US troops began digging in in Syria in 2016-2017, with Donald Trump stating repeatedly (to the Washington establishment’s horror) that America would “keep the oil” and retain boots on the ground in Syria “only for the oil.” The Biden White House claims US forces remain in the country to prevent Daesh’s* resurgence, but US actions speak otherwise.
US forces in Syria have ramped up the looting of the war-torn country’s oil resources, with local sources in the al-Yarubiyah countryside in eastern Hasakah province telling Syrian media on Saturday that the latest act of smuggling involved 35 oil tankers, which made their way into northern Iraq via the illegal al-Walid border crossing.
“The US occupation forces brought to their bases in northern Iraq a convoy consisting of 120 vehicles, including 65 tankers, some of them carrying covered damaged military equipment, 20 refrigerated trucks, and 35 tanks loaded with stolen Syrian oil,” the sources said, adding that the convoy was accompanied by four Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia pickups for protection.
Saturday’s account follows on reporting last week that a convoy of 39 tankers loaded with Syrian crude left fields in Hasakah and was similarly smuggled into Iraq, this time via the Mahmoudiya checkpoint – another border crossing which the Damascus government doesn’t control and hence considers illegal.
Sources said that in addition to shipping oil out, US forces brought some 30 trucks and tankers containing cement and logistical materials into Syria through the al-Walid crossing to shore up their bases in the country.
On June 1 and June 3, media reported on the smuggling of 49 and 45 more tankers of Syrian oil through Mahmoudiya, respectively. Between April and May, over 130 more tankers loaded to the brim with crude passed through al-Walid and Mahmoudiya.
The US continued to engage in oil smuggling activities even in March, mere weeks after the devastating earthquakes which rocked northern Syria, killing thousands.
This March 27, 2018 file photo shows Syrian workers fixing pipes of an oil well at an oil field controlled by a U.S-backed Kurdish group, in Rmeilan, Hassakeh province, Syria. – Sputnik International, 1920, 04.03.2023
Devastating Quakes? Don’t Care Must Rob: US Continues Oil Looting of Quake-Hit Syria
Damascus calculated last year that the nation’s energy sector had suffered some $107 billion in losses between 2011 and 2022, with damage done by US occupation forces, coalition bombings, improper exploitation and theft and looting by terrorist and separatist forces.
The US operates about a dozen military bases in Syria, all of them without the permission of the internationally recognized Damascus government. An estimated 90 percent of Syria’s oil and gas resources are concentrated east of the Euphrates River in areas controlled by the US and its Kurdish allies.
Before the CIA dirty war against Syria began in 2011, the country was not a major energy exporter, but had enough oil and gas to enjoy self-sufficiency and even earn a modest export income.
However, the US occupation of a third of the country, which also includes much of its most fertile agricultural lands, has turned Syria into a net importer of both energy and food, with Iran and Russia stepping in to assist.
Crews of Iranian ocean-going tankers often have to risk life and limb to make it to Syria’s Mediterranean coast to offload their fuel cargoes amid sabotage operations by Israel, a sworn enemy of both Damascus and Tehran.
US Republican Representative of Florida speaks on the House Floor, January 2023. – Sputnik International, 1920, 25.03.2023
‘Bring Our Troops Home’: Matt Gaetz, Rand Paul Repeat Call for Syria Pullout Amid New Attacks
Damascus and its Russian and Iranian partners have been loath to attempt to forcefully push US forces out of Syria directly, citing the risk of escalating tensions into a full-blown shooting war.
However, US commanders have reported a major uptick in so-called “aggressive” and “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior by Russian military aircraft vis-à-vis US forces in Syria in recent weeks and months, and expressed concerns about growing cooperation and coordination between Russian forces, Syrian government troops and IRGC Quds Force units. Syrian and Russian officials have broadly dismissed the US’s allegations, emphasizing that the US presence in Syria is illegal.
* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
By Ilya Tsukanov
Published by Sputnik Globe
Republished by The 21st Century
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of 21cir.com