Editorials & Other Articles

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts) Sat Aug 11, 2012, 11:35 AM Aug 2012

Syria's Pipelineistan war

Good article from Al Jazeera pointing out the crucial issues of gas and oil pipelines at stake around the Syrian conflict.

Syria is way more important as an energy crossroads, much like Turkey - but on a smaller scale. The key point is that Turkey needs Syria to fulfill its energy strategy.
A deal between Syria and Iran's oil ministers may jeopardise Turkey's position on the East-West energy road.

Beyond the tragedy and grief of civil war, Syria is also a Pipelineistan power play.

"More than a year ago, a $10 billion Pipelineistan deal was clinched between Iran, Iraq and Syria for a natural gas pipeline to be built by 2016 from Iran's giant South Pars field, traversing Iraq and Syria, with a possible extension to Lebanon. Key export target market: Europe.

During the past 12 months, with Syria plunged into civil war, there was no pipeline talk. Up until now. The European Union's supreme paranoia is to become a hostage of Russia's Gazprom.

The Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline would be essential to diversify Europe's energy supplies away from Russia.

It gets more complicated. Turkey happens to be Gazprom's second-largest customer. The whole Turkish energy security architecture depends on gas from Russia - and Iran. Turkey dreams of becoming the new China, configuring Anatolia as the ultimate Pipelineistan strategic crossroads for the export of Russian, Caspian-Central Asian, Iraqi and Iranian oil and gas to Europe.

Try to bypass Ankara in this game, and you're in trouble. Until virtually yesterday, Ankara was advising Damascus to reform - and fast. Turkey did not want chaos in Syria. Now Turkey is feeding chaos in Syria. Let's examine one of the key possible reasons."
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/201285133440424621.html

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Syria's Pipelineistan war (Original Post) dixiegrrrrl Aug 2012 OP

Assad's Alawites run out of options bemildred Aug 2012 #1

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

1. Assad's Alawites run out of options

Reply to dixiegrrrrl (Original post)

Sat Aug 11, 2012, 12:17 PM

Aug 2012

Additional input, thanks for posting Pepe.

The dilemma for Syria's Alawites is acute. Do they go off a cliff with their fellow believer Bashar al-Assad, or can they retreat to safe ground from which to negotiate an alternative future once the dictator President has been swept away?

Numbering just 2 million, they are snared in a historic trap - now being sprung by the Arab Spring.

In short, the Alawites emerged from oppression by taking advantage of the divide-and-rule policies of their former French colonial masters. Coming down from the mountains, they later insinuated themselves into the leadership ranks of the military and security forces - from which one of their own did the unimaginable by staging a coup in 1970.

That was Hafez al-Assad, father of today's President. As a member of such a small religious minority, his ascent was spectacular - the equivalent of an untouchable becoming a maharajah in India or a Jew becoming the tsar in Russia, according to historian Robert D. Kaplan.
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http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/assads-alawites-run-out-of-options-20120811-24142.html

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