PotashCorp today said that it has put its bid to take over Israel Chemicals Ltd. on hold. Sources note that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had difficulty in putting together a new government after the Jan. 22 elections. In addition, any deal is facing both political and labor opposition.
PotashCorp, which owns a 14 percent stake in ICL, is not interested in a long-term minority status.
Lt. General Michael Barbero, the head of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization is now seeing improvement communication from calcium ammonium nitrate maker the Fatima Group and the Government of Pakistan in JIEDDO’s attempts at keeping CAN from getting into the hands of terrorist bomb makers. Back in December, Barbero had indicated that Fatima had been less than cooperative, and this news eventually lead to the Governor Pence of Indiana to suspend the development of a Fatima nitrogen plant in the state.
“While I stand by my testimony, in recent weeks I’ve seen positive developments in discussions with the Fatima Group, the Pakistan-based producers of calcium ammonium nitrate,” said Barbero last week. “Fatima confirmed to me in writing that it has suspended sales of CAN fertilizer products in the border provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, affecting 228 dealers in those areas. I’m encouraged by their actions and remain hopeful this step will have positive and significant near-term impacts with respect to diminishing the IED threat not only to U.S. and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan, but to Pakistan’s civilians and security forces as well”
“We also greatly appreciate Fatima’s initiative and innovative approach to seek a reformulated product to render CAN more inert and less explosive, thereby diminishing its effectiveness as an IED precursor material,” added Barbero. “Such a long-term solution would be a true scientific breakthrough. JIEDDO’s scientists will work with Fatima to test and validate this reformulated product. If successful, this development would represent a significant step forward in curbing the use of homemade explosives and preventing the misuse of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers.
“I am also encouraged by the Pakistan military’s visit and their desire to achieve tangible progress on the U.S.-Pakistan Counter-IED Cooperation Framework,” said Barbero. “This process is being jointly developed by our two countries and will help us to better address our shared interest in diminishing the threat posed by IEDs by fostering information sharing, building counter-IED capacity in Pakistan, enhancing border control and security and educating the population of Pakistan on the IED threat. Measurable objectives are an important part of this framework and I look forward to a productive military-to-military exchange to finalize it and move forward.
While JIEDDO sees positive action on the reformulation of CAN, an agreement on actually dyeing the product, while a goal, has yet to be reached.
There was no word last week from Gov. Pence’s office if perhaps the news would have any immediate impact on Fatima’s suspension in Indiana.
