"Stay Behind" strategies in Iraq

[Ken Brown]

Harmon Seaver wrote:
> 
> On Thu, Apr 10, 2003 at 08:04:05PM -0700, Major Variola (ret) wrote:
> > At 04:03 PM 4/10/03 -0700, Tim May wrote:
> >
> > >Refineries are built by the Bechtels and Parsons and their European and
> > >Japanese counterparts. Most are nearly fully-automated. Again, a
> > >comparatively tiny number of locals will be hired.
> 
>    Pretty true, I think. I know when I was working down in Mobile, AL, I was
> quite surprised to read about how few people were actually employed in those
> huge petro-chemical refineries down there. Simply gigantic places with maybe 400
> people working in one.

When I worked for an oil company we employed more people in the office
than offshore or in the refineries.  MOst of the production workers were
short-term contractors. 

One of our refineries blew up and killed nobody though there were over
20 injuries. It was night and there were few people there. These places
are well automated. It did lead to one of the odder support calls I ever
took - they wanted to know how to get email back on line, and I said we
needed to reboot such-and-such a server and they said they couldn't
because the building it was in had no roof and it was raining.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/hid/land/comah/level3/5A58DEE.HTM
http://www.dragon-pictures.com/e21.htm