United Thieves of America.
"A supposed champion of
the rule of law, the US is violating its own anti-Syrian sanctions by
smuggling crude from oil fields it seized from Damascus", " a nation
that repeats ad nausea that it sticks to democratic values and rule of
law in international relations, is pumping oil… under a pretense of
fighting ISIL, other wise know as thief's using double standards to try
to hide there
deeds.
Not smuggles! They steal. What do you expect from descendants of British? Outside looks white but inside is darker then crude oil colour.
Nothing is surprising about this infested country. Robbery is not new for America. Stealing is the culture of most businessmen in US.
"stealing" is in the category of "being smart" in US.
So this is what Trump meant when he said 'We have secured the oil".
Does anyone really expect anything different from USA? The same people who murdered at least 60 million native Americans and stole their lands. Murder, lies and deceit has been their method right from the start.
deeds.
Not smuggles! They steal. What do you expect from descendants of British? Outside looks white but inside is darker then crude oil colour.
Nothing is surprising about this infested country. Robbery is not new for America. Stealing is the culture of most businessmen in US.
"stealing" is in the category of "being smart" in US.
So this is what Trump meant when he said 'We have secured the oil".
Does anyone really expect anything different from USA? The same people who murdered at least 60 million native Americans and stole their lands. Murder, lies and deceit has been their method right from the start.
Syrian Oil and US Troop Withdrawal, Explained
South Front, 2 November 2019
US military convoys already started entering Syria from Iraq and moving towards the US-controlled oil fields on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The Pentagon provided few details regarding numbers of troops and equipment that will remain in the area. Media reports speculate that around 500 personnel reinforced with dozens of pieces of military equipment will be stationed there. For example, Newsweek reported that the US is seeking to deploy a half of an US Army armored brigade combat team battalion that includes as many as 30 Abrams battle tanks to the oil fields. The US is also going to keep its military garrison in the al-Tanf area, on the Damascus Baghdad highway, where about 150-200 troops remain.
The version of the troops’ withdrawal from Syria that the media is trying to sell its audience says that the US is leaving the country. In reality, the US actions look more like re-deployment than withdrawal.
Firstly, the withdrawal of “a majority of 1,000 troops” is hardly possible if, at the same time, 650-700 troops are to remain in the Deir Ezzor oil fields and al-Tanf.
Secondly, the Trump administration, including the Defense Secretary, said that it was moving troops out of northern Syria, but not that they would be leaving the country. Trump himself described the withdrawal from Syria as a “process”.
Thirdly, the US military convoys which left northern Syria during the active phase of Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring for western Iraq are now returning. Dozens of US military vehicles accompanied by fuel tankers entered Syria on October 26 and 27 alone. US forces also remained deployed at the Qasrak base on the Tell Tamr-Qamishli highway.
Therefore, in the best case the US contingent is being reduced, while the rest of the forces just change their deployment area. The stance of Iraq, which at the highest level rejected the long-term presence of the US troops withdrawing from Syria to western Iraq, also played its own role. Some experts initially suggested that Washington could keep forces on the Iraqi side of the border to project military power to Syria while keeping the troop withdrawal promise at the same time. However, this plan caused too much resistance from the Iraqi government, which is already in much closer relations with Iran than the US has ever wanted.
Another factor is money. The control of a part of Syrian oil does not impact the US economy in general. However, it does open particular prospects for the US campaign in the region and gives the Trump administration additional leverages of pressure on Syria and its allies.
Before 2011, Syria had a lucrative oil industry, pumping about 400,000 barrels a day and having 2.5 billion barrels of reserves. The ensuing war and wide-scale Western sanctions devastated the country’s economy, cutting production by around 90% and forcing the Assad government to rely heavily on foreign imports of oil, mainly from Iran.
The known oil reserves are mainly in the eastern part of the country near its border with Iraq and along the Euphrates River. The largest and most mature fields are the Omar and Jbessa fields, which reportedly had production capacities of 100,000 and 200,000 barrels a day, respectively, in 2010. This is the area where the US is planning to keep its military presence. It is estimated that around 75% of Syrian oil reserves are under the direct or indirect control of the US. A number of smaller fields are located in the center of the country, which is controlled by the Syrian Army, and in the country’s northeast, which is now under the joint control of the Syrian Army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
When the SDF and the US-led coalition seized the fields, the revenue from smuggling of Syrian oil was estimated at around $10 million a month with the price of around $30 per barrel. However, thanks to assistance from companies affiliated with US intelligence agencies and private military companies the oil output and thus revenue grew significantly.
According to an October 26 report by the Russian Defense Ministry, the US military and private military contractors are now actively involved in protecting and managing oil smuggling in eastern Syria. The oil production itself is carried out using equipment provided by Western corporations bypassing all US sanctions. The oil exportation is implemented by the US-controlled company «Sedkab», created under the so-called Autonomous Administration of Eastern Syria, a political body created by the SDF, when US troops were deployed in northern Syria. The income from the smuggling goes through brokerage companies interacting with various accounts of US private
military companies and US intelligence agencies. The Russian side says that the barrel cost of smuggled Syrian oil is $38 and estimates a monthly revenue for the US “business” involved in the operation of over $30 million.
The business interests of US agencies and entities involved in the operation offer more reasons for the US presence in the area. It can be expected that if the situation in this part of Syria remains unchanged, the Trump administration will indeed go forward with its withdrawal “process” and more and more US troops will be replaced by US-linked private military contractors. Meanwhile US
agencies and private military corporations will use revenue from the oil smuggling for further operations across the Middle East.
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US smuggles crude worth $30mn per month from occupied Syrian oil fields, violating its own sanctions – Russian Foreign Ministry
RT : 1 Nov, 2019
Each month the US smuggles crude worth $30 million out of Syria, according to Zakharova. The fuel comes from fields in the northeastern part of the country, where the US maintains a military presence after pulling its troops back from the Syrian-Turkish border.
“A nation that repeats ad nauseam that it sticks to democratic values and rule of law in international relations, is pumping oil… under a pretense of fighting ISIL,” the official said, using an outdated name for terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
Oil fields in the Deir ez-Zor governorate, east of the River Euphrates, were captured by US-backed Kurdish militias as they advanced on IS forces. Washington makes no secret of the fact that it keeps an illegal military presence in the area in order to deny Damascus access to the natural resources that it has every right to possess under international law.
The US considers the Syrian government illegitimate and has used various means to attempt to topple it over the past eight years, from imposing harsh economic sanctions to arming and training whoever was willing to fight against Damascus. The fact that the US banned oil trade with Syria and is now smuggling oil out of it is particularly ironic, Zakharova said.
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Trump is an honest thief among dishonest thieves.
‘I like oil!’ Trump reaffirms predatory intentions in Syria as Assad calls him ‘the best’ US president for his honesty
2 Nov, 2019
Donald Trump is not trying to hide Washington’s true policies and intentions behind doublespeak about freedom and democracy – and that makes him “the best American President,” Syrian President Bashar Assad said.
“We’ve stayed back and kept the oil,” Trump reiterated on Friday, reaffirming the main US interest in Syria and making clear that all less immediately lucrative endeavors like keeping peace and reconstructing the devastated country should be taken care of by someone else. “Other people can patrol the border of Syria... let them – they’ve been fighting for a thousand years.”
Trump’s remarkably blunt approach was commended by Syria’s Assad, who noted in a recent interview that Nobel Peace Prize laureate presidents always pose as the “defenders of human rights and noble and unique American values,” rather than “criminals who represent the interests of American lobbies.”
He is the best American President, not because his policies are good, but because he is the most transparent president… What can be better than an honest enemy?
While giving Trump credit for not mincing words, Assad noted that the crumbling moral high ground facade only reveals what’s always been there.
This is the reality of American policy... All American presidents perpetrate all kinds of political atrocities and crimes…
Oil fields in the Deir ez-Zor governorate, east of the River Euphrates, were captured by US-backed Kurdish militias as they advanced on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorist forces. After pulling its ‘advisers’ back from the Syrian-Turkish border, Washington has made no secret of the fact that it keeps an illegal military presence in the area in order to deny Damascus access to its natural
resources.
According to Russia’s estimates, each month the US smuggles crude worth $30 million out of Syria – not only in violation of international law but, ironically, also in breach of its own unilateral sanctions against the war-ravaged state.
= = =
US ‘pullout’ from Syria looking more like permanent occupation with 800 troops reportedly tasked to ‘protect’ oil
RT : 6 Nov, 2019
The long-awaited US pullout from Syria appears to have been postponed, with Pentagon sources claiming some 800 troops will stay behind to “guard” Syria’s oil, in a mission even pro-war US politicians are calling “reckless.”
US troops will occupy a large, oil-rich area stretching 150km from Deir ez-Zor to al-Hasakah, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday. A total of about 800 troops will be stationed in the country, with some 600 in the Kurdish-controlled northeast plus the 200 currently garrisoned at al-Tanf in the south, anonymous administration officials told the AP.
The decision appears to cancel out President Donald Trump’s promise made last month to bring home the 1,000 troops stationed in Syria, representing another triumph of the hawks in his administration over the president’s non-interventionist impulses. Trump has repeatedly bragged “We’re keeping the oil.”
The explicit purpose of the occupation - guarding the Kurdish-controlled oil fields in northeast Syria not only from terrorists, but from the Syrian government - is illegal under international law, as Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin pointed out on Tuesday. Even American politicians who were previously champing at the bit for Trump to keep troops in Syria have criticized the move. They point out that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force - the post-9/11 resolutions that have been stretched to justify invasions of several countries under the guise of “fighting terrorism” - don’t allow the US to occupy another country’s oil fields, given that the US is not at war with Turkey or (officially, at least) Syria.
The US is building two new military bases in Deir ez-Zor, according to Turkish media reports, indicating Trump is settling in for the long haul. One base, near the town of Rmelan in al-Hasakah province, is reportedly situated near some 1,300 oil wells and fills up approximately 4 square km.
Officials told the AP that the order’s approval does not include a “mandate” to take Syria’s oil, while Defense Secretary Mark Esper attempted to smooth out the president’s words to that effect by saying he “interprets” them to mean US troops are guarding Syria’s resources from the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) - even though the president has declared the terror group defeated.
Trump announced troops would be pulled out of northeast Syria last month, allowing Turkey to clear the border area of the Kurdish militias Ankara considers terrorists. The president's critics in Washington recoiled at the prospect of peace, slamming Trump for abandoning the US' Kurdish allies, even when his administration negotiated a cease-fire with Turkey that gave Kurdish forces several days to clear the area and cleared the way for Russia and Turkey to reach a peaceful settlement of their own.
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