Jockstocks Forums - End Of War In Iraq

Jockstocks Forums (http://forums.jockstocks.com//index.php)

- Current Events (http://forums.jockstocks.com//forumdisplay.php?f=11)

- - End Of War In Iraq (http://forums.jockstocks.com//showthread.php?t=13234)

End Of War In Iraq

Quote:

After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead and 100,000 Iraqi dead, U.S. officials formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the American sacrifice because it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

...

In addition to the dead, the war left 32,000 Americans wounded and cost the U.S. more than $800 billion.

Full story here.

As a veteran that served in a foreign war, I want to say that the sacrifices I had to make would have been easier to accept had I been fighting for MY country rather than someone else's. I've spoken to dozens and dozens of vets coming back from tours (in many cases multiple tours) in Iraq and Afganistan and you'de be surprised how many feel the same way I do. That being said....in a volunteer armed forces, we as vets, are compelled to follow our commander in chief's orders and do what needs to be done.

The expense (death, injuries, $$$$) of this war is astronimical and I wonder if what we gave was worth it. I understand and appreciate how stability in this region is important to us but the big promise of cheaper and plentiful oil has yet to be realized. When the hell are we going to drill here and stop sacrificing our young men and women?

The returning Vets from the war I fought in were treated like shiit. I hope and pray that these returning Vets are taken care of in a complete and respectful, careing manner befitting a person that was willing (with no coersion as in a draft) to give their life while serving.

I'm aware of the jobs bill Obama is pushing but I'll believe it when I see it working.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rich76 (Post 60761)

When the hell are we going to drill here and stop sacrificing our young men and women?

We are...read up on the Bakken formation in western ND, eastern MT and into Canada...

This oil deposit has never fully been surveyed because the oil is mixed in with shale and up until just recently (surprisingly when prices went sky high) was seen as too expensive to drill. But with new technologies and more research, that oil deposit could very well be one of the largest in the world.

North Dakota will pass California as the 3rd largest oil producing state this year and they still haven't even gotten started. Getting our own oil will be less of an issue in the future...we need more refineries...but oil companies do their best to keep refineries to a minimum so that their supply is always in demand.

Irony of this story is...is that right now one of the issues (besides labor, housing, infrastructure, health care, etc.) that is plaguing the oil rich counties in ND is that there is a shortage of diesel fuel to the oil field so hauling the oil out and supplies in has been hampered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SayOw (Post 60769)

Interestingly, ND and SD have some of the lowest unemployment in the country.

Nick

I would like for a person to justify any of our wars since World War II please. And thank you SayOw for recognizing one of the main reasons I say this and that being that the wounded alone will cost us $800,000,000,000. And at least some of these soldiers and this happens with every war have permanent injuries that stay with them for the rest of their lives. And no I am not anti war but we need to be fighting these wars for the right reasons. What I just said so reminds me of something that happened late in 2002 if I am remembering correctly.

We had many U.S. Senators including Mrs. Clinton at the time who said the reasons we need to go into Iraq was basically what former President George W. Bush was saying at the time. And do not forget Secretary Clinton is basically guiding our foreign policy right now. One of the main reasons to go into Iraq was because of weapons of mass destruction and the other as it turns out were very bold face lies to be quite blunt about it. I am sure some will remember Colin Powell holding the vial of anthrax at a meeting at the United Nations. So again would someone like to justify any of our wars since World War II please do so. I have one final thing to say.

And don't even go to Kosovo. This is very much like Iraq is to this very day. There are several different factions in the country that are not going to like each other no matter what anyone does really. So we need to be very careful about what actions need to be taken and with the war in Iraq clearly demonstrates we need to very closely examine why these actions need to be taken in the first place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SayOw (Post 60769)

...read up on the Bakken formation in western ND, eastern MT and into Canada...

Just to keep those interested updated:

Quote:

BISMARCK - North Dakota oil drillers have surpassed a milestone of half a million barrels of oil a day, the state’s top oil regulator said Tuesday.

State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said North Dakota now accounts for about 10 percent of total U.S. crude oil production, up from just 1 percent in 2007.

Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents about 250 companies working in the Oil Patch in the western part of the state, called North Dakota’s meteoric oil production growth incredible and said it’s helping make the U.S. become less dependent on foreign oil.

The state Industrial Commission said crude production in November totaled 510,000 barrels a day, or about 150,000 more barrels than in November 2010. November statistics are the latest available because oil production numbers typically lag at least two months.

North Dakota produced a record 113 million barrels of oil in 2010; the state ended November with about 136 million barrels.

North Dakota went from the ninth-biggest producer in 2006 to fourth in 2009. Helms said North Dakota is on track to become the nation’s No. 2 oil producer early next year, surpassing California and Alaska, and trailing only Texas.

Helms said the move to leapfrog to the nation’s second-biggest oil producer could come quicker but North Dakota has been hamstrung by the lack of crews to perform hydraulic fracturing, a process that uses pressurized fluid and sand to break open oil-bearing rock 2 miles underground.

Oil companies are competing for so-called frac crews working in fields in Texas and Pennsylvania, Helms said. North Dakota wells are typically coming on line in 135 days, but could be finished and producing in 90 days if more frac crews were available, he said.

On Tuesday, 200 rigs were drilling in western North Dakota, nearly all aiming for the rich Bakken and Three Forks formations.

The state had a record 6,300 producing oil wells in November, up about 1,200 more than in November 2010.

North Dakota oil production by the numbers

136 million barrels strong.

Total 2011 production through November, compared to 113 million for all of 2010.

4th

Rank of state for production nationally in 2009 behind Texas, California and Alaska. By this time next year it’s expected to be in second place behind Texas. It was ranked ninth in 2006.

200

Total number of rigs in western North Dakota focusing on the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

6,300

Total number of producing wells in the state in November, up about 1,200 from November 2010.

Link to story here.

As a side note, I have not been out that far west in some time...there were plenty of oil wells last time, but I can only imagine the site now...

It was announced today that North Dakota has now become the second largest producer of oil, behind Texas.

really....either there's more going on up there than I thought or states like Oklahoma just aren't producing what I thought they were....

Very little being produced that isn't fracked I thought...and I thought that was like wringing the last drops out of a sponge

Word is they still can't drill fast enough out west...

Roads are all pretty much shot and need to be repaired with non-stop oil trucks running. Can't get materials in to the oil fields because of lack of supplies and fuel(?!). With the "black gold" rush, there are lots of people from all over the country coming to western ND looking for work, so much so the wage has decreased for some positions...but if you work on the actual derrick, pay is still about $35/hour...

Yeah, I've had people suggest I move up there but every time I look the jobs I see aren't jobs I'd want plus while wages are sometimes ridiculous so is the cost of living....and there's this perception that when the decline comes it'll be a steep one.

Quote:

Three western North Dakota counties — Williams, Billings and LaMoure — posted average personal incomes in 2011 that place them sixth ($81,170), 11th ($76,798), and 14th ($74,875), respectively, among the nation’s 3,113 counties, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Story here.

All three of those counties are in the "oil patch" ... probably amongst the poorest counties a decade ago...

sounds like those oil jobs are skewing the average considerably.....teachers, for example, are still starting out around 30k..meanwhile rent has doubled or more

too bad they can't discover oil on some of the reservations....Pine Ridge has historically been virtually or at the bottom in the country for income

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiteWolf (Post 70767)

Story here.

They have on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in ND. Just 2 months ago the reservation announced that they were building a new oil refinery with profits going toward the reservation. Should be online some time next year.

Quote:

North Dakota has surpassed the much-anticipated milestone of producing 1 million barrels of oil per day.

The state produced an average of 1,001,149 barrels per day in April, according to preliminary figures released by the state Tuesday.

North Dakota has been hovering around that milestone for several months, but difficult winter weather slowed production and delayed hitting the mark until spring.

Director of Mineral Resources Lynn Helms projects that North Dakota oil production will hit 1.5 million barrels per day in 2017...

Story here.

Farmers aren't very happy though...agricultural products (which North Dakota is one of the nations top producers in a whole host of categories) is sitting in full storage facilities because the trains are booked solid with oil from the Bakken. Word is, many elevators are either plumb full with product ready to get shipped out and waiting for rail cars or the elevator is plumb empty because they can't get a shipment in from rail...