Revisionist history

I was told today at work that a mutual former colleague of ours (who was also a former tanker sergeant) had said that it was quite common knowledge that Kuwait was actually the aggressor in the first Gulf war.

Not a lot of references to this but it just goes to show how common the control for oil urge is:

Fourth, Kuwait drilled laterally into the Rumaila oilfield of which 90 percent is located within Iraqi territory. Prior to the invasion Kuwait had extracted approximately ten million barrels of oil from Rumaila. This was 0.5 percent of its total production of 2 million barrels per day and amounted to approximately $2.4 billion during the eight year war.

I guess Kuwait was a bit too timid, not enough shock and awe.

UPDATE: Oyster adds, "For what it is worth, I had heard the same thing about Kuwait's slant drilling. In Texas, people have been killed over such disputes."

This comment reminded me of an old suggestion regarding traveling to Mars to explore for oil. The person suggested it would be cheaper to drill through the earth until we reach Saudi Arabia and get our oil that way.