a mobilized year

Most people remember (at least those who were adults at the time) that when Sadaam Hussein retreated from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, he dumped millions of gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf and started ablaze hundreds of oil wells (cumulatively burning more than a billion gallons of oil). There were photos taken from outer space that showed the blackened skies surrounding the Persian Gulf. Much was written about the likely increased cancer rates of area residents and the impact that the fires had on some soldiers in the area (many saying it was a contributor/cause of Gulf War Syndrome).

About a year or so ago, I had heard that there were several of these fires still going. The reason, if I recall correctly, is that they assume that there are various forms of munitions that had been inserted in these lakes of oil prior to them being set fire. Trying to cap these fires may actually cause more explosions—thus, they are just cordoning the areas off and letting them burn.

On the way to southern Kuwait, we drive through these areas where we can see several fires extending more than 100 feet high. Here are a couple more pictures:

# posted by themobilized : 03:33