activity
severely restricted; opposition to regime from disaffected members of
the Ba'th Party, Army officers, and Shi'a religious and ethnic Kurdish
dissidents; the Green Party (government-controlled)

Member of: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy
in Washington, DC
chancery: Iraqi Interests Section, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC
20036
telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500
FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: (vacant); note - operations have been temporarily
suspended; a US Interests Section is located in Poland's embassy in
Baghdad
embassy: Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad
mailing address: P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad
telephone: [964] (1) 719-6138, 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791
FAX: Telex 212287

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with
three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the
white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic
script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left
of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf
crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars but no script
and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the
flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band

@Iraq:Economy

Overview: The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive central planning
and management of industrial production and foreign trade while
leaving some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to
private enterprise. The economy has been dominated by the oil sector,
which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange
earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive
expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export
facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures
and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments.
After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased
with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged
faci