"Forward Operating Base Exxon".

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 27, 2003, 10:17 PM

"Qoute from another forum"
-------------------------------------------------------
Read today on the site of the "Spiegel", germany's biggest and most respected news magazine, that two bases of the 101st Airborne Division in central iraq are named after oil corporations: "Forward Operating Base Shell", "Forward Operating Base Exxon". Officially named so by the Pentagon.

-------------------------------------------------

Yes its in german but that is what it says.....

Link to German main magazine "Der Spiegel" kindly provided by:

Bluelight .

raid517 · Mar 27, 2003, 10:43 PM

As usual you’re just talking crap blue... No wait... No your not...

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/in...al/26STOR.html

You need a NY Times account to view this, but for those that are too lazy to register here is the relevant excerpt

Quote:

By day, the soldiers from the 101st were kept busy reinforcing the camp they have set up here in central Iraq, primarily a base for the helicopter gunships flown by the division. The official name is Forward Operating Base Shell; another similar base is called Exxon. Although they are in remote areas of the country, a few snipers have been spotted around the perimeters, and there is concern about mortar fire. The soldiers bulldozed the sand into long berms, and dug bunkers as a refuge.

Now remember the names of these bases are passed down the line by the military commanders. So it seems there is some very common knowledge within the military as to why the war is being fought.

It may not be the only reason, but even the military top brass appear convinced it is a big reason.

Q

Falstaff · Mar 28, 2003, 04:19 AM

I have to say I chuckled and then I laughed, I can't wait to hear what they name other installations or bases, ha ha...come on fellas can't you see the joke?

raid517 · Mar 28, 2003, 05:17 AM

Well at first I thought it was a joke Jeff, but this isn't the grunts naming these bases this is the brass, at the very best it means they are suspicious about the motives they have been given to fight this war - at the worst they actually already know what these motives are. If this is a joke then it is a joke in the worst possible taste. You can guarantee the already frosty reception the Iraqi people have given us will get worse if they start hearing of more things like this. They already appear prepared to fight for their country (no matter how much they hate Saddam Hussein), from what I have heard they will be even more prepared to fight if they suspect America is attempting to steal their oil fields.

In any case what I find interesting is how the NY times can make reference to this without commenting on it. Is this another form of self imposed censorship?

Q

Falstaff · Mar 28, 2003, 05:36 AM

Forward bases where fuel is stored and you can gas up apaches and tanks is a gas station, nothing more than that, and it has toilets, like a gas station, and water and an inside store, I am not kidding..I lived in one in Korea during operation team spirit ...

raid517 · Mar 28, 2003, 05:55 AM

Well that's one way of looking at it... But if that is the intention it is in the hight of bad taste. Kind of guaranteed to give the wrong impression. "We name our bases after giant oil companies in a country where a lot of the world accuses us of stealing their oil."

Not a smart move really...

Q

Falstaff · Mar 28, 2003, 06:28 AM

but you know, we military folks are famous for bad taste, I can't defend that,

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 28, 2003, 07:10 AM

Of course i9 see the joke....there is a cynic sort of humor that i appreciate in this just because i have a tencency of digging absurdities.....

This is one of them..The Pentagon naming things totally in opposition to what your gov says this is about....

yep that is...absurd..and funny...

Bluelight

Falstaff · Mar 28, 2003, 07:19 AM

Dont ask and don't tell, how absurd, I know this is off track, but Clinton actually wanted to create an atmosphere of tolerence for homosexual men and women in the military. Well I am hetero, and didn't give a damn about any elses sexual orientation as long as it didn't interfere with the mission. Clinton asked the military to implement a program, and name it, and it couldn't have been further from the truth,,,sheesh

Smoothdrive · Mar 28, 2003, 08:26 AM

Forward base Shell ?? didn't know the Dutch had a base in Iraq

It's nonsense presuming the war is about oil from these names..only US companies get a contract for Iraq and Shell is Dutch..

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 28, 2003, 09:44 AM

Shell may be Dutch on the surface but i think the majority of Shell is American owned.

Bluelight

Smoothdrive · Mar 28, 2003, 10:20 AM

If the majority was US-owned than it wouldn't be Dutch now would it..

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 28, 2003, 10:48 AM

Well im claiming it is owned and controlled by Amrican interests.

Bluelight

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 28, 2003, 10:55 AM

Ok i have checked it...I was wrong...i still beleieve4 that in realty Shell is controlled to a large amount by american interests.Just do a search on shell...and see howe many american documents you get...and how many Dutch you get.....

http://www.shell.com/html/investor-e...df/rde_tis.pdf

Bluelight

Smoothdrive · Mar 28, 2003, 11:01 AM

Thanks for checking, i knew it was so but you saved me a lot of work in finding proof.

Of course..in international business you can not send around Dutch documents..and off course a lot of Americans will have an interest in Shell..mainly stock holders etc.

But the contracts for Iraq are only awarded to US companies (as far as i am aware) and Shell is not a US company. So that theory about the "shell-base" is flawed. (unless the tricky Dutch traders live up to their history and did get a deal as only non-US company..which would not suprise me one bit)

~~bluelight~~ · Mar 28, 2003, 04:48 PM

Well the stockholders is the only thing that counts.We have a pretty advanced defense industry.

It used to be all Swedish and to a high degree cointrolled by the government.

It is today owned maionly by foreign interests.A large part of them.

So when peole demand that we according to our laws stop exporting guns to nations currently at war ( our laws do not permitt exportation to nations at war un less very special conditions are fulfilled) there are immediete problems....are we to stop export to those that has bough...our industry....

Things get complicated in the market economy....and somehow...the industry always win....

Bluelight

Falstaff · Mar 29, 2003, 04:20 AM

your coming dangerously close to making a valid point, ha ha....yes...Avarice is "not" the sole province of Americans you know, you might find it everywhere, even in your country. I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory, but someone is going to make a whole hell of alot of money on this war....I can say no further, but keep digging into who buys the Saudi and Kuwaiti oil, and you will be sniffing around the most sinister aspect of this whole entire war, and there is no website or url for that...Let me quote a childhood proverb, and please don't be offended, I remind myself all the time of how the simplest explainations and proverbs are appropriate...."oh what a tangled web we weave, when we endeavor to decieve".....

Mar 27, 2003, 10:17 PM	#1
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	"Forward Operating Base Exxon". "Qoute from another forum" ------------------------------------------------------- Read today on the site of the "Spiegel", germany's biggest and most respected news magazine, that two bases of the 101st Airborne Division in central iraq are named after oil corporations: "Forward Operating Base Shell", "Forward Operating Base Exxon". Officially named so by the Pentagon. ------------------------------------------------- Yes its in german but that is what it says..... Link to German main magazine "Der Spiegel" kindly provided by: Bluelight .

Mar 28, 2003, 04:19 AM	#3
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	Sarcasm I have to say I chuckled and then I laughed, I can't wait to hear what they name other installations or bases, ha ha...come on fellas can't you see the joke? __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Mar 28, 2003, 05:36 AM	#5
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	No it's like this Forward bases where fuel is stored and you can gas up apaches and tanks is a gas station, nothing more than that, and it has toilets, like a gas station, and water and an inside store, I am not kidding..I lived in one in Korea during operation team spirit ... __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Mar 28, 2003, 06:28 AM	#7
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	bad joke, bad press but you know, we military folks are famous for bad taste, I can't defend that, __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Mar 28, 2003, 07:19 AM	#9
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	I know, its like Dont ask and don't tell, how absurd, I know this is off track, but Clinton actually wanted to create an atmosphere of tolerence for homosexual men and women in the military. Well I am hetero, and didn't give a damn about any elses sexual orientation as long as it didn't interfere with the mission. Clinton asked the military to implement a program, and name it, and it couldn't have been further from the truth,,,sheesh __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Mar 28, 2003, 05:17 AM	#4
raid517 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,518 Rep Power: 0	Well at first I thought it was a joke Jeff, but this isn't the grunts naming these bases this is the brass, at the very best it means they are suspicious about the motives they have been given to fight this war - at the worst they actually already know what these motives are. If this is a joke then it is a joke in the worst possible taste. You can guarantee the already frosty reception the Iraqi people have given us will get worse if they start hearing of more things like this. They already appear prepared to fight for their country (no matter how much they hate Saddam Hussein), from what I have heard they will be even more prepared to fight if they suspect America is attempting to steal their oil fields. In any case what I find interesting is how the NY times can make reference to this without commenting on it. Is this another form of self imposed censorship? Q

Mar 28, 2003, 05:55 AM	#6
raid517 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,518 Rep Power: 0	Well that's one way of looking at it... But if that is the intention it is in the hight of bad taste. Kind of guaranteed to give the wrong impression. "We name our bases after giant oil companies in a country where a lot of the world accuses us of stealing their oil." Not a smart move really... Q

Mar 28, 2003, 07:10 AM	Thread Starter #8
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	Of course i9 see the joke....there is a cynic sort of humor that i appreciate in this just because i have a tencency of digging absurdities..... This is one of them..The Pentagon naming things totally in opposition to what your gov says this is about.... yep that is...absurd..and funny... Bluelight

Mar 28, 2003, 08:26 AM	#10
Smoothdrive Foolish Genius Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 455 Rep Power: 0	Forward base Shell ?? didn't know the Dutch had a base in Iraq It's nonsense presuming the war is about oil from these names..only US companies get a contract for Iraq and Shell is Dutch.. __________________ GA-7VRXP, AMD2000+, 256MB PC-2700 DDR, Radeon 8500LE, 2x Maxtor 740 (40GB) stripe set, AGNeovo X-150.

Mar 28, 2003, 09:44 AM	Thread Starter #11
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	Shell may be Dutch on the surface but i think the majority of Shell is American owned. Bluelight

Mar 28, 2003, 10:20 AM	#12
Smoothdrive Foolish Genius Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 455 Rep Power: 0	If the majority was US-owned than it wouldn't be Dutch now would it.. __________________ GA-7VRXP, AMD2000+, 256MB PC-2700 DDR, Radeon 8500LE, 2x Maxtor 740 (40GB) stripe set, AGNeovo X-150.

Mar 28, 2003, 10:48 AM	Thread Starter #13
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	Well im claiming it is owned and controlled by Amrican interests. Bluelight

Mar 28, 2003, 10:55 AM	Thread Starter #14
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	Ok i have checked it...I was wrong...i still beleieve4 that in realty Shell is controlled to a large amount by american interests.Just do a search on shell...and see howe many american documents you get...and how many Dutch you get..... http://www.shell.com/html/investor-e...df/rde_tis.pdf Bluelight

Mar 28, 2003, 11:01 AM	#15
Smoothdrive Foolish Genius Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 455 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for checking, i knew it was so but you saved me a lot of work in finding proof. Of course..in international business you can not send around Dutch documents..and off course a lot of Americans will have an interest in Shell..mainly stock holders etc. But the contracts for Iraq are only awarded to US companies (as far as i am aware) and Shell is not a US company. So that theory about the "shell-base" is flawed. (unless the tricky Dutch traders live up to their history and did get a deal as only non-US company..which would not suprise me one bit) __________________ GA-7VRXP, AMD2000+, 256MB PC-2700 DDR, Radeon 8500LE, 2x Maxtor 740 (40GB) stripe set, AGNeovo X-150.

Mar 28, 2003, 04:48 PM	Thread Starter #16
~~bluelight~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,328 Rep Power: 0	Well the stockholders is the only thing that counts.We have a pretty advanced defense industry. It used to be all Swedish and to a high degree cointrolled by the government. It is today owned maionly by foreign interests.A large part of them. So when peole demand that we according to our laws stop exporting guns to nations currently at war ( our laws do not permitt exportation to nations at war un less very special conditions are fulfilled) there are immediete problems....are we to stop export to those that has bough...our industry.... Things get complicated in the market economy....and somehow...the industry always win.... Bluelight

Mar 29, 2003, 04:20 AM	#17
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	Bluelight your coming dangerously close to making a valid point, ha ha....yes...Avarice is "not" the sole province of Americans you know, you might find it everywhere, even in your country. I know this sounds like a conspiracy theory, but someone is going to make a whole hell of alot of money on this war....I can say no further, but keep digging into who buys the Saudi and Kuwaiti oil, and you will be sniffing around the most sinister aspect of this whole entire war, and there is no website or url for that...Let me quote a childhood proverb, and please don't be offended, I remind myself all the time of how the simplest explainations and proverbs are appropriate...."oh what a tangled web we weave, when we endeavor to decieve"..... __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."