On the redeployment to our desert bases

Submitted by Rick House (United States), Oct 25, 2006 at 20:25

As I understand it, the US has already built some of its permanent desert bases in Western Iraq. The more temporary bases run up through the middle of the country through Baghdad with still other temporary bases crossing the country west to east from Mozul to Kirkuk. The US deployment looks like a colon and a capital Y, with the colon being the permanent bases in the Western desert and the Y the temporary ready action bases in the east... You can also think of Baghdad's 'green zone' as where the three line sections of the Y cross.

This Y deployment configuration allows us to isolate sections of the Iraq along sectarian lines and rapidly deploy forces where they are needed in the interior of the country. The larger permanent bases are used to for airpower, logistics, southern and western border enforcement, training forces, and a ready reserve.

If we withdraw our forces to the desert bases, our forces will retreat to west, leaving places like Kirkuk, eastern Baghdad, and all the eastern provinces that run along the border of Iran to erupt in violence...Since most of the oil pipelines and electricity lines run north to south in the central-eastern part of the country the nation will immediately return to the horrific and inhumane days following the invasion.... Whatever part of the 300 billion dollars we actually spent on reconstruction will be lost in a week, 10 days at most... All the NGOs currently operating in Iraq will be forced out... And on top of everything else, refugee camps will spring up all over the Western desert, especially along the Jordanian and Syrian borders.

I agree, Mr. Pipes' solution would save American lives, but it will also put us back to day one...and possibly further back than that.

Rick House

Denton, TX

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