DAMMAM, 22 March 2003 — For the second time in 12 years, American troops have set foot in Safwan, an Iraqi border town no more than 65 km from downtown Basra, the southern Iraqi city and center of Iraqi oil production.
It is the second time in 12 years that the people of Safwan will face the wrath of American forces. Exactly 12 years ago the Allied Commanders, US Gen. Schwarzkopf and Saudi Gen. Khaled ibn Sultan, signed a cease-fire agreement with Iraqi generals on this land.
Safwan could well be called the gateway to Iraq from Southern Kuwait. The US Army always considered this point one of the most important strategic locations, mainly because it has an air strip which can be used by fighter planes and other small cargo aircraft.
If American and British forces have actually annexed Safwan, then it is a very strategic win for them and in all likelihood most of their airstrikes might be launched from there instead of Kuwait and Doha. In the coming few days the main theater of operation could also shift from Kuwait City to Safwan, though the central command will continue to be in Kuwait.
No doubt Safwan will not have facilities to match Kuwait or Doha, but then the Americans never depended on such local facilities and always boasted of their self-sufficiency. Operation from Safwan will make the job easier for air command as well as ground forces once the American and British Army has total control of that area.
Military experts say that a base in Safwan, although more vulnerable to Iraqi Scuds, will speed up the war and things may end in few weeks. Zubayar and the port town of Umm Al-Qasr are also considered strategic locations. Umm Al-Qasr is a port town and could help American amphibious forces.
