Influence Oil Prices

Radicalising the situation in the Middle East has always been a draw-card for the diehard forces in Washington to demand for more military assistance to Israel. For instance, missile attacks by the US last October against the Syrian settlement of Abu-Kamal, situated 8 km from the border with Iraq, were intended to destabilise the internal political situation in Syria, with a view to undermining the ruling regime and securing further international isolation of Damascus.

The missile offensives were in some way aimed at provoking Syria into retaliation, thereby escalating the situation into a local war, damaging Damascus’ military potential, and jeopardising the already tumultuous ties between Syria, Europe, Lebanon and, most important of all, Israel.

US Interests

On the other hand, American lobbyists who have close ties with US-based weapons manufacturers and oil companies are least interested in seeing a more stable Middle East, and they have been citing the tension among Syria, Iraq, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel to force through bills in Congress that seek to increase military help and assistance to Israel.  

In the long run, it would enable some form of permanent American military infrastructure to be established in the region and artificially influence oil prices in the global market. One cannot rule out the greater global economic risk that might ensue should this scenario come to pass.                                       

What is seldom mentioned in the press is that the US army does not always have the most reliable intelligence information required to attack the so-called ‘terror cells’. In the attack on Syria, its target was merely a deserted military base which had not been used for the last eight years! It was for this reason that Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in his visit to the United Arab Emirates, demanded an official explanation on the issue from Washington.       

And the only casualties of these reckless military endeavours were innocent civilians, a notorious pattern that has been repeating itself in American ‘operations’ in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, which ‘inspired’ Tel Aviv’s latest attacks against Hamas to some extent.

[Malaysiakini ]