Notes from Iraq - source withheld

Iraq remains an extraordinary kaleidoscope of adventure and intrigue and an outrageous abuse of human rights. There’s more money in the South than is being shown by the card players, yet Iraq is running out of $$ and Obama might yet have to dig deep to support his own popularity and rescue his predecessor’s morally bankrupt administration. Tripartite (Baghdad, Erbil, Ankara) cross-dealing will definitely be used against Western interests twice over.

1. US “briefcase” money is being invested against US interests; also
2. It is not being distributed to create a common wealth based economy.

The (Baghdad) Ministry of Interior remains opaque at best when it should have answers to allegations of State sponsored murder. The Ministry of Oil is leaching Iraqi money more that any communist (let alone socialist) party could justify. If this were co-ordinated, then we should forget Foreign direct investment into Iraq and focus on peace in the meantime. “Summat’s” very wrong. Recent public loss of confidence in Shahristani (Baghdad oil minister) led to me being told that without him, Malaki would be stronger. I have not yet worked that one out.