ISN'T SUCH OPTIMISM ONLY FOR AMERICAN DUPES?:

Visiting Iraq oil minister sees stability by late '07 (Japan Times, 10/25/06)

Iraq will see drastic changes in the security situation and many foreign troops will be able to leave the conflict-ravaged country by the end of 2007, the Iraqi oil minister said Tuesday in Tokyo.

Hussain al-Shahristani, who arrived Sunday for a three-day visit, did not say when he expects U.S. troops to leave. But he said the Iraqi government is recruiting young men to take charge of security from foreign troops.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, al-Shahristani also urged Japanese and other foreign companies to invest more to tap Iraq's rich oil and gas resources. He said the government will target an increase in crude oil production of 4 million barrels a day by 2010 from 2.5 million barrels now.

Depending on how much progress is made developing new oil fields in the north, Iraq, with cooperation from foreign companies, will further push up capacity to 6 million barrels a day by as early as 2012, al-Shahristani said.