Update: Currency Reform
We still await for the “official” word from the CBI to allow the distribution of the new lower denominations. We know this must first be accompanied with a significant increase in value and we are told it will be a 1:1 par value with the US dollar.
This is NOT the RV but an inflation adjustment and only an incentive to “dedollarize” the economy and reverse the trend in demand from the US dollar to the Iraqi dinar thus increase the demand for the new lower denominations. This would thus allow Iraq to withdraw or “de-dollarize” their economy as they would suck up US dollars are replace them with the lower denominations. This would happen because the citizens would migrate towards the new dinar since it would be worth more than the dollar.
Do they need a very significant increase in order to do this?
NO! All they need in-country is a value to the new dinar to be just over a dollar to create this incentive.
We still await for the “official” word from the CBI to allow the distribution of the new lower denominations. We know this must first be accompanied with a significant increase in value and we are told it will be a 1:1 par value with the US dollar.
This is NOT the RV but an inflation adjustment and only an incentive to “dedollarize” the economy and reverse the trend in demand from the US dollar to the Iraqi dinar thus increase the demand for the new lower denominations. This would thus allow Iraq to withdraw or “de-dollarize” their economy as they would suck up US dollars are replace them with the lower denominations. This would happen because the citizens would migrate towards the new dinar since it would be worth more than the dollar.
Do they need a very significant increase in order to do this?
NO! All they need in-country is a value to the new dinar to be just over a dollar to create this incentive.
PARLIAMENTARY FINANCE: THE RELUCTANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT TO ACTIVATE THE COLLECTION OF THE COLLECTION OF NON-OIL RESOURCESIs this the RV we have been waiting for?
NO! – this move to a 1:1 par with the US dollar is just an inflationary measure they will undertake. The full RV ($4.00+) we are waiting for will come later in about 7-14 days and will depend on how stable the economy is and how this whole process works out. It may take longer or it may be shorter.
Is this 1:1 a float and we must wait for the value to rise from $1.00+ to the $4.00+ before we see the RV?
NO! This initial process will NOT be put on an “official” float as many so called intel “gurus” will try to convince you that it is. The time to the full RV has no significance to any float. How can it since the currency still not even be on the exchanges at this time.
So when can we go to the bank and exchange our 3 zero notes?
First let me say it again - We may never realize this $1.00+ rate at the banks since the new rate will not yet even be on the global exchanges (thus be able to go to the banks and exchange). The IQD will not be reintroduced to the global exchanges until after the full blown RV $4.00+ occurs which will come later.
Will we see the RV before Xmas?
I personally believe we may see the 1:1 value pop out as the lower denominations are circulated sometime before now and the end of the year. But I do not expect to be at the bank before sometime until mid to late January 2016. I have already told you why this is the timing.
Will us, so called “internet” conference call investors, be privileged to exchange prior to the final RV?
NO - ABSOLUTELY NOT! That would be illegal !
Everyone holding these 3 zero notes outside of Iraq will exchange at the same time as the rates show up in the global currency exchanges and this will not happen until the full RV.
This has nothing to do with bank screens or any other secret bank currency books at the banks. It must be a legal rate on the global exchanges prior to the banks allowing the general public to exchange this currency.
I am telling you nothing new here. I have explained out answers to all these questions over and over again to you in my previous news letters. This is the state we are in and we just have to wait.
The fact that the budget is moving along now is great news. Now we need the National Guard and Amnesty laws and I do not believe we will see any next move in the currency reform until we get these laws – at least I would be very surprised if we did….lol…lol…
The Future of Oil
The more Iraq pumps to try to sell more oil to make up the budget difference from the lower market oil prices, to increase their revenues, the more this process will drive down the price yet more. Since if you apply the supply and demand rule – “Increased supply, Decreases price on the market” demand staying constant.
It is a cycle now they must overturn somehow. Remember too many of the “developed countries” are now stockpiling enormous amounts of oil since it is now so cheap. So even if they slowed production way down today to try to drive up the price of oil, it would still take some time to catch up and for prices to increase since they would have to first use up these stocked reserves.
It is my opinion Iraq is in for some bumpy times in 2016 too. Remember also there is a goal of the USA to get fully off dependency of Middle Eastern oil by the year 2020. We can see this happening with these solar incentives being run by the government in many states and the shale oil efforts.
So if you believe in this plan you can see it happening now right in front of our noses. The glut days of oil are coming to an end. We are still oil dependent but finally we can see just the beginning of the slow down in the use of oil and its ramifications on the planet. We will still be an oil based society for years to come but what I am saying we can see the downward trend beginning, as it has to begin sometime.
When will we be completely off oil? No one really knows for sure and it may take another 20- 30+ years but it will happen and has to happen regardless of the very wealthy who control the oil industry. Maybe our grandchildren’s kids may live to see it?
This is also why the IMF keeps harping on Iraq to diversify their economy and do not relay solely on oil.
Whenever there is great changes at this magnitude there will be some “hurting” in the process so be ready.
CHANGES OF THIS MAGNITUDE ARE NEVER EASY !
I really, really like the following articles about the oil industry. These articles are very long so print these out and relax when you read them. These articles sum it all up for you. I would encourage everyone who truly wants to be educated and learn about the future of oil (near and far) to read carefully these articles. See if you can connect with Iraq too to understand their situation.
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OIL: IRAQ'S EXPORTS FOR THE PAST MONTH HAS SEEN AN UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE IN OIL PUMPING
Written by HA
Date: 12/22/2015
Baghdad - INA / Oil Ministry announced on Tuesday, the final crude oil exports for the month of November last, indicating that exports have seen an unprecedented increase.
He said ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a statement received by the Iraqi news agency, a copy of it, that "the sum of the quantities exported amounted to 100.9 million barrels from southern Iraq, while Iraq was unable to export through the northern port of Ceyhan Turkish port due to the Kurdistan region's commitment to the agreement oil ".
Jihad said that "the sale of a barrel average rate of $ 274 and 36 cents."
He noted that "the exported quantities has been downloaded by 33 international companies of different nationalities from the ports of Basra and Khor al-Amaya and buoys unilateralism on the Arabian Gulf."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Oil that "the national production of crude oil rate except for the Kurdistan region amounted to 3,000,657 barrels per day."
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OIL PRICES HAVE NOW CRASHED THROUGH THEIR 2008 LOW, AND WORSE IS LIKELY TO COME
DEC 22, 2015
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, lost its bottom today, plunging below its 2008 nadir and threatening new fiscal pressure on OPEC and Russia. Global stock markets rose, shaking off whatever concerns caused them to plummet last week in the face of oil price declines. But Brent’s fall through the low of the financial crash is a psychological blow, with the likelihood of worse to come if you happen to be a crude exporter.
The price fell to as low as $36.05 a barrel today (Dec. 21), 15 cents below its $36.20 bottom in December 2008. Brent bounced off the low in European trading—it is at $36.81 as of this writing, down 56 cents (1.5%) from Dec. 18. But having breached the symbolic threshold, traders are likely to bid Brent down again.
Last week, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup both reiterated prior calls that $20-a-barrel oil is possible in 2016, when Iran will start to export an added hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, adding to a heaving global surplus. On top of that, the US on Dec. 18 completely lifted a ban on US oil exports; although little or no rise in oil exports is likely from the US any time soon, the very fact of it looming on the market will be an additional weight on prices.
The leading exporters—Russia and Saudi Arabia—have put on brave faces in the now-18-month-long plunge of oil prices from a three-year perch above $100 a barrel. They have argued that their enormous cash reserves will allow them to weather any price for as long as it takes to finally force upstart US shale drillers to turn off their spigots.
US production has dropped from its high of 9.6 million barrels a day in April; in September, it was down to 9.4 million barrels, and is expected to average 8.8 million barrels a day next year. But it remains up by about 4 million barrels a day since 2011.
And on Dec. 18, the number of US rigs drilling new shale wells rose sharply, by 17, after four weeks of declines, suggesting that Russia and OPEC will have to suffer longer.
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OIL PRICE: IMF SEES FALL TO BETWEEN $30 AND $20
Dec 22, 2015
Report predicts that Iranian exports will ramp up when international sanctions are lifted
David McNew / Getty
Oil price: IMF sees fall to between $30 and $20
Another major global forecast has suggested that the oil price has a lot further to fall yet – and that it could go as low as $20 a barrel.
This is the extreme low "cost price" predicted since the autumn by Goldman Sachs for early next year. Now the International Monetary Fund has hinted that global prices could fall this low when Iran increases its oil exports in the wake of the lifting of international sanctions.
Iran reckons it could increase its output by around one million barrels a day. The oil would enter a global market that is already oversupplied by up to two million barrels a day. The IMF says this will bring renewed downward pressure on the beleaguered oil industry that will cause prices to fall from their current levels by between $5 and $15 a barrel, The Guardian reports.
Given prices are currently in the mid-$30s per barrel, this implies a fall back to the early 2000s level of around or below $30, or as low as $20. At this price it's likely there will be a sharp decrease in investment and production that should see a sustained – and perhaps rapid – recovery.
The news comes after oil hit another 11-year low for the second consecutive trading session yesterday. International benchmark Brent crude fell to just a few cents above $36 a barrel, but Reuters says the rolling over of monthly futures contracts has prompted a modest recovery to around $36.60 a barrel this morning.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is now trading only marginally lower than Brent since the recent budget deal in the US lifted an export ban, with the price around $36 a barrel this morning.
As for the consequences of falling oil prices, the International Monetary Fund says it reckons the slump would mean a 0.3 per cent boost to the global economy next year. This would be the net effect of higher consumer spending as a result of fuel and energy bills falling, minus the drag of job losses and reduced investment.
On the downside, the Los Angeles Times's Steve Yetiv says that the low oil prices worldwide are undermining arguments made at the Paris climate change summit this month that "burning fossil fuels is an increasingly costly habit". If prices remain low for too long, he says, it "will hurt efforts to address climate change, especially in the US, where citizens largely oppose raising oil taxes".
Oil price: no relief in sight as crude hits 11-year low
21 December
The oil price has plumbed new post-crisis depths, with the international benchmark hitting its lowest level since 2004 in Asian trading overnight.
Brent crude fell to just 17 cents above $36 a barrel, which means it breached the post-financial crisis low it set on Christmas Eve in 2008, according to the Financial Times. The last time it was below this level was when it briefly dipped into the mid-$30s in July 2004 during a protracted recovery from a trough in the 1990s when the price was at one point in single digit dollars.
While a fall to those extreme lows is unlikely, oil is expected to drop back to its early 2004 levels of $30 a barrel or less next year before it recovers in a meaningful way. Some experts even predict it will drop as low as $20 a barrel (see below).
Four factors that are fuelling this down trend – all in one way or another related to the persistent global supply glut – are being cited as reasons for the latest dip.
Top of the list of concerns is excess production. With oil having fallen by 70 per cent in the past year, global production was expected to fall as a ferocious turf war claimed swathes of victims, notably in the expensive American shale oil industry. But the sector's unexpected resilience was underlined when the US energy watchdog revealed an increase of 17 in the number of active rigs drilling for oil last week, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A second factor is that supplies are already at record levels and stockpiles in the US surged by 4.8 million barrels last week, at a time of year when reserves typically fall, the investment bank ANZ told the FT. On the other side of the equation, a third issue is that demand is expected to be hit by a post-interest rate rise jump in the dollar, which makes oil more expensive for overseas buyers.
Finally, Brent is under particular pressure after the recent US budget deal that lifted a ban on US oil exports and is expected to reduce the international benchmark's premium compared its US counterpart West Texas Intermediate. This latter fell to $34.37 overnight – a new seven-year low but still around $2 above its 2008 nadir.
Oil price: four reasons it could still fall to $20
18 December 2015
Oil companies and countries dependent on revenues from 'black gold' might be forgiven for thinking that things cannot get much worse. Goldman Sachs, however, believes that they can.
Analysts at the US investment banking giant issued a note on Thursday in which they stood by the ultra-bearish forecast for global oil prices to slump to $20 a barrel next year, before recovering in any meaningful way, says CNBC. Here are four arguments supporting the case for another major drop:
1. Stockpiles just keep rising
Yesterday another report revealed that oil reserves were rising in the US – a bearish indicator for the ongoing global supply glut. The Wall Street Journal cites an estimate from data provider Genscape that stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma depository, which acts as the delivery point for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures contracts, rose by 1.4 million barrels last week.
The rise mostly took place in the second half of the week and followed the US energy watchdog's report of a surprise surge of 4.8 million barrels in overall domestic crude oil reserves last week. In response, WTI fell to a six-year low of below $35 a barrel and international counterpart Brent crude fell close to one per cent to a new seven-year low of a fraction above $37.
2. Production is not falling enough
It is one of the enigmas that has confounded analysts: why production has remained resilient despite the painful fall in the oil price. US shale in particular, which is thought to be more expensive than much of the rest of global production, has fallen from its peak output of 9.6 million barrels a day but is still above nine millions barrels and has been edging higher of late.
Goldman Sachs says that with Opec already pumping 1.5 million barrels a day above a 30 million barrel production 'ceiling' – and having now abandoned any targets for production after its latest meeting ended in acrimony – there is simply not enough of a decline being signalled elsewhere to rebalance the market. This will not happen until the final three months of 2016, the bank reckons.
3. Fed rates rise will hit demand
Demand is also a key factor in the supply equation and, again, it has been disappointing. Efficiencies in fuel use, warmer weather caused by the El Nino phenomenon and a new drive to reduce fossil fuel burning to protect against climate change are all preventing drawdowns surging to meet or exceed supply.
The decision by the Federal Reserve this week could exacerbate this issue, traders fear. Lower oil prices were starting to filter through into greater fuel purchases, but if the dollar rises strongly on the back of the rates increase this will hold prices higher for overseas buyers and could undermine that trend.
4. Budget deal is bad news for Brent
For the international benchmark, Brent, there was further bad news this week in the form of a new budget deal in the US congress that controversially saw the Democrats cave in to Republican demands to remove a ban on domestic oil exports. The protectionist measure has meant that international oil is bought at a premium to the US benchmark and could see more oil flood onto the global market.
The net result of this could be that the 'spread' between the two prices shrinks – most likely through a fall in the relative premium paid for Brent. At some point this week the spread fell to less than $2 and some industry analysts reckon that over time the two prices may even reach parity.
Are any rises being predicted?
Plenty, in fact the consensus view probably still remains for oil to enjoy higher average prices in 2016 than this year. But these forecasts are falling every time they are republished and many experts are now predicting a near-time fall lower – perhaps to around $30 a barrel – before a volatile recovery pushes prices to within a wide $40-$60 range.
Oil price hits another low after 'dead cat bounce'
17 December 2015
Chris Jarvis, president and senior analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Maryland, struck a sombre note when he spoke to CNBC. "I don't view the… statement as being all that supportive and now that we have the announcement behind us, it's back to fundamentals," he said.
Jarvis was referring in the first instance to the historic rise in interest rates announced by the Federal Reserve yesterday, which has pushed the dollar slightly higher. This brings further downward pressure on the already low oil prices, as the commodity will now be more expensive to overseas buyers.
In the second instance, Jarvis was commenting on the ongoing oversupply situation, which Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA, told the Wall Street Journal was "negative with an exclamation point". New data from the US energy watchdog yesterday showed that domestic stockpiles surged by 4.8 million barrels last week to a new all-time record of above 1.3 billion barrels. Analysts had expected a slight fall.
The result of all this was that the two-day rally in the oil price from its post-crisis low was revealed to be, in the words of FastFT, nothing more than a "dead-cat bounce". Having risen to above $38 a barrel – which is still unprofitable for much global production – international benchmark Brent crude fell by three per cent to a little above $37 a barrel.
This represents a new low since December 2008 and is only marginally above the next lowest point in July 2004. Earlier that year the oil price had been below $30 a barrel and some experts reckon it will return to a similarly low price in the early part of next year as Iranian exports open up after the removal of international sanctions.
Reuters says a number of factors could exacerbate, or reverse, this trend. It highlights the continued and unexpected resilience of expensive US shale production, and Opec's current disarray, as bearish indicators; but also points to unrest in the Middle East, a likely increase in demand and the potential for further investment cuts as factors that could give bullish traders "a reason to pile back in".
Overall, most industry analysts agree that it will take time to reverse the huge supply overhang so that prices can recover significantly. Only a major concerted effort on supply is likely to make this happen before the end of the next year.
Oil price: who is betting on a recovery in 2016?
16 December 2015
The oil price has been in recovery in recent days. Having hit a post-crisis low of close to $36 a barrel on Monday, it has since rallied and at one point yesterday it was back above $38 a barrel.
But this is still a painfully low price, close to 70 per cent below the September 2014 peak. While unprecedented production efficiency has protected drilling companies in a way few thought possible, in the North Sea, for example, it is still supposed to cost approaching $50 to extract a barrel of oil. This should be significantly higher in US shale oil fields.
The situation is worse for those countries that depend on oil as a source of income. Many Opec members in financial difficulty, such as Venezuela and Nigeria, the de facto cartel leader Saudi Arabia and even non-Opec export giant Russia, all designed budgets around oil prices in excess of $100 a barrel.
As investment is rapidly withdrawn and spending cut, these companies and countries are hoping prices will recover more quickly than markets currently expect. Encouragingly for them, there are experts who see that happening.
Liam Halligan wrote in the Daily Telegraph this week that prices will recover faster, as investment cuts are ramped up to cope with the latest price crash. Elsewhere, The Times reports that the Wellcome Trust has substantially increased its investment in energy stocks such as Shell and BP as it "builds into what markets are doing" and takes advantage of perceived bargains ahead of an inevitable recovery.
Reuters says that there is also a wider market bet gaining traction for prices to recover to between $50 and $80 in 2016, with derivatives that would pay out in this range climbing "steeply" in recent weeks.
The downside is that investors broadly see this happening in around 12 months at the very end of 2016. Near-term bets are still on further falls, perhaps to around $30 in the early months of next year as Iranian exports re-emerge from behind international sanctions.
It will take an output concession from Opec to push the price higher sooner – and the group has seldom looked less cohesive on its production policy.
Oil price misses 11-year low – but for how long?
15 December 2015
The oil price recovered in afternoon trading in New York yesterday, after coming close to 11-year lows earlier in the session.
International benchmark Brent crude had earlier tumbled below $37 a barrel in London and settled just 13 cents above the $38.20 it reached in September 2008 in the teeth of the global financial crisis. Below this, it would be at the lowest level since July 2004, Reuters notes, when it briefly languished in the mid-$30 range after a protracted recovery from a single-digit mid-1990s trough.
The rally yesterday, during which Brent bounced back two per cent, was not driven by particular fundamentals.
Rather, it was a function of inevitable volatility in a market that is currently beset by 'short' bets on a lower price. This morning Brent was sitting a little above $38 a barrel, which is still unprofitable for most production.
'Long' positions – bets on a higher price – are now at the lowest since records were first compiled in 2009.
This means two things: there will probably be some wild swings, as 'short positions' are rapidly covered any time the price ticks upwards even slightly; and most traders and analysts are still convinced the market has not found its bottom.
Where could that bottom be? A technical analysis has been offered by legendary data trader Daryl Guppy, who writes on CNBC that current trend charts indicate "prices have further to fall".
Based on historical support levels and general trading patterns, he sets a main target for the price floor at a little below $30 a barrel, near that 2004 nadir.
There is a consensus fast emerging that a price around this level will be reached before the supply glut clears next year - but there are those who believe if this does happen it will presage a faster recovery than some are currently expecting.
Echoing the Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, who warned in October that rapid retrenchment could cause oil prices to spike, Nick Cunningham writes on Oilprice.com that another big step down in prices could "spark deeper cuts to spending and drilling, which could perhaps contribute to an accelerated pace of adjustment".
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Remember the IMF weeks ago asked that these fees be taken out of the 2016 budget revenues. So now we are seeing the backlash from this action.
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PARLIAMENTARY FINANCE: THE RELUCTANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT TO ACTIVATE THE COLLECTION OF THE COLLECTION OF NON-OIL RESOURCES
He accused the parliamentary Finance Committee member Ahmed Sarhan, Tuesday, the executive branch of dragging its feet in the activation of the collection of non-oil resources, while noting that returning from tourism, agriculture and border crossings supply the revenue budget large amounts of money.
Ahmed said, "The non-oil resources back to Iraq is very significant financial resources if the application has been carried out by the executive branch," adding that "tourism, agriculture and border crossings supply the revenue budget large amounts of money."
"The non-oil resources is disabled in a suit with the economic crisis," stressing that "the executive branch reluctant to do to activate the collection of water, electricity and other resources."
He pointed out that "all the laws when the legislation is implemented on the responsibility of the executive power and the strength of the government and its place in the implementation of the provisions of the law."
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Update: Maliki Syndrome
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OTHERWISE AND VERBAL ALTERCATIONS BETWEEN MALIKI AND JAAFARI DETAILS, DANGEROUS AND EXCITING EVENTS KNOW IT !!
Date: Tuesday 12.22.2015 0:31
Political and media close to the Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari sources confirmed between the head of a coalition of state law against the backdrop of the report of the reasons for the fall of the city of Mosul, however, the organization Daash
The source said that al-Maliki sent members of his coalition Mohammed Chihod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki, accompanied by a threatening letter to a member of the Committee investigating the fall of the city of Mosul.
MP Sabah al-Saadi a deputy from the Reform Movement, which is led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari., said parliamentary sources informed of the (Abbasid News) Mohammed Chihod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki and two deputies Ashairian Mqrban of al-Maliki threatened to publicly Vice Chairman of the Committee Hakhuan Abdullah from the Kurdistan Alliance and a member of the Committee MP for the National Reform Movement morning Saadi if insisted on questioning the former prime minister, after he urged MPs on the investigation into the events of Mosul.
This will only be completed in the presence of al-Maliki before the inquiry to give evidence and the codification of his words, and said those sources that al-Maliki not only threats Alziod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki, the deputies committee members, but took the initiative to call the MP Sabah al-Saadi personally threatened him and (b breaking his head) if it does not stop in its claims summoned before the inquiry, however, al-Saadi replied by stressing that he would continue his quest is not in his appearance before the inquiry, but only convicted.
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ABADI SACK THE FORMER SECURITY ADVISER TO NURI AL-MALIKI!
Date: Tuesday 12.22.2015
Sent a number of families of Iraqi martyrs during the period of Mr. Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister a letter brief to our holding in which al-Maliki responsible for the use of Baathists and those involved in terrorist operations against the trafficking in the blood of their children.
The message reads as follows: I will never forgive the history of violations that took place during the reign of a selected age, let him It was required to everyone who wants to be appointed by a private degree be either covered by ablation or the holder of a certificate forged and hit the families of the martyrs, prisoners and the sacrifices the wall and came Balsrac Kaala Saadi Abbas al-Saadi and smiling Saadi Is the world heard the joke that holds the woman chancellor Maliki's security and military affairs in the day was Baghdad wake up on the 17 car bomb
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Update: Fighting ISIS
I am presenting the two article below because they give us a very good sense of where the Iraqi and coalition forces are in fighting ISIS in Iraq.
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Iraqi Army Kicks Out Daesh From Ramadi's Central District
Iraqi troops entered a central district of Ramadi, the capital of the country's western Anbar province, driving Daesh (Islamic State) jihadist militants out of their positions, a source in the military command of the province told Sputnik Tuesday.
US-Led Coalition Helping Iraqi Army to Liberate Ramadi From Daesh
BAGHDAD (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Iraqi armed forces began an operation to liberate the center of Ramadi from Daesh terrorists, who have occupied the city since May. According to Iraqi intelligence, around 250 to 300 radical Islamist militants had been holding central districts of the city.
"Anti-terrorist units entered the Bakr district located between the districts of Hamir and the government complex. They are clearing mines in the buildings," the source said.
He added that the militants suffered serious casualties as a result of airstrikes in the area.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi Army spokesman Yahya Rasoul Abdullah told Sputnik that the Iraqi Air Force and the aviation forces of the US-led international coalition, police and local militias are supporting the Iraqi Army in its offensive to reclaim the city of Ramadi from Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia
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BBC: IRAQI FORCES 'RETAKE ISLAMIC STATE RAMADI STRONGHOLD'
(12/27/15)
Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said.
The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said.
He said this heralded the defeat of IS in the city, although he admitted there could be pockets of resistance.
The government has been trying to retake Ramadi for weeks.
The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.
Tough fighting in recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way. After sniper fire from the compound stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity, Iraqi soldiers moved in.
The military spokesman, Sabah al-Numani, told Reuters: "The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of ISIS fighters in the complex.
"By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi. The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."
There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at around 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.
The Iraqi military believes the remaining militants have headed north-east; with fighting also reported to be under way to the south-west of the compound.
Gen Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of Anbar military operations, told Associated Press that the fighting had been tough given IS's use of suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps.
Concern also remains for the plight of hundreds of families who have been trapped on the frontline, the BBC's Thomas Fessy reports from Baghdad.
NO! – this move to a 1:1 par with the US dollar is just an inflationary measure they will undertake. The full RV ($4.00+) we are waiting for will come later in about 7-14 days and will depend on how stable the economy is and how this whole process works out. It may take longer or it may be shorter.
Is this 1:1 a float and we must wait for the value to rise from $1.00+ to the $4.00+ before we see the RV?
NO! This initial process will NOT be put on an “official” float as many so called intel “gurus” will try to convince you that it is. The time to the full RV has no significance to any float. How can it since the currency still not even be on the exchanges at this time.
So when can we go to the bank and exchange our 3 zero notes?
First let me say it again - We may never realize this $1.00+ rate at the banks since the new rate will not yet even be on the global exchanges (thus be able to go to the banks and exchange). The IQD will not be reintroduced to the global exchanges until after the full blown RV $4.00+ occurs which will come later.
Will we see the RV before Xmas?
I personally believe we may see the 1:1 value pop out as the lower denominations are circulated sometime before now and the end of the year. But I do not expect to be at the bank before sometime until mid to late January 2016. I have already told you why this is the timing.
Will us, so called “internet” conference call investors, be privileged to exchange prior to the final RV?
NO - ABSOLUTELY NOT! That would be illegal !
Everyone holding these 3 zero notes outside of Iraq will exchange at the same time as the rates show up in the global currency exchanges and this will not happen until the full RV.
This has nothing to do with bank screens or any other secret bank currency books at the banks. It must be a legal rate on the global exchanges prior to the banks allowing the general public to exchange this currency.
I am telling you nothing new here. I have explained out answers to all these questions over and over again to you in my previous news letters. This is the state we are in and we just have to wait.
The fact that the budget is moving along now is great news. Now we need the National Guard and Amnesty laws and I do not believe we will see any next move in the currency reform until we get these laws – at least I would be very surprised if we did….lol…lol…
The Future of Oil
The more Iraq pumps to try to sell more oil to make up the budget difference from the lower market oil prices, to increase their revenues, the more this process will drive down the price yet more. Since if you apply the supply and demand rule – “Increased supply, Decreases price on the market” demand staying constant.
It is a cycle now they must overturn somehow. Remember too many of the “developed countries” are now stockpiling enormous amounts of oil since it is now so cheap. So even if they slowed production way down today to try to drive up the price of oil, it would still take some time to catch up and for prices to increase since they would have to first use up these stocked reserves.
It is my opinion Iraq is in for some bumpy times in 2016 too. Remember also there is a goal of the USA to get fully off dependency of Middle Eastern oil by the year 2020. We can see this happening with these solar incentives being run by the government in many states and the shale oil efforts.
So if you believe in this plan you can see it happening now right in front of our noses. The glut days of oil are coming to an end. We are still oil dependent but finally we can see just the beginning of the slow down in the use of oil and its ramifications on the planet. We will still be an oil based society for years to come but what I am saying we can see the downward trend beginning, as it has to begin sometime.
When will we be completely off oil? No one really knows for sure and it may take another 20- 30+ years but it will happen and has to happen regardless of the very wealthy who control the oil industry. Maybe our grandchildren’s kids may live to see it?
This is also why the IMF keeps harping on Iraq to diversify their economy and do not relay solely on oil.
Whenever there is great changes at this magnitude there will be some “hurting” in the process so be ready.
CHANGES OF THIS MAGNITUDE ARE NEVER EASY !
I really, really like the following articles about the oil industry. These articles are very long so print these out and relax when you read them. These articles sum it all up for you. I would encourage everyone who truly wants to be educated and learn about the future of oil (near and far) to read carefully these articles. See if you can connect with Iraq too to understand their situation.
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OIL: IRAQ'S EXPORTS FOR THE PAST MONTH HAS SEEN AN UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE IN OIL PUMPING
Written by HA
Date: 12/22/2015
Baghdad - INA / Oil Ministry announced on Tuesday, the final crude oil exports for the month of November last, indicating that exports have seen an unprecedented increase.
He said ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a statement received by the Iraqi news agency, a copy of it, that "the sum of the quantities exported amounted to 100.9 million barrels from southern Iraq, while Iraq was unable to export through the northern port of Ceyhan Turkish port due to the Kurdistan region's commitment to the agreement oil ".
Jihad said that "the sale of a barrel average rate of $ 274 and 36 cents."
He noted that "the exported quantities has been downloaded by 33 international companies of different nationalities from the ports of Basra and Khor al-Amaya and buoys unilateralism on the Arabian Gulf."
A spokesman for the Ministry of Oil that "the national production of crude oil rate except for the Kurdistan region amounted to 3,000,657 barrels per day."
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OIL PRICES HAVE NOW CRASHED THROUGH THEIR 2008 LOW, AND WORSE IS LIKELY TO COME
DEC 22, 2015
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, lost its bottom today, plunging below its 2008 nadir and threatening new fiscal pressure on OPEC and Russia. Global stock markets rose, shaking off whatever concerns caused them to plummet last week in the face of oil price declines. But Brent’s fall through the low of the financial crash is a psychological blow, with the likelihood of worse to come if you happen to be a crude exporter.
The price fell to as low as $36.05 a barrel today (Dec. 21), 15 cents below its $36.20 bottom in December 2008. Brent bounced off the low in European trading—it is at $36.81 as of this writing, down 56 cents (1.5%) from Dec. 18. But having breached the symbolic threshold, traders are likely to bid Brent down again.
Last week, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup both reiterated prior calls that $20-a-barrel oil is possible in 2016, when Iran will start to export an added hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, adding to a heaving global surplus. On top of that, the US on Dec. 18 completely lifted a ban on US oil exports; although little or no rise in oil exports is likely from the US any time soon, the very fact of it looming on the market will be an additional weight on prices.
The leading exporters—Russia and Saudi Arabia—have put on brave faces in the now-18-month-long plunge of oil prices from a three-year perch above $100 a barrel. They have argued that their enormous cash reserves will allow them to weather any price for as long as it takes to finally force upstart US shale drillers to turn off their spigots.
US production has dropped from its high of 9.6 million barrels a day in April; in September, it was down to 9.4 million barrels, and is expected to average 8.8 million barrels a day next year. But it remains up by about 4 million barrels a day since 2011.
And on Dec. 18, the number of US rigs drilling new shale wells rose sharply, by 17, after four weeks of declines, suggesting that Russia and OPEC will have to suffer longer.
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OIL PRICE: IMF SEES FALL TO BETWEEN $30 AND $20
Dec 22, 2015
Report predicts that Iranian exports will ramp up when international sanctions are lifted
David McNew / Getty
Oil price: IMF sees fall to between $30 and $20
Another major global forecast has suggested that the oil price has a lot further to fall yet – and that it could go as low as $20 a barrel.
This is the extreme low "cost price" predicted since the autumn by Goldman Sachs for early next year. Now the International Monetary Fund has hinted that global prices could fall this low when Iran increases its oil exports in the wake of the lifting of international sanctions.
Iran reckons it could increase its output by around one million barrels a day. The oil would enter a global market that is already oversupplied by up to two million barrels a day. The IMF says this will bring renewed downward pressure on the beleaguered oil industry that will cause prices to fall from their current levels by between $5 and $15 a barrel, The Guardian reports.
Given prices are currently in the mid-$30s per barrel, this implies a fall back to the early 2000s level of around or below $30, or as low as $20. At this price it's likely there will be a sharp decrease in investment and production that should see a sustained – and perhaps rapid – recovery.
The news comes after oil hit another 11-year low for the second consecutive trading session yesterday. International benchmark Brent crude fell to just a few cents above $36 a barrel, but Reuters says the rolling over of monthly futures contracts has prompted a modest recovery to around $36.60 a barrel this morning.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is now trading only marginally lower than Brent since the recent budget deal in the US lifted an export ban, with the price around $36 a barrel this morning.
As for the consequences of falling oil prices, the International Monetary Fund says it reckons the slump would mean a 0.3 per cent boost to the global economy next year. This would be the net effect of higher consumer spending as a result of fuel and energy bills falling, minus the drag of job losses and reduced investment.
On the downside, the Los Angeles Times's Steve Yetiv says that the low oil prices worldwide are undermining arguments made at the Paris climate change summit this month that "burning fossil fuels is an increasingly costly habit". If prices remain low for too long, he says, it "will hurt efforts to address climate change, especially in the US, where citizens largely oppose raising oil taxes".
Oil price: no relief in sight as crude hits 11-year low
21 December
The oil price has plumbed new post-crisis depths, with the international benchmark hitting its lowest level since 2004 in Asian trading overnight.
Brent crude fell to just 17 cents above $36 a barrel, which means it breached the post-financial crisis low it set on Christmas Eve in 2008, according to the Financial Times. The last time it was below this level was when it briefly dipped into the mid-$30s in July 2004 during a protracted recovery from a trough in the 1990s when the price was at one point in single digit dollars.
While a fall to those extreme lows is unlikely, oil is expected to drop back to its early 2004 levels of $30 a barrel or less next year before it recovers in a meaningful way. Some experts even predict it will drop as low as $20 a barrel (see below).
Four factors that are fuelling this down trend – all in one way or another related to the persistent global supply glut – are being cited as reasons for the latest dip.
Top of the list of concerns is excess production. With oil having fallen by 70 per cent in the past year, global production was expected to fall as a ferocious turf war claimed swathes of victims, notably in the expensive American shale oil industry. But the sector's unexpected resilience was underlined when the US energy watchdog revealed an increase of 17 in the number of active rigs drilling for oil last week, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A second factor is that supplies are already at record levels and stockpiles in the US surged by 4.8 million barrels last week, at a time of year when reserves typically fall, the investment bank ANZ told the FT. On the other side of the equation, a third issue is that demand is expected to be hit by a post-interest rate rise jump in the dollar, which makes oil more expensive for overseas buyers.
Finally, Brent is under particular pressure after the recent US budget deal that lifted a ban on US oil exports and is expected to reduce the international benchmark's premium compared its US counterpart West Texas Intermediate. This latter fell to $34.37 overnight – a new seven-year low but still around $2 above its 2008 nadir.
Oil price: four reasons it could still fall to $20
18 December 2015
Oil companies and countries dependent on revenues from 'black gold' might be forgiven for thinking that things cannot get much worse. Goldman Sachs, however, believes that they can.
Analysts at the US investment banking giant issued a note on Thursday in which they stood by the ultra-bearish forecast for global oil prices to slump to $20 a barrel next year, before recovering in any meaningful way, says CNBC. Here are four arguments supporting the case for another major drop:
1. Stockpiles just keep rising
Yesterday another report revealed that oil reserves were rising in the US – a bearish indicator for the ongoing global supply glut. The Wall Street Journal cites an estimate from data provider Genscape that stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma depository, which acts as the delivery point for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures contracts, rose by 1.4 million barrels last week.
The rise mostly took place in the second half of the week and followed the US energy watchdog's report of a surprise surge of 4.8 million barrels in overall domestic crude oil reserves last week. In response, WTI fell to a six-year low of below $35 a barrel and international counterpart Brent crude fell close to one per cent to a new seven-year low of a fraction above $37.
2. Production is not falling enough
It is one of the enigmas that has confounded analysts: why production has remained resilient despite the painful fall in the oil price. US shale in particular, which is thought to be more expensive than much of the rest of global production, has fallen from its peak output of 9.6 million barrels a day but is still above nine millions barrels and has been edging higher of late.
Goldman Sachs says that with Opec already pumping 1.5 million barrels a day above a 30 million barrel production 'ceiling' – and having now abandoned any targets for production after its latest meeting ended in acrimony – there is simply not enough of a decline being signalled elsewhere to rebalance the market. This will not happen until the final three months of 2016, the bank reckons.
3. Fed rates rise will hit demand
Demand is also a key factor in the supply equation and, again, it has been disappointing. Efficiencies in fuel use, warmer weather caused by the El Nino phenomenon and a new drive to reduce fossil fuel burning to protect against climate change are all preventing drawdowns surging to meet or exceed supply.
The decision by the Federal Reserve this week could exacerbate this issue, traders fear. Lower oil prices were starting to filter through into greater fuel purchases, but if the dollar rises strongly on the back of the rates increase this will hold prices higher for overseas buyers and could undermine that trend.
4. Budget deal is bad news for Brent
For the international benchmark, Brent, there was further bad news this week in the form of a new budget deal in the US congress that controversially saw the Democrats cave in to Republican demands to remove a ban on domestic oil exports. The protectionist measure has meant that international oil is bought at a premium to the US benchmark and could see more oil flood onto the global market.
The net result of this could be that the 'spread' between the two prices shrinks – most likely through a fall in the relative premium paid for Brent. At some point this week the spread fell to less than $2 and some industry analysts reckon that over time the two prices may even reach parity.
Are any rises being predicted?
Plenty, in fact the consensus view probably still remains for oil to enjoy higher average prices in 2016 than this year. But these forecasts are falling every time they are republished and many experts are now predicting a near-time fall lower – perhaps to around $30 a barrel – before a volatile recovery pushes prices to within a wide $40-$60 range.
Oil price hits another low after 'dead cat bounce'
17 December 2015
Chris Jarvis, president and senior analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Maryland, struck a sombre note when he spoke to CNBC. "I don't view the… statement as being all that supportive and now that we have the announcement behind us, it's back to fundamentals," he said.
Jarvis was referring in the first instance to the historic rise in interest rates announced by the Federal Reserve yesterday, which has pushed the dollar slightly higher. This brings further downward pressure on the already low oil prices, as the commodity will now be more expensive to overseas buyers.
In the second instance, Jarvis was commenting on the ongoing oversupply situation, which Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA, told the Wall Street Journal was "negative with an exclamation point". New data from the US energy watchdog yesterday showed that domestic stockpiles surged by 4.8 million barrels last week to a new all-time record of above 1.3 billion barrels. Analysts had expected a slight fall.
The result of all this was that the two-day rally in the oil price from its post-crisis low was revealed to be, in the words of FastFT, nothing more than a "dead-cat bounce". Having risen to above $38 a barrel – which is still unprofitable for much global production – international benchmark Brent crude fell by three per cent to a little above $37 a barrel.
This represents a new low since December 2008 and is only marginally above the next lowest point in July 2004. Earlier that year the oil price had been below $30 a barrel and some experts reckon it will return to a similarly low price in the early part of next year as Iranian exports open up after the removal of international sanctions.
Reuters says a number of factors could exacerbate, or reverse, this trend. It highlights the continued and unexpected resilience of expensive US shale production, and Opec's current disarray, as bearish indicators; but also points to unrest in the Middle East, a likely increase in demand and the potential for further investment cuts as factors that could give bullish traders "a reason to pile back in".
Overall, most industry analysts agree that it will take time to reverse the huge supply overhang so that prices can recover significantly. Only a major concerted effort on supply is likely to make this happen before the end of the next year.
Oil price: who is betting on a recovery in 2016?
16 December 2015
The oil price has been in recovery in recent days. Having hit a post-crisis low of close to $36 a barrel on Monday, it has since rallied and at one point yesterday it was back above $38 a barrel.
But this is still a painfully low price, close to 70 per cent below the September 2014 peak. While unprecedented production efficiency has protected drilling companies in a way few thought possible, in the North Sea, for example, it is still supposed to cost approaching $50 to extract a barrel of oil. This should be significantly higher in US shale oil fields.
The situation is worse for those countries that depend on oil as a source of income. Many Opec members in financial difficulty, such as Venezuela and Nigeria, the de facto cartel leader Saudi Arabia and even non-Opec export giant Russia, all designed budgets around oil prices in excess of $100 a barrel.
As investment is rapidly withdrawn and spending cut, these companies and countries are hoping prices will recover more quickly than markets currently expect. Encouragingly for them, there are experts who see that happening.
Liam Halligan wrote in the Daily Telegraph this week that prices will recover faster, as investment cuts are ramped up to cope with the latest price crash. Elsewhere, The Times reports that the Wellcome Trust has substantially increased its investment in energy stocks such as Shell and BP as it "builds into what markets are doing" and takes advantage of perceived bargains ahead of an inevitable recovery.
Reuters says that there is also a wider market bet gaining traction for prices to recover to between $50 and $80 in 2016, with derivatives that would pay out in this range climbing "steeply" in recent weeks.
The downside is that investors broadly see this happening in around 12 months at the very end of 2016. Near-term bets are still on further falls, perhaps to around $30 in the early months of next year as Iranian exports re-emerge from behind international sanctions.
It will take an output concession from Opec to push the price higher sooner – and the group has seldom looked less cohesive on its production policy.
Oil price misses 11-year low – but for how long?
15 December 2015
The oil price recovered in afternoon trading in New York yesterday, after coming close to 11-year lows earlier in the session.
International benchmark Brent crude had earlier tumbled below $37 a barrel in London and settled just 13 cents above the $38.20 it reached in September 2008 in the teeth of the global financial crisis. Below this, it would be at the lowest level since July 2004, Reuters notes, when it briefly languished in the mid-$30 range after a protracted recovery from a single-digit mid-1990s trough.
The rally yesterday, during which Brent bounced back two per cent, was not driven by particular fundamentals.
Rather, it was a function of inevitable volatility in a market that is currently beset by 'short' bets on a lower price. This morning Brent was sitting a little above $38 a barrel, which is still unprofitable for most production.
'Long' positions – bets on a higher price – are now at the lowest since records were first compiled in 2009.
This means two things: there will probably be some wild swings, as 'short positions' are rapidly covered any time the price ticks upwards even slightly; and most traders and analysts are still convinced the market has not found its bottom.
Where could that bottom be? A technical analysis has been offered by legendary data trader Daryl Guppy, who writes on CNBC that current trend charts indicate "prices have further to fall".
Based on historical support levels and general trading patterns, he sets a main target for the price floor at a little below $30 a barrel, near that 2004 nadir.
There is a consensus fast emerging that a price around this level will be reached before the supply glut clears next year - but there are those who believe if this does happen it will presage a faster recovery than some are currently expecting.
Echoing the Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, who warned in October that rapid retrenchment could cause oil prices to spike, Nick Cunningham writes on Oilprice.com that another big step down in prices could "spark deeper cuts to spending and drilling, which could perhaps contribute to an accelerated pace of adjustment".
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Remember the IMF weeks ago asked that these fees be taken out of the 2016 budget revenues. So now we are seeing the backlash from this action.
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PARLIAMENTARY FINANCE: THE RELUCTANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT TO ACTIVATE THE COLLECTION OF THE COLLECTION OF NON-OIL RESOURCES
He accused the parliamentary Finance Committee member Ahmed Sarhan, Tuesday, the executive branch of dragging its feet in the activation of the collection of non-oil resources, while noting that returning from tourism, agriculture and border crossings supply the revenue budget large amounts of money.
Ahmed said, "The non-oil resources back to Iraq is very significant financial resources if the application has been carried out by the executive branch," adding that "tourism, agriculture and border crossings supply the revenue budget large amounts of money."
"The non-oil resources is disabled in a suit with the economic crisis," stressing that "the executive branch reluctant to do to activate the collection of water, electricity and other resources."
He pointed out that "all the laws when the legislation is implemented on the responsibility of the executive power and the strength of the government and its place in the implementation of the provisions of the law."
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Update: Maliki Syndrome
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OTHERWISE AND VERBAL ALTERCATIONS BETWEEN MALIKI AND JAAFARI DETAILS, DANGEROUS AND EXCITING EVENTS KNOW IT !!
Date: Tuesday 12.22.2015 0:31
Political and media close to the Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari sources confirmed between the head of a coalition of state law against the backdrop of the report of the reasons for the fall of the city of Mosul, however, the organization Daash
The source said that al-Maliki sent members of his coalition Mohammed Chihod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki, accompanied by a threatening letter to a member of the Committee investigating the fall of the city of Mosul.
MP Sabah al-Saadi a deputy from the Reform Movement, which is led by Ibrahim al-Jaafari., said parliamentary sources informed of the (Abbasid News) Mohammed Chihod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki and two deputies Ashairian Mqrban of al-Maliki threatened to publicly Vice Chairman of the Committee Hakhuan Abdullah from the Kurdistan Alliance and a member of the Committee MP for the National Reform Movement morning Saadi if insisted on questioning the former prime minister, after he urged MPs on the investigation into the events of Mosul.
This will only be completed in the presence of al-Maliki before the inquiry to give evidence and the codification of his words, and said those sources that al-Maliki not only threats Alziod and Abdul Salam al-Maliki, the deputies committee members, but took the initiative to call the MP Sabah al-Saadi personally threatened him and (b breaking his head) if it does not stop in its claims summoned before the inquiry, however, al-Saadi replied by stressing that he would continue his quest is not in his appearance before the inquiry, but only convicted.
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ABADI SACK THE FORMER SECURITY ADVISER TO NURI AL-MALIKI!
Date: Tuesday 12.22.2015
Sent a number of families of Iraqi martyrs during the period of Mr. Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister a letter brief to our holding in which al-Maliki responsible for the use of Baathists and those involved in terrorist operations against the trafficking in the blood of their children.
The message reads as follows: I will never forgive the history of violations that took place during the reign of a selected age, let him It was required to everyone who wants to be appointed by a private degree be either covered by ablation or the holder of a certificate forged and hit the families of the martyrs, prisoners and the sacrifices the wall and came Balsrac Kaala Saadi Abbas al-Saadi and smiling Saadi Is the world heard the joke that holds the woman chancellor Maliki's security and military affairs in the day was Baghdad wake up on the 17 car bomb
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Update: Fighting ISIS
I am presenting the two article below because they give us a very good sense of where the Iraqi and coalition forces are in fighting ISIS in Iraq.
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Iraqi Army Kicks Out Daesh From Ramadi's Central District
Iraqi troops entered a central district of Ramadi, the capital of the country's western Anbar province, driving Daesh (Islamic State) jihadist militants out of their positions, a source in the military command of the province told Sputnik Tuesday.
US-Led Coalition Helping Iraqi Army to Liberate Ramadi From Daesh
BAGHDAD (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Iraqi armed forces began an operation to liberate the center of Ramadi from Daesh terrorists, who have occupied the city since May. According to Iraqi intelligence, around 250 to 300 radical Islamist militants had been holding central districts of the city.
"Anti-terrorist units entered the Bakr district located between the districts of Hamir and the government complex. They are clearing mines in the buildings," the source said.
He added that the militants suffered serious casualties as a result of airstrikes in the area.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi Army spokesman Yahya Rasoul Abdullah told Sputnik that the Iraqi Air Force and the aviation forces of the US-led international coalition, police and local militias are supporting the Iraqi Army in its offensive to reclaim the city of Ramadi from Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia
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BBC: IRAQI FORCES 'RETAKE ISLAMIC STATE RAMADI STRONGHOLD'
(12/27/15)
Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said.
The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said.
He said this heralded the defeat of IS in the city, although he admitted there could be pockets of resistance.
The government has been trying to retake Ramadi for weeks.
The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.
Tough fighting in recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way. After sniper fire from the compound stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity, Iraqi soldiers moved in.
The military spokesman, Sabah al-Numani, told Reuters: "The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of ISIS fighters in the complex.
"By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi. The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."
There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at around 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.
The Iraqi military believes the remaining militants have headed north-east; with fighting also reported to be under way to the south-west of the compound.
Gen Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of Anbar military operations, told Associated Press that the fighting had been tough given IS's use of suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps.
Concern also remains for the plight of hundreds of families who have been trapped on the frontline, the BBC's Thomas Fessy reports from Baghdad.
Although the full extent of the situation on the ground remains unclear, Agence France-Presse reported there had been celebrations on the streets of a number of Iraqi cities.
The operation to recapture Ramadi began in early November, but made slow progress, mainly because the government chose not to use the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.
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Onward to Mosul ! The plan has always been to clear Anbar first, then Rmadi and then lastly clean up Mosul stronghold (the key to getting rid of ISIS once and for all in Iraq). But they will have to defend the gained regions once cleared and this will take the National Guard law to do it.
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ABADI SETS A NEW DATE FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE CITY OF MOSUL
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed that the liberation of the city of Mosul from the control of the organization Daash, it will be after the victory achieved in Ramadi. Ebadi said that the victories achieved against Daash, evidence of the triumph of the will and the unity of this people, and his insistence on peaceful coexistence, and the rejection of all cowardly acts against religious diversity and freedom and social fabric, he said, adding that the liberation of the city of Mosul will be the cooperation and unity of all Iraqis, AND THAT AFTER THE COMPLETION OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE CITY OF RAMADI.
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One more item today:
Let’s not forget to keep praying for the success of THESE IRAQI AND COALITION SOLDIERS. I believe their success is in part some of the acceleration of the process we are now witnessing.
“Lord, protect Abadi and all who stand with him in righteousness, the Iraq and Coalition Soldiers who are fighting the good fight against terrorism, that they would be shielded from the enemy and would be Victorious against them! We ask that the Victory comes swiftly and healing of the Iraqi peoples and all whom have been effected by these evil doers can begin! Amen!
Till next time…. Auf Wiedersehen!
Peace and Luv To Ya All,
Mnt Goat
The operation to recapture Ramadi began in early November, but made slow progress, mainly because the government chose not to use the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.
Article Ends
Onward to Mosul ! The plan has always been to clear Anbar first, then Rmadi and then lastly clean up Mosul stronghold (the key to getting rid of ISIS once and for all in Iraq). But they will have to defend the gained regions once cleared and this will take the National Guard law to do it.
Article Begins
ABADI SETS A NEW DATE FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE CITY OF MOSUL
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed that the liberation of the city of Mosul from the control of the organization Daash, it will be after the victory achieved in Ramadi. Ebadi said that the victories achieved against Daash, evidence of the triumph of the will and the unity of this people, and his insistence on peaceful coexistence, and the rejection of all cowardly acts against religious diversity and freedom and social fabric, he said, adding that the liberation of the city of Mosul will be the cooperation and unity of all Iraqis, AND THAT AFTER THE COMPLETION OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE CITY OF RAMADI.
Article Ends
One more item today:
Let’s not forget to keep praying for the success of THESE IRAQI AND COALITION SOLDIERS. I believe their success is in part some of the acceleration of the process we are now witnessing.
“Lord, protect Abadi and all who stand with him in righteousness, the Iraq and Coalition Soldiers who are fighting the good fight against terrorism, that they would be shielded from the enemy and would be Victorious against them! We ask that the Victory comes swiftly and healing of the Iraqi peoples and all whom have been effected by these evil doers can begin! Amen!
Till next time…. Auf Wiedersehen!
Peace and Luv To Ya All,
Mnt Goat
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