The "independent idealist" Peter Galbraith, who got his hand dirty in 35 billion Kurdish US$ while running from the press.

[Kjertesvein]

To be honest, I think the Norwegian press, Dagens Næringsliv(Todays business) kickes ass when their country men calls for action against hypocracy. This does not explain the first ever election in Afghanistan's history, but atleast it shows the hypocracy of how importent an independent government's standard should be.... weeell, at least in Peter W. Galbraith hypocritical eyes.

Mugshot: Wanted explained or fired.


Kicked top diplomat in the controversial dual role

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Peter Galbraith has had a secret interest in Kurdish oil fields. Now he asks, via the company Porcupine, a milliardsum from DNO.

In recent weeks, the top U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith (58) been in a public feud with the Norwegian UN envoy to Kabul, Kai Eide, which ended with Galbraith lost his job.

At the same time he is also in dispute with the Norwegian-based oil company DNO International Court of Arbitration in London, writes Dagens Næringsliv Saturday.

Advisor Central
- I can not say this because I do not want to get in legal trouble, "said Galbraith, who ran as Dagens Næringsliv went to see him in Norway, on Thursday.

Documentation Dagens Næringsliv has obtained show that the prominent diplomat for several years has had five per cent stake in the huge oil field Tawke in Kurdistan. With current oil prices may contain a field of oil worth nearly 200 billion NOK (35 billion US$). Galbraith has for years served as central advisor to the Kurdish leaders in Iraq.

Top Diplomat played a key role in shaping Iraq's constitution and helped to secure the Kurdish region a high degree of autonomy. Now it turns out that Galbraith had ownership interests in one of the largest oil fields in Kurdistan.

Requires one billion compensation
When the Kurdish self-rule government last year renegotiated production sharing agreements for Tawke field was, however, Galbraith was kicked out. The same was many billionaire Shaher Abdul-hak. He is the father of Farouk Abdulhak, who is indicted and wanted for murder and rape on the Norwegian student Martine Vik Magnussen in 2008:


Together requires Galbraith and Shaher Abdul-hak totaling 3.1 billion of DOM as compensation for losing their shares of ten percent in the Tawke field.

Five per cent stake
29. June 2004 DNO signed the agreement to explore for oil in the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, the first Western company entered into an agreement with the Kurdish self-rule government. DNO secured the rights to 40 percent of future discovery at Tawke field, while the Kurdish self-government even retained a larger share of the field. Five percent turned out to harbor at Galbraith.

The day after the DNO signed an agreement on the conclusion in 2004 founded the Peter Galbraith company Porcupine LP in the U.S. state of Delaware. The government operates with a high degree of confidentiality about company information. Dagens Næringsliv have obtained foundation document for the Porcupine signed Peter W. Galbraith, and dated 30 June 2004.

Has provided advice
After Galbraith first ran when he saw the Dagens Næringsliv photographer Thursday, he said later in the day in question from the newspaper.

Galbraith says he has given the Kurds advice for many years, but never had a formal consulting relationship with them.

- I have worked with companies that invest in Iraq and of course the Kurdish authorities have been aware of the relationship to my clients. This is all I want to say, "says Galbraith to Dagens Næringsliv.

- What is your relationship with the company Porcupine?

- I am in the situation that my business relationship is covered by confidentiality statements. I tried to consult me with my lawyers about what I could tell you about that without breaking confidentiality agreements, but I did not get hold of them, "says Galbraith.

More: Økokrim(Eco criminal department of Norway) investigator DNO
Translated article from Dagens Næringsliv 1.

- Finished as top diplomat

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Iraq researcher Henrik Thune says top diplomat Peter Galbraith's ownership of oil fields in Kurdistan would have serious consequences for his career.


Henrik Thune, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) says it is unfortunate that the top diplomat Peter Galbraith has been the DNOs and the Kurdish self-rule government's secret co-owner of Tawke field.

- When it now turns out that Peter Galbraith has held the interest of the Kurdish politics, he has in effect helped to aggravate the situation in Iraq and complicate the war. This he has done while he has portrayed himself as an independent observer and critic of U.S. policy. This is dirty, in a big political plan, "said Thune to Dagens Næringsliv Saturday.

- I think Peter Galbraith has finished as top diplomat after this. And the matter injury also Kurds future, "said Thune.

Dual Role
Also Iraq-researcher Reidar Visser of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs is very critical of Peter Galbraith's ownership in Kurdistan's oil fields.

- It's a very unfortunate double role. Public, Peter Galbraith has appeared as an idealist who has fought for Kurdish rights, but this suggests that he also has fought for his own economic interests, "said Visser to Dagens Næringsliv.

The researcher believes that it is remarkable that Galbraith has held stakes in the largest oil field in Kurdistan while Kurdistan has secured a high degree of economic independence.

- Galbraith was a central figure behind the principles of the Iraqi constitution from 2005. When it is known in Iraq that he actually was also an economic entity that would benefit from the decentralization of Iraq's oil industry, as it may, at worst, put the constitution in the discredited, "said Visser.

Translated article from Dagens Næringsliv 2

Maybe it's his norwegian wife, maybe it is because he was second in command in Afghanistan, but thats debatable. Is he hypocritical when it comes to independent governments, HELL YES! Clean cut case! Hunt him down and throw him in the kurdish dungeons at dawn!

Next time to think about ing with us norwegians, remember that we are the smartest population.

-Ulrich Wille
-----------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------
Interview: http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/utenriks/1.6810150

Click on the link, then press the Play button. Most of the interview is not english, but below it is:

Transcript:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Peter Galbraith: You are missing your que, Freya.

Journalistic rethoric: It is no longer Afghanistan, which occupy Peter Galbraith.

Peter Galbraith: Freya, you don't get this. You are the supporting role, I'm the star here.

Unemployed and picked on, the former top diplomat has found refuge in his wifes home town, Bergen. Last monday, he got fired from his boss Kai Eide after conflict. A boss Galbraith means has been a catastrophy for Afghanistan.

Peter Galbraith: The fact is that he consistently... downplayed the the fraud that took play in the election. And most seriously... ehm... missed an oppurtunity... ahh... to minimise the fraud. He failed down in his dutys and the people who suffer are the afghans.

Journalistic rethoric: The symbol of the blue fingure should be a sign of democracy in Afghanistan, but not all voting centers were just as good secured. In the south, very few people would dear to come close to the centers. At the same time, a blizzerd of boxes came from this region in favour of President Karzai.

Peter Galbraith: There is obvious that there is a fradulant result. We wanted to turn this data over to the in.. independent election comition and to the election complaint comition. When it came clear that this information, Kai Eide orderd us to not turn over the data, but to keep it to us self.

Journalistic rethoric: But Kai Eide declines Peters alligation:

Kai Eide: I have one time, in an ambassador meeting, asked him to not mention the percent how many that went out to vote in the several provinces. That was because it was great concern of uncertin feedback. Let me take an example: One distric in Helmad province said they had 4 voters when the UN called, while the british said there were several thousen voters. Well then I and the British, aswell as others said, "that we keep the numbers to the side for the moment, because we need to have more safe numbers".

Journalistic rethoric: Galbraith wanted to page set both President Karzai and his opponent Abdullah Abdullah, says Eid, and wanted to put forth another government.

Kai Eide: That is almost the same as a Sate coup, and that is something the UN can not be with, and that was the imidiet reason why he had to leave from Afghanistan.

Journalistic rethoric: Far from Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith decline that the duel was personal.

Peter Galbraith: It is not a personality clash. As you know, Kai and I were friends.

Journalistic rethoric: At the same time, he means Eide must step off.

Peter Galbraith: I don't see how he can stay in this business for long. He lost the confidence significant segment of the population of Afghanistan, and he lost the confidence of the Tadsjik leaders and his delegation.

Kai Eide: He has been here for 2 months and managed also to put him out with the Afghan authorities, and he can not depart to the Afghan government members of the president's office. It's very serious after just 2 months. It was also part of the reason why Banki Mon decided that he must return. Now I also see that, it is it comes declarations of support for me from different parts of the country. So who has the confidence or not, that opinion can he keep for himself.

Journalistic rethoric: The feud between the 2 topp diplomates filled worlds news paper, but one thing they agree on: the dispute has damaged the election process in Afghanistan.

-----The process of counting and making a peoples registre is still not over.-----

The way I and to some context Kai Eide, the UN, US delegation to afghanistan, and many many supporters in Afghanistan see this:

Peter Galbraith is a man who just lost alot of money in a secret oil investment in Tawke, Kurdistan. A close to independent region which he created and granted him this secret 35 BILLION US$. Now, because of a fued with Norwegian company and the kurds, he lost his 5% shares of one of the biggest oil fields in Kurdistan. Now this Congress Democrat has gone quite simply insane. This out-burst off his, happend once Kai Eide, his former friend, were on a marrige. In this sherad, he is sacreficing the Afghan people for this, and putting the whooole god deam Afghanistan government on the break, the US precence and all of the ISAF force at risk, for exactly what? This is extremly unprofessional behavior and traitory in war, for what?
Peter Galbraith socond in command after Mr. Kai, makes his move and starts screaming, that no one takes his view in the main bord. Kai says he needs to hold on to the numbers, because some one says 4 votes while others say 10 of 1000's (british). This election is not clear cut, so everything has to be thural. He can't grasp that Kai works that way.
He never goes specific on his charge against Kai, it is just generic rethoric rant, mirroring that he just lost 35 Billion for a couple of weeks ago, and it's about to happend again in tadjiki. He obviously got an agenda both against Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, since they both cheated. So then the smaller tribal leaders can be elected and give him another secret fund in northern Afghanistan, to replace his Kurdish fond. Under the table or not, still secret. He says in his rambling, that Kai Eide: " ...he has lost confidence among the most importent Tadsjik leaders... ". How does he know this? He is not allowed to mingle nor meet with them. Why are these so importent to him? Let me give you an advice, Tadjikistan and northern Afghanistan is literally packed with natural resources. Huge oil fonds is just discovered, and they got the 4th biggest gass field in the eniter world.


I let you draw the rest of the picture.

[Viking Prince]

First, the agreement is from 2004 - 2008 and appears to be related compensation for work with Kurdish clients in 2003 - early 2004. this is after his stint in the US government and prior to the diplomatic work with the UN. Hypocritical? Probably not. He was probably working to represent the kurds prior to the sorting out of constitutional status.

Also -- the lawsuit is against DNO and not the Kurds or the Iraqis.

I am not saying that this is or is not true, but there is more to the Peter Galbraith tale than you present. For a better story on the UN mess which the release of this story is probably revenge for:

Sacked envoy Peter Galbraith accuses UN of 'cover-up' on Afghan vote fraud

The top American in the UN mission in Afghanistan was fired yesterday after refusing to take part in what he called "a cover-up" of fraud in the Afghan election.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Peter Galbraith, the son of the late economist John Kenneth Galbraith, left the country abruptly last month after a clash with his Norwegian boss, Kai Eide.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, announced yesterday he was dismissing Mr Galbraith "in the best interest of the mission”.

"I think it's astonishing that the United Nations would dismiss an official because he was concerned about fraud in a UN-funded and UN-supported election," Mr Galbraith told The Times yesterday from his farmhouse in Vermont.

"I want to emphasise that my position was not for or against any candidate. It was simply that the votes should be honestly counted.

"I was not prepared to be complicit in a cover-up or in an effort to downplay the fraud that took place. I felt we had to face squarely the fraud that took place. Kai downplayed the fraud."

The row between Mr Galbraith and Mr Eide goes to the core of international strategy in Afghanistan and has split the UN mission there. Sources said five members of the UN mission in Afghanistan had offered their resignation in support of Mr Galbraith.

Mr Galbraith, a former US ambassador in Croatia, accused his old friend Mr Eide, a former UN representative in Bosnia, of refusing to do anything that jeopardised his relationship with President Karzai.

He said that, before the August 20 election, he wanted to take steps to minimise fraud by eliminating "ghost" polling stations in Taliban-held territory - but Mr Eide rejected the proposal.

During the election, the UN collected data on fraud - but Mr Eide ordered that it not be shared with the Election Complaints Commission, he said.

After the election, Mr Eide objected to Mr Galbraith's insistence that the Independent Election Commission stick to its published anti-fraud criteria, he added.

Nevertheless, Mr Galbraith said that the original row when he left the country had helped push the UN towards a greater focus on fraud.

Preliminary results show Mr Karzai with 54.6 per cent - more than the 50 per cent threshold needed to win re-election without a run-off. An audit of suspect ballots is under way, but UN officials expect the final results to be announced on Wednesday.

Mr Galbraith called the auditing of ballots a "good process" and said it was likely to yield a credible result.

Although a dispute over policy, the row has a personal dimension. Mr Eide introduced Mr Galbraith to the Norwegian anthropologist who became his wife, and the two couples have gone on sailing holidays together off the Dalmatian coast.
Nevertheless, Mr Eide lobbied hard behind the scenes to stop Mr Ban appointing Mr Galbraith as his deputy, but the United States insisted on the appointment.

The row between the two men escalated when Mr Eide left Afghanistan after the election to celebrate his wedding anniversary in Norway with his wife, leaving his deputy in charge.

Sources say a senior American diplomat, Donald "Larry" Sampler, is one of a number of American officials who have been approached to replace Mr Galbraith.

Mr Galbraith is expected to receive one month's pay in lieu of notice and may be entitled to a lump sum "termination indemnity" based on the number of months left on his one-year UN contract, which began in March.

Is the story in the OP's posts legit? Are there other sources on this issue? I only ask because I can find nothing regarding iraqi Oil ownership and Galbraith.

[Kjertesvein]

He is obviously not respecting Chain-of-command. The US democrat Galbraith, storms out like a drama queen in the sake of so many people in the first ever democratic election during a full out war. Any person with knowledge know that this election might be a fraud and it's hanging by a thread. There is sooo much politics within the native barriers, which anyone outside, or even teh clown Galbraith here does not seem to comprehend. The majority of both US and UN representatives seem to agree on this. Offcourse the man is paranoid
The fact that his whole payoff from kruds is a secret thing, well - I guss just time will tell in this duel.

It is very new and is backed up by our biggest news paper. Guess we might hear this on HARDtalk on BBC today, if it's not premade. I see absolutly no reason why a respective economic paper like Dagens Næringsliv should invent something like this. Do you?

Your whole post stink of "this is probably misscredibility", do have you any substansial proof to back up this accusation in the first place? The time he knew he would not get a share of his Kurdish DNO stocks is the same time as about the same time as he got kicked out, he could have come clean about this. He is totaly paranoid. But he decided to keep it confidential, until it brakes, then spring the "they are trying to get me trap" after caught? weeeeell, if that is your drawing of this..... suits your self.

[Viking Prince]

There is no sleuthing required on this. The lawsuit is in the annual report for DNO. The company (Pocupine) and Peter Galbraith is known and has been known by DNO. There is no secret agreement and no conspiracy. Nobody thought to ask DNO prior to the release of the annual report.

I am not even certain that the Iraqis knew of the relationship. It is usual for most operating and development agreements to be signed by a joint venture and often only the general partner is known by the other parties since someone has to sign the contracts. In this case it is DNO. The squeeze out appears to be by DNO rolling the property into a new joint venture and inadequate compenstion to the old joint venture particpants.

[Kjertesvein]

He was secret co owner of this oil field in Kurdistan. The company has been under some observation and fight between the kurds and DNO. Gailbraith is obviously nervous for his 35 billion dollars.
How come he let DNO be the first investor in Krudistan, and he so suprisningly got a secret compansation for it.... well... Im not going to say more...
I would act like a drama queen too in the UN, had the cheif left office.

I think he need help.

[Viking Prince]

Well, perhaps the rhetoric of drama queen is not really appropriate. He did report quietly to the UN and only made his concerns public when the concerns were being papered over. A good many UN people came to support him when he came out publicly. A better question to ask is why the UN was so quick to certify what was obviously a severely flawed election?

[Kjertesvein]

Did you read my post? He is sacrefising the Afghan people for this, and putting the whooole god deam Afghanistan institution, the US precence and the all the ISAF force at risk, for exactly what? Another personal crusader of secret personal "justice"?

Any man who has spend time with a UN personel know that this is proposional blowbacks on an operationel level. Not just the figure of speech to the masses, but all the aid, the funding to the worst country in the world. The schools, all the work used on prior to this stunt is in danger for this man to prove his personal point. He is a total maniac. I talked with the former Iranian UN ambassador about a meeting he was invited to in Iran, with a taint of that a small minority might could seen as a possibel "UN taking side" and might put the whoooole UN precence in Iran in an ultimatium jepperdy. This is only personal gain on Peter's part, and totaly out of chain of command.
Think of General Mc Chrystal taking a regment with him and sailing his own boat, doing what he think is right. It is totaly out of question, not acceptable.

EDIT: and the people who support him is no where near the other pole. That metaphore leads to nothing absolutly nothing. This man is ONLY in it for the personal gain, as long as it's secret. He might had some maniac gog and magog personal and hevenly revelation at the time he knew his 35 BILLION dollars was lost (who can blame that), but there is so excuse on his personal crusading part. If you have to sacrefice between life and PC, then life comes sooooo much further ahead in that line, you would not belive it.

[Viking Prince]

Did you read my post? He is sacrefising Afghan people for this, and putting the whooole god deam Afghanistan institution, the US precence and the all the ISAF force for really what? another personal crusader of personal "justice"?

Any man who has spend time with a UN personel know that this is proposional blowbacks on an operationel level. I talked with the former Iranian UN ambassador about a meeting he was invited to, with a taint of that a small minority might could see it as a possibel "UN taking side" and might put it the UN in Iran in an ultimatium jepperdy. This is only personal gain on Peters part and totaly out of chain of command.

Yes, I did read your post. I see nothing to support the claim:

The majority of both US and UN representatives seem to agree on this.

I also do not understand what you mean by

He is obviously not respecting Chain-of-command.

He turned in the reports to his superiors in the UN and went public when the reports were ignored. His collegues in Afghanistan supported him when he went public. If you agree with him politically -- he is a brave whistle blower. If you disagree with him, he is a drama queen. In either case, what does his lawsuit with DNO have to do with Afghanistan's election? Answer -- nothing unless you wish to use it and any other mud that can be slung at the reporters as a political weapon to discredit him in the press.

[Gromovnik]

I know him (of him, to be precise) for a long time. This kind of shenanigans are not a surprise to me.