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robert_dinaro
11-17-2004, 09:54 PM
From : Sarah Miller-Davenport <****@sorosny.org>
Sent : 15 November 2004 21:56:07
To : "LIST: IRAQREVENUEWATCH" <****@mailhost.soros.org>
Subject : [iraqrevenuewatch] The Legacy of Iraq: A new report examines the U.S./U.K. occupation and reconstruction of Iraq and what it means for the future

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sarah Miller-Davenport, OSI, 212-***-****
Sudie Nolan, OSI-DC Office, 202-***-****

The Legacy of Iraq

A new report examines the U.S./U.K. occupation and reconstruction of Iraq and what it means for the future

WASHINGTON, November 16, 2004—With the future of Iraq uncertain, a new report produced jointly by the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the United Nations Foundation aims to provide legislators and those involved in post-conflict reconstruction efforts with strategies for rebuilding Iraq. The report, Iraq in Transition: Post-Conflict Challenges and Opportunities, discusses the laws governing occupation, examines the challenges in reconstructing Iraq, and provides benchmarks in the key areas of security, governance, economics, social services and justice, so that the international community can measure Iraq’s progress toward a more free and open society.

These benchmarks include:

· Establishing an independent Iraqi security force
· Providing dedicated UN security to permit greater UN presence in Iraq
· Holding certifiably free and fair elections and drafting a permanent constitution
· Creating mechanisms for transparent and open management of Iraq’s finances and revenues
· Accelerating the disbursement of pledged international aid, and achieving substantial debt reduction for Iraq
· Expanding Iraqi job opportunities in both public and private sectors

Although it will be years before the world can fully assess the consequences of the U.S. and U.K’s post-conflict reconstruction of Iraq, Iraq in Transition serves as a resource guide that begins to analyze the social, political and economic effects of the occupation on the evolving Iraqi state. “During occupation, the Coalition forces faced immense responsibilities and challenges,” said Morton H. Halperin of the Open Society Institute in Washington. “Some errors and omissions were inevitable, but many of the mistakes were the result of ignoring the advice of those who knew Iraq best.”

A main legacy of the occupation is an unstable security environment in Iraq, due in part to inadequate planning, poor on-the-ground diplomacy and insufficient troop levels during the post-conflict period. In the four months since the Coalition handed over political power to an interim Iraqi government, widespread violence and insurgent attacks have escalated. Efforts to rebuild Iraq are proceeding, but at a much slower pace than originally envisioned, as contractors are kidnapped and killed and newly restored installations are sabotaged.

Iraq in Transition demonstrates that security issues, both during and beyond occupation, have dramatically affected Iraq’s ability to establish self-governance and move forward with other aspects of reconstruction. Security concerns continue to plague preparations for the upcoming elections in Iraq, scheduled for January 2005.

Iraq in Transition also addresses the troubling economic legacy left by the occupation forces. On a rushed timeline just before the end of the occupation and with little Iraqi involvement, the Coalition Provisional Authority, which governed Iraq during occupation, committed billions of dollars to projects the Iraqi interim government is now obligated to carry out. Further hampering its economic recovery, Iraq’s electric and oil output are lower now than prior to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and, despite massive international pledges for financial assistance, Iraq still faces unsustainable debt.

Iraq in Transition follows Reconstructing Iraq: A Guide to the Issues, a report produced last year by the Open Society Institute and the United Nations Foundation. Both reports are available on the Open Society Institute’s website: www.osi-dc.org.

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Nothing new,but thought i would share it, i will give updates of any further correspondence........... :wave:

Lux
11-17-2004, 10:53 PM
That wouldn't happen to be the same United Nations that's is currently in the middle of an Oil For Food scandal that financed much of the hell in this region?

"Kettle" meet "Pot"

robert_dinaro
12-06-2004, 05:06 PM
From : Sarah Miller-Davenport <*****@sorosny.org>
Sent : 06 December 2004 18:31:07
To : "LIST: IRAQREVENUEWATCH" <******@mailhost.soros.org>
Subject : [Iraq Revenue Watch] LATEST AUDITS SHOW CPA MISMANAGED IRAQI FUNDS

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LATEST AUDITS SHOW CPA MISMANAGED IRAQI FUNDS

NEW YORK, December 6, 2004—New audits reveal that careless accounting and lax monitoring of contracts were the norm under the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority’s management of Iraqi reconstruction funds, says a report by Iraq Revenue Watch, a project of the Open Society Institute.

According to the report, Audits Find More Irregularities and Mismanagement of Iraq’s Revenues, the CPA allowed hundreds of irregularities in the disbursement of Iraqi reconstruction funds and failed to establish a transparent financial management system for Iraq.

“The legacy of CPA accounting practices is a poor model for present and future Iraqi governments,” said Julie McCarthy, Acting Director of Revenue Watch.

In its most recent audit, released in October 2004, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB), an oversight body established by the United Nations, found numerous deviations from required practices in the last six months of the CPA’s tenure as manager of Iraq’s public purse. During that time the occupation authority oversaw the disbursement of more than $4 billion in Iraqi revenues.

The IAMB’s audit also reveals that the CPA did not take adequate measures to monitor and control oil smuggling during the second half of occupation, despite being advised by the Board to install metering equipment in March 2004. As a result, the Coalition Provisional Authority admitted to IAMB auditors that it was “unable to reliably estimate the amounts of petroleum and petroleum products that were illegally exported for the period from 1 January to 28 June 2004.”

Further, according to the IAMB audit, during the last half year of occupation the CPA failed to ensure that all proceeds from oil sales were deposited into the Development Fund for Iraq, as required by UN Resolution 1483. Instead, cash advances for oil sales during this period, amounting to over $20 million, were deposited into an Iraqi Bank account of the State Oil Marketing Organization, instead of going to the Development Fund.

The Iraq Revenue Watch report also examines the findings of the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General’s (CPA-IG) third report to Congress, in which the CPA-IG notes numerous, troubling aberrations in the CPA’s management of Iraqi revenues, including a case in which a contract was entered into against the explicit objections of the only Iraqi representative to the spending board. There were also examples of the CPA using reconstruction funds for purposes forbidden by statutory laws under occupation. In one instance, $1.4 million in Iraqi funds was unlawfully allocated for an Iraqi weapons buy-back program that the U.S. government was responsible for covering.

“The fact that Iraq’s public institutions began to take shape in this climate of negligence raises serious concerns about the viability of the current Iraqi government’s financial management systems,” said McCarthy.

The report can be found at http://www.iraqrevenuewatch.org/reports/120604.shtml.

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Iraq Revenue Watch (www.iraqrevenuewatch.org), a project of the Open Society Institute, monitors Iraq's oil industry and public finances to ensure that they are managed with the highest standards of transparency and that the benefits of national oil wealth flow to the people of Iraq.

Dinaress
12-07-2004, 09:43 AM
Sorry about the Soros comments, i beg to differ about him and his motives. Here is why.....1) First and foremost Soros is a BILLIONAIRE currency trader
2) For one currency to go up in value, another has to drop drasticly
3) he has his money on a different currency and in order for his to profit billions Iraqs has to fail
4) he is only in this for his own greed because he has a lot of money locked into another currency and thats why he and some other guys spent millions to try and FIX our presidential election.
for more information please read WorldNetDaily articles on George Soros its real informative.

Marksman
12-24-2004, 02:04 PM
I don't trust either Soros or the U.N. The U.N. covered for Saddam for a long oong time, and did everything it could to prevent Iraq's liberation from it's dictator. The presence of any part of the U.N. is a negative factor. It's unlikelt they would do anything at all to assist Iraq on it's course to becoming a free and stable nation.
Soros seem quite the madman, and the impression I have of him is of someone who would have no conscience whatsoever about mangling the future of Iraq in order to advance his political and financial goals.

If either declares something to be true, it's best to believe the opposite to be true.