How did the superpower turn out!! To gangs to steal natural resources from Syria?

Afrasianet - A week ago, a delegation of the so-calledinternational coalition forces visited the Rukban camp, adjacent to the Al-Tanf military base, on the border triangle between Syria, Iraq and Jordan, the delegation, which was led by a British officer, met during the visit with a number of local factions that were active in the Syrian Badia region against  the Syrian Arab Army.

The visit raised many questions about the American and British plans or the so-called coalition forces aimed at escalation against Syria, especially since this coalition supports terrorist factions, those that have become American proxies in the region.

This is the second visit by representatives of the international coalition forces to the Rukban camp, after a first visit last September.  

The international coalition forces are stationed at the Al-Tanf base, which was established in 2014, near the Al-Tanf (Al-Waleed) crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border triangle, east of Homs province.

The base includes five hundred Syrian fighters, most of whom are affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army faction, while more of them joining the factions working with the coalition forces requires financial appropriations and approval from its leadership.These forces are awaiting orders from U.S. military commanders and are being used according to U.S. need.

Private sources revealed to Lavrasyant that the coalition has a tendency to increase the number of fighters of the local factions of the al-Tanf base, and work to integrate them permanently, in addition to the so-called "Free Syrian Army" The remnants of the "Eastern Lions"  and "Martyr Ahmed Al-Abdo Forces" factions are active in the region, but the leadership of the coalition forces wants to merge these two factions with the army, according to the source.

 Colonel Farid al-Qasim, commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army, is not shy when he points out that all parties are interested in reaching full integration that includes all al-Tanf affiliates.

The source says that the delegation's visit came at the invitation of the army, and its tour of the Rukban camp included discussing the military aspect.

The growing interest in the Rukban camp lies in the fact that the United States wants to arrange a military presence for its followers who have been supported under the slogan of the Syrian opposition, but the goal is that this support aims to prepare loyal military forces that can be used in every direction and as needed.

In a report on  the US presence in Syria, it was stated that the United States transferred military and logistical equipment that was located inside Iraq to its bases in Syria.

Syrian sources reported that US military convoys coming from Iraq crossed the Al-Waleed border crossing and entered the province of Hasaka in northeastern Syria, noting that these convoys included military armored vehicles and a large number of American soldiers.

The same sources were also quoted as saying that the number of US soldiers in Syria rose from 500 to 1,500.

According to the  report, part of these forces is tasked with training Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, while another part is responsible for protecting airports and protecting the theft of oil and gas fields in Hasaka and neighboring Deir Ezzor province.

The report also notes  that Washington's strengthening of its military presence in Syria comes in the context of the escalating conflict between the United States and Russia in the region. He also notes that experts believe that the build-up of more US troops in Syria comes within the framework of Washington's desire to pressure Moscow.

 Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, was quoted as saying that the United States' ability to contain Russian behavior in Syria is limited, and that Russia is likely to continue testing US patience, especially after the communication between the two countries was cut due to the conflict in Ukraine.

If we talk about the area that the Americans expect to witness conflict, the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria is the most likely possibility given the presence of pro-Iranian forces there as well as Kurdish formations, as well as a Russian military base on the ground of the local airport, and Russian checkpoints deployed throughout the region. In the event of any provocation from any party, all possibilities will be present."

Vladimir Vasiliev, senior researcher at the US-Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, assesses the situation differently: "The United States is fighting on several fronts and, at the moment, is organizing attacks on Russia by the hands of Ukrainians. But if failure continues on this front, and U.S. foreign policy continues to deteriorate and the counterattack comes nowhere, America may resort to a backup plan for Syria."

It seems that Washington has decided to return to the Syrian arena after the Prigozhin rebellion, and expects the situation in Syria to escalate, forcing the Russian armed forces to intervene. In addition, the Biden administration needs to achieve some victories before the US presidential election.

Terrorist organizations have always operated under the command of the United States of America, so it is not surprising that the United States provides these organizations with all the necessary financial and military support.

The United States first provided so-called Free Syrian Army fighters  with nonlethal aid (including food rations and pickup trucks), but quickly began providing training, money, and intelligence to their chosen commanders.

Two U.S. programs tried to help the Syrian rebels. One was a military program that planned to train and equip 15,000 Syrian rebels but was cancelled in 2015 after spending $500 million and producing only a few dozen fighters. The CIA carried out a covert $1 billion program that was even more successful, but was destroyed by Russian bombing and canceled by the Trump administration in mid-2017.

The missile strike carried out by the United States on Shayrat Air Base on April 7, 2017 was the first time that the United States became a deliberate direct combatant against the Syrian government.

It marked the beginning of a deliberate series of direct military action by the U.S. military against Syrian and pro-government forces from May to June 2017 and February 2018.
In mid-January 2018, the Trump administration signaled that it intended to maintain an open military presence in Syria to counter Iran's influence and topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.S. Constitution does not allow the declaration of war until Congress approves it; but U.S. administrations intervene, deploy their troops, and wage wars in other countries without declaring war, which requires congressional approval and legislation in multiple frameworks such as pre-emptive attacks to counter potential threats to national security.

Since the beginning of the Syrian war, former US President Barack Obama has been repeating on more than one occasion that he does not intend to send American soldiers to Syria, but by October 2015 the United States deployed the first batch of US special forces soldiers (fifty special forces soldiers in Syria in a non-combat advisory role) as the first US military presence on the ground since the start of the Syrian war and the formation of the so-called international coalition in August 2014 after the events in Mosul.

The United States continued to continuously strengthen its military presence on Syrian territory, numbering about 500 soldiers at the end of 2016 for multiple missions after bringing in "200 soldiers as additional forces, including special forces trainers, advisers, explosives disposal teams, and fighters in special forces.

U.S. forces directly entered the conflict arena when they deployed troops to the Manbij area alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control the city to deter any movements of Russian, regime or Turkish forces and allied factions.

Even with the steady increases in the number of special forces, trainers, and advisers, the U.S. military strategy has focused on providing logistical support to allied forces, whether Kurdish or armed opposition forces, with military supplies, intelligence, artillery bombardment, or air support from U.S.-led coalition aircraft; the same strategy that U.S. forces have pursued in the battles in Iraq.

The U.S. deployment and allied international or armed opposition forces have focused in recent months on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border triangle at the al-Tanf border crossing, close to the deployment of regime and allied forces; a crossing of great importance to all local, regional and international parties involved in the Syrian conflict; and U.S. forces have expanded their deployment in the area of the Al-Tanf crossing to build a new military base for the armed opposition forces in the area of "Al-Zakef", about 120 kilometers northeast towards the city of Albu. Kamal in Deir Ezzor Governorate.

The United States has been providing support to Kurdish forces since October 2014 after the formation of the international coalition in August of the same year.

Most  of the US forces are deployed in the area extending from "Mabrouka" northwest of Hasakah, to Al-Tayha, southeast of Manbij, near which it is estimated that 400 US troops have been deployed for the purposes of preventing the advance of the Euphrates Shield forces allied to Turkey or forces allied to the city controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

US forces have positions of permanent or temporary presence in various areas of Syria, most of which are within areas under the control of Kurdish forces along the border strip with Turkey; the United States has not disclosed the locations of its presence and the deployment of its soldiers except in rare cases without disclosing the nature of such a presence, but locations close to the armed opposition indicate a permanent presence in identifiable areas:
 
Rmeilan Airport:

It is among the most important locations for US forces; the Rmeilan base area is characterized by the presence of oil wells that the United States shares with the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the United States established this base in November 2016 after procedures for building new facilities and expanding landing strips.

The airport, known as Abu Hajar Airport, is located southeast of the town of Rmeilan northeast of the city of Qamishli in Hasakah province, close to the Syrian-Turkish-Iraqi border triangle, an area known for its abundant oil production and under full US control, although there is a claim that it is under the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, and the airport is the first base of a stable US military presence since the beginning of the civil war.

Rmeilan entered service under US supervision in October 2015 and is originally a helipad for spraying agricultural pesticides and helicopters that was developed in November 2016 following procedures to build new facilities and expand landing strips to handle light military transport aircraft.
 
Ain al-Arab Base (Kobani):

This base is located south of the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani) near the village of Kharab Ashq, about 33 kilometers south of the Turkish border; an area under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Turkey has previously objected to the establishment of the base in this area, prompting the United States "to move it to the predominantly Arab village of Sabt; this base is the largest base for the presence of American forces to provide support."Western newspapers quoted information gleaned from an analysis of satellite imagery showing housing units accommodating hundreds of soldiers, a fleet of vehicles of various types and sizes, as well as facilities for military transport and defense aircraft for the base, such as concrete walls and watchtowers; after its development, the base appeared to be practically suitable for "landing large C-130 military transport aircraft." The smaller C-17; U.S. forces also base a training camp for Kurdish fighters and recently equipped with a helipad; and it is located near Lafarge Cement, which was seized by the YPG and based by U.S. forces.
 
Mabrouka Base:

It is a small camp in the village of Mabrouka where small American forces are present west of the city of Qamishli in the province of Hasakah within the areas controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units
 
Rubaria Airport:

Located near the city of al-Malikiyah, northeast of Hasaka, near the borders with Iraq and Turkey, the airport was originally a small airfield for small agricultural planes before the United States turned it into a helicopter landing airport under the supervision of U.S. soldiers to provide logistics to Kurdish forces .

Tell Baydar:

Located 30 kilometers northwest of Hasakah, close to the Turkish border, the base has helipads and a training camp for non-combat forces such as police, civil defense and others to meet the needs of Kurdish forces to manage their areas of control.
 
White Hill:

A large number of American soldiers are deployed at this base, some reports indicate that more than 200 soldiers are deployed in the city, and the American flag is raised on some government buildings inside the city center.

US forces are present alongside forces from the international coalition and the armed opposition at the Syrian al-Tanf base on the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian border triangle; the United States imposes the establishment of a "deconfliction" zone under which no forces affiliated with the coalition of regime forces are allowed to approach or enter.

US forces are also present in several camps in Raqqa province to support the combat operations of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and US forces use artillery of various types, rocket launchers, other heavy combat equipment, various types of vehicles intended for intelligence purposes and armored vehicles to conduct joint patrols with the SDF.

US forces in the form of training advisers are also present at least three training camps in Hassakeh province to train Kurdish fighters, as well as near the northern city of Manbij, which the SDF has controlled since August 2016.
 
Tasks and objectives of the US presence in Syria:

U.S. bases carry out multiple missions in terms of combat operations and provide military support, logistics, and other services; these bases could constitute a kind of permanent U.S. military presence and the United States is expected to focus its presence intensively on areas of southeastern Syria. Such a presence could mitigate the likelihood of the United States losing some of its gains in Iraq.

The U.S. presence in southeastern Syria in areas geographically connected to western Iraq gives the United States the opportunity to maintain on-the-ground engagement with traditional Sunni Arab allies who previously cooperated with it during the occupation, usually tribal leaders who allied with the United States through the Awakening Councils, and for whom the U.S. need will remain for the foreseeable future.

In a blatant way, America continues to steal Syrian oil and gas , while some American leaders in decision-making centers seek to convince the US president to qualitatively increase the number of US forces in Syria to "about 50,000 soldiers, starting with ten thousand soldiers supported by Arab fighters within the Syrian Democratic Forces; but the circles of the White House and the US president seem reluctant so far to approve the proposal made by the US National Security Chancellery, while the Department of Defense is focusing on increasing Support for local proxies such as armed opposition forces in southeastern Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces, training additional forces, and intensifying air support with wider use of helicopter gunship.

 The Syrian Foreign Ministry reveals the value of the direct losses of US forces' attacks on its territory, saying that they amount to $ 25.9 billion, of which $ 19.8 billion is the size of the losses of stolen oil and gas.

The latest statistics show that the value of direct losses due to the attacks of US forces, militias and affiliated terrorist entities on Syrian territory amounted to $ 25.9 billion, resulting from the theft of oil, gas and mineral wealth with an estimated value of $ 19.8 billion, and the sabotage and theft of facilities with $ 3.2 billion, in addition to the damage caused by the bombing of oil and gas facilities by the so-called illegal international coalition with an estimated value of $ 2.9 billion.

The Foreign Ministry pointed out that the indirect losses exceed $ 86 billion, which represents the value of lost production (crude oil, natural gas, domestic gas, oil derivatives, mineral wealth) as a result of the decrease in production from the planned rates in normal working conditions, and therefore the total value of losses of the Syrian oil sector has reached $ 111.9 billion.

  The ongoing looting of Syria's wealth by US forces continues: "The US occupation forces and associated militias continue their systematic looting of oil, wheat and other basic resources and national wealth of the Syrian people."

This statistic was mentioned in 2022 and certainly has now increased, perhaps many times these estimates.

In the context, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stressed that the issue of the northeastern region of the country, which is occupied by terrorists, under American supervision, confirms that the issue is not only theft, but a partnership with terrorists to share profits.

In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Assad pointed out that this is a problem of being a "superpower" that shares terrorists, noting that this is the reality in Syria.

Assad added in response to a question about the existence of a serious shortage of electricity in Syria and the main reason for this problem is the lack of fuel, saying: "We are losing in those areas oil and wheat, we were a country that exports wheat, now we have little wheat, we have no electricity."

Assad added: "How can there be a life without electricity, of course we have much less than the minimum life but this is not enough."

It should be noted that Damascus demanded that US officials be held accountable for the theft of oil and gas, and that the US administration be  obliged to pay compensation for it, and that the illegal US presence be ended and the territory it occupies be returned to the Syrian state.