Local sources in eastern Syria report
that the US appears to be preparing to build two substantial military
bases in the Soor area which is close to major oilfields that the Trump
administration claims it will retain.
Trump appears to have revised plans for Syria
Trump withdrew US troops from the 30 km so-called safe zone along the
Turkish border with Syria. This allowed Turkey to enter the zone and
Kurds had to withdraw. In an agreement with Russia there have been
joint controls in parts of the area with Russians.
Although some of the US troops were withdrawn into Iraq, Trump
announced that some troops would remain to keep control over the oil
fields in Kurdish-controlled areas. He even talked
of extracting oil from the area. Recent US military deployments appear
centered on oilfields in the east of the country. Originally the purpose
of US troops was to guard the oil fields against being seized by
Islamic militants. No doubt the US also wants to deprive the Syrian
government of access to the oil.
A recent article notes
that US seizing the oil could be a war crime: "After President Donald
Trump said on Monday the U.S. will be "keeping the oil" in northeastern
Syria, his administration is looking into the "specifics," according to a
senior State Department official -- but it's prompted renewed cries
that doing so is a war crime."
Building bases in the area makes sense.
Since US troops will
be staying in the area it is not surprising that bases are being built.
It shows that the oil decision led to quick planning and that the US is
likely to remain in the area for an indefinite but long period.
As a recent Digital Journal article
notes Russian news has predicted the US will take oil worth $30 million
per month. Trump has actually claimed even more, $45 million per month
in his own comments.
Maintaining US troops in Syria will be costly
The cost of building the two new bases will not be insubstantial and maintaining troops in them will add to the cost.
Trump seems to assume that Syrian oil will pay for these added expenses.
There appears no legal basis for seizing and selling Syrian oil
A recent article notes Trump's
position and its lack of any legal basis: "Trump has a long history of
calling for the U.S. to "take the oil" in the Middle East, in Iraq and
Syria in particular. But any oil in both countries belongs to their
governments, and according to U.S. law and treaties it has ratified,
seizing it would be pillaging, a technical term for theft during wartime
that is illegal under U.S. and international law."We're keeping the
oil," Trump said Monday to a conference of police chiefs in Chicago.
"I've always said that -- keep the oil. We want to keep the oil, $45
million a month. Keep the oil. We've secured the oil.""
Although Trump talks of getting companies such as Exxon-Mobile involved
in extracting the oil, so far no large oil company has even expressed
interest in such a scheme as there are bound to legal issues arising
immediately upon any attempt to extract and claim ownership of the oil.
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