U.S. battle plan: Slip in and grab oil fields

New York Daily News ^ | 1/25/03 | RICHARD SISK

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON - U.S. troops would try to seize Iraqi oil fields before Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards could blow them up in the event of war, a senior U.S. Central Command official said yesterday.

"It's fair to say land component commanders have crafted strategies that would allow us to secure and protect those fields as rapidly as possible," said the official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity.

"Saddam has plans to sabotage the Iraqi oil industry" and blame the destruction on U.S. bombing, said the official, a top adviser to Army Gen. Tommy Franks, head of Central Command.

"We've seen military movement into the southern and northern oil fields," the official said, "and we've seen a number of indications from reliable intelligence sources that sabotage has been planned."

The official would not give details but did not rule out action by U.S. paratroopers and helicopter-borne air assault troops to protect the oil wells.

Hard to predict

Blowing up the 1,000 Iraqi oil wells in the south and 500 in the north would double the destruction caused by fleeing Iraqi troops on Kuwait's oil fields in 1991, the official said. He estimated repair costs at $30 billion to $50 billion.

The official would not estimate the impact on oil prices and supplies, and John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, said predictions were difficult.

Iraq produces less than 1.5 million barrels daily, about 3% of the world supply, and if the country goes off-line, "there's excess capacity" in other oil-producing states, Felmy said.

But losing Iraq in combination with continuing strife in Venezuela "really would strain excess capacity," he said.

[yoe]

New York Daily News richard sisk........

a senior U.S. Central Command official said yesterday

the official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity.

”...the official, a top adviser...

The official would not give details....................etc....etc....etc................

[dennisw]

That's why our invasion force has been upped. To take control of oil fields and oil facilities. After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war? States, counties and cites are running deficits. Fed deficit will be dramatically larger.

Simple solution is to have Iraqi oil pay our war bills. American public will applaud this and love this genius attack plan/pay the bills plan.

[DJ Frisat]

I have a couple of problems.

1) Although I realize that this might be pure hogwash designed to obfuscate real plans, it might not be. If it's not, I don't like the idea of their knowing our strategies in advance.

2) While I think protecting the oil fields against Iraqi sabotage is a great idea, an immediate takeover with an announced intent of financing our operations would give the libs and the Arab nations too much ammunition in the "It's all about oil, America wants to control our resources" argument.

It's not about oil, it's about freedom for the Iraqi people, continued security for our nation and denying dangerous dictators the possesion catastrophic weapons.

[SLB]

The technology of today is much advanced over that of 1991. The media is telling us that in the first two days there will be more cruise missiles fired than in the entire 40 days of the 1991 war, there will be more bombs dropped and they will almost all be guided. Fine - our technology base is better. What about their technology? What is to keep them from having placed charges on each well head in the past 10 years that would be detonated by cell phone? I would like to have someone explain to me how the military can protect against that. In a matter of a few seconds comp-uter generated calls to 1500 phones and what do they accomplish? Plenty.

[SLB]

comp-uter = computer

[bert]

Just as they deny that taxcuts increase revenues Rats deny that spoils of war don't pay the costs we can't afford.

[bert]

Ce la Guerre

[WhiteGuy]

After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war?

So, American forces slip in and capture the Iraqi iol fields. Then American forces turn over the Iraqi oil production program over to.........??????

In other words who will the oil companies BUY the oil from?

The militatry? the US government? the Iraqi's? Who will earn the profit?

What if the takeover of the oil fields goes less well?

Perhaps 50% to 75% of the wells are destroyed?

Who will pay to repair them? AND who will profit from the billions it will cost (US Taxpayers) to repair them.

I'd sure like to know the answesrs to these questions, wouldn't you?

[buffyt]

That is just what I have been thinking, this is why our military build up has taken so long over there. We want to secure the oil wells BEFORE SaDAMN Insane has time to blow them up or set fire to them. We will probably be going to live in Kuwait in the near future, AFTER the war is over.

[Paradox]

What is to keep them from having placed charges on each well head in the past 10 years that would be detonated by cell phone?

A few carefully detonated EMP bombs..

[sneakypete]

After all who do you think is going to pay the bill for this war?

The taxpayers,of course.

Simple solution is to have Iraqi oil pay our war bills.

Yes,it is,but that won't happen.

American public will applaud this and love this genius attack plan/pay the bills plan.

If they do any applauding,it will be to a empty promise. There is not one chance in hell of this happening. Number 1,the howls of outrage from all over the world about the "United States comitting war for profit and the theft of other countries assets" would stop any such plan in it's tracks.Number 2 is it will take a long time for any real profits to surface after the war ends. This is because Hussein will blow up all the wells,and it will take time and money to put the fires out and get the wells producing again. Once this happens,any profits to emerge will be used to rebuild Iraq and feed her citizens. IF we are lucky we MAY end up getting some small amount somewhere down the road to help us pay for our occupation forces. Maybe.

[sneakypete]

What is to keep them from having placed charges on each well head in the past 10 years that would be detonated by cell phone?

Absolutely nothing,and it is going to be a enormous environmental disaster that the world press and the US left will blame on Bubba-2 and America. And not without some small bit of truth,either. While it is true that Bubba-2,the US,nor anybody else forced Hussein to do this,it is also true he wouldn't have blown up his own oil fields unless Iraq was attacked. The Arab press and the environmentalists will take this ball and run with it as hard as they can run,believing the whole time that they are right and spreading the truth.

The fact is that most people (non-Bush-Bot partisan Republicans) realize that this is a unneccessary war that is being fought for political purposes. Iraq is no threat to the US or England,but they ARE a serious threat to their Arab neighbors and Israel. I say let Saudi Arabia and Israel go to war with Iraq if they want to see Hussein taken out. Why should US military members die and be maimed for life to protect Saudi and Israeli citizens? ESPECIALLY since it is Saudi Arabia herself who is the biggest supporter of the terrorists who attacked us on 9-11. Then again,there are too many elite US families involved in politics from both parties that have profitable business arrangements with the Saudi's that would be disrupted,and none of them will suffer any money losses if we attack Iraq.

[sneakypete]

A few carefully detonated EMP bombs..

Which would cause the bombs to go off anyhow because they will all have pressure switches on them. Not to mention that the explosion from the bombs themselves will probably catch the well heads on fire. You don't have explosions without heat.

[sneakypete]

Then again,there are too many elite US families involved in politics from both parties that have profitable business arrangements with the Saudi's that would be disrupted,and none of them will suffer any money losses if we attack Iraq.

In fact,a war with Iraq where oil wells are destroyed will even cause these people to profit,as the Saudi's and others will then charge more for their oil because the supply has been reduced.

[Paradox]

Which would cause the bombs to go off anyhow because they will all have pressure switches on them. Not to mention that the explosion from the bombs themselves will probably catch the well heads on fire. You don't have explosions without heat.

Not likely, the EMP spike would be much larger than the actual explosive blast. The EMP could disable communications without much other effect. Having said that, my real fear would be Oil well workers directly doing Saddams bidding, and blowing them up themselves, no need for a remote control.

[section9]

The fact is that most people (non-Bush-Bot partisan Republicans) realize that this is a unneccessary war that is being fought for political purposes. Iraq is no threat to the US or England,but they ARE a serious threat to their Arab neighbors and Israel. I say let Saudi Arabia and Israel go to war with Iraq if they want to see Hussein taken out. Why should US military members die and be maimed for life to protect Saudi and Israeli citizens? ESPECIALLY since it is Saudi Arabia herself who is the biggest supporter of the terrorists who attacked us on 9-11. Then again,there are too many elite US families involved in politics from both parties that have profitable business arrangements with the Saudi's that would be disrupted,and none of them will suffer any money losses if we attack Iraq.

The twin sirens of appeasement and isolationism.

Of course Iraq is no direct military threat to us. They are a threat to us indirectly, through outfits like Al Qaeda.

And don't sit there and tell me that AQ and Saddam don't have relations: they do. In the Middle East, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

You want to leave Saddam alone, not because you don't believe that the world would be a better place without Saddam, but because you despise Bush so much. But leaving Saddam alone allows Saddam to eventually develop nuclear weapons. Yes, he could use these against the Israelis. Strictly speaking, that's none of our business. What is our business is that several hundred thousand citizens of a close ally of the United States would be snuffed out in an instant. That doesn't matter to you. It matters to me.

And what's more, the game Saddam could play is simple. Get a bomb, and use Al Qaeda as cutouts to plant one in an American city. Then claim deniability. That is what this entire campaign is all about. The President intimated as much in his State of the Union speech of last year.

You want to take risks with American lives that I am not willing to take. As long as we remain on the offensive, the enemy remains unable to pull a stunt like this off. If we let him live and build his weapons, we lose this war. Period.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Tom Bombadil]

I'd sure like to know the answesrs to these questions, wouldn't you?

The answers are found in the integrity of the person running the show if the oil fields are protected from damage by the Iraqi military.

I suspect that GWB would reserve the oil for the use of the Iraqi people and that the fields would be turned over very quickly to a new Iraqi government.

The cynical political view would probably hold otherwise, but that view lacks credibility anyway.

[Former Proud Canadian]

You certainly understand the reasons for this war. Why doesn't everybody else?

[section9]

Most Americans actually do. They understand, in their bones, what a Saddam with nuclear weapons means.

Be Seeing You,

Chris