] Even before it began, the 1991 war with Iraq was ] headlined as an environmental apocalypse. The allied ] forces would wreak their share of environmental damage, ] critics warned, but Saddam's actions would be ] devastating. His likely sabotage of Kuwaiti oil wells ] would produce the largest, most destructive oil spill ] ever. And according to the late US scientist Carl Sagan, ] smoke from burning wells would shroud the planet in soot, ] creating a "year without summer". ] ] ] It did not happen quite like that, of course. Many fears ] turned out to be misplaced or inaccurate. Twelve years ] on, are we in a better position to judge how badly the ] environment would suffer in a new war with Iraq? More info on the ecological situation in Iraq |