Word: kuwait
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Saddam achieved his mythic proportions largely by casting the 1991 war sparked by his occupation of Kuwait as an epic showdown with America and with Israel, which he dragged into the conflict by launching missiles at Tel Aviv. He still has followers, notably among Palestinians who love his implacable opposition to Israel and appreciate the cash he doles out to families of suicide bombers. But 13 years later, it's hard to ignore the fact that apart from the Scud attacks on Israel, Saddam's military campaigns have always targeted fellow Muslims--Iranians, Kuwaitis and even Iraqi Kurds...
...black-gold rushes in a generation comes with a few big catches. First, billions of dollars will be required to repair Iraqi oil installations hobbled by more than a decade of neglect. And that's assuming Saddam doesn't torch and otherwise sabotage the wells, as he did in Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War. Tens of billions more will be needed to then develop Iraq's vast untapped oil fields...
Saddam has tried it before. During the Gulf War, Iraqi soldiers set fire to 700 of Kuwait's wells using plastic explosives. Dense smoke caused health and environmental problems, as crude gushing from damaged facilities contaminated underground drinking water. Damage amounted to at least $20 billion, and more than a decade later, some of it still isn't repaired...
...Iraq's oil fields are much larger than Kuwait's; they are spread across an area the size of Rhode Island in northern Iraq and over a region in the south about the size of New Jersey. U.S. military experts estimate Saddam could also dump up to 3 million bbl. a day into the Persian Gulf, shutting down up to 15 desalinization plants around the littoral and despoiling the shores and wildlife for decades. Cleaning up after Saddam could cost close to $50 billion and severely handicap Iraq's postwar economic recovery--not to mention America...
...Saddam were able to sabotage not only his own oil fields but also those of neighboring nations, a major shortfall of up to 6 million bbl. a day--8% of world consumption--is foreseeable. To guard against this scenario, Kuwait is making emergency plans to export its oil safely. The U.S. and its allies have also announced that they will coordinate releases that could amount to several million barrels a day from strategic reserves. But the shock could still push up prices to $80 per bbl., tailing off to about $50 by year's end. That compares with an inflation...