"Tidbits From TNT" Wednesday Morning 1-5-2022

Jan 5

TNT:

Tishwash: Iraq acquires ExxonMobil's stake in West Qurna field

Today, Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved the acquisition by the National Oil Company of ExxonMobil's stake in the West Qurna field.

And Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Cabinet approved the National Oil Company's acquisition of ExxonMobil's share in the West Qurna/1 field."

The statement added, "The West Qurna field is one of the giant fields link

Tishwash: Four Katyusha rockets targeted Baghdad International Airport

A security source said, on Wednesday, that Baghdad International Airport was targeted with four Katyusha rockets.

The source said that "four Katyusha rockets fell on the US Victoria base at Baghdad International Airport."

He added, "The missiles were launched from the Jihad neighborhood in Baghdad. link

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Tishwash: The Pentagon: US Forces In Iraq Are Still In Danger

The Press Secretary of the US Department of Defense, John F. Kirby, admitted that the US forces in Iraq are still in a dangerous environment despite their “mission shift” in the country.

And the website of the US Department of Defense quoted Kirby as saying in a press conference that "despite the change in the mission of the US forces in Iraq, the forces are still in a dangerous environment and they retain the ability to defend themselves."
And the report added, “The mission of the American forces in the country shifted from fighting to providing advice and assistance two weeks ago under an agreement between the United States and Iraq. However, the forces that advise and assist the Iraqi forces are at risk.

Kirby added that "the strikes on the missile launch sites were not air strikes, and US forces bombed the sites to ensure that no missiles were fired at coalition forces," he claimed, "noting that" it is clear that our men and women are still in harm's way. We must take this threat seriously. We always have the right to self-defense.”

He continued, "We are still seeing threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria from the factions, but again, I do not have a specific backing on who is responsible for these exact locations, but they constitute a source of concern to us about the safety of forces in the region." link

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Tishwash: Al-Sadr presents in front of the frame five candidates for prime minister.. Three of them exited the competition, and only two remained.. Who are the two candidates?

Iraq is witnessing an unexpected political breakthrough, after Muqtada al-Sadr lowered the ceiling of his political vision to meet the next stage.

A "road map" was drawn up, which he and the other Shiite parties followed to raise the chances of the success of the Iraqi parliament meeting on the ninth of this month, to take the oath and prepare for the selection of the council's president and his deputy, and the nomination of the next president of the republic.

Al-Sadr presented the names of his candidates for prime minister, as he holds the largest number of parliamentary seats among the new Shiite bloc, which will include all Shiite parties that choose the prime minister of Iraq.

... On Monday night - Tuesday, a meeting was held, attended by the majority of Shiite leaders, to discuss the proposals submitted by Al-Sadr and exchange ideas presented by the "coordinating framework" that represents the majority of other Shiite parties.

A leading source in Baghdad who participated in the meeting said that al-Sadr had presented a vision of 12 items related to fighting corruption, the fate of the armed factions, the future of the Popular Mobilization Forces and unarmed weapons.

The "coordinating framework" discussed all the items, responded to them, and found al-Sadr attentive, who said that he would amend his reform paper to suit everyone.

The leader of the Sadrist movement and other Shiite parties agreed to go to Parliament by consensus to announce the largest bloc supported by all Shiite parties involved in political work.

This gives the Shiite coalition the right to name the prime minister and agree with the Sunnis to elect the speaker of parliament, and with the Kurds to choose the president of the republic, who will assign the largest bloc to appoint the new prime minister.

The "coordinating framework" agreed to al-Sadr's request that he choose the next prime minister, provided that he submit five names for discussion, one of which is agreed upon by all the gathered Shiite parties. It featured Asmaa Mustafa Al-Kazemi, Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, Haider Al-Abadi, Ali Douai and Hamid Al-Ghazi. However, the last two names owe to belonging to the Sadrist movement, and therefore they are almost certainly not approved by the other Shiite parties.

As for Allawi, it is certain that Nuri al-Maliki refuses to name him because of the strong dispute between the two, which gives the great fortunes of Abadi and Al-Kazemi.

It seems that Al-Kazemi is the one who got the most votes so far after Al-Maliki visited him and announced his approval of him more than any other candidate, and therefore matters are related to Al-Sadr's presenting other names or being satisfied, by the "coordinating framework", with the name that everyone agrees on.

The political process is proceeding according to the framework set for it, and consequently, it is expected that political matters will ease as long as the Shiite leaders agreed not to fight each other and to go under one umbrella to Parliament in its first session after the approval of the results of the parliamentary elections.

Undoubtedly, the supreme authority in Najaf, blesses the removal of the Shiite-Shiite dispute that has escalated in the recent period and the agreement on the program to end corruption and fight it and make power in the hands of the state exclusively after the departure of all foreign forces from Iraq...

But the lesson remains in performance and application and the ability of Sadr On the success of the next government and the achievement of the desired goals promised to the Iraqi people and its voters. link

Mot: Yet More Saga in Raising the ""Wee Ones"" -- from Mot of Course! ~~~