N: Strategische Bedeutung der Einnahme Umm Qasr's
Geschrieben von IT Oma am 22. März 2003 10:14:14:
Als Antwort auf: N: Türkische Soldaten in Nordirak eingerückt!! geschrieben von WorldObserver am 22. März 2003 00:03:59:
British prime minister Tony Blair may have vowed solemnly after the Azores summit that Iraq’s territorial integrity would be preserved. However, DEBKAfile’s sources stand by their previous disclosure that the country will be divided into military zones in the early days of the conflict.
Under this pre-arranged partition, Kuwait has been assigned Umm al Qasr and possibly the Faw peninsula, thereby doubling the small emirate’s land mass. Kuwait’s reward for wholeheartedly turning one half of its territory into a key American invasion base is the fulfillment of its national aspiration for a foothold in southern Iraq and command over ingress to and egress from the strategic Shatt al Arb waterway.
The symbolic arrival of Kuwait military in the newly-captured town of Umm Qasr would not have been permitted without Washington’s blessing.
This turn of events radically alters the Gulf balance of power. Until Friday, March 21, it was dominated by the rivalry between Baghdad and Tehran. Iran is now confronted with a formidable new adversary: An American-Anglo backed Kuwait with a military grip on the Shatt al Arb. This is a strong signal from Washington to Tehran not to entertain any notions of exploiting the Iraq war to grab control of this strategic waterway or to further its designs on Iraq’s southern oil fields.
Leaving Basra and southern Iraq to the British bears significance over and above the fact that it leaves American forces free to focus on the drive for Baghdad. The British have been awarded a military zone in southeastern Iraq, both to support the Kuwaiti presence and to carve out a British area of influence in that sector.
As the war develops, similar pre-assigned processes can be expected to take shape in northern and western Iraq.