naval base
and nuclear facilities
Iraq's decision to bar access by UNSCOM weapons inspectors to the "designated" Presidential Palaces at Basra spurred the February 1998 showdown between the United States and Iraq.
Basra, located just north and east of Kuwait, is the junction point for key oil pipelines, currently idle. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait would have linked those pipelines to new ports for Iraqi oil exports. Today, Basra remains home to Iraq's tiny navy, which can reach the Persian Gulf only through a Kuwaiti (and U.S.) controlled choke point.
Iraqi opposition sources report that the Khawr Al Zubayar factory at Basra produced heavy water used in the country's atomic programs.
