American Gulf War Veterans Association – 2006-02-23 08:30:28
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/11/304515.shtml
During the past six years, the American Gulf War Veterans Association has received numerous reports from veterans stating that US forces — including Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, and Delta Force — were responsible for the setting of the oil well fires at the end of the Gulf War.
One veteran has now stepped forward and given a detailed account of how he and others in special teams, moved forward of the front, behind enemy lines ahead of US forces, set explosive and incendiary charges on the well heads, and remained hidden until after the charges were remotely detonated and US forces advanced beyond their position.
“We were mustered into the briefing tent at which point a gentleman whom I first had thought to be an American… but I was concerned because he was wearing a UN uniform and insignias, began to brief us on the operation.” We’ve had five, four other reports of people similar that have brought this to our attention.
“A little-known fact about the Gulf War is that one month before the Declaration of War on December 15th, 1990, Secretary of State, James Baker, signed the US Army report from the 352nd Civil Affairs Command on the New Kuwait (unclassified, and therefore available to those interested).
“This report describes in detail how extensively Kuwait will be destroyed, how the oil wells will be set on fire, and then how it will all be rebuilt ‘better than before’, with despotism, rather than democracy, even more strongly entrenched than it had been before.
“The report includes a list of US corporations who are to be assigned the profitable task of rebuilding Kuwait and extinguishing the oil well fires, as well as the Arab names they will be operating under.”
Only President Bush and his inner circle stood to profit from the ravages inflicted on Kuwait’s petroleum installations, these sources have confirmed. “Bush, his sons and his cronies began to scheme to make vast personal fortunes from rebuilding Kuwait’s infrastructure as soon as the Gulf war began — even before it began,” confirmed Rieter DeJongh, a Wall Street energy trader.
…oil firefighters, based in Texas, the home of President Bush, were enriched by putting the fires out. Next, construction firms had to rebuild the wells, then supply firms had to re-supply the sights. [Halliburton one of these.] The Bushes corrupt scheme included driving from Kuwait competing energy companies such as the giant Deutsche Babcock conglomerate, which was bidding on a number of contracts coveted by the Bush consortium.
In the consensus of these sources, the economic consequences of wreaking devastation on Kuwait were clear: Iraq would have to pay for the damage — it is doing so right now — while President Bush and his people would profit from it. “I’d say that, all in all, the evidence tells us pretty convincingly the order to set Kuwait’s oil fields afire must have come, not from Saddam Hussein but from Bush,” concluded DeJongh.
The Truth about the 1991 Burning of Kuwait’s Oil Fields
If this is true, then how can we trust the motivations of the Bush administration in their demand for another military action in the Mideast. Is this really about a tyrannical leader who is out of touch with the spirit and people of his country. Who is the liar in this situation.
http://www.thepowerhour.com/postings-four/gulfwar-vet-admits-setting-oil-well-fires-under-UN-command.htm
Did the US Military Participate in Starting the Oil Well Fires of Kuwait in 1991?
The following is a transcript taken from a conversation with a Gulf War veteran who claims to have taken part in such a mission.
JR: Joyce Reilly, R.N.
GV: The Gulf War Veteran
JR: What was the branch of service that you served in.
GV: For different reasons, I’d rather not state that.
JR: Fair enough. There are a lot of people afraid of retaliation from the Gulf War. Do you understand why they feel that way.
GV: Yes I do. I learned do to what I did in the service, to live in a different world that most people have been lead to believe exists only in their worst nightmares.
JR: Now you were involved in an operation in Kuwait that really no one has heard about until this point in time. We’ve had five, four other reports of people similar to yourself that have brought this to our attention. You were chosen for a mission; and why do you think you were chosen for this mission?
GV: We’re all a product of our environment, as a young man I watched different movies and television shows, and I remember thinking how incredibly cool Rambo was and… things of that nature. There was so many media in the form of movies, and commercials television that primed me to except the idea that to win was everything.
JR: And so the military sort of capitalizes on that feeling?
GV: Oh very much so. They, they find… a lot of times before they even get you into boot camp where they can use your personality and… . your morals and… they capitalize on these things and, and steer you as it were into the training avenues where you will be most beneficial to them.
JR: Let’s go to the time of this mission in Kuwait. You were, where were you when you learned about this mission?
GV: We had just gotten back into camp the day before, on a different mission, and we were actually in our quarters resting when we were told to muster out into the briefing tent, at which point a gentlemen who I originally, who I had first assumed to be American but I was concerned because he was wearing a UN uniform and insignias. He began to brief us on the operation. He pointed out the strategic points. And we were briefed as a group. There were probably 30 to 40 in the group.
And then… we were asked to leave, and our individual commanders were given the objectives for their group. At which point our individual commanders briefed us on our individual objectives, and then we went and… we drew our gear. We were transported via armor personal carrier close to the front at which point we set out on foot, I acted alone.
JR: Why were you told that you were going to be doing this mission? What were you told was the purpose of this?
GV: There was concern that America, the American public, might see this conflict as an unnecessary thing, and we were asked to do this… or we were ordered to do this in order to remove any… to sway any public opinion… American public opinion to remove any doubts whatsoever that Saddam Hussein and his regime were a terrible evil that had to be dealt with.
JR: And what branches of the service were represented in this briefing tent?
GV: I recognized faces from the Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon, and Delta Force.
JR: Ok, now you’re on your way on your mission. You’ve been taken by armored personnel carrier, you’re dropped off to your area and what do you do then?
GV: Well then we moved through gaps in our lines to where we’re actually forward of the front… As the popular expression says “behind enemy lines”. We traveled up, well I say we, well I, I was acting alone. My mission objective was assigned to me personally. I did not have a, an operative with me. I moved forward and I… I carried out my mission parameters, and then I moved, and then I withdrew and concealed myself until such a time as the front moved past me.
JR: Ok let me back up a second. You carried out your mission, lets talk about that mission.
GV: Yes
JR: What was your mission? What were you told that you were supposed to do?
GV: To damage… I was given (number deleted) Kuwaiti oil wells to damage and to start a fire.
JR: And how did you do this?
GV: With the use of explosives and incendiaries.
JR: And how did you utilize these explosives? What were these explosives?
GV: The explosive I used was C4. It’s light weight, its easy to use, its very safe to transport. You take it and… a wellhead is nothing more than a pipe sticking out of the ground with… with valves, and it’s not like a water well where it, where you have a top that you can take off. It is completely sealed due to the environmental concerns involved with crude oil. The… depending on the sight of the well… the, the valve is any where from three to six feet off of the ground. I placed the explosive on the wellhead and the incendiaries near by so that after the… after the wellhead was damaged, that the incendiary could light the crude oil to fire.
JR: And did you light it yourself?
GV: No I actually transmitted a signal via a transmitter to a central location.
JR: Which basically told them the well had been set?
GV: The well had been set and they could detonate it at their leisure.
JR: And what did you do then?
GV: Then I removed myself from the area… I egressed from the area and concealed myself until our units had advanced forward of me.
JR: And, I don’t understand. Help me understand what you mean by that.
GV: The whole idea behind the operation was to make it as if look as if the Republican Guard, while they were retreating, had set the oil wells a fire in a panic to keep us from getting them… and to villainize them. This mission would not have been achieved if our forces saw those involved were not Republican Guard.
JR: In other words you were in fear of your own men seeing you basically?
GV: That is correct.
JR: Did you see any body else in the oil well field at the time that you were there?
GV: No I did not.
JR: So you then egressed from the area, made sure that your own men did not see you, and then the oil well fires were started?
GV: Yes
JR: Did you see them start?
GV: I actually, due to where I was concealed I could not see them, but due to the nature of … the operation you could feel the explosions and you could hear the fire.
JR: So the story that we are told, that the Republican Guard in their retreating, they started them very hastily, is not accurate?
GV: That is correct.
JR: Did you see any Republican Guard?
GV: In the entire (deleted) months that I spent in that theater of operations I did not see one individual that wore a Republican Guard uniform.
JR: Did you see any Iraqi troops that wore uniforms?
GV: I saw quite a few Iraqis troops that wore uniforms.
JR: But you saw no Republican Guards?
GV: I saw no Republican Guard Uniforms.
JR: After this period of time when you started the oil well fires, did you have any concerns that you had started these fires, or did you think it was for the best thing for this country?
GV: At the time, like I say due to the nature of my mind set, it did not bother me.
JR: That was your job and your mission and you carried it out.
GV:That is correct.
JR: Well I appreciate very much your being frank with us and open about this because there are many people that are now coming forward and saying the same thing. That there were no Republican Guard anywhere around, and that it was the American troops that actually started the oil well fires. I want to thank you very much, is there any thing you want to say in closing?
GV: I believe it’s a shame that our government is getting ready to repeat mistakes… I believe. I went over to fight what I thought was a common enemy of the world, and I watched my friends bleed and die for this cause, only for us to be stopped short of our objective, our final objective. I have no reason to believe that it will be any different this time. And I understand the necessity for the loss of life to protect our country. But loss and waste are two very different things.
JR: And why are you coming forward, right now in saying this?
GV: I feel that for us to return over there with this current administrations mind set that it would, that history would only repeat itself.
JR: Thank you very much, I do thank you, I salute you for what you are doing.
http://www.thepowerhour.com/postings-four/transcript.htm
The Torching of the Oil Wells
The Spotlight
“…one month before the Declaration of War on December 15th, 1990, Secretary of State, James Baker, signed the US Army report from the 352nd Civil Affairs Command on the New Kuwait (unclassified, and therefore available to those interested). This report describes in detail how extensively Kuwait will be destroyed, how the oil wells will be set on fire, and then how it will all be rebuilt ‘better than before’….”
Kuwait’s oil wells, torched during the final phase of the 1991 Gulf War, were set ablaze by fast-moving strike teams of US Special Forces, not by Iraqi troops, as reported at the time, according to a US Army officer who was there.
Smoke from the fires blocked sunlight for weeks, creating a near environmental disaster in the Mideast . After almost a decade, this observer has decided to break his silence and divulge what he has seen on condition that his identity remain protected.
His description of how the small Gulf emirate’s oil wells went up in flames matches the statements of the Iraqi government, whose top officials have long disclaimed responsibility for this incendiary sabotage operation.
“We did not set the oil fields on fire,” said then-Iraqi Oil Minister Osama al-Hiti, to a Spotlight reporter in June 1992. “Why should we? Where was the profit?”
New evidence uncovered by the Spotlight supports al-Hiti’s version of events. “Iraq had no reason to destroy those wells,” says a Washington petroleum analyst, who has spent years in the Gulf. Iraqi troops were already withdrawing from Kuwait when its oil fields were swept by fire. “The Iraqi leaders had already realized that they would have to submit to an imposed settlement of that conflict,” he explained.
Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and his top aides knew full well by then that they would be held economically and financially liable for any damages claimed by Kuwait in the aftermath of the Gulf War. Only President Bush and his inner circle stood to profit from the ravages inflicted on Kuwait’s petroleum installations, these sources have confirmed.
“Bush, his sons and his cronies began to scheme to make vast personal fortunes from rebuilding Kuwait’s infrastructure as soon as the Gulf war began — even before it began,” confirmed Rieter DeJongh, a Wall Street energy trader.
First oil firefighters, based in Texas , the home of President Bush, were enriched by putting the fires out. Next, construction firms had to rebuild the wells, then supply firms had to re-supply the sights. The Bushes corrupt scheme included driving from Kuwait competing energy companies such as the giant Deutsche Babcock conglomerate, which was bidding on a number of contracts coveted by the Bush consortium.
In the consensus of these sources, the economic consequences of wreaking devastation on Kuwait were clear: Iraq would have to pay for the damage — it is doing so right now — while President Bush and his people would profit from it. “I’d say that, all in all, the evidence tells us pretty convincingly the order to set Kuwait’s oil fields afire must have come, not from Saddam Hussein but from Bush,” concluded DeJongh.
— First Published in The Spotlight, August 2,1999 .
Footnote: In the aftermath of the Gulf War, it was found that there were around 700 oil-fires burning. Thick black crude oil poured into the shallow waters of the gulf. At the time, there were predictions that it would take several years and many millions of dollars to put out the fires. Environmentalists spoke of the Gulf becoming a stagnant oil lake, devoid of marine life. That may have been an overly pessimistic assessment but even today some areas of the desert are still blackened by dried oil lakes. Some damaged facilities are beyond repair, which no doubt allowed Bush, Baker and their cronies in the oil business to make even bigger profits.
• http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=33
• http://www.spiritwalk.org/kuwait-oil.htm
