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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Excerpts: Terror in Saudi.Iraq's draft new oil law.28 February 2007

Excerpts: Terror in Saudi.Iraq's draft new oil law.28 February 2007

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 28 Feb.'07:"Editorial: Evil in Action"
QUOTE FROM TEXT:No one is going to claim that this is a war won."
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EXCERPTS"

THE statement that Saudi Arabia is winning the war against terrorism will
provide cold comfort for the families and friends of the four dead Frenchmen
who were shot dead on Monday near Madain Saleh by still unidentified gunmen.
Our first thoughts and prayers must be for these families in their deep pain
and loss.
The attack was plain evil in action. Putting aside the horror of the
incident - which is not easy - the fact is that, nonetheless, Saudi Arabia
is winning the war against terrorism. ...
Slowly but surely, good intelligence and increased security measures have
paid off. In 2005, some 28 terrorists, including several on the most wanted
list, were killed in a series of raids. Many more were captured. There was
only one terrorist attack that year ... . Last year saw further success with
security forces thwarting an attempted suicide attack on the oil-processing
facility at Abqaiq in the Eastern Province and, in raids a few days later,
the killing or capture of others involved in that attack. Success came last
October too when good intelligence resulted in the arrest of a further 44
terror suspects.
No one is going to claim that this is a war won. Last December, there could
have been another suicide attack. Fortunately, the terrorists were caught in
the nick of time but that is part of the success story. Armed with good
intelligence, the security forces were able to strike first, arresting 136
Al-Qaeda suspects and preventing the suicide attack from taking place. . .
.
... The killers of these Frenchmen who were contributing to the prosperity
of Saudi Arabia with their skills and who were engaged in something as
normal as enjoying a desert excursion will find no hiding place.

+++JORDAN TIMES 28, 2007:"Oil law boosts Kurdish ambitions"
By Dave Clark, Agence France Presse
QUOTE FROM TEXT:"Revenue will be concentrated in a federal account and
redistributed to provinces on the basis of their populations"
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EXCERPTS:

BAGHDAD - Iraq's new draft oil law has been hailed as a victory for Iraqi
unity but, in the short-term at least, the autonomous region of Kurdistan is
likely to benefit the most, experts say.
While the bill is the fruit of a hard-fought compromise and will centralise
oil revenues in Baghdad, it gives legal sanction to the Kurds' ambitious
programme to develop their own energy resources.. . ."Under the terms of
the oil law, which is expected to go before parliament in the next two
months, Iraq's oil industry will be overseen by a federal oil council and an
independent national oil firm.Revenue will be concentrated in a federal
account, and redistributed to provinces on the basis of their populations,
which would give the Kurds around 18 to 20 per cent of the national
cake.This represents a concession from the Kurdistan Regional Government,
which wanted to retain revenues from newly-developed fields on its
territory, but in return they have won the right to oversee development.
"The initial contracts will be the responsibility of the government of
Kurdistan then, within a certain period, these shall be sent to a federal
committee," said Kurdish government spokesman Khalid Saleh.
"If the contract complies with the criteria, it will be implemented. If the
committee has comments on it, it will be referred to a technical committee -
not a political committee - for assessment," he said.
In practice, this means the Kurds can lock in the progress they have made in
luring in foreign capital and push ahead with oil exploration in the only
area of Iraq which investors see as relatively safe.. . .
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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

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