Fighting may soon affect Iraq south oilfield work

Reuters ^

[maquiladora]

BAGHDAD, March 26 (Reuters) - Oil production and exports from Iraq's southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra, a Southern Oil Company official said on Wednesday.

"If the military operations continue for three more days, the oil workers will not be able to continue their work and this is going to definitely affect oil production and exports," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

[HD1200]

Should I fill up my gas tank.....?

[maquiladora]

Considering this and what might be around the corner with Iran in a short while, I’d say that mightn’t be a bad idea...

[Edgerunner]

Ain’t this where thew Brits are?

[maquiladora]

Yep, but...

British forces, which patrolled Basra for nearly five years, have withdrawn to a base outside the city since December and were not involved in the fighting.

[boomop1]

I am getting tired of this selective war plan, get the f in there and kill them all, find Mukie al-Sadr and off him, I know we can do it, if unleashed.

[Justa]

More likely this will be bigger and take longer than most people suspect. The whole Anbar/Fallujah episode was criminal gangs who controlled westward trade routes with Syria, Jordan and the Med. Basrah is about criminal gangs who control southern trade routes and moreover substantial oil resources. Many of the organizations have strong ties with Iran and Iranian land and sea forces. This conflict will get nasty and has a potential to get big.

[untrained skeptic]

I think the Brits, who are usually our best allies, have really let us down in Basra.

I'm not saying it's the British soldiers' fault, but they are likely even more restricted by insane rules of engagement than our troops are, which is why our troops are having to go in and get things under control.

I do appreciate all the Brits have done for us, but we do have to take into account the limitations on the kind of help they are willing to provide and plan accordingly.

We're going to need a larger military because liberalism is destroying the effectiveness of our allies.

[uksupport1]

No US ground forces are involved in the Basra operation. The UK military is ready to re-enter the city if needed, but Iraqi forces have not requested this to-date. It appears that a Brit SAS trooper has been killed in Baghdad today, however.

A similar offensive to that in Basra is also being led by Iraqis in Mosul in the north of Iraq. Both cities need Iraqi troops to solve Iraqi problems. So far, the signs are hopeful.

US controlled areas in the South and in Baghdad are seeing exactly the same problems as those occuring in Basra at the moment. It seems to be a real problem that the Shiite militias are still the populist groups for locals oppressed under Saddam.

[Rummenigge]

This situation is fishy somehow.

The first tasks of this war where to secure the oil fields. It’s really really important to have them working because otherwise the US financial system is not going to digest this war - inflation might get out of control should the central commodity get overly expensive due to mishaps like this.

So these facilities where a strategic top priority.

And now they where left unattended - by mistake ? Noone saw these gangs forming ? The brits went away because it’s tea time ?

[untrained skeptic]

Sounds like I misunderstood the situation somewhat. Thanks for the information.