February 7, 2007

In the following article/link, with the above heading, "The Speech That Made the US Hate Saddam," I have to thank the author of this current article for filling in a mystery about which I have pondered a long time. The speech you will read was made in February, 1990 at an Arab Summit in Amman, Jordan, prior to the FIRST war against Iraq. When that war broke out, I tried and tried, in vain, to remember an article I had read not too long before referring to an Arab conference and a reference to Hussein's threat/promise/warning/proposal to STOP depositing or to withdraw oil funds in Western banks. Unfortunately, those were the days before the internet, and, I could not remember details, the source of the information, the name of the conference, etc. So, I didn't know how or where to begin a search. Well, from the above/following article, clearly, this must have been THE conference. It would behoove everyone or anyone to further research this conference and to see IF, indeed, my memory is correct regarding Hussein and his threat/promise/warning to Western banks. I recall at the time I read the article thinking "this is grounds for immediate retaliation" and was surprised when nothing happened. But, it did, not too much later, in 1991. So, the article, www.uruknet.de/?p=m30315

Following along the line of Iraqi banking, a story recently surfaced, presumably, a "sensational" one, regarding Iran opening bank branches in Iraq. The name(s) of the Iranian bank(s) is not stated. This is hardly a sensational story. Consider the "Trade Bank of Iraq," (www.tbiraq.com ) a consortium of newly privatized banking in Iraq about which I have had information in the past,
www.tbiraq.com/ConsortiumBanks.asp
and www.tbiraq.com/ParticipatingBanks.asp
In the latter link under "ParticipatingBanks," you'll note Turkey's Akbank. Turkey's Akbank, is now partnered with Citibank and it's London branch was purchased by Iran's largest private bank, Parsian. My blog from October 19, 2006 commented on the purchase/partnership of shares between Iran's Parsian and Turkey's Akbank, owned by Sabanci(one of Turkey's largest private conglomerates) and Citigroup, the world's largest, private financial entity, whose largest shareholder, in turn, is Saudi Prince Talal. In my blog of January 25, 2007, I followed the above connections from the October 19, 2006 blog through to the current privatization bid for Turkey's Halkbank by Akbank, thus, Citigroup, Parsian, Akbank (Sabanci).

If you go to my blog entry of January 25, 2007, link following, you will find AT THE BOTTOM PARAGRAPH of the January 25, 2007 blog entry links BOTH to the article regarding Halkbank, to which I've referred, above, AND a direct link, as well, to my previous blog from October 19, 2006, detailing these interconnections.

Meanwhile, seemingly changing the subject, but, quite related, the following article appeared at uruknet, "Beware of Agendas," This dovetails directly to my previous blog from January 31, 2007, in which I commented about a uruknet article regarding Znet and pointing to the author of the Znet article, Munir Chalabi. I still do not know, altho I ASSUME, Munir is part of the Iraq Chalabi dynasty.

An interesting fellow Munir. As you will notice, Munir Chalabi is the London liason/representative for the newly minted southern Iraq, Basra, Oil Union, the one created one month after the occupation after disbanding Iraq's former, large union affiliated with the "communist led" WFTU. Munir's connections tie directly into BOTH the above article regarding, "Beware of Agendas" and the previous one on uruknet regarding Znet, as well as HRW, from my January 31 blog. The first link, following, really tells it all regarding Munir's propaganda role vis-a-vis Hussein and the Baath Party, www.uslaboragainstwar.org/article.php?id=12645 , and the second following link itemizes his extensive connections with both the American and British "peace movement," including uslaboragainstwar, Znet, a host of other organizations,
www.zoominfo.com/search/ReferencesView.aspx?PersonID=7103479
70, all of whom follow the same line as Munir.

Meanwhile, in TRYING to follow up on the privatization conference that presumably occured just recently in Iran on Jan 21-22, 2007, I have been able to get NO further information. (Regarding this conference, see my blog entry from January 20, 2007 ) It's as if the conference did not happen. No reporting. The best I could come up with from some searches are some interesting aspects in the following links, "There is More to Iran than Split Atoms and Ayatollahs,". Interesting that this new hedge fund will be named the Kish Fund, since Kish Island is Iran's free trade zone, AND, as you may recall, was the main reason I began my blog, from August 3, 2005, regarding Iran's Oriental Oil Kish, Halliburton and Nasseri. Once again, I have been unable to get any further information on this new Iran Fund.
Another related blogspot with good articles and links to privatization and the "transformation" of banking regarding Islamic banking, www.investhalal.blogspot.com

And a few other notes to explain everybody's investment in the outcome of Bush's "surge," "Jordan to Host Iraq Economic Forum," and "Syria Seeks Iraq's Cooperation on Oil Exploration."

A followup note. It seems Crescent-Dana Gas, which I've been following extensively, with its contracts in southern Iraq and Iran, might well be the supplier of gas for the Pakistan-India pipeline. And in Kurdistan, of course, the oil from Kirkuk can/will be pumped thru a revived pipeline from Kirkuk thru Jordan onto the ports of Israel.