Nuclear scientist set to head Iraq's oil ministry

[ECH1969]

Nuclear scientist Hussain al-Shahristani, a Shi'ite Islamist, looked set to become Iraq's next oil minister in a unity government expected to be unveiled within the next 24 hours, negotiators said on Friday.

Political sources said Maliki had personally lobbied for Shahristani to get the job, seeing him as someone who would fight corruption in the sector, Iraqi's economic mainstay.

Shahristani is viewed with mixed feelings by oil industry staffers. Some expressed confidence that his firmness would help control smuggling that is damaging state revenues. Others questioned his willingness to listen to advice.

As for Shahristani, he has told aides that his main focus, if he gets the job, would be to fight corruption. It is now losing millions of dollars to smugglers who ship oil and fuel to Iran and other Gulf states as some government officials turn a blind eye. The losses are compounded by mismanagement and turf battles in the oil ministry.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-05-19T093620Z_01_L19726016_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ENERGY-IRAQ-MINISTER.xml&archived=False

[One Honest Guy]

1. Surprising that there are any left.

Hasn't most of Iraq's intelligentsia been killed off by now or fled the country? Wasn't there bunch of reports coming out of Iraq last year and the year before that, on mysterious mass murders of prominent Iraqi scientists, doctors, professors, you name it? Sounded like someone was running a little wipe-em-out operation, and I can probably guess who that someone was.