Consequences if One Does, or One Does Not
Reader comment on item: Saddam's Damn Dam [i.e., The Mosul Dam]

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Nov 8, 2007 at 17:16

The proverbial catch 22 is at work here. Had the American military concentrated on the task at hand, neutralizing the purported immediate threat and attempting to buffer the region from futures threats, leaving alone the civilian responsibilities to civilian administration, then the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers would not have to worry about having a international reputation for dam constructions incidents, only local ones.

Nevertheless, having not left well enough alone, what to do? As mentioned elsewhere, the reservoir pressure must be relieved by draining…..period. Once the danger safety margin is minimized (thereby giving the American administrative presence the unpopular, though safest option to walk away from), then leave it to the local administration to determine the best course of replacement, if they can come up with one at all.

To be considered, now that this situation has more exposure as to the potential devastating effects and the proclaimed consequences, (al-Qaeda being the engineering students that they are), are we not inviting the disaster to visit, not merely considering the potential effects. To those with decision-making responsibility in the Corps, if any are reading this, DRAIN IT NOW, or start (if one has not already) inundation studies with Delta Q's in the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands cfs's reaching the gulf in less than a day, and the Green zone in hours. It may not be Noah's flood as mentioned elsewhere here, but it will be bad enough. There are plenty of examples in America to draw to, so delay would be unacceptable.

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