TNT – “Tidbits From TNT” Tuesday 12-26-2023

CandyKisses:  18 members of the Interior Ministry and the Popular Mobilization Forces were injured in a US air strike in Babylon

Baghdad today – Babylon 

A security source reported today, Tuesday, that 18 members of the Ministry of Interior and the Popular Mobilization Forces were injured in a US aircraft bombing that targeted headquarters of the Mobilization Forces in central Babil Governorate.

The source informed “Baghdad Today”, “12 members of the Ministry of Interior, and 6 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, were injured of varying degrees as a preliminary outcome of the American bombing that targeted headquarters of the Mobilization Forces in the Algeria area in the center of the city of Hilla in Babil Governorate.”

US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, announced earlier Tuesday morning that US forces had launched strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and its affiliated groups in Iraq

CandyKisses:  Government condemns bombing of military installations in Iraq: a clear act of hostility

Baghdad Today – Baghdad

Today, Tuesday (December 26, 2023), the Iraqi government condemned the targeting of Iraqi military sites by the US side in Babil province, in what it described as “hostile acts” that affect the autonomy of the state.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office said in a statement received by “Baghdad Today” that “the Iraqi government confirms that it is dealing, through its security forces with all its types, constitutional institutions and all legal authorities, firmly against the attack by some elements on the headquarters of foreign diplomatic missions or places where military advisors from friendly countries are located, and these attacks have already been diagnosed as hostile acts that affect the autonomy of the Iraqi state, and it is unacceptable to commit them under any circumstances or under any name or justification.”

He added that “at the same time, the Iraqi government condemns what happened at dawn today, Tuesday, December 26, 2023, of targeting Iraqi military sites by the American side under the title of response, which led to the martyrdom of an affiliate and the injury of 18 others, including civilians,” stressing that it is “a clear hostile act, not constructive, and does not serve the path of long-term common interests, in establishing security and stability, and works against what is declared by the US side to strengthen relations with Iraq.”

“This step harms bilateral relations between the two countries and will complicate ways to reach understandings through joint dialogue to end the existence of the international coalition, and it represents, above all, an unacceptable violation of Iraqi autonomy,” he said.

He continued: “Our security forces succeeded in establishing security and stability in our country, and achieved victory over ISIS terrorist gangs, which no longer pose a threat to Iraqi national security, and therefore preserving the fruits of this victory is at the heart of our security and strategic priorities, and we will not allow any party to prejudice what has been achieved and consolidated through thousands of precious sacrifices.”

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Tishwash:  Before the eyes of the Honorable Prime Minister is a vision to activate the achievement of economic reform (2024-2026)

Samir Al-Nusairi

Through an analysis of what was stated in the government curriculum of the government of the Sudanese President, which is the ninth government after the change in 2003, and which has been in charge for a year and two months, and which was called the services government, it was able to accomplish an acceptable percentage of the goals specified in the government curriculum in accordance with the vision of the Prime Minister, which included many Of the economic sectors and fields, which occupied nearly most of the aspects of the government curriculum, because without achieving comprehensive and radical economic reform, which begins with financial and banking reform, the full goals and visions of the government cannot be achieved. Therefore, the government curriculum, as I see it, is a four-year strategy to achieve the economic reform revolution.

The reason for launching this strategy is “because Iraq, after 19 years of economic failures, mismanagement, and mismanagement of public funds due to administrative and financial corruption, the loss of the sound economic approach, political tensions, and instability in the business environment, has led to dependence on oil as a primary resource of public budget revenues, which constitutes up to 93% of total resources, up to 60% of gross domestic product, and failure to activate productive sectors that generate national income.” 

Which led to “ambiguity of the vision and lack of clarity in the decisions of the reform process of previous governments, except for some achievements achieved by the Central Bank of Iraq during the past years, in which it overcame the challenges of monetary policy in proportions that enabled it to maintain the stability of the dinar exchange rate during the years (2017-2020) and build foreign currency reserves.” Excellent, maintaining the general level of prices and the annual rate of inflation around 2%. This contributed to overcoming the economic and security crises in 2014 and addressing the decline in global oil prices by more than 70%.

This confirms that the government and the Central Bank have reviewed the previous reform policies in 2023 through diagnosis and analysis and have concluded that economic problems are the cause of most of Iraq’s crises and that “the real solution to Iraq’s crises is to work in the manner of comprehensive change, and here I mean drawing a strategy for a road map for the economic, administrative and legislative revolution by adopting the change.” radically for the coming years, while benefiting from the experience of institutions and individuals in charge who have achieved previous success experiences in confronting crises. On the occasion of the Prime Minister’s announcement that the year 2024 will be a year of achievements, it is an affirmation of the insistence on implementing the road map set out in the government curriculum in a way that supports economic, financial and banking reform, and it will be accomplished. All investment, service, administrative, technical and structural projects to support the national economy and maintain the stability of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate in the monetary trading market. For the purpose of activating the reform measures for the years (2024-2026), the following was proposed before the attention of the Prime Minister:

Firstly, starting a systematic movement to draw a road map for administrative, legal and economic reform carried out by the Iraqi economic, financial and banking elites and competencies (governmental and private sector) by creating the Supreme Economic Council and representing the private banking sector in its membership as the financing sector which must contribute to investment. The movement should be based on The reform system relies on several important economic pillars, adopts a new methodology for managing the economy, and achieves the central goal of moving the economy from rentier to productive, from cash to digital, and activating productive sectors other than oil to reach 50% of general budget revenues in 2026, creating sustainable development, and achieving diversity in… Resources and the development of economic and human structures in order to properly build the national economy and build the foundations for the transition to a social market economy, provided that its recommendations, after approval by the Council of Ministers, are binding for implementation by the ministries, agencies and concerned parties.

Second – Forming a (Central Follow-up Committee) linked to the Prime Minister’s Office to follow up on the implementation of decisions and having the authority to monitor and evaluate. It is formed under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and the membership of an elite group of advisors, government experts, and private sector experts.

Third – Moving to the central administration of the economy so that the principle of (centralized planning and decentralized implementation) is implemented. This means that the Supreme Council of the Economy is responsible for drawing up plans and policies centrally and distributing their implementation to the ministries and specialized bodies within the government structure after the approval of the Council of Ministers.

Fourth – Providing soft loans to finance small, medium and large projects and establishing a legal and institutional system to manage, grow and develop them, and issuing a special law for them. As well as issuing and amending the laws of the legal environment to regulate the economic process, and here this means issuing new laws instead of the laws that were issued in 2004. Due to the changes that occurred. in the national economy during the past two decades.

Fifth – Activating investment in the agricultural, industrial, energy, tourism, services and housing sectors, as well as working to reform, develop and grow the banking sector through monetary policy applications and regulating the relationship and restrictions that govern financial and monetary policies, as well as a serious approach to reforming the tax, financial and customs system. Addressing cases of failure to achieve the required growth rates in national income and exceeding the rise in unemployment and poverty rates.

Sixth – Developing a new methodology to overcome the challenges of instability in the financial system and the monetary system. This means developing coordinated and balanced plans to overcome the challenges of monetary policy and the challenges of the non-oil revenue deficit and the deficit in the balance of payments and the trade balance. Seventh – Accelerating the implementation of the e-government program and coordinating it with the electronic payment system. Focusing on following up on the decisions issued by the government regarding the use of electronic payment in commercial exchanges and banking operations and activating the establishment of the National Electronic Payment Company, which the Central Bank recently announced  link