Deputy PM optimistic about Iraq progress

AP ^ | August 29 2006 | BARRY SCHWEID

[jmc1969]

While acknowledging an uptick in violence in the past few days, one of Iraq's deputy prime ministers said Tuesday that attacks overall are declining.

Barham Salih also predicted that by the end of the year, half of the country's provinces will be controlled by Iraq's security forces.

Salih said violence had dropped by half during the past month, but that terrorists and remnants of the deposed government of Saddam Hussein remain a challenge to the government.

U.S. support will continue to be important even after Iraqi security asserts itself, he said.

"We are building a system that can fight off terrorism more effectively," Salih told reporters at the State Department during a video news conference from Baghdad. snip.

Reporting on preparations for Iraq's 2007 budget, Salih said agreement had been reached that oil revenues would be controlled by the central government and then shared by the country's regions.

The deputy prime minister said Iraq is projecting 1.7 billion to 1.8 billion barrels a day for export, and production of 2.2 billion to 2.5 billion barrels overall.

Production is expected to double to 4.3 billion barrels by 2010, he said.

[SF Republican]

Sure would be helpful for the midterms if we could draw down or redeploy SOME troops; just symbolically if nothing else.

[icwhatudo]

"Reporting on preparations for Iraq's 2007 budget, Salih said agreement had been reached that oil revenues would be controlled by the central government and then shared by the country's regions."


But I thought we went to war to steal their oil????

[jmc1969]

The reality is I really wish we had more troops in Iraq right now. We have put off our biggest task in Iraq for a very long time and allowed the problem to grow and fester and that problem is the militias.

We need to deal with militias head on before we even think about drawing down.

[WOSG]

Iraq news is looking better.