These fires which burned over half a billion barrels of oil were blamed on Saddam and at the time he was
accused of waging war on the environment. If these claims are true, then it now seems the fires were used
to further justify the war and it is noteworthy they were started soon after the massacre on the road to Basra
of Iraqi soldiers was revealed. It would appear these fires started just in time, to deflect public opinion
away from the massacre and to put the focus back on Saddam.

These accusations have come to light with the recent revealation by a former US special forces soldier
who has revealed all.

According to the Veterans press release: (Taken from the URL below)
"The information provided over a series of meetings with this veteran corroborates reports from other veterans who are totally unconnected with this individual. This testimony brings into serious question the integrity of the US government, as it [the government] provided information to the American public and military during the last Gulf War.”

More at related URL:

Readers may also recall the huge oil slicks that appeared in the Gulf at the end of the war and just before the
outbreak of these fires. In particular there were TV shots of sea-birds covered in oil. At the time, the 'media'
and military claimed Saddam had released this oil into the Gulf. It turns out that coalition forces had attacked
oil terminals in southern Iraqi and at least two fully loaded Iraqi oil tankers. This is where the oil flowed from.