This post The U.S. Wants Assad - Not ISIS In The Middle East appeared first on Daily Reckoning. Two Syrian aircraft have been shot down by U.S. forces in the last week. The first was a Syrian fighter jet on Sunday. U.S. military officials later announced the strike had been ordered after the jet twice attacked U.S. allies battling ISIS.1 The second aircraft was a pro-regime drone downed on Tuesday because, according to one official ?it was assessed to be a threat.?2 On the surface this sounds pretty reasonable - Syria shouldn't mess with the U.S.A. After all, their country is run by a brutal dictator with a history of using chemical weapons against his own people. But new evidence has since emerged that paints another picture? According to multiple sources, the Syrian jet had been bombing an ISIS stronghold in the region, not U.S. allies as originally reported. So why did the U.S. shoot down the plane? Shouldn't we support the Syrians in their efforts to defeat ISIS? I'm afraid not. There's another part to the story that the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge - the REAL reason why the U.S. is shooting down Syrian aircraft, which also explains why the U.S. in constantly involved in Middle East affairs… I'm here to tell you, Syria is our highest priority in the Middle East, not ISIS. And it has nothing to do with Assad's chemical weapons. It's all about oil and gas - the most important resources known to man. Here's the story… Russian state-owned energy behemoth Gazprom sells 80% of the natural gas it produces to Europe. Which in 2016 accounted for 34% of the total gas consumed by the continent.3 This gas flows through pipelines thousands of miles long directly from Russia into Europe. These pipelines are critical because they allow for gas to flow quickly and efficiently great distances, with minimal maintenance because there are so few moving parts. This allows Russia to sell gas to Europe cheaper than countries who rely on ships to transport fuel. Russia uses this cheap natural gas dependence as political leverage over the EU, and even has a history of cutting off the supply to countries during conflict. On the flip-side, Russia's economy largely relies on its ability to export fuel to Europe. The impact of Europe cutting imports from Russia would be devastating. This would cripple their commodities heavy economy while simultaneously destroying any influence Russia might have in international affairs. But this is exactly what's happening. Today, the European Union is looking to break its reliance on Russian fuel by diversifying its suppliers. This is where Syria comes in? 3000 meters under the Persian Gulf lies the South Pars and North Dome Gas Fields - the largest natural gas fields in the world. With over 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, this real estate has the resources Europe needs to break its reliance on Russia. Qatar and Iran share rights to the space, with Qatar owning a ? majority stake. But because this gas needs to be shipped to Europe, the cost is much higher than pipelined Russian fuel. To reduce costs, 2 pipelines have been proposed to transport fuel directly from the Persian Gulf to Europe. 
The first pipeline, which is backed by the United States, would pass through territories of U.S. allies and also through Syria on its way to Europe - cutting Russia completely out of the picture. The second pipeline, which is Russian backed, would pass through territory of Russian allies Iran and Syria. Russia approves of this pipeline because having allies that control the gas supply would allow Russia retain some influence in international affairs. They key territory in both plans is Syria. But because Syria and Russia are close allies, it was no surprise that in July 2011, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad denied the US-Europe-backed pipeline in favor of the Russian-backed pipeline. The United States and its allies were on the verge of crippling the Russian economy and possibly diminishing their role in international affairs. Now do you understand why the United States and its allies are ramping up military pressure against Assad? And is it any surprise that shortly after Assad denied the Europe-US-backed pipeline that the Syrian civil war expanded exponentially? Eerily similar the numerous other Middle East proxy wars the U.S. has backed… And remember when Donald Trump screamed at Obama not to attack Syria? 
But within the 6 months of his presidency he's already bombed an airbase, and now has the military shooting their planes out of the sky. Do you think it's a possibility that Trump now knows why Syria is so important? This story is far from over. Here's to keeping your edge, 
Davis Ruzicka
Managing Editor, The Daily Edge
EdgeFeedback@AgoraFinancial.com 1 Silver Weaton, August 2016 Presentation
2 First on CNN: US shoots down another pro-regime drone in Syria, CNN, Browne, Starr
3 Putin's Russia Seen Dominating European Gas for Two Decades, Bloomberg, Elena Mazneva The post The U.S. Wants Assad - Not ISIS In The Middle East appeared first on Daily Reckoning.  |
