The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015 - Page 2
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  1. #11

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Can the West trust the Kurds? Barzani looks to Obama for ‘independence’, but it is his Turkish ally who holds the aces




    Would you buy a used car from this man? It’s hard to imagine the Kurds forming a strategic alliance with a regional super power when they can’t even trust themselves.

    You can hardly blame Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani for playing the pied piper. Yet while full independence for all three Kurdish entities is not a new subject to jostle with, it is one which is hard to ignore for Obama.

    But well worth the effort.

    Given a number of recent milestones, it's easy to see how it has been neatly stitched into the delicate patchwork of Washington's Middle East small talk.

    Firstly, Kurdistan is getting a lousy deal from Iraq and the West in that it has little to show for any spoils of war from giving IS a bloody nose in a number of key battles which have returned towns back to their original inhabitants; secondly Baghdad renegades on an oil deal, so Erbil's coffers are running low; and thirdly there is little, if anything for the Kurds to be cheerful about in the new Iran deal, which will certainly stave off some of its oil exports to regional customers.

    With Barzani's circus in town, it's hardly surprising that the Kurds will be holding out their cap to their natural ally, Obama, despite US air strikes stopping IS militants from taking Erbil in the earlier days of the campaign. It also raises a number of poignant questions about whether the US is a true ally of Kurdistan or more shackled to them in a shotgun wedding which has little bang for its buck left, with both the bride and bride groom already twisting their wedding rings.

    The problem with the Kurds is that they have still yet to decide, despite today's charade for the cameras, who to align themselves with fully in terms of regional superpowers – Iran (unlikely), Iraq (possibly) or Turkey (likely) regardless if they dance to Obama's beat.

    And also, can you trust them?

    For the US, the Kurds are doing the fighting in Syria and in Iraq and so are critical for battlefield victories. For the moment. But if the three states which Kurdistan straddles form a political entity and strike for independence, this could upset the geopolitical apple cart, given that Iraq will be shattered and Turkey would probably be in turmoil. Neither of those scenarios bodes well for the twilight period of Obama's sycophants who have already written the history books. For Obama, President Recep Ergogen of Turkey is the enemy to keep closer.

    The Turkish leader plays a central role to keeping the three Kurdish entities very much divided while he uses the Kurds expertly for his own devices. In the summer of last year, it was interesting to see how he refused to help them fight IS, but then also allowed them a corridor for their own fighters. Erdogen is now championing the cause for a buffer zone in Syria, a notion tacitly linked to sending his own troops in, under a plan sketched out by two his own experts and those of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

    But just when you think you understand the chequer board, Syria's Assad plays a masterly move to distract the Kurds. Just recently, his government held out a hand and flirted with Kurd leaders in the north eastern province, offering them autonomy of sorts. But not full independence. In return, one can only presume that payback for Assad would be help on the battlefield elsewhere against a new generation of 'moderate' fighters who are being trained – yes, you've guessed it – in Syria just this week by Turkish army and US elite forces. The offer by Assad was brilliant. Timed just weeks before the parliamentary elections in Turkey where much hope is placed on the Kurds winning a minimum number of seats which will give them leaverage never before imagined in terms of calling the shots over their own destiny. Opposition leaders in Turkey are quick to explain though that 'independence' for the Kurds there is not really on the plate; equality is the real deal they seek. However, if post election squabbling ensues and Erdogen reacts to their wins in the house, this would marginalize them once again. No one in the Peoples' Democratic Party 'Halkların Demokratik Partisi' - HDP - wants to think about going back to the old days of fighting for a free independent country. But the elections on June 7th will certainly be a date which will be etched into the minds of protagonists like Barzani.

    Today, while he courts Obama and presents the withered idea of 'self determination' – a rye euphemism designed to cover a multitude of sins – he will know only too well it will be Erdogen, and not the US President, who holds the keys; although in all fairness there are a number of other intractable problems to overcome, namely cosmic-proportioned corruption both in Erbil and in the other 'states' and an infamously insidious regard by each of them towards one another.

    'Charm and dependability are seldom found in the same package' might be an adage that Obama might note well.
    Getting into bed with the alluring Kurds who promise much, for the region's superpowers, will always be tricky given that the Kurds don't even trust themselves. Getting out of bed with your watch and wallet on the bedside table might prove harder.

    Martin Jay is the Beirut correspondent for the UK's Daily Mail and is also the English language editor of An Nahar. A shorter version of this article appeared in The National on 4th May, 2015



    https://en.annahar.com/article/234319-can-the-west-trust-the-kurds-barzani-looooks-to-obama-for-independence-but-it-is?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:52 PM.



  2. #12

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Kurdish politician opens private art gallery in Iraqi Kurdistan

    Iraqi-kurdish-politician-Latif-Jamal-Rashid-photo-latifrashid-iq.jpg

    SLEMANI, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— A Kurdish politician has turned his family’s house in the Kurdish city of Slemani (Sulaimaniyah) into a private art gallery, displaying his private collection of over five hundred paintings by prominent Iraqi artists.

    Latif Jamal Rashid, who served as Iraq’s minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010 and as a senior adviser to the Iraqi president, said the opening of the gallery is his gift to his home city.

    “I was pleased to hear that Slemani has been named as Kurdistan’s cultural capital and I thought that the best thing that I can offer to Slemani is the construction of a gallery or an art museum,” Rashid said.

    “It can be considered as a gift to Slemani city and to the people, especially students, the youth, the young generation and those who are interested in art. To give them a place where they can gather and spend pleasant time,” he added.

    The works, which include among others, paintings by Iraqi Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen artists as well as works by Iraqi artists in exile, were collected by Rashid throughout his life and are on display in his family’s house in the center of the city.

    “Honestly I have to admit that I’m neither an artist, nor a painter,” Rashid said, further admitting that he just buys the paintings that appeal to him.

    “I don’t even have much information about art and I did not study art or paint, I admit that. Most of the paintings appeal to my taste and were collected throughout my life. Some of them I got from Iraq or Kurdistan while others are from Iraqi Arab or Kurd artists living abroad,” he added.

    The collection encompasses over 550 paintings of different sizes and artistic style including impressionism, abstract and expressionism, distributed among the six halls of the two-storey building. The paintings also varies in techniques and media.

    Gallery curator and artist Maher Sattar Aziz said Rashid was motivated by a desire to promote love for art in Slemani.

    “The purpose of opening the gallery is not for profit. It is not related to money, but rather it was meant to enhance culture and art awareness and the taste of art in the city of Slemani and other provinces,” said Aziz, who has four of his own paintings on display at the gallery.

    The gallery is open to the public, free of charge and Aziz said they have received visitors from across Iraq and hope to expand the gallery and collections.

    Slemani, the second largest Kurdish city after Erbil, was voted by the Kurdish parliament as the cultural capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in 2012.

    The city is known for producing famous poets, singers and prominent figures like Kurdish classical poets Nali and Sherko Bekas and prominent Kurdish writer and politician Tawfiq Wahbi.


    https://ekurd.net/kurdish-politician-opens-private-art-gallery-in-iraqi-kurdistan-2015-05-05?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:52 PM.

  3. #13

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Syrian Army Advancing against Insurgents in Dara'a Countryside



    TEHRAN (FNA)- Provincial sources said that the Syrian Army, in a fresh round of offensives against militant groups, has gained more ground in different towns of the Southern province of Dara'a.
    The sources told FNA that the rebels’ gathering center in Kafer Shams village in the Northwestern countryside of Dara'a was stormed by the army, who apart from killing scores of them, captured dozens more.

    The army's operations against al-Nusra Front's strongholds in Atman town, 9km to the North of Dara'a, resulted in the killing of a number of terrorists.

    Ayb, Inkhel and al-Seikh Miskin in Daraa’s Northern countryside were also scenes of bloody clashes between the army and the insurgents who left tens of killed bodies behind and fled to the safer areas.

    On Monday, military sources in Syria said the government troops have gained a momentum in striking victories over the militant groups in Dara'a.

    The sources said that the Syrian army men raided the rebels' concentration centers in the villages of Um al-Awsaj and Kafr Shams near Dara's, which left tens of militants killed and tens more wounded.

    Also Zamrin town in the Northwestern countryside of Dara'a was attacked by the Syrian soldiers who destroyed the militants' strongholds in the near by areas of the villages, and killed dozens of the fighters.

    In the meantime, the villages of al-Ghariyeh al-Sharqiyeh, Alma, al-Soura, and al-Hrak in the Northeastern part of Dara'a countryside were the scene of heavy clashes between the Syrian army troops and the terrorists of al-Nusra Front, who left scores of their collogues killed and fled the battlefield.

    Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are reportedly supporting the militants operating in Syria.

    https://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940215000567
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:53 PM.

  4. #14

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Central Bank of Iraq to print 50 000 dinars currency



    Shafaq News / The parliamentary economic and investment commission said that the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) cannot delete the zeros due to the unstable economic situation,

    as pointed out that the bank will solve these problems and will print a new financial banknotes worth 50 000 dinars.

    “The commission hosted the CBI director , Ali al-Alaq and they discussed issues concerning the provision of liquidity and increase demand for the dollar as well as the disparity in the exchange rate,” The commission’s member , Methaq Hamdi, stated in an interview for Shafaq News.

    Hamdi said that al-Alaq is regarding these issues, as a new financial banknote of 50 000 dinars will be printed , indicating that the Bank delayed printing 100 000 dinars further.


    https://english.shafaaq.com/business/14240-central-bank-of-iraq-to-print-50-000-dinars-currency.html?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:54 PM.

  5. #15

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Iraq reinforces troops in Baiji to stop ISIS



    The Iraqi government has deployed reinforced its troops to the northern region of Baiji to stop ISIS's progress into the area and to protect the road to the region's oil refinery, a military official said.

    A spokesman for the Iraqi Federal Police, Colonel Mohammed Al-Baidhani, told the Anadolu Agency: "Military reinforcements including troops from the Federal Police, the anti-explosives units, the Jund Al-Imam Shia militia forces and prime ministry guards were deployed on Monday to the Baiji province, north of Tikrit."

    Al-Baidhani said the joint forces have already begun military operations to control the road leading to the Baiji oil refinery.

    Three soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber near the Baiji oil refinery today, military source said.

    Meanwhile groups loyal to the Islamic State claimed the bomber was a member of ISIS named "Abu Hanthala AL-Pakistani".

    ISIS is trying to gain control of the Baiji oil refinery; Iraq's largest oil refinery which used to produce nearly 170,000 barrels a day.

    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/18427-iraq-reinforces-troops-in-baiji-to-stop-isis?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:54 PM.

  6. #16

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Dana Gas blames weak oil prices for decline in Q1 profits - Energy firm's profit dropped to $12 million in first quarter from $45 million a year earlier

    Dubai: Dana Gas, the Sharjah-based energy firm with interests in the UAE, Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan, has blamed weak oil prices for a second straight quarter of declining profit margins

    Dana Gas, listed on the Abu Dhabi's stock exchange, reported on Tuesday a $12 million net profit for the first quarter, a 73 per cent drop compared to $45 million a year earlier.

    Gross revenue was $115 million for the three months ending March 31 compared to $180 million for the same period a year ago.

    Production was flat over the period at an average of 68,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from its Egyptian and Iraqi Kurdistan assets. A year earlier production was 68,800 boepd for the same period.

    Brent crude, the global marker for oil prices, was trading down 0.15% at $66.35 a barrel early morning local time on Tuesday. Last June, crude was trading around $115 a barrel.

    Earlier this year, Dana Gas also blamed weak oil prices for the $4 million loss it incurred in the last quarter of 2014.


    https://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/energy/dana-gas-blames-weak-oil-prices-for-decline-in-q1-profits-1.1504991?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:55 PM.

  7. #17

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    ISIS occupies new areas in Libya



    Shafaq News / Libyan sources have talked about the fall of, "a large part of the central region in Libya," under ISIS control, as a part of the militant group's quest to expand

    its influence in this country.

    “Alwasat" Website quoted sources in Sirte city as saying that ISIS has imposed its control again on the area from its stronghold in the outskirts of Nofaliya city till Harawa.

    ISIS has extended its control over Nofaliya , Darna, Sirte and part of Benghazi city, taking advantage of the army fight with the militias classified by the Parliament as "terrorist".

    Since ISIS appeared in Libya in October 2014, the militant group, in which several sources said that it is making alliances with some of the other militias, is seeking to expand in the country.

    https://english.shafaaq.com/politics/14237-isis-occupies-new-areas-in-libya.html?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:55 PM.

  8. #18

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    PMO pulls Iraq, Kuwait videos from website after military faces shown



    The Prime Minister's Office has removed two videos from its own website over fears they may have broken the ground rules laid out by the military during Stephen Harper's visit to Iraq and Kuwait.

    The videos were shot in Iraq and Kuwait by 24/7, the prime minister's in-house media team, which specializes in producing flattering features about Harper and his government.

    One video is an interview with Defence Minister Jason Kenney shot after Harper's speech to Canadian military personnel based in Kuwait. The second is of Harper's trip to the front lines in Northern Iraq.

    Visible around PM

    In the Kenney interview, Canadian air crew can be clearly seen in the background.

    In the video of Harper, Canadian Special Operations soldiers are visible around the prime minister — this despite the fact that media travelling with Harper were given strict warnings not to photograph the faces of any military personnel.

    The Canadian military required journalists sign an agreement to that effect upon their arrival in Kuwait. Journalists were repeatedly warned if they showed the faces of military members, they could expose those members or their families to retaliation by the militant group ISIS, the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

    When officials from the PMO were asked why Harper's own media team appeared to be ignoring those rules, the videos were quickly pulled from the prime minister's website. A government spokesperson later said the military approved the images shot by 24/7 before they were posted. When concerns were raised about the videos, they were removed "out of an abundance of caution."

    The spokesperson added that the intention was to put them back up on the prime minister's website.

    Cloaked in secrecy

    Harper's visit to Iraq and Kuwait was cloaked in secrecy. Media were not allowed to reveal the prime minister was even going to Iraq until well after he landed. Journalists on the trip were warned not to include details of any upcoming events in their reporting or any information that might reveal the prime minister's exact location.

    Harper's events in Iraq and Kuwait were carefully orchestrated. In Kuwait, the prime minister spoke to military personnel in front of a huge Canadian flag and two CF-18 fighter jets.

    In Erbil, in Northern Iraq, he was given a closely guarded tour of a Kurdish Peshmerga position about seven kilometres from the front line with ISIS.

    Each of the events was captured on camera by 24/7 and posted online in short packages that resemble legitimate television news stories but are, in fact, partisan campaign-style promotional videos.


    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pmo-pulls-iraq-kuwait-videos-from-website-after-military-faces-shown-1.3061298
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:56 PM.

  9. #19

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Iraqi Kurdistan govt representative in Iran: I liaised between Tehran and PJAK



    TEHRAN,— Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative to Iran claims that he has acted as go-between in negotiations between Tehran and the Iranian Kurdish Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), which is ideologically linked to the Turkey’s based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

    Speaking to the Iranian Azad News Agency (ANA) Nazim Dabbagh said that he was part of attempts to bring the Iranian government and PJAK to the negotiating table, but he did not go into specific details.

    “They have been discussing issues with me which could increase tension if I delivered them to the other side.”

    Dabbagh revealed that he regularly consulted with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani before he took further steps.

    He confirmed that he played a role in the ceasefire between Iranian opposition parties, the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party and the People’s Mujahidin of Iran.

    “Iranian Kurdish opposition parties agreed to withdraw fighters from Iranian territories and stop their military activities while staying in the Kurdistan Region.”

    The PJAK, or the (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistane), is a militant Kurdish nationalist group based in the border region between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iranian Kurdistan that has been carrying out attacks Iranian forces in the Kurdistan Province of Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) and other Kurdish-inhabited areas.

    PJAK is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation (Koma Civaken Kurdistan or KCK), which is an alliance of Kurdish groups and divisions led by an elected Executive Council.

    Since 2004 the PJAK took up arms took up arms to establish a semi-autonomous regional entities or Kurdish federal states in Iran, similar to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. Half the members of PJAK are women. The PJAK has about 3,000 armed militiamen.

    Commenting on his relations with the Iranian General Commander of the Quds Brigade Qassem Suleimani, Dabbagh said, “I have know commander Suleimani since 1991 and I am proud of my relations with him.”

    Estimate to over 12 million Kurds live in Iranian Kurdistan.

    https://ekurd.net/iraqi-kurdistan-govt-representative-in-iran-i-liaised-between-tehran-and-pjak-2015-05-05?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:56 PM.

  10. #20

    Re: The Dinar Daily, Tuesday May 5, 2015

    Baghdad agrees on the presence of a Christian force outside the framework of PMU in Mosul



    Shafaq News / The Chairman of al-Rafedain parliamentary bloc , Unadem Kanna revealed on Monday, a coordination between the federal government and Kurdistan Regional Government

    on the deployment of 570 Christian volunteers from Nineveh plain areas in the front lines of the battle against ISIS terrorist gangs.

    "The federal government has agreed to hold a coordination between the Christian component Volunteers who are a Regiment made up of 570 volunteers from the people of Nineveh plain with Kurdistan Regional Government on armament and proliferation in the front lines in the battle fronts against ISIS gangs,” Kana told Shafaq News.

    Kana added that "the force of protecting Nineveh Plain will have a privacy not to be linked with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) nor the Peshmerga as they are working in Nineveh Plain area covered by Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution," adding that "We are currently in coordination with Baghdad and the government on the work of the security force."

    The pace of government measures started to escalate in preparation for liberalization of Mosul city from ISIS terrorist gangs after the achievements of the security forces and PMU regained areas in Salahuddin ,Anbar and Diyala.

    https://english.shafaaq.com/politics/14236-baghdad-agrees-on-the-presence-of-a-christian-force-outside-the-framework-of-pmu-in-mosul.html?
    Last edited by RCookie-Legacy; 05-05-2015 at 02:57 PM.

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