Northern Iraqi Oil Pipeline Ablaze

AFP ^ | 08-30-03

[Brian S]

From correspondents in Tikrit, Iraq August 31, 2003

AN oil pipeline linking Iraq's oilfields in Kirkuk with the Baiji refinery to the south was on fire this afternoon after a possible sabotage attack, the US military said.

"There is a fire. I don't know if it is a blast. It started at about approximately 2.30pm (Baghdad time) this afternoon," said Major Josslyn Aberle of the 4th Infantry Division.

"Our 173rd Airborne Brigade in Kirkuk, civil affairs officers and our taskforce RIO (Rebuilding Iraqi Oil) have shut off the valves, so now it's only residual oil burning. They estimate it will be one to two days for the fire to burn itself out."

[ARCADIA]

Either, our security guys are asleep at the switch, or we need alot more of them. You cannot cover thousands of miles of pipe and tens of thousands of square miles of infrastructure with a handful of troops. We should invest the people, sell the concessions, build the infrastructure, and control the distribution of the output.

(hint: IRAQ is a primitive tribal society that is unable to rule itself as a modern democratic nation - and it will take generations of careful social engineering to change that.)

[faithincowboys]

Oh, that's freaking wonderful! I am amazed by the cut your nose off to spite your face Arab mentality.

[RobbyS]

There's stil a war going on. This kind of thing happens in war. It also happens to be a colonial war, so we need the patience of a colonial power.

[boxerblues]

I doubt that our guys are asleep. This is not the first oil pipeline fire this week, nor will it be the last. Those wacki Iraqi's need to start policeing their own.

[arete]

I am amazed by the cut your nose off to spite your face Arab mentality.

Actually, it is quite an effective strategy. We're desperate for oil and they got it. Higher prices are far more damaging to us.

Richard W.

[oceanview]

i saw it on MSNBC earlier, the fire was enormous. where are the drones flying over these facilities? it sounds like they can be destroyed any time they want. no oil = no money.

[ARCADIA]

I doubt that our guys are asleep.

I agree. But, as you said, there is a war going on and it is time that we get serious about it. Saddam probably had a good reason for killing these people wholesale, and if we are ever going to control the situation we have to take off the kid gloves and put in some real muscle. The radical fundamentalist would like to see Iraq driven into the dark ages, and as long as these primitives are allowed to breath, they are not going to give in to reason.

It would be better to invest more troops and extract some oil in return, then to continue to do things on the cheap while we continue to incur 100% of the costs forever.

[Held_to_Ransom]

IRAQ is a primitive tribal society that is unable to rule itself as a modern democratic nation - and it will take generations of careful social engineering to change that.)

Nation building on roids, eh? I envision the day when we spend more per Iraqi citizen in a year then we now pay our troops. Perhaps we already are. From a rough calculation, we seem to already be spending about 12,000 a year per person in Iraq.

[ARCADIA]

I envision the day when we spend more per Iraqi citizen in a year then we now pay our troops.

Probably, our troops are a transient population, while the Iraqies need to establish and rebuild permanent roots. But, don't get me wrong; I am not suggesting that we engage in some soft hearted knukleheaded emotional pursuit, like Haiti and Corsovo; but, we should think of Iraq as a commercial and political opportunity. We should decide on a contract where we provide the necessary resources (economic and political) to turn their country into a stable first world nation, and they in turn commit agree to repay us with interests, taxes, and the pledge of their natural resources as security.

Nation building? Perhaps, but certainly not in the bogus sense of recent history.

[StormEye]

"(hint: IRAQ is a primitive tribal society that is unable to rule itself as a modern democratic
nation - and it will take generations of careful social engineering to change that.)"

I'm glad somebody here finally expresses the truth
about Iraq. I will take twentyfive to fifty years to civilise this country.
In other words we must wait for the current generation in Iraq, Syria, Iran, etc.
to die off before any progress can be made there and peace restored to the country.
I think one way to speed up the process is total de-Islamization of the nation. Kick
out all the "clerics" and bulldoze the mosques. Allow Christian missionaries into the country.
People will still be permitted to hold the Muslim faith but no public demonstation of it will be
permitted. Islamic practices will be strictly a private affair. It's going to be a viscious,
violent struggle to pull the country from the grip of Islam but it must be done.

[arete]

I think one way to speed up the process is total de-Islamization of the nation. Kick out all the "clerics" and bulldoze the mosques. Allow Christian missionaries into the country.

Oh yeah, that would work okay.

Richard W.