US military convoy enters oil fields in northeast Syria

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

And now for a short commercial break from our regularly scheduled forum threads about U.S. vs China, impeachment, climate and fracking.

 

Iran's Press TV reports:

US military convoy enters oil fields in northeast Syria

A convoy of US military vehicles drives near the town of Tal Tamr in the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah on the border with Turkey, on November 10, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

 

 

A large US military convoy has entered oil fields in northeastern Syria despite widespread condemnation of the deployment as being tantamount to robbery.

The United States sent new deployments to the Syrian provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr from neighboring Iraq on Sunday, according to the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.

The US vehicles were carrying logistical equipment that would be provided to the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish militant group, in the eastern countryside of Dayr al-Zawr.

Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency said the convoy contained 4x4 pickups, ambulances, minibuses and 100 rigs filled with fuel oil.

According to the report, the deployment is the second of its kind in less than a month.

Earlier this month, the US army deployed armored vehicles, pickups, heavy construction equipment and about 150 rigs to the region.

The deployments come after President Donald Trump said in October that the US troops would remain in Syria to "secure" the oilfields there. Damascus as well as regional movers and shakers voiced their strong opposition to Trump's decision to seize Syrian oil fields.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that US attempts to control Syria’s oil fields were “illegal” and amount to “robbery.”

Trump’s decision came after he initially ordered the withdrawal of all US troops from northeastern Syria, clearing the path for a Turkish incursion into the region. Ankara says it wants to eliminate Kurdish YPG militants which it regards as terrorists affiliated with the homegrown PKK militant group.

The developments come as Damascus is in great need of its major oil deposits in order to address its energy needs and rebuild the country amid crippling Western sanctions.

Syria is currently extracting oil at only 10 percent of its pre-war capacity.

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Old infographic which outlines the strategic geopolitical importance of Syria oil & gas.

Iran is generally aligned with Syria, hence the negative article above from Iran's Press TV.

[Justin Hicks + 162]

"Earlier this month, the US army deployed armored vehicles, pickups, heavy construction equipment and about 150 rigs to the region"

 

Wonder what kind of " rigs" we're talking about?

Anyone have any additional pictures?

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

15 minutes ago, Justin Hicks said:

"Earlier this month, the US army deployed armored vehicles, pickups, heavy construction equipment and about 150 rigs to the region"

 

Wonder what kind of " rigs" we're talking about?

Anyone have any additional pictures?

Doesn't seem to be what we would consider as "oil rigs".

US increases protection over oil fields in Syria

The U.S. has increased its effort to secure oil fields in the Syrian provinces of al-Hassakahand Deir el-Zour, currently under the control of the PKK's Syrian affiliate the People's Protection Units (YPG) terror group, with additional military deployments from Iraq.

According to the local sources in Deir el-Zour, elements of the U.S. army based in Iraq made deployments to the oil fields in the province after crossing the al Waleed border gate on Saturday night.

Footage obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA) shows that the logistics convoy contained 4x4 pickups, ambulances, minibuses and 100 rigs filled with fuel oil.

This is the second deployment of the U.S. army in a month. On Dec. 4-5, the army moved armored vehicles, pickups, heavy construction equipment and approximately 150 rigs into the region.

The moves coincide with Turkey's Operation Peace Spring, the U.S. having made military and logistic deployments to the region under the control of the YPG with approximately 500 rigs. ...

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Chinese air defense system spotted inside Syria: report

A Russian news channel published a video this week that showed the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces near Russian and Chinese air defense systems.

According to the Russian aviation publication, Avia.Pro, the Chinese JYL-1 radar system was spotted with the Syrian Arab Army in a video that was released by Russia’s Channel One News.

“Channel One published unique video frames from the northern part of Syria, on which experienced specialists noticed not only the Russian-made Pantsir-C1 air defense systems, but also the Chinese JYL-1 radar, which greatly expanded the capabilities of Syrian air defense systems,” Avia.Pro reported.

The publication said the Russian Pantsir-C1 air defense system has been integrated with the Chinese JYL-1 radar, which significantly increases the radius of detection of air targets, in particular, the effective range for detecting aerodynamic targets by up to 450 kilometers. ...

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

4 hours ago, Tom Kirkman said:

“Channel One published unique video frames from the northern part of Syria, on which experienced specialists noticed not only the Russian-made Pantsir-C1 air defense systems, but also the Chinese JYL-1 radar, which greatly expanded the capabilities of Syrian air defense systems,” Avia.Pro reported.

Time to blast those things into oblivion with a salvo of cruise missiles.........bye-bye.

[Marcin + 519]

@Tom Kirkman "And now for a short commercial break from our regularly scheduled forum threads about U.S. vs China, impeachment, climate and fracking"

You promised yet in the next comments, it is obvious that it is about U.S. vs China/Russia.

My opinion is none of the options is feasible at present:

Pipeline through Qatar: Saudi cannot undo/rewind the sanctions against Qatar. No Qatari dependence on Saudi Arabia is possible.

Pipeline through Iran: Russia has no interest in bringing Iranian natural gas to Europe, no way.

Apart from that it is too complicated and risky: pipeline goes through Iraq and Syria - both too independent countries, could not be totally controlled by Iran or Russia. Additionally part of pipeline goes through Mediterranean Sea - controlled by NATO navy, no go.

(Nord Stream - Baltic Sea, Turkey-Russia - Black Sea, both controlled by Russian Navy)

Iran has significant domestic consumption of natural gas: 230 billion cubic meters, 4th globally (after US, Russia and China).

And Iran already has very big prospective client  for its natural gas, any quantity. It is China. The land route is already secured. 3 pipelines going from Turkmenistan to China. You just need to build 4, 5, 6th for Iranian natural gas.

 

 

[Marcin + 519]

1 hour ago, Jan van Eck said:

Time to blast those things into oblivion with a salvo of cruise missiles.........bye-bye.

Sure, what are borders, just lines on maps, when you are the strongest bully. Not much longer, but enjoy.

[Marcin + 519]

Jan, you are European by origin. How you got infected with the exceptionalism  ?

They add it to milk or bourbon ?

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

41 minutes ago, Marcin said:

Sure, what are borders, just lines on maps, when you are the strongest bully. Not much longer, but enjoy.

Those anti-aircraft missile batteries and radar exist for only one purpose: to shoot down Allied planes knocking out Syrian (Assad) bases that launch bombing raids on civilians, including using helicopters to drop "barrel bombs" filled with explosives and nerve gases and chlorine gases onto civilian populations, to slaughter hundreds of thousands of non-combatants.   In my book, you do that, you are an Outlaw, and your name goes on a poster, "Wanted - dead or alive."   And the men that man those missile batteries are legitimate military targets, they die.  End of story.  Don't like it?  Don't drop chlorine gas on civilians, don't launch barrel bombs, and resign and head for Kazakhstan, maybe they will give your asylum, who knows.  Either way,Assad is a psychopathic scumbag and belongs in a body bag.  Capiche?

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

40 minutes ago, Marcin said:

How you got infected with the exceptionalism

In America, we call it Decency.   

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

1 hour ago, Marcin said:

Sure, what are borders, just lines on maps, when you are the strongest bully. Not much longer, but enjoy.

We will! And I reckon we’ll around much longer than you think. I hope this annoys the crap out of you...

Happy New Year!😂

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

6 hours ago, Marcin said:

"And now for a short commercial break from our regularly scheduled forum threads about U.S. vs China, impeachment, climate and fracking"

You promised yet in the next comments, it is obvious that it is about U.S. vs China/Russia

It didn't start out to be about U.S. vs China / Russia.  But I can't control the news.  And I was looking to start a new thread about oil rather than geopolitics.  Unfortunately, oil is totally enmeshed within geopolitics, the 2 topics are in a messy marriage.

[Marcin + 519]

7 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said:

We will! And I reckon we’ll around much longer than you think. I hope this annoys the crap out of you...

Happy New Year!😂

At the end of the day I have the same opinions and views regarding ACTIONS needed as all of you: Douglas, Jan, Tom, Ron.

The difference is that I acknowledge that these actions are morally wrong, you just parrot justifications your media give you to make you feel better about occupying foreign countries for geopolitical goals of US.

I am not happy with these actions but I acknowledge that they are needed to prolong US hegemony, it is us or them, and US is ally/hegemon of EU.

Just your arrogance guys, the false sense of mission, blind belief that we are good guys, like Crusaders or any other lot of invaders with their justifications, that is what is annoying me.

For NATO interests it is best to control Syria but this bloodbath started 6 years ago is nothing to be proud about.

 

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

5 minutes ago, Marcin said:

Just your arrogance guys, the false sense of mission, blind belief that we are good guys, like Crusaders or any other lot of invaders with their justifications, that is what is annoying me.

The Crusades were a defensive action, a pushback by Christians against an immense slaughter by conquering Muslim invaders into Europe.

Seeing a similar invasion in present day - but this time, much of Europe is welcoming this invasion with open arms.   

UN is trying to make it against the law to criticise massive illegal immigration - under the Orwellian guise of re-naming free speech as "hate speech".

Darwin Awards due soon for European culture.  e.g. goodbye Notre Dame.

Obviously these are my own opinions, and everyone is free to disagree.

 

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

"For NATO interests it is best to control Syria but this bloodbath started 6 years ago is nothing to be proud about."

Just to make sure that we are on the same page, who started the present civil war in Syria? I am fairly sure that it was not the US....but could be wrong.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

1 hour ago, Marcin said:

I acknowledge that these actions are morally wrong, you just parrot justifications

Not a problem, when your favourite Russian psychopathic "leader" invades your Poland the way he did in Ukraine, and unleashes his personal psychopathic killers the Wagner Brigade on your civilian women, then don't dial 9-1-1, the USA will leave you to your own devices.  Your little blip of freedom as an independent nation will come to an end, and once again you too can have a puppet government, with secret police and murderous thugs roaming the streets, and you can go live under that reign of terror.  I remind you there is precisely one reason you do not live like that today - and that is because the USA guarantees your freedom to run your own affairs, under the looming menace of The Bear. 

Now, I grant you that you, being of ethnic Russian descent and so proud of it, cannot conceive of a state of affairs where your charming chum Putin turns your country into a jail.  But guess what: your countrymen can conceive of it just fine, and they are horrified at the prospect.  Your ideas of a Greater Russia swooping over Eastern Europe, and the submerging of Polish identity into that Greater Russia, are much in the minority.  The rest of the populations of Eastern Europe have had quite enough of hand-picked strongmen and their goon secret police, pillaging their lands.   So just remember:  no US Army, no Poland.  It is as simple as that. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by Jan van Eck

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

On 1/1/2020 at 2:25 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

Obviously these are my own opinions, and everyone is free to disagree.

the stuff about the crusades can be fact checked. We've done here as far as I remember. 

[Guest]

On 1/1/2020 at 1:25 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

The Crusades were a defensive action, a pushback by Christians against an immense slaughter by conquering Muslim invaders into Europe.

<cough>

On 1/1/2020 at 1:25 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

Obviously these are my own opinions, and everyone is free to disagree.

Phew  

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

8 hours ago, DayTrader said:

<cough>

Phew  

How many times do I need to state that my opinions tend to stray quite afar from mainstream?  I don't have a TV, I don't watch TV, or listen to mainstream media, and am a firm skeptic of mass info-tainment bread and circuses.

And since I no longer live in a Muslim majority country and am back in the U.S. where I have regained more than a mere modicum of freedom of speech (I won't get arrested here for simply voicing my opinions politely) I will continue to voice my opinions and others are 100% free to disagree.

 

/ edit   And a reminder for thosr who pooh pooh the value of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press, I was strongly and repeatedly warned not to publish my interview with the former Prime Minister of Malaysia back in 2016, because the former PM criticized the PM at the time.  I was warned very clearly that I would most likely get arrested or deported if I published the interview at the time. 

This was no idle threat.  A few weeks before the interview, 2 Australian reporters were arrested and were facing a minimim of 5 years in prison for simply asking the Prime Minister at that time about the 1MDB scandal.  The 2 Australian reporters ended up being deported about a week before my interview with the former PM Dr. Mahathir.

Interview from 2016 attached below.

Dr Mahathir _ Petronas Interview.pdf

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Tom Kirkman
Attached Dr. Mahathir interview

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

44 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

How many times do I need to state that my opinions tend to stray quite afar from mainstream?  I don't have a TV, I don't watch TV, or listen to mainstream media, and am a firm skeptic of mass info-tainment bread and circuses.

And since I no longer live in a Muslim majority country and am back in the U.S. where I have regained more than a mere modicum of freedom of speech (I won't get arrested here for simply voicing my opinions politely) I will continue to voice my opinions and others are 100% free to disagree.

 

/ edit   And a reminder for thosr who pooh pooh the value of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press, I was strongly and repeatedly warned not to publish my interview with the former Prime Minister of Malaysia back in 2016, because the former PM criticized the PM at the time.  I was warned very clearly that I would most likely get arrested or deported if I published the interview at the time. 

This was no idle threat.  A few weeks before the interview, 2 Australian reporters were arrested and were facing a minimim of 5 years in prison for simply asking the Prime Minister at that time about the 1MDB scandal.  The 2 Australian reporters ended up being deported about a week before my interview with the former PM Dr. Mahathir.

Interview from 2016 attached below.

Dr Mahathir _ Petronas Interview.pdf 277.92 kB · 0 downloads

 

Which is why I keep a low political profile ...

[NickW + 2,714]

On 1/1/2020 at 1:25 PM, Tom Kirkman said:

The Crusades were a defensive action, a pushback by Christians against an immense slaughter by conquering Muslim invaders into Europe.

Seeing a similar invasion in present day - but this time, much of Europe is welcoming this invasion with open arms.   

UN is trying to make it against the law to criticise massive illegal immigration - under the Orwellian guise of re-naming free speech as "hate speech".

Darwin Awards due soon for European culture.  e.g. goodbye Notre Dame.

Obviously these are my own opinions, and everyone is free to disagree.

 

Nail on Head. 

The Pope obliged this by declaring a holy war which motivated thousands of well armed Northern European Knights and Men at Arms to come and fight for free. 

[Rob Plant + 2,610]

16 minutes ago, NickW said:

The Pope obliged this by declaring a holy war which motivated thousands of well armed Northern European Knights and Men at Arms to come and fight for free. 

Is this yet another example of "holy wars" that confirms @DayTrader opinion that religion is in fact man made ideology and not "GOD"

How ridiculous is it that the leader of a "faith/church" declares war on another religion, going against the teachings of the very book it says it represents!

i am sure the believers out there will say this is the weakness of man and not God's teachings, or some nonsense like it.

And we wonder why there is a dislike towards the West from the Middle East, go figure!

[Douglas Buckland + 6,308]

I guess the Moors (Muslims) fighting their way to just outside Paris get a pass on the hate thing....

[NickW + 2,714]

15 minutes ago, Rob Plant said:

Is this yet another example of "holy wars" that confirms @DayTrader opinion that religion is in fact man made ideology and not "GOD"

How ridiculous is it that the leader of a "faith/church" declares war on another religion, going against the teachings of the very book it says it represents!

i am sure the believers out there will say this is the weakness of man and not God's teachings, or some nonsense like it.

And we wonder why there is a dislike towards the West from the Middle East, go figure!

Sounds like a double standard here.

It was a smart move by the Pope after being passive for 400 years. Southern Europe was under assault and couldn't afford to pay mercenaries. Meanwhile Northern European Kings had large numbers of bored well armed and trained Knights who could be trouble. 

So declare a Holy war* - drive Islam off Europe and take the battle to their homelands. 

Europe is saved

Northern European Kings offload their troublesome Knights

The Knights win lands / and or a guaranteed a place in heaven

*Which is what Mohammed and his followers had been doing for the previous 400 years against European and the near east (which had been Christian) 

Edited January 3, 2020 by NickW