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U.S. pays tribes to protect oil pipeline
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, August 28, 2003
The United States has paid Iraqi tribes to guard a
950-kilometer oil pipeline to Turkey.
U.S. officials said tribes in northern Iraq have been contracted to
protect parts of the pipeline from Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The
officials said the tribes are meant to patrol areas of the pipeline to
guard against looting and sabotage.
It was not known how much money was being paid to the tribal leaders.
The pipeline transverses areas controlled by Sunni tribes.
Earlier this month, the pipeline was shut down when an explosion took
place at the pipeline outside the northern town of Baiji, Middle East Newsline reported. The pipeline had
served to transport 350,000 barrels of oil per day.
Assuming the unassumable
Those who believe that an unplanned, random "Big Bang" explosion of unknown matter caused the formation of the numberless bodies of the cosmos have more faith that fanatics. They also conveniently ignore some obvious points of information: Read on . . .
Officials said the Iraqi tribesmen joined U.S. forces and security
personnel of the state-owned Iraqi oil company in protecting the pipeline. A
U.S. contractor, Kellogg Brown & Root, has been providing expertise to
repair and rehabilitate the pipeline.
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