Syria: Another Pipeline War?

Syria: Another Pipeline War. 
By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"The fossil fuel industry’s business model is to externalize its costs by clawing in obscene subsidies and tax deductions—causing grave environmental costs, including toxic pollution and global warming. Among the other unassessed prices of the world’s addiction to oil are social chaos, war, terror, the refugee crisis overseas, and the loss of democracy and civil rights abroad and at home.

As we focus on the rise of ISIS and search for the source of the savagery that took so many innocent lives in Paris and San Bernardino, we might want to look beyond the convenient explanations of religion and ideology and focus on the more complex rationales of history and oil, which mostly point the finger of blame for terrorism back at the champions of militarism, imperialism and petroleum here on our own shores."

https://ecowatch.com/2016/02/25/robert-kennedy-jr-syria-pipeline-war/

Also consider reading:

The Red Line and the Rat Line.
Seymour M. Hersh on Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels

"In 2011 Barack Obama led an allied military intervention in Libya without consulting the US Congress. Last August, after the sarin attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, he was ready to launch an allied air strike, this time to punish the Syrian government for allegedly crossing the ‘red line’ he had set in 2012 on the use of chemical weapons.​＊ Then with less than two days to go before the planned strike, he announced that he would seek congressional approval for the intervention. The strike was postponed as Congress prepared for hearings, and subsequently cancelled when Obama accepted Assad’s offer to relinquish his chemical arsenal in a deal brokered by Russia. 

Why did Obama delay and then relent on Syria when he was not shy about rushing into Libya? The answer lies in a clash between those in the administration who were committed to enforcing the red line, and military leaders who thought that going to war was both unjustified and potentially disastrous."

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line

Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey List. By David L. Phillips
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

"Is Turkey collaborating with the Islamic State (ISIS)? Allegations range from military cooperation and weapons transfers to logistical support, financial assistance, and the provision of medical services. It is also alleged that Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIS attacks against Kobani."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.html

Could a Bomb Blast in Ankara Change the Outcome of the War in Syria?

Greg Krasovsky: If US policy toward the civil war in Ukraine is in any way similar to US policy in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and Yemen, then Ukraine is headed toward the epicenter of a geopolitical disaster on world-wide proportions.

Why? Because Russia will act with greater response than in Syria to make sure that next-door Ukraine will not turn into a failed state that could (would!) be used by armed anti-Russian militants as a protected staging area in an attempt to overthrow Vladimir Putin's in Russia.

So let's keep an eye on Syria today, as the fates of Ukraine, Russia and America -- for better or for worse -- are intertwined in the resolution of the Syrian conflict. 

P.S. To see how things could spiral out of control, please read 

"Washington Asks Moscow: Please Do Not to Bomb American Troops Operating on the Ground in Northern Syria."

http://www.globalresearch.ca/washington-asks-moscow-please-do-not-to-bomb-american-troops-operating-on-the-ground-in-northern-syria/5509226

"Experts: Invasion of Syria Could Lead to Nuclear War"

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/02/experts-invasion-syria-lead-nuclear-war.html

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Could a Bomb Blast in Ankara Change the Outcome of the War in Syria?
by MIKE WHITNEY
Counterpunch.org
FEBRUARY 19, 2016

"The question is whether Putin will engage the Turkish military in a full-blown war just to recapture a few hundred meters of Syrian sovereign territory. I expect Putin will let the incident slide and chalk it up to “frustration” on Turkey’s part. If that’s the only victory that Erdogan requires, then it’s a price that’s worth paying. Putin has to stay focused on the big picture, and not get diverted by trivialities.

Of course, if Erdogan plans to push further into Syria, then there’s going to be trouble. After all, Moscow’s hands are tied. The only way it can hope to extricate itself from the conflict in Syria is by defeating the jihadists as quickly as possible, clearing out the hotbeds of resistance, and reestablishing security. If Turkey enters the war, that throws a wrench in everything. The tit-for-tat fighting will drag on for years, and there will probably never be a clear winner. This is exactly what Putin hopes to avoid. So, if Turkey launches an invasion and sends in ground troops, Putin will be forced to strike with everything-he’s-got to see if one, big shock and awe display of raw military power is enough to reverse the trend and send Erdogan’s legions packing. If it doesn’t work, and Turkey digs in, Syria could devolve into the mother of all quagmires, which is why we’re a little surprised that Obama is not pursuing a plan that would draw Turkey deeper into the fray, after all, Washington gains nothing strategically from its support for the YPG. In a way, the alliance makes no sense. Does Washington care about Kurdish aspirations for a homeland?

No. Does Obama want to help Putin clear the area North of Aleppo of jihadists, militants and opposition forces?

Of course not. Then what does Washington get?

Nothing.

An alliance with Erdogan, on the other hand, provides Washington with the footsoldiers it needs to fight its proxy war with Russia. It also creates a situation where Russia could get bogged down for years in a conflict that could drain its resources, undermine morale, and precipitate social unrest at home. Isn’t that exactly what Washington wants?"

Please read the rest of the article at http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/19/could-a-bomb-blast-in-ankara-change-the-outcome-of-the-war-in-syria/

Putin’s “Endgame” in Syria.

Putin’s “Endgame” in Syria.

Global Research - Centre for Research on Globalization.

Russia doesn’t want to fight a war with Turkey, so Russian generals devised a simple, but effective plan to discourage Turkey from taking any action that could lead to a clash between the two nations.

Last week, Russian warplanes intruded into Turkish airspace twice. Both incidents caused consternation in Ankara and send Turkish leaders into a furor. 

On both occasions, officials in Moscow politely apologized for the incursions claiming they were unintentional (“navigational errors”) and that they would try to avoid similar intrusions in the future.

Then there was a third incident, a more serious incident, that was not a mistake. It was clearly intended to send a message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Here’s a short summary of what happened from an article at the World Socialist Web Site:

Turkish officials claimed a third incident on Monday, when an unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet locked its radar for four and a half minutes on eight Turkish F-16 jets that were on patrol on their side of the border, in apparent preparation to open fire.

(“US, NATO step up threats to Russia over Syria“, World Socialist Web Site)
 
This was no mistake. The only time a fighter pilot adopts these protocols is when he plans to take down an enemy plane. This was a message, and while it might have been over-the-heads of the politicians and the media but, I assure you, every general in the Turkish High-Command knows what’s it means.

This is a wake-up call.  Moscow is indicating that there’s a new sheriff in town and that Turkey had better behave itself or there’s going to be trouble.
 
There’s not going to be any US-Turkey no-fly zone over North Syria, there’s not going to be any aerial attacks on Syrian sites from the Turkish side of the border, and there certainly is not going to be any ground invasion of Turkish troops into Syria. 

The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces now control the skies over Syria and they are determined to defend Syria’s sovereign borders.

That’s the message. Period.

Please read the rest of the article at:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/putins-endgame-in-syria/5481482