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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: Dayuhan who wrote (34251)	7/13/2002 11:23:22 AM
From: BigBull	Read Replies (2) of 281500

Those mountains empty into plains. A nice chunk of those plains are in Kurd territory and definitely within the northern no fly zone. If memory serves me there is an ancient battlefield between Irbil (Arbela) and Mosul where a huge set piece battle was fought that decided the fate of the Persian empire. I mention Gaugemela not to evoke the ghost of Alexander, but to call attention to the terrain. If bases can be established under the protection of the Kurds and the no fly zone then the mountains could be skirted. How to skirt them? C-17's. Those are remarkable cargo planes that can carry a lot of armor and land in an incredibly small area.I have also read that other airbases are now being prepared in Turkish territory so that we won't only have Incirlik. I have also read that Saddam is massing some armor south of Irbil. If Saddam moves armor or anything more than commandos into the Kurd territory. Bam! Casus belli. The whole USAF in the near east could be brought to bear against them while armor could be streamed in on C-17's. This doesn't even account for the possibility of Apaches swarming all over Iraqi troops in the plains area. If he sends "Chemical" Ali up there he's dead, dead, dead. The Kirkuk oil fields are within easy striking distance. What's in it for the Turks? Oil transport revenues (Iraqi oil production could be ramped to 6 mbbls a day). Construction contracts for the building of a vast network of new pipelines. Debt relief. Did I mention debt relief? :o} Contracts to rebuild Iraq. Trade with a revitalised Iraq. I could probably think of a few more but what the hell, I've been up all night and am getting a bit dozey. There's much more to say and I surely will be picking this discussion up soon to answer the rest of your excellent points. Thanks for making them. Bull

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