The tip of the U.S. spear in the Gulf

ABOARD THE USS FLETCHER, Off the Iraqi Coast, Oct. 7 — Under inky black skies and in thick, humid air, two U.S. Navy inflatable boats headed toward the “car park,” the spot where tankers anchor while awaiting instructions to pick up or deliver cargo to the Iraqi port of Basra. It’s a navigational nightmare, with hazards ranging from minefields, floating debris and burning oil drums to shallow waters, oil rigs and merchant ships. The target of the operation: Smugglers violating U.N. sanctions by ferrying goods in and out of Iraq.

THE BOATS are from the USS Fletcher, which is part of an international force that enforces the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Persian Gulf War.
They are patrolling a narrow inlet in the Gulf that leads to Basra and is within striking distance of Iraq.
With the United States contemplating a new war against Iraq, the vessels are the closest American military presence to Saddam’s forces.
Washington says Baghdad has been flouting the U.N. resolution that established the embargo in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, as well as a later one that allowed Iraq to sell a limited amount of oil and use the proceeds to buy food and medicine. Instead, the United States says that Saddam is smuggling oil and using the proceeds to finance his weapons program.