[WCUSP] The War on Lebanon & the Battle(s) for Oil (and Water).

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

Do check this out.  Good maps and good analysis by Michel  Chosssudovsky. 
Also, if someone could please send this to the WILPF-Water group, that  would 
be helpful.  Thanks.  KHarlow
 
_http://www.globalrehttp://wwwhttp://wwwhttp://www.globahtt&articleId=arti_ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&articleId=2824) 

-----------exerpt---------------:
     
The War on Lebanon and the Battle for  Oil


by Michel  Chossudovsky
July 26, 2006
_GlobalResearch.ca_ (http://www.globalresearch.ca/)  
 (javascript:printarticle(2824);)  
 
Is there a relationship between  the bombing of Lebanon and the inauguration 
of the World's largest  strategic pipeline, which will channel more than a 
million barrels of oil  a day to Western markets?    
Virtually unnoticed, the  inauguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC) oil 
pipeline, which links the  Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, took place 
on the 13th of July,  at the very outset of the Israeli sponsored bombings of 
Lebanon.   
One day before the Israeli air  strikes, the main partners and shareholders 
of the BTC pipeline project,  including several heads of State and oil company 
executives were in  attendance at the port of Ceyhan. They were then rushed 
off for an  inauguration reception in Istanbul, hosted  by Turkey's President  
Ahmet Necdet Sezer in the plush surroundings of the Çýraðan Palace.   
Israel has a stake in the Azeri oil fields, from which it imports  some 
twenty percent of its oil. The opening of the pipeline will  substantially enhance 
Israeli oil imports from the Caspian sea basin.  

But there is another dimension which directly relates to the war  on Lebanon. 
Whereas Russia has been weakened, Israel is slated to play a  major strategic 
role in "protecting" the Eastern Mediterranean transport  and pipeline 
corridors out of Ceyhan.  
Militarization of the Eastern  Mediterranean 
The bombing of Lebanon is part of a  carefully planned and coordinated 
military road map. The extension of the  war into Syria and Iran has already been 
contemplated by US and Israeli  military planners. This broader military agenda  
is intimately related to strategic oil and oil pipelines. It is supported  by 
the Western oil giants which control the pipeline corridors. In the  context 
of the war on Lebanon, it seeks Israeli territorial control over  the East 
Mediterranean coastline.  
In this context, the BTC pipeline  dominated by British Petroleum, has 
dramatically changed the geopolitics  of the Eastern Mediterranean, which is now 
linked , through an energy  corridor, to the Caspian sea basin:  

"[The BTC pipeline]  considerably changes the status of the region's 
countries and cements a  new pro-West alliance. Having taken the pipeline to the 
Mediterranean,  Washington has practically set up a new bloc with Azerbaijan, 
Georgia,  Turkey and Israel, " (Komerzant, Moscow, 14 July  2006)

Israel is now part of the  Anglo-American military axis, which serves the 
interests of the Western  oil giants in the Middle East and Central Asia.  
While the official reports state that  the BTC pipeline will "channel oil to 
Western markets", what is rarely  acknowledged is that part of the oil from 
the Caspian sea would be  directly channeled towards Israel. In this regard, an 
underwater  Israeli-Turkish pipeline project has been envisaged which would 
link  Ceyhan to the Israeli port of Ashkelon and from there through Israel's  
main pipeline system, to the Red Sea.


The objective of Israel is not only to  acquire Caspian sea oil for its own 
consumption needs but also to play a  key role in re-exporting Caspian sea oil 
back to the Asian markets through  the Red Sea port of Eilat. The strategic 
implications of this re-routing  of Caspian sea oil are farreaching.  
What is envisaged is to link the BTC  pipeline to the _Trans-Israel 
Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline_ (http://www.eapc.co.il/pipelines.html) , also known as  
Israel's Tipline, from Ceyhan to the Israeli port of Ashkelon.  In April 2006, 
Israel and Turkey announced plans for four underwater  pipelines, which would 
bypass Syrian and Lebanese territory.  

"Turkey and Israel are  negotiating the construction of a 
multi-million-dollar energy and water  project that will transport water, electricity, natural 
gas and oil by  pipelines to Israel, with the oil to be sent onward from Israel 
to the  Far East,  
The new Turkish-Israeli proposal  under discussion would see the transfer of 
water, electricity, natural  gas and oil to Israel via four underwater 
pipelines.  
_http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961328841&pagename=JPost%2FJPA
rticle%2FShowFull_ 
(http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961328841&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull)  

“Baku oil can be transported to  Ashkelon via this new pipeline and to India 
and the Far East.[via the  Red sea]"  
"Ceyhan and the Mediterranean  port of Ashkelon are situated only 400 km 
apart. Oil can be transported  to the city in tankers or via specially constructed 
under-water  pipeline. From Ashkelon the oil can be pumped through already 
existing  pipeline to the port of Eilat at the Red Sea; and from there it can be 
 transported to India and other Asian countries in tankers. (_REGNUM_ 
(http://www.regnum.ru/english/)   ) 

Water for Israel 
Also involved in this project is a  pipeline to bring water to Israel, 
pumping water from upstream resources  of the Tigris and Euphrates river system in 
Anatolia. This has been a  long-run strategic objective of Israel to the 
detriment of Syria and Iraq.  Israel's agenda with regard to water is supported by 
the military  cooperation agreement between Tel Aviv and Ankara.  
The Strategic Re-routing of Central  Asian Oil 
Diverting Central Asian oil and gas to  the Eastern Mediterranean (under 
Israeli military protection), for  re-export back to Asia, serves to undermine the 
inter-Asian energy market,  which is based on  the development of direct 
pipeline  corridors linking Central Asia and Russia to South Asia, China  and the 
Far East.   
Ultimately, this design is intended to  weaken Russia's role in Central Asia 
and cut off China from  Central Asian oil resources. It is also intended to 
isolate  Iran.   
Meanwhile, Israel has emerged as a new  powerful player in the global energy 
market.

Russia's  Military Presence in the Middle East

Meanwhile, Moscow has  responded to the US-Israeli-Turkish design to 
militarize the East  Mediterranean coastline with plans to establish a Russian naval 
base in  the Syrian port of Tartus:  

"Defense Ministry sources point out that a naval base in  Tartus will enable 
Russia to solidify its positions in the Middle East  and ensure security of 
Syria. Moscow intends to deploy an air defense  system around the base - to 
provide air cover for the base itself and a  substantial part of Syrian territory. 
(S-300PMU-2 Favorit systems will  not be turned over to the Syrians. They 
will be manned and serviced by  Russian personnel.) 

(Kommerzant, 2 June 2006,  
_http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=IVA20060728&articleId=2847_ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=IVA20060728&articleId=2847) 

_Tartus_ 
(http://www.multimap.com/wi/browse.cgi?client=public&X=4000000.81659878&Y=4200000.75790333&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=merca
tor&db=&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&tab
le=&ovtype=&keepicon=&zm=0&scale=1000000&down.x=284&down.y=4)  is 
strategically located within 30 km. of the  Lebanese border. 

Moreover, Moscow and Damascus have reached an  agreement on the modernization 
of Syria's air defenses as well as a  program in support to its ground 
forces, the modernization of its MIG-29  fighters as well as its submarines. 
(_Kommerzant, 2 June 2006)_ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=IVA20060728&articleId=2847) . In the context of an escalating  
conflict, these developments have farreaching  implications.  

War and Oil  Pipelines 
Prior to the bombing of Lebanon,  Israel and Turkey had announced the 
underwater pipeline routes, which  bypassed Syria and Lebanon. These underwater 
pipeline routes do not  overtly encroach on the territorial sovereignty of Lebanon 
and Syria.   
On the other hand, the development of  alternative land based corridors (for 
oil and water) through Lebanon and  Syria would require Israeli-Turkish 
territorial control over the Eastern  Mediterranean coastline through Lebanon and 
Syria.  
The implementation of a land-based  corridor, as opposed to the underwater 
pipeline project, would require the  militarisation of the East Mediterranean 
coastline, extending from  the port of Ceyhan across Syria and Lebanon to the 
Lebanese-Israeli  border.

Is this not one of the hidden objectives of the war on  Lebanon? Open up a 
space which enables Israel to control a vast territory  extending from the 
Lebanese border through Syria to Turkey. 
"The Long War" 
Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert has  stated that the Israeli offensive 
against Lebanon would "last a very long  time". Meanwhile, the US has speeded up 
weapons shipments to Israel.    
There are strategic objectives  underlying the "Long War" which are tied to 
oil and oil pipelines.    
The air campaign against Lebanon is  inextricably related to US-Israeli 
strategic objectives in the broader  Middle East including Syria and Iran. In 
recent developments, Secretary of  State Condoleeza Rice stated that the main 
purpose of her mission to the  Middle East was not to push for a ceasefire in 
Lebanon, but rather to  isolate Syria and Iran. (Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2006) 
At this particular juncture, the  replenishing of Israeli stockpiles of US 
produced WMDs  points  to an escalation of the war both within and beyond the 
borders of  Lebanon.


Michel Chossudovsky is the author of the  international best seller "The 
Globalization of Poverty " published in  eleven languages. He is Professor of 
Economics at the University of Ottawa  and Director of the Center for Research on 
Globalization, at  _www.globalresearch.ca_ (http://www.globalresearch.ca/)  .  
He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.  His most  recent 
book is entitled: _America’s "War on Terrorism",  _ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/truth911.html) Global Research,  2005. To order 
Chossudovsky's  book  _America's "War on Terrorism", click here.  _ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/truth911.html) 


Also in attendance was  _British Petroleum's (BP) CEO, Lord Browne _ 
(http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7019835) together 
with senior government officials from Britain, the US and  Israel. BP leads the 
BTC pipeline consortium. Other major Western  shareholders include Chevron, 
Conoco-Phillips, France's Total and Italy's  ENI. (see Annex)   
Israel's Minister of Energy and  Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was 
present at the venue together with  a delegation of top Israeli oil officials.  
The BTC pipeline totally  bypasses the territory of the Russian Federation. 
It transits through the  former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, 
both of which have  become US "protectorates", firmly integrated into a military 
alliance with  the US and NATO. Moreover, both Azerbaijan and Georgia have 
longstanding  military cooperation agreements with Israel. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/wcusp_wilpf.org/attachments/20060803/c52cc3a3/attachment-0001.html