The scramble for Syria

[htpcl]

O, hail, my fellow bored American Idol fans curious peeps who are so utterly concerned about peace and justice in the world! Realpolitik can be a real biach, I say. The biachiest biach of them all, actually. So here are a couple of fancy maps with many colors that look kinda realpolitik-ey.

Comments

[rick_day]

Just one new breakthrough in technology; a cheap clean source of energy, and this will all go away forever.

It's the only way.

[htpcl]

And then we'll all scramble for whatever that source is. Water, for example.

Human greed knows no boundaries.

[rick_day]

That's quite a hopeless outlook you got there, pilgrim.

[htpcl]

Nah, in fact I think every situation, even the direst one, could be drawn some benefits from - if done smartly. Call me opportunist if you like. ;-)

[fizzyland]

Thank you, this is the more comprehensive explanation of the Syria situation I've read.

[policraticus]

I'm going to call Occam on this. It is just too complicated with too many moving parts to be a realistic conspiracy. We're talking Protocols of the Elders of Zion complicated. All politics is local. What happened in Egypt was about Egypt, what is happening in Syria is ultimately about Syria. Are there other interests seeing how best to profit and gain advantage? Of course.

But then, to a cop the explanation is never that complicated. It's always simple. There's no mystery to the street, no arch criminal behind it all. If you got a dead body and you think his brother did it, you're gonna find out you're right...

[htpcl]

I don't think there's a need for anything even remotely resembling classic conspiracy, actually. Like, some guys sitting in a smoked room, drinking brandy and smoking cigars and crafting elaborate plans. Sounds too Hollywoodish for the real world.

It's just that the system of geopolitical relations is such that it creates prerequisites for pulling certain levers and using certain tools in certain ways by the main players in the game, and pushing things in a certain direction that is considered beneficial for said country/society/economy/group-of-business-entities.

A government doesn't actually need to be "bought" or even infiltrated by shape-shifting lizardoid Illuminati Andromedans to figure out that it's in its best interests to, well, vouch for the interests of its respective big business players. When Obama met with Erdogan, he was discussing the energy corridor on behalf of the United States. We all know who the beneficiaries of that project would be, though. You certainly won't be among them.

[yes_justice]

*recommended*

[rick_day]

I dunno. The Bulgar makes a strong case here, maps and all and it makes me wonder now who are the 'good guys' in this fight.

[devil_ad_vocate]

I'm not sure where you are going with the gas field map. The Tamar and Leviathan gas fields are even outside the territorial waters of Lebanon; how Syria come into play with that?

[htpcl]

Look at the second map. The projected pipeline that should connect Israel with Turkey (the one that Obama discussed with Erdogan during their meeting, among other things), passes right through Lebanon and Syria. Additionally, the corridor from China and Pakistan through Iran and to the Mediterranean passes right through Syria.

As for the Leviathan gas field, it's in international waters (mostly). Hence the potential claims from all adjacent countries: Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Egypt. Everyone would want a piece of the pie, and the bigger players are trying to clear the table for themselves from smaller players before the gas field begins to work at full capacity.

[danalwyn]

I think that all these groups are trying to influence the course of the Syrian Civil War, but they're fundamentally being driven by the continued factionalism of the war itself. Most of the rebel factions, especially the FSA, are desperate for any support they can get, and they're giving the various groups around Syria an opportunity to buy some influence, which they're doing in the hopes that they'll have something to show at the end of the affair. And the need of those internal Syrian factions to increase the cohesiveness of their own support base is driving the sectarian nature of the war. Sure, some countries aren't helping the issue, but a lot of the impetus is a natural outgrowth of fighting a prolonged war against members of other ethnic groups