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Kerry in Baghdad to Urge Iraqis to Form New, Inclusive Government

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning to urge the Iraqis to bridge their sectarian differences and form a new, inclusive government. At the start of a series of meetings with representatives of various Iraqi factions , Mr. Kerry met with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, along with his top advisers, including Saad al-Dulaimi, the acting minister of defense, and Faleh al-Fayed, the Iraqi national security adviser. Mr. Kerry was accompanied by Robert S. Beecroft, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Brett McGurk, the senior State Department adviser on Iraq. The United States’ formal position, which Mr. Kerry underscored at a joint news conference on Sunday with his Egyptian counterpart, is that it is not in the business of picking Iraq’s leaders. But American officials say that it is imperative that the Iraqis quickly form a new government so they can present a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Militants Take Major Border Post; Kerry Hints U.S. Is Open to a New Premier

The Iraqi government said Sunday that Sunni militants had taken control of a major Iraqi post on the Syrian border, strengthening their ability to move men and supplies into Iraq’s heartland. As the government tried to cast the setback in a positive light, saying troops had made a “tactical” decision to withdraw, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to increase the pressure on Iraq’s leadership by signaling that the United States was open to the selection of a new prime minister who could bridge the deep sectarian divides in the country. “The United States would like to see the Iraqi people find leadership that is prepared to represent all of the people of Iraq,” Mr. Kerry said Sunday in Cairo, at the start of a Middle East trip to rally Arab support on the Iraq crisis. The formal American position, which Mr. Kerry underscored at a news […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iraqi military facing ‘psychological collapse’ after losses, desertions

The 300 U.S. advisers authorized to assist the Iraqi security forces will find an army in crisis mode, so lacking in equipment and shaken by desertions that it may not be able to win back significant chunks of territory from al-Qaeda renegades for months or even years, analysts and officials say. After tens of thousands of desertions, the Iraqi military is reeling from what one U.S. official described as “psychological collapse” in the face of the offensive from militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The desperation has reached such a level that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is relying on volunteers, who are in some cases receiving as little as a week’s military training, to protect his ever-shrinking orbit of control. “Over time, what’s occurred is that the Iraqi army has no ability to defend itself,” said Rick Brennan, a Rand Corp. analyst and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Tech Talk – More on Iraq

A single picture is sufficient to tell the story of the fate of the Baiji Refinery in Iraq. Recently reached by the ISIS forces, it has been the largest refinery in Iraq, with a capacity of 310 kbd, and has been used to provide products for domestic use. Since it would provide fuel for both sides in the conflict it had been left largely intact, but that “understanding” seems to have fallen apart. Figure 1. View from space of the fire at the Baiji Refinery in Iraq ( Slate ) The remaining significant refineries in Iraq are at Daura near Baghdad which can produce 210 kbd, although promised at 280 kbd and Basra in the south, which can produce 140 kbd . There are an additional 11 very small refineries located around the country. The conflict has already led to a drop in Iraqi exports of around 300 kbd […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Egypt: Minister – Oil Sector Carries Out Ambitious Program to Increase Natural Gas Production

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Sheriff Ismail on Thursday 19/06/2014 said that the oil sector is carrying out an ambitious program for increasing rates of producing natural gas to meet the local needs. In statements while on an inspection tour of Desouk gas field in Kafr el-Sheikh, Ismail added that the plan will be implemented through developing the newly-discovered oil fields and enhancing exploration operations. He further noted there are positive signs about high productivity in the Delta area. The amount of subsidy for petrol, solar and mazut in Egypt during 2012/2013 fiscal year hit 128 billion pounds, said Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Sherif Ismail. Meanwhile, Ismail said that this amount of subsidy for petroleum products drains the state budget, adding that it is difficult now to revoke the subsidy system as it is related to several regulations, including the standard of living, unemployment rate, new projects […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China Fuel Oil Imports Drop to Lowest Level Since at Least 2003

China , Asia’s second-largest fuel oil importer, cut shipments last month by 60 percent to the lowest level in at least 11 years, data from the General Administration of Customs in Beijing show. Overseas purchases of the residual fuel fell to 1.13 million metric tons in May, down from 2.83 million tons a year earlier and the least since Bloomberg started tracking the figures in January 2003. In the first five months of this year, imports declined 33 percent to 8.4 million tons. China’s smaller, independent refineries in the eastern province of Shandong process fuel oil and crude to make gasoline and diesel. These so-called teapot plants, which account for more than half of the nation’s fuel oil purchases, may be granted more crude-import licenses this year, an official at the National Development and Reform Commission’s Energy Research Institute said in March. “Teapots are getting access to more crude,” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU ministers: Sanctions if Russia won't cooperate

Several European foreign ministers on Monday threatened further sanctions if Russia fails to cooperate with Ukraine’s proposed peace plan and doesn’t stop the flow of arms and militants across its border into eastern Ukraine. Russia is "conducting a propaganda war with full speed ahead and no signs of them closing the border," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Armed militants and even tanks continue to cross the border into eastern Ukraine, he asserted. "If the Russians say they don’t know how to close borders, I don’t think that’s a particularly credible statement," Bildt added. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the European Union will be able to agree further sanctions against Russia at a summit of the bloc’s 28 leaders Friday, if necessary. "Those measures are ready to take," he said. "We look to Russia to take actual action to stop the flow of arms over […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU ministers: Sanctions if Russia won’t cooperate

Several European foreign ministers on Monday threatened further sanctions if Russia fails to cooperate with Ukraine’s proposed peace plan and doesn’t stop the flow of arms and militants across its border into eastern Ukraine. Russia is "conducting a propaganda war with full speed ahead and no signs of them closing the border," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Armed militants and even tanks continue to cross the border into eastern Ukraine, he asserted. "If the Russians say they don’t know how to close borders, I don’t think that’s a particularly credible statement," Bildt added. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the European Union will be able to agree further sanctions against Russia at a summit of the bloc’s 28 leaders Friday, if necessary. "Those measures are ready to take," he said. "We look to Russia to take actual action to stop the flow of arms over […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ukraine Says Rebels Ignoring Unilateral Cease-Fire

Ukrainian authorities on Monday accused pro-Russia separatists in the east of blatantly disregarding a unilateral cease-fire declared by Kiev on Friday and continuing attacks on government forces. The charge comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for Kiev to hold unconditional talks with rebel leaders , saying it was the only way that a peace plan offered by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko could be successful. Mr. Poroshenko has said he is willing to talk with anyone who has opposed the government except for those with "blood on their hands." "In response to this offer of peace, the militants and terrorists have continued their armed attacks, blatantly violating the truce," Ukraine’s defense ministry said in a statement. Western leaders are threatening broader sanctions against Russia if Mr. Putin doesn’t move to stop the separatists from fighting and secure stretches of the border under rebel control. Kiev has accused […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Return of the Bad Old Days of Oil Shocks

The Return of the Bad Old Days of Oil Shocks And we thought the bad old days of oil shocks were over. Embargoes, price spikes, gasoline lines in America, a sweater-bedecked president ordering the end of hot water in many facilities, collapsing retail sales as high gasoline and energy prices hit stores as much as a big tax increase would, economic stagflation, or worse. Well, it just might be that we were wrong to believe that danger to our continued prosperity has been removed with the death of theories about “Peak oil.” Certainly, the takeover of part of Iraq by ISIS forces, variously called “militants,” “terrorists,” “gangsters,” and in White House circles thought to be disaffected Sunnis aching to participate in the government of a democratic Iraq, has set nerves jangling among energy planners. True, most of Iraq’s oil production, at around 3 million barrels per day the second […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA