Gulf War Eco-Terrorism Still Menaces Gulf

On January 16, 1991, U.N. coalition air forces bombarded Iraqi military targets in Kuwait and Iraq. These actions were in response to Iraqi President Saddam HusseinÆs failure to withdraw Iraqi forces from Kuwait. In retaliation, Hussein ordered the deliberate pumping of vast amounts of crude oil from the Sea Island Oil Terminal in Kuwait into the Persian Gulf. This act of eco-terrorism marked the largest oil spill in history, with more than 460 million gallons of oil contaminating the Gulf (Joyner and Kirkhope, 1992).

In addition to the forty mile oil slick this deliberate pumping created along the southern Kuwaiti and northern Saudi coastline, on their withdrawal from Kuwait defeated Iraqi troops purposefully set fire to 752 oil wells (Joyner, et al, 1992). The environmental damage caused by these deliberate acts of eco-terrorism is vast. More than 500,000 tons of air pollution was generated by the burning of these wells, reaching a concentration of airborne particles more than 400 times U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (Joyner, et al, 1992). The economic damage was estimated at $100-$120 million a day, creating another environmental hazard from the formation of enormous oil lakes that formed in the desert (Joyner, et al, 1992).

The fires took until November of 1991 to extinguish and when the worldÆs first known act of large-scale eco-terrorism was over, estimates to restore KuwaitÆs oil industry to pre-terr

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, 1992). The intertidal zone is the shore area that is exposed during high and low tides. As such, it serves as an important foraging ground for marine life and waterfowl. The impact of the devastation on the intertidal zone was still painfully evident years after the act of eco-terrorism took place. Sharp declines have occurred in the millions of migratory birds that pass through this region of the globe. Marine life has also been impacted by the oil damage. Fishermen in Kuwait and Iran who have made their living for decades pulling shrimp, mullet, and sea bream out of the Gulf reported ôan 80% decline in their catchö as late as 1995 (Holmes, 1995, A8). The ecological damage caused to this region of the Gulf is also attributed to large concentrations of carcinogenic û cancer causing û compounds in sediment. While a large portion of the GulfÆs coral and deep-water ecosystems escaped significant damage, huge tracts of Saudi beaches were devastated by the oil spills. Yet there seems to be some controversy among scientists as to the impact of the devastation. While many argue that a significant portion of the GulfÆs coral reefs were unscathed by the act of terrorism, others argue that 90% of KuwaitÆs coral reefs were destroy
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Approximate Word count = 1287
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)