Turkey is using Sunday’s suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding as a pretext to enter the war in Syria despite $10 billion at stake in a proposed pipeline deal.
Turkey is the latest country wanting a slice of the Syrian pie after a horrendous “terrorist” attack allegedly carried out by the so-called Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, DAESH) killed some 54 people at a wedding on Sunday.
Over the past two days the Turkish government has been launching mortar shells on Syrian border towns suspected of being controlled by ISIS.
While it appears that Turkey’s recent involvement in the war in Syria is a retaliation to attacks on its native soil, it is also the perfect excuse to get in on the $10 billion deal that would link an oil pipeline from Qatar through Syria and into Turkey (see below). This proposed pipeline is crucial to understanding what is going on in Syria.
Turkey’s President Erdogan has already used last month’s coup attempt to purge his political opposition and has already proven himself to be an extreme opportunist in the face of questionable adversity.
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As for now, Turkey will turn its eyes to the Syrian border town of Jarablus where the Islamic State is said to have a stronghold. This puts Turkey in direct competition with the United States and their support of Kurdish rebels.
“The latest developments have thrust the town of Jarablus onto center stage in the ongoing Syrian civil war, putting US-backed Kurdish forces, who have been the most effective force against IS in northern Syria, on track for a confrontation with NATO ally Turkey over control of the town,” the New York Times reported today.
Turkey’s head of state does not want the Kurdish rebels to take control of ISIS-held border towns, hence the race to beat the rebels to towns like Jarablus, in order to both kick out Islamist militants and to ensure that Kurdish rebels don’t gain a foothold.
However, fighting terrorism, a mad dictator, and religious extremists may all be “official” reasons for going to war in Syria, but there is still one underlying theme that the mainstream media is staying away from, and that is the proposed oil pipeline that would affect foreign policies and business for all countries involved in the fight for control of Syria.
Forget about terrorism, religious ideology, and out-of-control dictators: The Qatar-Turkey Oil Pipeline
Even if you look beyond all the different geo-political, ethnic, and religious factions fighting for the future of Syria, there’s still one major factor that almost no news network is covering, and that is Assad refused the construction of a US and Saudi-backed Qatari oil pipeline through Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and into Europe.
Robert F. Kennedy, JR went on record to state that the conflict in Syria began in 2000 when the $10 billion pipeline was proposed and escalated in 2009 with Assad’s rejection of the plan.
“If completed, the project would have had major geopolitical implications. Ankara would have profited from rich transit fees. The project would have also given the Sunni kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, America’s closest ally in the Arab world,” said Kennedy.
The proposed pipeline would be the key to all the conflict. Russia, a country that receives more than 50% of state revenues from its export sales of oil and gas, would be weakened by losing control of the dominate oil routes to Europe.
According to EcoWatch, “The EU, which gets 30 percent of its gas from Russia, was equally hungry for the pipeline which would have given its members cheap energy and relief from Vladimir Putin’s stifling economic and political leverage. Turkey, Russia’s second largest gas customer, was particularly anxious to end its reliance on its ancient rival and to position itself as the lucrative transect hub for Asian fuels to EU markets. The Qatari pipeline would have benefited Saudi Arabia’s conservative Sunni Monarchy by giving them a foothold in Shia dominated Syria.”
After being privy to the knowledge of the proposed pipeline, how can one still think this war is about good guys vs bad guys, religious fundamentalism, or even alleged chemical weapons?
Turkey has so much to gain from the proposed pipeline, yet it has only just entered the war on the grounds of fighting terrorism. Where have we heard this excuse before?
Proxy wars – Who benefits?
The proxy wars being carried out by the United States, Russia, Turkey, and Iran are more or less aimed at humiliating one another and power-grabs in the Middle East, but the victims of their brutal tactics are always innocent civilians.
Russia and Iran are backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while the US is arming the rebel opposition Free Syrian Army, and Turkey had been on the fence until Sunday’s attack. Turkey had agreed that Assad must go but would allow for a peaceful 6-month transitional period until the Syrian president would step down.
Russia and Iran are not natural allies, but their combined resentment of the US has united the countries because they both want America out of the Middle East, and both countries have a lot at stake in controlling the transport of oil through the Middle East and Europe.
And why is the United States involved in Syria, a country half-way around the world? Good question. According to the BBC, the US is intervening in Syria simply because President Assad is another horrible dictator that has to go.
“The US has accused President Assad of responsibility for widespread atrocities and says he must go. But it agrees on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war and the formation of a transitional administration,” the BBC reported last October.
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However, the US has used this excuse several times before, losing credibility each time. The same was said about Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but it is really about the control of oil and banking.
Erdogan claims no difference between ISIS and Syrian Kurds even though they are at war with one another
As far as President Erdogan is concerned, all Syrian Kurds are terrorists, including the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, PKK.
The Turkish government has declared that there is no difference between the PKK and the Islamic State; however, it is the Syrian Kurds backed by the US who are actually putting up the brunt of the fight against the Islamic State in northern Syria, and this scares Erdogan as the war inches closer to the border of Turkey.
“Turkey fears the strengthening of Kurdish militant groups in Syria will further embolden its own Kurdish insurgency,” according to Reuters.
While Turkey looks to safe-guard its southern border with Syria, the Qatar-Turkey pipeline proposal would take precedence as being the most compelling reason why all these countries are fighting for a piece of the Syrian pie.
