Following new meetings with defense leaders last week, President Trump has signaled intentions to expand his new war in Syria, which is a war entirely built around military control of oilfields in Eastern Syria from which he intends to extract oil.
All of this is raising ever-growing legal questions, both about what the legal ramifications of an overt war for oil would be, and about what the military is actually supposed to do in this environment, and against whom.
President Trump has so far side-stepped questions about the legality of taking other countries’ oil by arguing that it’s a lot of money the US could make every month in doing so. As far as military orders, those still haven’t been issued, and moreover officials concede a lot of details are “yet to be worked out.”
Despite lack of clarity on what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and who it’s against, the US troops in Syria are doing something, and Kurdish YPG forces were also reported to have gotten involved, sending some troops of their own to help guard the oil fields.
The Kurds are reportedly helping the US guard the oil from ISIS, and while that’s a pretty straightforward mission for the Kurds, it’s a lot more complicated for the US, with a lot of the people the US is keeping away from the oil having nothing to do with ISIS.
Unspoken is that the US mission is to keep Syria’s oil away from Syria, and experts are being very clear that that notion is very illegal under international law. So far that doesn’t seem to be phasing officials, but anyone participating outside of US command is going to be trying to style this as about ISIS.
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of hydrocarbons”
Piracy & gangsterism = US foreign policy.
“Gee. How did all that American oil get under Syrian soil?”
This is all part of Corporal Bonespurs’ secret plan to “Make America Great Again” by making Syria foot the bill for our preserving and protecting its peace, prosperity, and freedom. After all; we wiped out ISIS once, by God. And we’ll do it again. And again. And again… .
The really disturbing thing is ~ at least according to Fox ~ that a significant number of Americans think the US should keep troops in Syria. More people think that than approve of the job Trump is doing. One has to wonder where all those anti-Trump/pro-War folks come from.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-bipartisan-majorities-want-some-u-s-troops-to-stay-in-syria
“One has to wonder where all those anti-Trump/pro-War folks come from.”
Umm… Hillary Clinton? Joe Biden? Pete Buttigieg? Chuck Schumer? Nancy Pelosi? CNN? MSNBC? WAPO? NY Times?
Yup, all the Third Way/”centrist”/neoliberal neocons who got a pass when Bush and Cheney took the heat for starting a conflagration in the Middle East, which they all fully supported. Now they’re doing it again, but this time it’s dressed up as opposition to Trump.
“all fully supported” nope, better check that congressional AUMF vote…..not even close to all. You’re thinking of the war on terror authorization…..
And the list ~ and the beat ~ goes on. And on. And on….. .
Congress is sitting, drooling, mouth agape. By the time the deployment is done, they’ll have one shoe on, late for work.
Anti-war unless he can turn a buck. MAGA.
Trump is all about the “bottom line,” he’s only “anti-war” when it costs the US money. He’s not really anti-war, anyway.
Why would anyone be surprised when President Trump proposes to act like the emperor of the USA? He believes that he is our emperor.
No. I think he woke up with a horse head in his bed.
Gotta admit, no hypocrisy there, grab em by the oil spanky.
DiRuPt tHe WaR pArTy
Justin would be so proud!
That rascally ISIS excuse still in vogue?
It’s not gonna last forever. These troops are gonna be forced out as well eventually. Syria already has control of its electricity and grid power so I’m not sure how long the US can really hold out in these oil fields.
Trump, unlike those Do-Nothing Democrats who hate this Great Country, loves the troops so much he’ll even use them as political pawns, sending them into a contested area without so much as clear orders or goals, just to make himself look Strong and Powerful.
At this point, this is EXACTLY what you say it is. Trump needed an antidote to political tantrums of “getting out of Syria”. He had to give Turkey control of border — and pulled US forces from Iraqi, Syria, Turkey border. And then IMMEDIATELY started bashing Turkey not to invade. Syrian and Russian troops came in — and problem temporarily solved.
But now, phase two. With Turkey out of the complaining zone — build Kurdistan starting in Der Azzor, and oil fields. Israel is already “advocating” for Kurds! Never mind that Kurds do not live there — Israelis did not live in the land they now occupy, so what. The danger for Syria is — control of Kobane and all along border to the north. The last thing they need is Kurds rebelling and wanting US protection.
The movement of the Kurds is precisely what I predicted. They are the only ones with even a remotely rational claim on the oil – with the exception, of course, of Syria itself. Since they’ve been supported by the US, they will naturally try to get their hands on it by trying to convince Trump that they can keep it away from Assad.
That won’t work, of course, except temporarily. The US wants the oil, wants to keep it away from Assad to prevent Assad from using that money to rebuild Syria. And the US can’t trust the Kurds not to make some deal with Assad, given that the US has basically abandoned them.
Most importantly, the US wants troops in Syria because of the upcoming war with Iran. So any excuse to build up forces there – and anywhere else in the Middle East – will be taken. They’ve sent 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia, they’ve sent heavy bombers to various bases, and they’ve sent more naval assets, as I predicted.
They will send more troops as the Iran war nears. Unlike the more direct buildup to the two Iraq wars, this will be more of a slow “boil the frog” approach, not unlike how they snuck increased troops into Syria in the first place. They started out with a few hundred Special Forces, but then ended up with 2,000 or more and air bases. But eventually the trickle of forces into the region will become a flood.
For those who think Trump isn’t responsible for this, how hard is it for someone to know the difference between “remove forces” and “send forces”? If Trump can’t comprehend that, what good is he at keeping to his promises to not start unnecessary wars? It’s that simple.
Syrians should just go in peacefully and start developing their oil fields. Make it clear to the mad man behind the gun (US) that you’re there to take what is yours, hands up don’t shoot, HAHA.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin
“We won’t cooperate with the Americans on the Syrian oil. This concerns Syrian oil, which is the Syrian people’s heritage,” Vershinin told reporters. “We are convinced that it’s up to the Syrian people to manage their natural resources, including oil,”
Thats the difference between the US foreign policy….and countries who RESPECT other countries sovereignty.
I fully agree, Jim Bim. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin’s right on target with that statement. Of course the Russians won’t cooperate, and I don’t blame them. The oil belongs to the Syrian people, as it’s their heritage. The US has plenty of oil .. In fact, the US is the biggest oil producer, and it has no business deploying troops to Syria’s oil fields.
Yes, Jim, it certainly is the difference between US foreign policy, and nations who respect other nations’ sovereignty.
Spot on Eileen.
The Syrian oil has been stolen right from the beginning.
Remember the oil for weapon smuggling with ISIS.
In 2015, right after Putin`s speech at the UN, Russia started to smash thousands of oil tankers driving through Syria/Turkey border. At the G20, Putin said “i have a list of all the countries involved in the oil for weapon smuggling, most of the countries on the list are present right here at the G20”.