EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions boosts jihadist groups
Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate, consolidates position as scramble for control of wells accelerates
The EU decision to lift Syrian oil sanctions to aid the opposition has accelerated a scramble for control over wells and pipelines in rebel-held areas and helped consolidate the grip of jihadist groups over the country's key resources.
Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated with al-Qaida and other extreme Islamist groups, control the majority of the oil wells in Deir Ezzor province, displacing local Sunni tribes, sometimes by force. They have also seized control of other fields from Kurdish groups further to the north-east, in al-Hasakah governorate.
As opposition groups have turned their guns on each other in the battle over oil, water and agricultural land, military pressure on Bashar al-Assad's government from the north and east has eased off. In some areas, al-Nusra has struck deals with government forces to allow the transfer of crude across the front lines to the Mediterranean coast.
"Whoever gets their hands on the oil, water and agriculture, holds Sunni Syria by the throat. At the moment, that's al-Nusra," Landis said. "Europe opening up the market for oil forced this issue. So the logical conclusion from this craziness is that Europe will be funding al-Qaida."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/19/jihadists-control-syrian-oilfields
The stranglehold that Jabhat al-Nusra and its allies have achieved over Syria's oilfields signals a decisive moment in the conflict that will shape the rapidly and violently evolving map of the new Middle East.
While the makings of a Sunni mini-state are emerging in al-Jazira plain, Upper Mesopotamia, stretching from Turkey to central Iraq, a Kurdish state is forming to the east, again crystallised with the help of oil. To the fury of Baghdad, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq has reportedly struck a deal with Ankara for Turkish state energy companies to take a stake in the region's oil and gas fields. The deal has caused tension with Washington, apparently during the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the White House last week.
tpaine posted:
but this effort is already wasted. aren't you in high school?
Russia to give Syria anti-aircraft missiles to deter 'hotheads' – live updates
• Move will 'dissuade hotheads from entering conflict'
• London and Paris force EU to let arms embargo lapse
• Britain will be able to arm Syrian rebels from now on
• Investigation finds chemical weapons exposure
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense chief said Tuesday a Russian plan to supply sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Syria was a "threat" and signaled that Israel is prepared to use force to stop the delivery.
"Clearly this move is a threat to us," Yaalon told reporters Tuesday when asked about the planned Russian sale.
"At this stage I can't say there is an escalation. The shipments have not been sent on their way yet. And I hope that they will not be sent," he said. But "if God forbid they do reach Syria, we will know what to do."
Edited by prikryl ()
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/excerpts/lesch_lion.pdf
im also posting the full version in the pdf forum
Noosphere posted:Autonomous Oblast?
sorry i wasnt more clear. I was referring to Germany's Third Reich, a Zionist controlled government which was instrumental in securing Jews their current ill-gotten homeland, consolidating the political power of the Diaspora, and decimating the population and influence of European communists, who stood in direct opposition to the Jewish fasciocapitalist spider
ilmdge posted:Fuck Israel, they wouldn't dare.
Noosphere posted:What is syria to America other than a way to fuck Russia out of its only Mediterranean port and dick with iran?
yes
I mean other than opening the gateway for wahhaist conquest of the levant and fulfilling biblical end time prophesy and or spreading democracy in the middle east.
edit: yes
Would deminishing Russia's ability to project power help Europe negotiate lower natural gas prices?
yes
Does Syria have vast untapped natural resources that I am ignorant of?
yes
when will we get the first live leak video of rebels fielding the New tracking point sniper rifle?
yes
EmanuelaOrlandi posted:i dont know bc ive never seen one
thats because teh clitoris existence is a myth
MarxUltor posted:how can the terrorists have won in syria when the US hasnt invaded it yet?
the US has occupied part of Syria since 1967
Lessons posted:coutner strike annoucer guy: "Terrorists win..."