناك فصيل بتقديري أكثر حنكة سياسية من البارزاني ، ورفضهم لتصريحاته وأعماله الأن ليس بسبب حبهم لعراق موحد ولكن بسبب خوفهم من إبتلاع البارزاني لهم في حال فصل الأقليم.

لذا على عرب العراق أن يعوا أن مضار الكرد أكثر من نفعهم ويجب تخليص العراق منهم بتسهيل إستقلالهم ، ولكن بدون كركوك ، وتركهم الى مفترسين أخرين مثل إيران وتركيا وربما داعش.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Iraqi Kurds' ambitions take them beyond borders

2012-01-28T21:51:00.000+03:00

After acting like an independent state in the northern part of Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region has started to practise its regional influence by hosting for the first time a widen conference for Syrian Kurdish political parties and activists.

The region's president, Masoud Barzani told his Syrian guests Saturday in Erbil: "We don't know what will happen in Syria but indications say that there will be a change and you have to leave the narrow partisan interests and unify to prepare yourselves for the new period in Syria."

By today's bold move, Iraq's Kurds have officially entered in the Syrian conflict and specifically in the U.S.-backed camp that calls to remove Bashar Al-Assad in defiance to the central government policy in Baghdad which is most likely dictated by Iran to keep Al-Assad in power.

The move not only shows how Iraq is fragmented, but it acts also as a birth certificate for a new regional power. This new West-back regional power has now influence not only in Iraq but also in Syria, Iran and Turkey. It is only a matter of time to see it expanding more and more to win the prize from the West: the Kurdish state.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

A new answer for a famous question

2012-01-19T16:24:00.001+03:00

If it is true then we are in a deep shit again.

According to Al-Mada local newspaper, a state-run woman-related body has issued dictations on what is not allowed to be worn by female employees in government ministries and institutions.

The daily posted a document issued by the Supreme National Committee to Develop the Iraqi Woman in which it refers to previous documents from the Cabinet's Secretariat General and the Oil Ministry dated back to last October.

The banned clothing are tight body shirts, tight pants, colorful and showy shirts, short skirts and slipper-like flat shoes. The ban entered into effect on 1st of January.

That's one of the answers to the famous question: What direction Iraq is heading? It is heading to an Iranian-like government that is run by turbans.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Can Iraqis forgive America?

2011-12-18T00:59:00.000+03:00


A cartoon in an Iraqi newspaper shows an Iraqi man shouting on a withdrawing U.S. soldier to take with him sectarianism, corruption and federalism.

America is withdrawing from Iraq. Eventually!

This very short sentence is dominating all the news nowadays in many languages, bringing Iraq again to the front pages after a long absent. And I'd like to invest this opportunity to make these clarifications and appeals since there are a lot of people follow this subject because it is likely that Iraq and the sufferings of its people will be forgotten again.

To those who say that the U.S. dumb decision to lead the biggest invasion in the twenty-first century has benefited Iraq and has brought all good things to Iraqis, I say: Please respect the blood of the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis mainly children and women who lost their lives for nothing. Please put the millions of widows, orphans, displaced people and refugees in your mind and in front of your eyes when you evaluate the war instead of talking only about toppling the dictator or wishful thinking about democracy, freedom of expression, human rights respect and prosperity which Iraqis are not seeing and is likely not to see them for years to come.

To those who seek to find out whether the war was worth it or not, I say: Please talk to an Iraqi mother or father who buried their son or daughter killed in violence or by gangs after failing to secure a ransom to win his/her release, talk to a man or woman or child maimed due to an explosion and talk to a displaced family who used to have a roof to live under before 2003. Please don't depend mainly on few people who have benefited from the war or those who didn't live the fear which has become part of Iraqis' life. They didn't lose any of their loved ones. They know nothing about the fear of leaving the house and might never be back again. They know nothing about the fear of being shot while driving or walking in the street. They know nothing about the fear of being arrested and then disappeared in secret prions or being snatched by militant groups.

To those who say the was is ended and use the words "pride" and "success" whenever talk about the war especially Barack Obama, I say: YOU ARE WRONG AND YOU WANT ONLY TO FOUL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. The war is still going in the eyes and sufferings of widows, orphans, displaced families and refugees you left behind. We will continue this war with Al-Qaida who formed its branch in Iraq because of your war. We will continue this war with Mahdi Army who came to surface only because of your war.

To the American people, I say: You all took part in this dirty war against Iraqis because you supported it directly or indirectly as your taxes were used to finance your military machine that has caused all these sufferings to us. This war, which was presented to you as a war against terrorism and its aim was to protect America, has battered your economy and damaged the reputation of your country. Because of your support, our coexistence would not be lost: Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds have fought each other and the rest monstrosities are lost among them. Because of your support Iraqi society would not be fragmented like this. Because of your support the Iraqi family would live in one place not each of its members in a country or some of them missing or dead. Because of your support our country will highly likely to be divided into small states.

American people, you are still supporting this war since you are harboring its criminals who should be tried. You are still supporting the war since no apology has been made yet from your side to Iraqis so that they can forgive America.

Kudos to Annie Robbins whose courage has taken her to the extend to say it : "Iraq - I'm sorry."

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Other tings are not important!

2011-12-06T10:47:00.006+03:00

I'm still not exactly sure why I decided to hit the road few days ago to Iraq's revered southern Shiite province of Najaf to see for the first time in my life Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the most revered Shiite cleric by many Shiites inside and outside Iraq.

Was it my curiosity as a journalist to see the man who has been politically influential and has had his fingerprints on Iraq's political landscape since 2003 U.S.-led invasion? Or was it my worries about our future that drove me to seek anything on what direction we are heading to as U.S. troops leaving us after all these long eight years?

I left my house at 5:30 a.m. to arrive before 9:30 a.m. that set for the meeting as I heard that convoys of leaving U.S. troops were making real traffic on the international road that links Iraq with Kuwait.

I was supposed to join around 30 of Al-Sistani's followers in my neighborhood who left the day before for their annual meeting with their leader. It was still dark and the main road in my neighborhood was decorated with dozens of black flags and banners used by Shiites to mourn the anniversary of the seventh century death of Imam Hussein which falls today.

The number of the flags and banners increased significantly this year in my neighborhood.

Did the Shiites do that on purpose to declare the neighborhood, which is long considered as a religiously-mixed and almost secular one, as a Shiite one? Or did they want to tell the Sunnis that they are the majority here and that they have to accept this reality even though there is one Shiite mosque against three Sunnis?

Three hours later, I arrived Najaf and there was indeed traffic on the road because of the leaving U.S. troops. Just like the early weeks after the invasion, dozens of Humvees, armored personal carriers and army trucks were put on long convoys of flat truck carriers with fully staffed bags of U.S. troops dwindling from some of them.

Amway, I arrived early and it was cold that morning so I had a cup of sweet tea while joining dozens of other people who gathered at the pillared street where Al-Sistani's home/office is located just few meters from the doorstep of Imam Ali shrine, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and Shiite Islam's most sacred martyr.

The majority of them were youth in casual cloths while others were in dishdasha, or traditional Arabic shirtdress and either in white or black-and-white kofiya scarf. At least a dozen of body guards in beige uniforms with some of them armed with Kalashnikovs and holding two-way radio transceivers were deployed in the narrow alley that leads to the house/office.

The guards were organizing the visitors entry by putting them in lines and searching them carefully from top to bottom. Other guards were in civilian cloths who were deployed on the sidewalks who approach individuals standing alone in front of the alley, asking them what they were waiting for and their IDs.

About an hour later, our turn came.

Watches, cell phones, pens, keys, rings and wallets were not allowed inside. We had to grab black plastic bags from a bunch hung on the wall at the beginning of the alley to put them in and to leave them at the reception. The guards then led us to the doorstep and into to a corridor where we took off our shoes and then to waiting room.

Few minutes later a small metal door was unlocked and one of the guards invited us to get in to the second room which was furnished with modest carpets and mattress. At one corner, Al-Sistani stood as he was shaking our hands with his both small, smooth and thin hands. In each corner of the room, there was a guard.

Standing om his feet to shake hands with hundreds of visitors, the gentle press he makes while shaking hands and the glitter in his eyes all say that the nearly 84-year old Iranian-born cleric looked in good health condition.

I just sat opposite to him about three or four meters away so that I can hear everything. But the ten-minute meeting didn't bring me the needed answers but in contrary it increased my worries and the ambiguity surrounding our future.

He mentioned twice the word "enemies" who want to decrease the number of Shiites in Baghdad where they are "majority." Although he didn't specify who are the enemies but it is widely understood among the Shiites as mainly Sunni extremists.

"Everyday in the morning prayers I pray specially for Baghdad's residents. I always say that a Shiite in Baghdad is equal to five like me in Najaf," he said with a clear Arabic but with Farsi accent obvious, referring to the hardships Shiites face in Baghdad.

"You are the majority in Baghdad and the enemies want to decrease your numbers," the black-turbaned cleric added. "Stay unified; Shiite and Sunnis and hold to your Islamic and Arab identity. The enemies want to make enemies between you and divide you and to eras your Islamic and Arab identity."

He urged them to keep doing their rites which can be translated as: keep showing that you are the majority in this country and that you need to keep on the gains you have been enjoying since 2003.

So the message was clear: the priority for Iraq's Shiites in years to come is to continue fighting to stay the majority in Baghdad and then in Iraq. Pour in millions into the streets and keep beating your chests and heads and whipping yourselves with chains to honor the death of your most revered saints.

Other things like how to rebuild your country, how to fix your fragmented and war-battered society, what role you have to take to revitalize your ailing economy and so on are not important!

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Hope not to see more than these two things

2011-04-01T16:19:00.005+03:00

It was early 2003 when I first saw these heavy things that cover the torso and the head to protect them from bullets and shrapnel.Since then, the flak jackets and helmets have become a vital part of our life; either we wear them from time to time or see people wear them.

But since late 2007 when security situation started to improve in most of the areas nationwide, the flak jackets and helmets have been kept in the lockers of many of those who used to wear them during Iraq's dark years such as the media organizations.

Now it's the time to bring them out of these lockers and use them, but not in Iraq. This time will be used in Iraq's neighbors who have the opportunity now, unfortunately, to see and experience them and may be they would be part of their life as the unrest sounds to continue.

Some of those who depended on the flak jackets and helmets, including my employer, are now sending them to colleagues in Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Libya. Some are being sent by DHL despite their heavy weights that could be translated into hundreds of dollars for each because they are sorely needed very quickly.

Let's hope that these countries will see only the flak jackets and helmets for a short period of time and not armored vehicles with mercenaries, concert blast walls and razor wires.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Ice ball starts to roll

2011-02-25T18:08:00.011+03:00

Friday's protests ended and no insurgent attacks, whether by bombs or missiles or explosive vests, took place either in Baghdad or other cities as the government warned. Also there was no sign that Saddam Hussein's Baath Party or Al-Qaida in Iraq were behind them.

But instead, the government forces was the only threat to the protesters by opening fire, killing at least a dozen and injuring dozens others.

All those who took to the streets are normal Iraqis who are really suffering from the rampant corruption, unemployment and lack of basic public services since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. As there were educated people among the protesters, illiterate people were also there.

People were from all walks and of different ages from primary schools students who came with their parents to elderly. There were some who were in western style casual clothing with men wore the traditional dress Dishdasha and women in Abaya, a loose, black cloak that conservative Muslim women wear.

Today's protests showed how the theme of protesting is being developed in the minds of Iraqis from all backgrounds.Unlike all other demonstrations Iraq has witnessed since 2003, there was for the first time a significant role for the NGOs and youth of Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

The protests also showed how the religious leaders and tribesmen are hypocrite when decided to support the government to foil the protests by discouraging those who wanted to take part.

The demos also showed how the government is weak and terrified from the people when pushed thousands of security forces to seal off the roads, mainly the bridge that leads to the already heavily fortified Green Zone when erected tall concrete blast walls.

None of the government officials dared to show up before the demonstrators, but instead they only talked to State-run TV Al-Iraqia or other channels related to their political parties by the phone from their offices. One or two officials in western suites were seen flanked by security forces watching the protesters at Baghdad's Tahrir Square from the roofs of the nearby buildings.

It is right that today's protests ended on the ground, but they are still live inside the protesters. What we witnessed today was only a small ice ball that just started to roll and it will get bigger day after day.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Who will blink first?

2010-12-28T22:09:00.005+03:00

Recognize my oil deals first then I will let you have the revenues you need, that's the condition set by Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Tuesday to the central government in Baghdad to resume oil exports, The Associated Press reports.

The Kurdish reply came after numerous statements made by Iraq's new Oil Minister, Abdul-Karim Elaibi, that his Ministry is ready to receive all the oil produced to export it , have the revenues and will pay only the costs incurred by the developers until a final solution is reached on the deals .

Ali Hussein Balo, an adviser to the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources said the crude-rich region can significantly contribute to the nation's target of raising oil exports next year by shipping 150,000 barrels a day out of the country, but only if all "our deals are recognized officially in a signed paper by Baghdad," he told the AP.

Again, we are witnessing a psychological warfare between the Kurds and Arab-led government.

The Kurds are trying to play a hardball to get their controversial oil deals recognized by Baghdad which needs each drop of oil produced to generate the sorely needed cash. While Baghdad is trying to make use of the pressure the Kurds face from oil companies who want to end this nightmare and to get their money back.

In less than a week, Baghdad twice announced remarkable increases to it's daily production from around 2.4 million barrels a day to more than 2.6 million barrels now. It promises more increases in the future as if it is telling the Kurds that I can spare your contribution so you have two options; either to accept my condition or keep you oil underground.

Who will blink first?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Good luck both of you!

2010-12-27T22:54:00.004+03:00

Iraq's oil policy will not be changed. That's the core of the message delivered Monday by the country's newly appointed Oil Minister, Abdul-Karim Elaibi, in his first official statement during a ceremony to formally put him in charge of the ministry after he was sworn in last Tuesday.

Elaibi, who served as deputy oil minister, also thanked his fellow Shiites, Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki and current Deputy PM for Energy and former oil minister, Hussein Al-Shahristani, for picking him up for this job and their trust in him to "continue the march we started together as one team."

Number of flags picturing the Shiite most revered Imam Hussein were seen fluttering on the roof of the Ministry to mourn his death anniversary which was few days ago while the building's corridors and stairs decorated with black banners either picturing or praising the revered Imam, a scene that tells the rise of previously oppressed Shiites after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein Sunni regime.

Also during that ceremony, Al-Shahristani gave for the first time an indication about the powers that are given to him in his new post, a question which has been repeatedly asked by many people, but he also kept it somehow vague. He summarized his new role as to "follow up" with the Iraq's energy sector developments.

That could mean that Al-Maliki has bowed to one of the Kurds' main demands which is to push Al-Shahristani aside from deterring their oil ambitious by stripping him from powers. Realizing that not only the Kurds hate him, Al-Shahritsnai started his speech with this sentence:

"I didn't expect such a big gathering would be here today to celebrate getting rid of me from the Ministry of Oil," Al-Shahristani told the more than 300 ministry's employees who gathered at its Cinema hall with some of them didn't find seats to sit as he was laughing.

"Hahahaha..." the audience replied.

"You will not easily get rid of me," Al-Shahristani said at the end of his nearly 20-minute speech. "I will continue following up with what is going in the Oil Ministry from my new post...I will follow up with Iraq's energy program whether in the Oil Ministry or Electricity Ministry or Water Resources Ministry."

Good luck both of you!

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Bidding War

2010-10-11T15:55:00.007+03:00

It sounds that Iran doesn't like the idea of being overtaken by its war-torn neighbor Iraq in terms of oil reserves.

It announced today that it has 150.31 billion barrels of reserves, up from a previous estimate of 138 billion barrels, a week after Iraq announced nearly 24 percent increase to its previous estimates, which stood at 115 billion barrels, to become 143.1 billion barrels.

"It looks like almost a bidding war," analyst, Amrita Sen of Barclays in London, told Reuters.

Both countries also say that they are playing it conservative as there are more reserves underground and new numbers will be announced in the near future.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Fortune without minds

2010-10-03T12:16:00.006+03:00

I just got an invitation E-mailed to me by the Iraqi Oil Ministry to attend tomorrow's press conference for its Minister, Hussein Al-Shahristani, to announce the revision for the current proven oil reserves that stand at nearly 115 billion barrels.

With the current estimates, which dated back to 1970s, Iraq is ranked fourth among OPEC's 12 members after Saudi Arabia with 264.59 billion barrels, Venezuela with 211.17 billion barrels and Iran with 137.01 billion barrels.

On August 2008, Iraq resumed oil exploration after more than two decades of wars and U.N. sanctions which prevented its oil industry from keeping pace with other major producers such as Saudi Arabia.

But will Iraqis be happy by tomorrow when Al-Shahristani utters the new figure? Will jubilant crowds go out to the streets to celebrate the new findings? Will the new announcement bring Iraqis any hope for good future?

I don't think so.

I think the Iraqis will be happy and have hope for good future when they know that there are brilliant and national minds of real statesmen in this country who know how to use the revenues of this fortune for the benefit of them not the minds of what they call themselves politicians but they are.....

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Whatever your losses are, ours are bigger

2010-09-23T21:48:00.006+03:00

As Barack Obama's administration is turning the page on Iraq's war, some U.S. media outlets are focusing on the consequences of this war on the Americans first and then talk a little about the woes Iraqis have gone through since 2003 despite that the difference is huge between the two consequences on both nations.

They are talking about how many lives of U.S. troops this war claimed, how much American money was burned for it and the most irritated thing they are still quoting U.S. officials on the "seeds of democracy" the Americans have sown in this land and how Iraq will be stable and prosperous after the full U.S. withdrawal by December 2011.

But what made me furious this morning is the Associated Press story which wrote by its Washington-based writer, Robert Burns, about FBI interrogation records with Saddam Hussein henchman, Tariq Aziz while in U.S. military custody.

In its first version, Burns preferred to mention the number of the U.S. troops who were killed in Iraq before the number of Iraqis who were killed without any sin committed which is of course bigger than the U.S. loss of life.

"More than seven years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, suspicions Saddam might have secretly collaborated with al-Qaida or other terror groups remains central to the continuing debate over the wisdom of launching the war, which has cost more than 4,400 U.S. lives and tends of thousands of Iraqis."

While in its second version, he preferred to omit the "tens of thousands of Iraqis," as if those killed Iraqis are not human beings and only the Americans are.

If you lost 4,400 lives we lost hundreds of thousands. We have a devastated society whose sects and ethnic groups hate each other more than before your invasion. We have at least five million individuals who were forced out of their homes. Our infrastructure is ruined, our antiquities are stolen and the once-fertile land is now a desert. An army of widows and orphans.

The list of the Americans' favors is too long.

I think at this critical period of time for both nations and from the ethical aspect, the American media should focus on how to prove that this war based on lies to bring those who masterminded it to justice and then they have to push for an official apology from U.S. to Iraqis who have suffered since 2003. Their readers should know that U.S. owes an apology to Iraqis.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Approve my payment quickly!

2010-09-17T12:59:00.010+03:00

Not only the Iraqis are impatiently waiting the new parliament to convene again and start its job, but we have now another group of people who are waiting for that moment; they are the Americans who recently got their compensation payments for what they consider an abuse by Saddam Hussein's regime.

On Thursday, the Iraqi Cabinet unanimously approved a $400 million settlement for those Americans who claim to have been tortured or traumatized under Saddam's regime dating back to the 1990 Iraqi invasion to Kuwait, Sameer N. Yacoub of the Associated Press in Baghdad reported.

But the settlement still needs to be approved by the parliament which has only met once since the March 7 national elections as post-Saddam politicians are still at loggerheads over who should form the government and becomes its Prime Minister as the vote produced no clear winner. For that, the approval could take more months, giving the political wrangling and the likely fierce opposition by Sadrist and Sunni lawmakers for the plan.

And given the bad economic situation in the U.S. and how important is the cash now there, we may see these Americans involved in the talks of forming the new government or may be they would make proposals and initiatives to the politicians to end the political deadlock to let the parliament start its work or may be would go in demos and shout: "Approve my payment quickly."

Who knows.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Was it a tip off? It could be, but for what?

2010-07-21T15:05:00.006+03:00

A well-known Kurdish figure suggested today that the latest New York Times report on smuggling crude and refined products from Iraq's self-ruled northern region of Kurdistan to Iran was a tip off from one of the two main parties to set a major blow to the other.

Hiwa Osman, the IWPR Iraq's country director, the son of the independent veteran Kurdish politician Mahmoud Osman and the former media adviser to the current Iraqi Kurdish president, Jalal Talbani said: "Although publicly the PUK and KDP say that they are united over this issue (oil) but in reality they are different. The recent New York Times report was apparently a tip off by one of the leading figures in one of the two ruling parties."

The animosities between PUK which is led by Talabani and KDP which is led by his rival Masoud Barzani dated back to decades ago and it reached its climax in the 1990s when the two embroiled in fierce clashes over land after the Gulf War which led to announce the three-province region as an off-limit zone to Saddam Hussein regime and enjoyed the international community protection.

The younger Osman also chastised the Kurds for not adopting a media policy that provides steady stream of information about their oil development plans and of course they can't because all the deals were awarded privately and none, inside or outside Iraq, heard anything about holding bidding rounds but instead they were awarded on no bid-basis and secretly.

I can agree with Osman's suggestion especially if we know that since Barham Salih took office as the regional Prime Minister in the second half of last year, he's been suffering with dealing with Barzani's party and his close aides mainly the region's Natural Resources Minister, Ashti Hawrami and this is something the New York Times has been mentioning in all their stories by its reporter Sam Dagher who was granted a residency in the region since early this year.

The question is what was the aim of bringing such matter to the surface by this official now? Is he only trying to smash his rival by showing how corrupt he is? Or is he trying to court the central government in Baghdad after March 7 national elections took the title away of post-Saddam era kingmakers from the Kurds?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Kurds deny smuggling of crude, refined products to Iran

2010-07-11T16:16:00.007+03:00

As it was expected, Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish regional government denied Sunday the report made by The New York Times July 8 about smuggling crude and refined products to Iran for the benefit of the main two political parties as "inaccurate" and of course they continue to say that they work for all Iraq.

The denial statement came as the correspondent of the pan-Arab and Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV, Ahmed Al-Salih, matched the Times report. Al-Salih managed to show the lines of hundreds of tankers waiting to enter Iran and also interviewed with the drivers.

In a bid to show how the central government is angry and worry about the smuggling, the government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh called the TV's video as a "clear evidence" that smuggling was talking place. "We will be contacting the Kurdish authorities to work together to put a stop to this phenomenon," Al-Dabbagh said.

Of course, Al-Dabbagh's statement was only a show as they will never be able to stop it as it is happening with many issues. In addition to that Iraq's Prime Minister will not dare to annoy the Kurds as he's begging for support from political factions to secure a second term in office.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Iraq's Kurds run their own oil kingdom

2010-07-09T14:21:00.003+03:00

Iraq's Kurds in the northern self-ruled region are running their own oil kingdom by awarding oil deals solely and smuggling crude and refined products to Iran to fill their pockets, this is the core of today's New York Times article.

The Times' Sam Dagher investigates the corruption among the officials of the region's two main political parties who have turned into lieges since 1990s and have done whatever they please while Baghdad government is engulfed with its own problems and knows nothing or can't do anything.

Dagher's story also illustrates how a weak Iraq is in the benefit of the Kurds who are the only winners of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion in Iraq. Instead of coming together to build a strong and unified country, Iraq's Arab politicians are totally preoccupied by their differences and fighting over chairs and this is what the Kurds want.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Elections season is over, its "nationalists" are gone

2010-04-07T19:23:00.005+03:00

Three days already passed since the posting of a gritty war video that shows some U.S. troops in killing spree in one of Baghdad's neighborhoods and the ongoing Iraqi government has not made any statement or declared any stance towards the U.S. troops.

Last Monday, a video posted at Wikileaks.org for July 12, 2007, firefight in the New Baghdad District of eastern Baghdad. It shows some "brave" U.S. soldiers firing repeatedly from their Apache helicopter on a group of men _ some of whom were unarmed _ as they walk down a Baghdad street. Among those believed to be killed in the attack was Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and his driver. Two children also were wounded.

Until now, neither Iraq's incumbent Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki nor his spokesman, Ali Al-Dabbagh _ who both buy such events to portray how nationalist they are_ have talked on this whether to blame the U.S. military or announce any measures against U.S. troops despite that a U.S. military official confirmed the video is authentic.

Unlike what happened in January 18, 2010, when Al-Maliki directed a film and gave the hero role to his spokesman Al-Dabbagh and the head of his legal consultation office, Fadhil Mohammed.In that film, both Al-Dabbagh and Mohammed invited victims of the U.S. private security firm formerly known as Blackwater for a lavish lunch to collect their signatures for a class-action lawsuit against Blackwater.

But later, the families found out that all that was only for elections purposes as none of the families has heard back from the government_represented by these two heroes: Al-Dabbagh and Mohammed_ since then.

So elections season is over now and therefor the "elections' nationalists" are gone. And now there is no need to make any statement that COULD affect the chances of any of these "nationalists" in getting a GOOD post in the new government as they don't need votes anymore but instead they need the U.S. support.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Don't get them wrong please!

2010-02-21T10:21:00.004+03:00

Who can make more than £13 million in five days? Yes, you are right, he's our friend Ashti Hawrami, the Minister of Natural Resources in Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government who himself a "British businessman."

The latest in Hawrami's scandals came today in a story published in the Times Online Web site about a secret trading shares in the U.K.'s Heritage Oil which holds a production-sharing contract in the region where Hawrami, UNFORTUNATELY, oversees its oil and gas development plans.

What Hawrami did in autumn 2008 was very simple: he bought the shares for £12,095,850 and started selling them five days later after the company announced that it had struck oil. The shares were sold for £25,070,709...WOW WHAT A SMART BUSINESSMAN YOU ARE MR. HAWRAMI!

The first scandal in Hawrami's controversial oil deals was last year when it was revealed that he acted as a secret buyer for shares in the Norway's DNO which also has a production-sharing contract in Kurdistan. He sold them later to Turkey's Genel Enerji.

As I said in one of my September's posts after DNO scandal, there is nothing in the Iraqi law allows Hawrami or even the KRG to involve in any commercial activities.

By these acts, Hawrami breaches Iraq's Penalty Law No. 111 in 1969 and the Civil-servant Disciplinary Law No. 14 in 1991. Both laws say that any civil servant in the Iraqi government, from the lowest levels to the president of the state, has no right by any mean to practice any work outside his governmental job especially the commercial activities.

And as I forecast in that post, more scandals will be revealed about this controversial Businessman-Minister and the level of corruption in the KRG officials who are alleging that what they are doing is for "all Iraqi people," not for their pockets.

So don't get them wrong please!

kassakhoon@gmail.com

The first part of reviving Iraq's oil sector story is done

2010-02-02T12:20:00.004+03:00

There is no doubt that Iraq's eleven mega oil deals _ one a revived Saddam Hussein-era deal and ten resulted from two auctions _ and their vast investment commitments and expected bonanza will grant the country's Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani a place in Iraq's modern history.

The nuclear scientist is the first Iraqi Oil Minister to orchestrate such plans that ended up with putting more than half of Iraq's proven 115 billion barrels in the hands of International Oil Companies for development. He managed to attract their sorely needed technology and money according his terms.

With these deals, he started his elections campaign for the March 7 parliamentary elections early despite his statements to The Wall Street Journal in a June 2009 interview when he said that he was planning to quit politics when ends his term to return to the Iraqi National Academy of Science, which he established in 2003.

His first public appearance outside the Oil Ministry building was last month at the University of Baghdad to talk about the deals. His second appearance was last Saturday before a group of Iraqi economists where a white woman with green eyes who was wearing Hijab and long cloak, believed to be his Canadian wife, was accompanying him.

Few hours later of that day, he appeared before a gathering of normal people in Taji area just few kilometers north of Baghdad also to talk about the deals and the job opportunities which will be created and the expected revenues to build new infrastructure.

I think Al-Shahristani has done his job perfectly by successfully completing the first part of Iraq's efforts to revive its rundown oil industry and the next step will be left to the next government which should cooperate with these companies and most importantly it should know where and how to spend each pence of the coming revenues.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Big Oil start making excuses

2010-01-28T16:04:00.004+03:00

The first excuse from Big Oil for not meeting their ambitious production targets that are given to Iraq came Thursday from U.K.'s BP, backing the analysts predictions that International Oil Companies offered inflated numbers only to scoop up lucrative oil deals.

BP's Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, who signed himself BP's sole deal with Iraq to develop the 17.8 billion-barrel Rumaila field in Basra, put it in this simple shape:

“The challenges of execution on the ground and the need to build capability on the ground will mean that things will happen a little slower than all of us are perhaps planning on today,” Hawyard said in a discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“There’s no reason to believe Iraq can’t be producing 10 million barrels a day by 2020 or so,” he added.

BP and its partners China's CNPC have pledged to increase production at Rumaila from the current nearly 1 million barrels a day to 2.85 million barrels a day seven years.

Together with other nine deals awarded in two oil auctions, Iraq plans to pump about 12 million barrels a day in six to seven years that's of course is based on the IOCs pledges.

kassakhoon@gmail.com