Refleksi : Apakah akan terjadi perang Irak-Iran kedua?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=130267&d=27&m=12&y=2009
Sunday 27 December 2009 (10 Muharram 1431
Iraqi, Iranian forces stand off in oil well row
Aref Mohammed | Reuters
AMARA, Iraq: Iraqi and Iranian forces are dug in on either side of a
disputed inactive oil well in the sensitive border area, with Iraqis vowing to
fight if necessary to fend off another occupation of the well by Iranian
soldiers.
Iraqi troops say they will defend the well, where Iranian troops raised a
flag for several days this month. It is unclear how many troops are involved in
the standoff, but as many as 30 lightly armed Iraqi troops usually occupy
border outposts in sensitive areas, and up to 10 in other areas.
Some 11 Iranian soldiers are stationed near the disputed well.
The seizure of the well, which Iraq says is part of its Fakka oilfield in
southeast Maysan province, triggered protests from the government in Baghdad
and caused a rise in prices on jittery world oil markets.
The Iranian forces have since pulled back, but Iraq says they are still
on its territory, stirring echoes of the border dispute that led to the
eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, in which about 1 million people died.
"These wells in the Fakka region are Iraqi, and we will defend them to the last
drop of blood," said Brig. Gen. Razak Abdul Hassan of the Iraqi border guards
at Fakka.
The Iranians are 100 meters inside Iraqi territory, he said, some 80
meters from the disputed well. Iraqi troops watch from nearby, and both sides
appear to be hunkered down behind earth walls at their bleak desert outposts.
Hassan said Iraq has deployed extra forces to other wells nearby, but
declined to outline numbers.
The well, which has only been operative briefly in the 1970s, now sits in
an effective no man's land as a binational committee prepares to begin work
early next year demarcating the border in the oil-producing border region.
"After that the word will be very clear and precise. We expect and know
the result is that the well is Iraqi, and the Iranians will admit this," said
Ali Maarij, head of Iraq's state Maysan Oil Co., in charge of Fakka and
surrounding fields.
Well No. 4 was drilled in 1979 and produced about 3,000 barrels a day, a
small amount for a region that is home to some to the world's largest oil
reserves. The well went offline in 1980 due to the Iran-Iraq war, and has been
inactive since.
Yet the symbolism of the brief Iranian occupation was more serious. Fakka
is part of the Maysan oilfield complex, with reserves of 2.5 billion barrels,
which Iraq tried unsuccessfully to auction off to foreign oil firms this year.
The mere threat of future incursions or border feuds puts more risk onto
the 10 oilfield deals the Iraqi government did secure this year, some of which
are near the Iran-Iraq border.
Oil firms are already jittery about working in a country just emerging
from years of bloodshed after the 2003 US invasion, and where bombings and
shootings are still common.
"We are determined and persistent in the defense of our border. We will
not give up even an inch. We are confident and able ... and ready for any
action at any time," said Maj. Gen. Habib Al-Husseini, head of Maysan security
operations.
