Home > EU Lifts Oil Embargo on Syria – Buys Directly from Al Qaeda

EU Lifts Oil Embargo on Syria – Buys Directly from Al Qaeda

by Tony Cartalucci - Open-Publishing - Thursday 2 May 2013

EU Lifts Oil Embargo on Syria – Buys Directly from Al Qaeda

By Tony Cartalucci
Global Research, May 02, 2013
Land Destroyer

Western media hails EU oil deal as potential game changer, despite admitting Al Qaeda holds oil fields.

It was recently reported that the European Union would be lifting its oil embargo on Syria, in an effort to help fund what it calls “rebels” operating there. In the Associated Press article, “EU lifts Syria oil embargo to bolster rebels,” it states:

The European Union on Monday lifted its oil embargo on Syria to provide more economic support to the forces fighting to oust President Bashar Assad‘s regime.

The decision will allow for crude exports from rebel-held territory, the import of oil and gas production technology, and investments in the Syrian oil industry, the EU said in a statement.

A recent TIME article titled, “Syria’s Opposition Hopes to Win the War by Selling Oil,” reports:

On paper, the E.U.’s idea seemed straightforward. Without an embargo, European companies can now legally begin importing barrels of oil directly from rebel groups, which have seized several oil fields in recent months, mostly around the eastern area of Deir Ezzor. That would provide the opposition with its first reliable source of income since the revolt erupted in Feb. 2011, and in theory hasten the downfall of Bashar Assad’s regime, by giving rebels the means to run skeletal local governments and consolidate their control. As part of the decision, the E.U. ministers also agreed to export technical equipment, insure the rebels’ shipments of oil and invest in the rebel oil businesses. Before the war, Syria earned about $3.6 billion a year exporting oil and gas to Europe, with its biggest customers in Germany and Italy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The BBC in their article, “EU eases Syria oil embargo to help opposition,” would mention which fields specifically the EU was planning on exploiting, stating:

Syria’s main oilfields are in the eastern provinces of Deir al-Zour and Hassakeh, which both border Iraq.

Just as in Libya, the West is wasting no time in despoiling Syria’s resources, with the pillaging beginning long before the war even reaches a definitive conclusion. But in addition to the overt looting of Syria’s resources, there is an added complication.TIME also reports:
Still, analysts warn that the plan is deeply flawed—and in fact, that the E.U.’s decision could intensify the violence in Syria, by setting up a deadly competition for control of a resource that has languished amid two years of grinding civil war.

And indeed, this “deadly competition” has already been taking place, as Al Qaeda’s al-Nusra front in Syria has been overrunning civilian populations, government positions, and local militias alike across Syria’s oil-rich region. In fact, TIME’s itself admits that:
Complicating the issue is the fact that several of the rebel-held oil fields are believed to be under the control of Jabhat al-Nusra, which has declared its allegiance to al-Qaeda.

TIME concedes that “several” oil fields are held by Al Qaeda, however, other reports across the Western media indicate most, if not all “rebel-held oil fields” are under Al Qaeda’s control.
In the New York Times article, “Islamist Rebels Create Dilemma on Syria Policy,” not only is it admitted that, “nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of,” but it specifically mentions the oil fields the EU seeks to plunder:

Elsewhere, they [al-Nusra] have seized government oil fields, put employees back to work and now profit from the crude they produce.

Additionally:

In the oil-rich provinces of Deir al-Zour and Hasaka, Nusra fighters have seized government oil fields, putting some under the control of tribal militias and running others themselves.

More here
http://www.globalresearch.ca/eu-lifts-oil-embargo-on-syria-buys-directly-from-al-qaeda/5333685