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[qqqbear]

Feb 15, 2012  
SPEAKING FREELY

The oil road through Damascus
By Ronnie Blewer

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say.

Middle East oil transit routes are at risk from Islamist revolutions and Iranian threats. Does Syria present an opportunity for the West to bypass the most troubling oil chokepoints? Is that a strong driver behind the West's interest in the Syrian rebellion? Instability all along the oil road is at its highest point in decades, and Syria's history as a perennial spoiler and location as a potential energy path cannot have been missed.  

Is a post-Assad Iraq-Syrian mega-pipeline in the works?

Consider the recent pressures on Middle East oil shipping routes:

Iranian influence on the Shi'ite-dominated government in Iraq has caused significant worry in Washington. Iran's influence in Iraq can be viewed, Stratfor notes, as a greater "arc of influence" from Iran to Iraq, extended through Syria and into Lebanon. The West's strategy is to contain Iran's foreign influence and prevent Iran's development of nuclear weapons. Syria would be a natural target for this strategy.

Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to economic sanctions or military action aimed at its nuclear program. Over 17 million barrels of oil per day flow through the Strait, and the mere threat of closure has kept oil prices elevated.
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An overland alternative?

Good generals study tactics, great generals study logistics. - General Omar Bradley

http://www.atimes.co...t/NB15Ak02.html