At Gas Stations in Iraq, Price Hike (8xs higher) Fuels Outrage

BAGHDAD, Dec. 27 -- Until recently, Ahmed Taha saw himself as providing a public service, his bustling Abu Qlam gas station dispensing dirt-cheap fuel to Baghdad's growing horde of motorists.

Then last week, he said in an interview, the Iraqi government raised gas prices eight-fold, all at once. Customers already frustrated by strict rationing and mile-long lines were outraged. Station operators got threatening messages to close their doors or else, and several came under armed attack, including at least three in the capital. A gas station run by Taha's brother-in-law was struck by a mortar shell Sunday.
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The International Monetary Fund required Iraq to phase out its hefty fuel subsidies as a precondition for forgiving up to 80 percent of its $120 billion foreign debt.

Enacted days after the country's Dec. 15 election, it has spawned large, mostly peaceful protests against the government in several cities. The timing of the decision spared politicians from voters' wrath, and now gas station operators say they have become the targets instead.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/27/AR2005122700929.html

Try to imagine how our country would react to this.

(no pun intended) the violence?

and a big fat lie!

a desperate rush to recover investment before everything blow.
And who getting caught when it blow up
The 160,000 Americans soldiers
Dumb fuck dont even care, just care on how fast get hand on money.

directly from an Iraqi source in the World Media Watch....

If it weren't for my shortwave radio and the foreign press, I'd know NADA! Or,I'd get the news WAY LATE.

1//Azzaman in English, Iraq December 22, 2005
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2005-12-7\135.htm

IRAQIS PROTEST GOVERNMENT DECISION TO HIKE FUEL PRICES
By Haqi Ismael

Iraqis are unhappy about the latest hikes in fuel prices which the government announced only a few days after the elections.

Demonstrations have been reported in several provinces in the country and some protests have even occurred in southern cities seen as bastions of the outgoing Shiite-dominated government.

The rise in fuel prices is expected to have far-reaching impact on economic activity in the country. Transport fees and prices of essential items have risen as a result.

The hikes cover main oil products including gasoline which now costs three times as much. A liter of locally produced gasoline has shot to 150 dinars from 50.

The government says it hopes to save up to $500 million from the latest increases, which have also covered kerosene, gas and diesel fuel.

Fuel prices are cheaper in Iraq than neighboring countries. The low prices have fueled cross-border smuggling.

Iraq, though sitting on the world’s second largest oil reserves, has turned into a net importer of fuel. The country’s import fuel bill is estimated at more than $100 million a month.

But the hikes, announced shortly after the elections, have taken Iraqis by surprise.

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