NEWS: IMF Approves $685M Iraq Loan

The International Monetary Fund has approved a $685 million loan to war-ravaged Iraq. The loan is seen as crucial to the future economic prospects of the country. The Paris-club of 19 investor nations was waiting for the IMF's decision before implementing its proposed 80% reduction in the $38.9 billion it is owed by Iraq.



Why would an oil-rich nation borrow money to kick start its economy? War or not it has access to billions of dollars worth of resources. Iraq doesn't need loans and the only reason it is getting them is so that Iraq joins the rest of the World in being subservient to the international bankers.

The interest owed on its loans will never be paid off, let alone the principle. A major chunk of Iraq's oil revenues will be syphoned off to pay for these needless loans so that a very legal, but abhorrent, mechanism for 'money for nothing' can fill already stupidly rich bankers pockets.

From Europe, to Africa and now to Iraq the same practice goes on. We are put under needless debt by foreign bankers so that we have to be taxed to pay the interest and in effect be slaves labouring to make rich men even richer.

Welcome to the club Iraq.

Why would an oil-rich nation borrow money to kick start its economy? War or not it has access to billions of dollars worth of resources.

One reason that comes to mind is that most of Iraq's oil assets are still underground, waiting to be pumped out.

Much of Iraq's infrastructure is in ruins, also, and those are very costly projects that would quickly eat up the $685m.

The interest owed on its loans will never be paid off, let alone the principle. A major chunk of Iraq's oil revenues will be syphoned off to pay for these needless loans so that a very legal, but abhorrent, mechanism for 'money for nothing' can fill already stupidly rich bankers pockets.

While I disagree slightly, in that Iraq is more likely to be able to pay off it's loans, I see your point about "stupidly rich bankers". The more I hear about big money in this world, the more I am amazed. I have never even heard of some of these bankers, yet they toss around billion dollar deals like candy.

On the bright side, it seems that many lenders are willing to forgive Iraq's debt to them. Any lessening of the burden can only help.

Iraq has a bright future, if it's elected officials stay away from corruption, and it's citizens learn to live side by side. Good luck to them.

Originally posted by subz
Why would an oil-rich nation borrow money to kick start its economy? War or not it has access to billions of dollars worth of resources. Iraq doesn't need loans and the only reason it is getting them is so that Iraq joins the rest of the World in being subservient to the international bankers.

Yes, that's what I was willing to write when I've read your title topic.

When you think about all that oil, one can wonder why they need a loan. Anyway this loan isn't especially big. It's really a little loan for a nation. It's not a big deal.

Its a tentative loan because theres no good loaning billions to a brand new government who might not be here in 6 months to honour it. Given the insurgency has showed no signs of wanning they would be foolhardy to risk more than a billion dollars on the first loan of many. Loans that are aimed at the enslavement of Iraq via vampiric fiscal loans coupled with good ol' fashioned usury.

I'd be interested to see where this money is going. Nobody has yet accounted for the $8.8Billion that "went missing" just prior to the Provisional Authority handing over to Iraqi officials.

It's also woth remembering that these loans always have strings attached. In order to qualify for a loan, agreement usually has to be given to spend the money in the right places and contract favoured entities for any work or supply.

I'd be interested to see where this money is going. Nobody has yet accounted for the $8.8Billion that "went missing" just prior to the Provisional Authority handing over to Iraqi officials.

That money never had adequate oversight, resulting in it being siphoned off by all sort of looters.

The $985m is a small amount, not much more than pin money, actually. Not enough to handcuff Iraq. As I stated earlier, their wealth is still underground. It's still vulnerable to attack. The coalition took a lot of flack for heading for the oil wells to protect them when they landed back in '03. Iraq still needs to meet a payroll of gov't and security personnel, and pay for a million other little details every day.

An encouraging fact is the growing number of debtors that are willing to either discount or out and out forgive Iraq's debt to them. It should be interpreted as confidence in Iraq's future; no other conclusion makes sense. The confidence comes from the hard work the Iraqis have endured to get elections and referendums behind them. Indeed, the introductory story stated:

The loan represents the IMF's seal of approval that the Iraq government is taking the correct fiscal measures to mend its war-ravaged economy.

and...

One group of creditor countries - the 19-member the Paris Club - has been waiting for the IMF's seal of approval before implementing its own proposed 80% reduction in the $38.9bn debt owed to them by Iraq.

The insurgency is not yet squashed. But now that the Iraqi people are gaining a stake in their future, a stake that they have control over, the days of the insurgency are numbered.

It's just sustainable farming on a fiscal level. Just as there is no point trying to reap crop after crop from the same patch of soil, the same is true here. If a country is battered into bankruptcy you will not be able to get any return on your money. You will also be seen in a negative light as asking for debt interest when children go starving, not a public relations boon.

So they forgive enough debt to get the country expanding. The more people earning money, the more wealth they can tax. This is the very same process as implemented in Africa. To cancel their debt they had to privatize all their infrastructure and state run enterprises. Guess who bought them up, for reduce prices? They've still got new loans to pay off, the international bankers make money from their resources and the average citizen is taxed to pay for the interest on their new loans. Only difference? They have a chance of paying the international bankers now.

Iraq will be the same thing, get them up and running so that they can begin to make money that can be taxed. The tax then goes to pay for interest on ever increasing debts.

There's no point starving the cash cow. It makes more sense to keep it living and providing the milk.

Who say Iraqis are to be free?

They will be owned by every wealthy country that can pay for their privatization occurs the top of the list is . . . US.

Welcome to democracy and free Enterprise, occurs from foreign nations.

That is what Iraq is all about a open mine to be exploited, if just we can hurry up and get the insurgency tame.

I guess is all worth it.

Baahh
This is just dumb.
A $685 million loan is nothing to Iraq with all the oil they have.
They will pay that back in 6 weeks once the war is over.
Sorry, that is nowhere near enough money to indebit a country to your international bankers, aka the paranoia of the poor.

The paranoia of the poor? Well yeah, they would class any one who isn't a multi-billionaire "poor" so either you are one of them billionaires or you're being deliberately obtuse. Like I wrote before, its a tentative step into indebting the country like the rest of the World. Have a look at the debt most other nations are in to their own central banks or the IMF before spouting off.

indebting? 80% of 38 billion was relieved and then get a 685 million loan? uh hows that indebting them if oil revenues could pay 685 million easily in one year?

Many other nations choose forms of government that are destined to fail, so they quickly gravitate to the banker's teat. Governments with massive entitlement programs and cradle to grave philosophies. And the working populace in those countries is often very uneducated to begin with, or they end up that way as their educated workers are brain-drained away to other, more successful societies.

And once this entitlement mindset is ingrained, people have no incentive to work to better themselves. Why work hard when the government will give you everything you need?

So the gov't is forced to confiscate the factories and bleed them dry. Then when the factories are milked for all they have, the government itself turns into an entitlement body: at the teat of the fatcat bankers.

Isn't that why countries like Cuba do not allow their people to leave the country?

Easy ways to thwart the "evil consipring bankers" :
1 - Print more money "unofficially/counterfeit", use it to pay back the loan
2 - Declair the bankers a terrorist organization or say they fund terrorism, They can't control you if you close them down

The concept of a few elete controlling the world by indebiting them is just dumb.
That and Iraq has potentiallytrillions of dollars of oil so 600M is not going to hurt them at all

Originally posted by mrjones
The concept of a few elete controlling the world by indebiting them is just dumb.

Wow, try not to confound us all with that vast array of proof mrjones. If you have something that proves what you say, by all means post it.