Word: iraq
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...Obama began his terse statement Tuesday by acknowledging that "there is no more solemn duty as President than the decision to deploy our armed forces into harm's way." He has been personally writing letters to the families of each U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, hand signing them "Barack." Such letters no doubt will become more difficult to write in the months ahead, when the casualties begin to include some of those he ordered into combat...
...crisis looks to deepen over the rest of 2009, U.S. and Iraqi policymakers in Baghdad believe they have bought a year's time before the downturn poses a threat here. "The economy this year is going to be O.K.," says a U.S. official who focuses on economic issues in Iraq. "The problem is next year...
...Iraq's ability to weather the global slowdown at the moment rests in the huge currency reserves it earned in recent years selling oil as prices soared. Iraq has roughly $30 billion in surpluses from previous years. That has allowed the country to maintain minimum standards of services and governance despite depression-scale unemployment (no reliable data are available, but some experts estimate unemployment may be over 20%). Iraq's GDP is growing steadily despite the global financial crisis. Last year, GDP grew in Iraq an estimated 7% to 9%. This year, GDP is projected to rise...
Virtually all of Iraq's income comes from oil production, and through its state-run oil company, the country has been working assiduously for more than a year to increase its output. But the government's dilapidated oil facilities have essentially maxed out their production capacity; U.S. and Iraqi officials say any significant rise in production would require massive involvement by foreign firms, which continue to haggle with the government of Iraq over business terms, with little sign of progress toward possible deals...
...recent drop in oil prices poses the most immediate threat to the government budget in Iraq, where public-sector spending fuels almost the entire economy. With oil prices lower, Iraq expects to run a deficit this year of roughly $20 billion, which could be covered by the nation's existing cash reserves. Once that money is gone, however, Iraq will be in the same position as many countries facing a cash crisis around the world at the moment - but with added problems unique to a country rich with oil but troubled by the legacies of wars...