The United States of America, the so-called superpower, often remains busy lecturing the world on the issues of human rights and functioning of democracy. America has also tried to lecture India on the purchase of Russian oil in the past. However, this picture of the US is just one side of the coin. The other side is rather ridden with dirty secrets, the secrets that decide and drive USA’s foreign policy. And this time, it has been exposed by none other than, Vladimir Putin.
Crude oil is the world’s primary energy source, to put it simply, it’s the backbone of transportation and the entire human race is dependent on oil for its survival.
Before the industrial revolution took place, agricultural staples like corn and wheat ruled the rooster. However, the revolution changed the entire scenario. Today, the market is governed by oil and its influence is such that the equations of oil dictate the foreign policy of nations around the globe. From the British colonialist era to the second world war, to the formation of OPEC in 1960, oil has grabbed the centre stage in geopolitics. And today, the two majors of the world are at loggerheads due to this very oil.
Putin accuses America of stealing oil
The rift between Moscow and Washington is known to all, it has further widened after Russia launched a “military operation” on Ukraine. The rift is all set to widen further, keeping in mind, Putin’s recent accusations on this point.
While speaking at a meeting, during his Iran visit, Russian head Vladimir Putin accused the US of stealing Syrian oil and asked Biden to stop ‘looting’ it.
Putin in his statement blamed the US for exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Syria in the name of sanctions. Putin asked the Western forces to immediately vacate the Syrian territories and “stop stealing the Syrian state, Syrian people by illegally exporting oil” from the region. He added that the “future of Syria must be defined by Syrians themselves.”
The truth behind US’ presence on Syrian soil
While it may have come across as a grave allegation on the alleged superpower of the world, there are actual documents to substantiate the claims.
At present, around 900 US troops are deployed on Syrian land. America, in the name of fighting terrorism, backs the SDF and has ‘ironically’ accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of war crimes. The US puts forward its agenda of overthrowing Assad’s administration. For its aforementioned agenda, the superpower is busy helping the Kurdish forces to fulfil its agenda. The US has partnered with the Kurdish forces and in the name of benefiting them, it has in turn asked for the oil. The Kurdish forces have allegedly handed over the local oil reserves to the US companies, to save them from the reach of the Assad regime. US through the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act has blocked all aid to war-torn Syria until Bashar al-Assad remains in power.
America and its ‘oil strategy’
The picture from Syria is clear, the United States is dependent on oil and its dependency dictates its foreign policy. The United States has been a repeat offender when it comes to its oil strategy. The US is itself a producer of oil, however, more than 90 per cent of the produce is consumed domestically. This invited the 1928 Red Line Agreement, which allowed the Americans to control the bulk of the Middle East oil production. After the second world war, US-Saudi relations started budding, and President Franklin Roosevelt declared Saudi oil vital to US security and provided financial support. The middle-eastern country then became the world’s largest exporter of oil. The same happened with Iran, in 1950s the US helped the Iranian military to overthrow then PM Mossadegh, the one guilty of nationalising country’s oil industry. Till today, the US is at loggerheads with Iran for its oil.
Not so far in the past, Trump accepted on the global stage, as he asked the US to “take the oil” in the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria in particular. Then, came Biden only to take the deeds forward.
Though, Putin exposing the ‘superpower’ will bring change in the dynamics of the world’s oil arrangements and that will be delicious to watch.
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