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Tuesday November 27, 2007

IRAQI REGIME SCORNED BY OIL-SELLING KURDS
ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq defied Baghdad on Monday, vowing to sign more contracts with international oil firms despite the national government's opposition. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani has declared all oil contracts between the Kurdish administration and foreign companies null and void, saying they have been signed illegally in the absence of a national oil law.

IRAQI REGIME "REQUESTS" PERMANENT OCCUPATION, OFFERS GOODIES
The two senior Iraqi officials said Iraqi authorities had discussed the broad outlines of the proposal with U.S. military and diplomatic representatives. The Americans appeared generally favorable subject to negotiations on the details, which include preferential treatment for American investments, according to the Iraqi officials involved in the discussions.

IRAQI REGIME LIES ABOUT REFUGEES RETURNING
On Nov. 7, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the Iraqi spokesman for the American-Iraqi effort to pacify Baghdad, said that 46,030 people returned to Iraq from abroad in October because of the "improving security situation." But in interviews, officials from the ministry acknowledged that the count covered all Iraqis crossing the border, not just returnees. "We didn't ask them if they were displaced and neither did the Interior Ministry," said Sattar Nowruz, a spokesman for the Ministry of Displacement and Migration.

IRAQ REGIME SEEKS ALLIES AMONG SADDAM LOYALISTS
BAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite legislators on Monday denounced a draft bill to ease curbs on ex-Saddam Hussein loyalists in government services, dampening hopes of progress for the U.S.-backed legislation aimed at promoting national reconciliation. The debate over rehabilitating former members of Saddam's ruling Baath Party has been a major obstacle to the ability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to bring minority Sunnis into the political process and stem support for the insurgency.

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