Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters on Thursday that while the US continues to expand its presence in and around east Syria with an aim of protecting and controlling the oil fields, the US won’t be keeping the money.
“The revenue from this is not going to the US, this is going to the SDF,” Hoffman said, suggesting the US-backed Kurds will get all the money. That’s still entirely speculative, however, because no US company has expressed any willingness to extract the oil in the first place.
It’s also not what has been sold to the US by President Trump. Trump has insisted that the US would be keeping some of the oil for itself, telling crowds recently that it would amount to $45 million a month and that it was always his intention to “keep the oil.”
Critics have warned that the US stealing oil would be illegal under international law, and while officials may hope giving the money to the Kurdish SDF will seem more palatable, it’s still appropriating Syrian natural resources and giving them to a US-backed group.
The Pentagon comments did not address the previous White House claims the oil would be kept by the US, nor has the White House addressed the difference in statement from the Pentagon.
More fairy tales.
The hallmark of the Trump administration – departments contradicting each other as leadership and communication are nonexistent. They aren’t even trying.
The Kurds have been pumping and refining oil from these fields since they kicked ISIS out, the Syrian government has been buying it or looking the other way as it gets sold to whoever needs it.
It’s really going to be up to the Syrian government to decide who ends up running these fields. Assad has stated that when the time comes they will move in and take it back over. (He’s busy right now with Iblid)
Will he let some of the money stay with the Kurds? Probably and who knows who will take the fields over, ConocoPhillips discovered them but I’m sure there will be others who want to invest too.
Let’s make record straight — Kurds SOLD ISIS oil across the border to their PKK brethren, and their PKK brethren in Iraq. It was sold to refineries. THE IDENTICAL process in Iraq. In fact, Iraq had so much refined products, that they were selling gas for export. Even US bought gas that way from Iraq. I saw a lame story in our media as to why it made sense to be buying gas from Iraq.
The only thing that was omitted was — price. Need we say — very attractive.
Exactly.
Brigands stealing to fund mercenaries. Make America Great Again! Is this a wonderful country or what?
And they will get the money — what for? What exactly are Kurdish militia doing hundreds of miles away from their region, and lording over Arab population that lives in this oil region? There are NO Kurds living there! This is how Kurds will thank Syrian Government and Russians for keeping Turkey away from their population centers — by occupying Syrian population and Syrian oil.
Puts me to mind that Syria and Russia made a mistake — before you know it — Kurds will call them occupiers!
This oil idea is seriously messed up — but then, if Israel says US must stay in Syria, it will be done. What ever it takes. US taxpayers’ money will guard this, the most expensive oil on earth.
So the Whitehouse and Pentagon idiots think it isn’t committing War Crimes because it is giving the profits to a group that they have funded and supplied to commit acts of Terrorism and Treason against the country that they are citizens of. Let me guess that money WILL be used to buy US manufactured Arms and supplies, to fight the Sovereign Government of Syria, the lawful owner of the resources in the first place, and that US companies and the US treasury will profit from the oil sales and taxes! It should be noted Multi national Companies can be sued in ANY country that is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, for War Crimes they have committed! we have seen the threats from the US Government in relation to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, of course IF they were to do as they threatened, it would literally show the World just how depraved they have become!
do recall the democrats had a meltdown when trump wanted to fully withdraw.. they’re not remotely innocent in these crimes!
Still illegal.
And of course this has nothing to do with the oil not being ours to decide who does and doesn’t get the revenue, right? I have a feeling that the Syrian government is going to assert their rights over their resources and US forces are going to be left to, as they say, ‘pound sand’.
Hope so.
US is the oil thief with an oily excuse…!
The Pentagon is also full of shit.
Yes, this money will go to SDF so they can buy weapons from uncle Sham and that money goes right into their pocket. Legally.
So sick of this country doing all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons.
Time to fight back…but how?
Sharpie accounting……
The alleged giving of the oil money to the Kurds is just a propaganda move to try to smooth over the utter illegality. If any money actually is intended to go to the Kurds, it’s only to try to persuade them to assist the US in keeping the oil away from the Syrian government. Meanwhile the real reason for putting more US troops inside Syria is obviously to prepare for the upcoming Lebanon and Iran wars, as well as continuing to try to destabilize Syria.
then why are we there? shouldn’t the kurds be doing this? the US military is Syria in violation of international law, the laws of nations, without any constitutional authority, no congressional declaration of war “because they can’t”
The fraudulent US government is a RICO criminal syndicate rogue terrorist state!
Afterthought, the US dollar is in severe danger of being removed as the premier currency.. oil has traditionally be traded in dollars,. without that monopoly the US government is severely neutered as to being a super power.. the US controls the saudis, iraqis, Libya now they’re attempting to control Syria, they wish to control Iran and Venezuela, and any other country that has oil in an effort to control the planets oil and thereby the worlds economies.. just my opinion but it’s a viable theory!