U.S. presidential candidates spent much of 2007 denouncing the prospect of any permanent American presence inside Iraq. But, in some respects, the question is moot. Because, whatever the politicians may say, the Pentagon is committing itself to guarding the country's oil supply indefinitely.
In November, the U.S. Navy held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a military installation on top of Iraq's Khor al Amaya oil terminal in the northern Persian Gulf. Along with its neighboring Basra terminal, the platform is crucial to the global economy; together, the two terminals are theoretically capable of holding nearly 10 percent of the world's daily oil demand.
Pentagon officials insist that those fearing a permanent U.S. military presence needn't worry. Not only will the facility house British and Australian sailors as well as Americans but the U.S. military will hand the base over to the marines of the Iraqi Navy as soon as they are ready. Nevermind that, as the Wall Street Journal reported, their patrol boats today consist of "rusting hulks," and the Iraqis currently stationed on the terminal only recently trained with live ammunition for the first time. If a U.S. military withdrawal must wait for a seaworthy Iraqi Navy, the United States may be in Iraq longer than anyone has guessed.[Photo: Christian Chaise/Getty Images]
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