Big Oils insane plan - will it bear fruit if we invade Iraq?

[MadRat]

Back during Desert Storm there was intense pressure stateside for the military to occupy the oil fields of southern, central-eastern, and the remnants scattered across western Iraq. The plan never happened due to several obstacles, the biggest one being a cakewalk victory in Kuwait. The allies would have objected to the occupation, but their support wasn't exactly a worry of the Bush (Sr.) administration. Nobody on the civilian side foresaw the quick ending to the ground assault and there was no time to get the oil fields secured, let alone to occupy strategic points for exerting the necessary control.

If Bush sends the military into Iraq this next summer do you think the original plan will be revived in some form?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Nope. Trying to occupy a large country from far away doesn't work. Ask the British about India. Back then things were easier, and they still had to leave. Relax, Iraq is not going to become the 51st state

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Very reasonable, Hayabusarider. Then again "greed is good". There's a whole lot of oil in Iraq . . . and well since Saddam has cost the US sooo much from the Gulf War to maintenance of the 'No Fly Zone' why not collect a little . . . (whisper for the 'publicans) tax?

 

[ElFenix]

yeah, the elder bush admin (because the current one isn't a junior) didn't have a care in the world for the shaky coalition that was built for that war.


do you believe all the fluff you read or do you actually sieve some of it out and just take away the really crappy nuggets?

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Whoa did I say tax? I meant revenue stream enhancement for maintenance of Homeland Defense Operations Overseas . . . yeah, much better.

 

[etech]

"You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!".

 

[IGBT]

The only reason we need this volume of oil to begun with is out of control immigration/population explosion in the US. Infrastructure is limited.

 

[syzygy]

the onyl fruit such an operation will bear will be the destruction of saddam's grip on power, sons,
brothers, and all. his whole family, revolutionary guard corp, and as many sympathizing nepotists
we can find will be the principle targets.

hopefully, bush & co. have a viable and tested plan to fill the power vacuum their righteous exploits
will create. the possibility we'll exploit iraq's oil reserves in any way, shape, or form is virtually non-existent
for the simple reason that bush is going in with little international support and a whole lot of international
condemnation. he'll want to keep the operation's goals few, narrowed down to the most precise humanitarian
objectives, and as short in duration as humanly possible.

 

[tm37]

<< Back during Desert Storm there was intense pressure stateside for the military to occupy the oil fields of southern, central-eastern, and the remnants scattered across western Iraq. The plan never happened due to several obstacles, the biggest one being a cakewalk victory in Kuwait. The allies would have objected to the occupation, but their support wasn't exactly a worry of the Bush (Sr.) administration. Nobody on the civilian side foresaw the quick ending to the ground assault and there was no time to get the oil fields secured, let alone to occupy strategic points for exerting the necessary control.

If Bush sends the military into Iraq this next summer do you think the original plan will be revived in some form? >>



First off you can't just take Iraq, That would make us LIKE Iraq. Also it was beleived that we could control Saddam, which bush did, and clinton did not. Sometime it is best to know your enemies and while saddam is a bad bad man we know who he is and he does control Iraq. It is better to have that instead of a bunch of waring factions fighting over the remains of iraq. Shwatzacof (I can't spell it) said he could have been in bagdad in a week, But Bush said no. Again knowing your enemy makes it much easier to beat them if need be. Once Saddam relized that clinton wouldn't back up his word with actions he started building back up. I would be very easy to TAKE iraq (tacticly speaking) yet nearly impossible to hold.