tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31588679.post223792837262570036..comments2023-10-21T16:25:58.899+01:00Comments on Three Score Years And Ten: Clear The DecksHarry Barneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01600933854461096745noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31588679.post-46993115697212513452007-03-24T17:51:00.000+00:002007-03-24T17:51:00.000+00:00Duncan,When Iraq was estabished under a British Ma...Duncan,<BR/><BR/>When Iraq was estabished under a British Mandate in 1920, it was given a highly problematic access to the sea and that only being to the Gulf. This does not justify Saddam Hussein attacking Iran then Kuwait, but there always has been a case for a renewed international settlement improving<BR/>Iraq's position in this respect. This is more difficult than ever in current circumstances.<BR/><BR/>As I looked out daily upon the Shatt-al-Arab for some 20 months of my life, I will pursue the matter further and eventually post a consider item. This link, however, contains matters of interest -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatt_al-Arab<BR/><BR/>I believe that Shipping and Port facilities at Basra have declined considerably compared to what I was used to 50 years ago and that much more use is made of Umn Qasr close to the Gulf - especially since the invasion. That was certainly the overwhelming pattern I saw from the air last April.Harry Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01833380054575757928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31588679.post-89705858256402215892007-03-24T13:51:00.000+00:002007-03-24T13:51:00.000+00:00There's also the possibility that the Iranians hav...There's also the possibility that the Iranians have taken our marines and sailors hostage to try to negotiate a prisoner exchange for Iranians taken prisoner by US forces in Iraq -<BR/><BR/>http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1999783,00.htmlcalgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18253675072578015749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31588679.post-73367114605159994832007-03-24T11:14:00.000+00:002007-03-24T11:14:00.000+00:00I don't know whether the Iranians or the British g...I don't know whether the Iranians or the British government are telling the truth on this - given their past records possibly neither. <BR/><BR/>Bush is looking for a way to push the Iranians into doing something that gives him a pretext for war - Cheney even more so (see Seymour Hersh's column in the New Yorker magazine).<BR/><BR/>Cheney may well want to turn this into a Gulf of Tonkin incident if the British dont stop him.<BR/><BR/>At the same time Ahmadenijad is facing teachers and bus drivers strikes and he and Khameini's 'Supreme Leader' position are increasingly unpopular - so maybe they're both trying to create a distraction from their domestic problems.<BR/><BR/>There's also the vote on Iran's nuclear programme today of course in ths Security Council - so that could be an Iranian motive too.<BR/><BR/>Parts of the Shatt Al Arab are still disputed (i think from what i remember from Dilip Hiro's book) partly because the waterway changes constantly due to tides and river action moving sandbanks and water courses. So it could just be that both sides are mistaken.calgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18253675072578015749noreply@blogger.com