US/UK unofficial war against the Syrian government

Because of the intervention of Iran and Russia, the US/UK regime change plan in Syria by using entire armies of foreign terrorists failed.
So they've gone to Plan B.
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Mohsen Rezai, a senior commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, also said in a Twitter post that if the vessel was not released immediately, it was Tehran's "duty" to act alike and seize a British oil tanker.

British Royal Marines, police and customs agents on Thursday stopped and seized the Grace 1 vessel on suspicion it carried Iranian crude oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On Friday, the tanker's crew were being interviewed as witnesses in an effort to establish the nature of the cargo and its ultimate destination, a spokesman for the British territory said.

Besides the legally questionable and politically dangerous nature of this action, I want to object to the use of the word "sanctions". This is not a sanctions action.
This is a military embargo, an act of war, and back in 2012-13 they even used the word.
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In 2013, the "opposition" was primarily ISIS and al-Qaeda.

To understand the current situation we need to go back to the summer of 2017, when the ISIS caliphate was collapsing. The Syrian army and the U.S.-backed SDF were in a race to seize the area around Deir Ezzor, the only oil-producing region in Syria.

Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State, denied that Washington was in a race with Moscow over the oil-rich province, saying contacts with the Russian military were intensifying to avoid confrontation.

“From the coalition’s perspective it has not been a race, we are not in the land-grabbing business,” Dillon told Reuters.

Colonel Dillon is a liar. It was a race, and we were in the land-grabbing business.
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If Damascus could produce it's own energy, we wouldn't have much leverage over them.

“The geopolitical battle in Deir Ezzor is of a bigger concern, rather than just the oil and gas resources in Deir Ezzor. Whichever side seizes more territory in Deir Ezzor will be in a better place for future negotiations.”
- Rao Komar, a Middle East and Eurasia analyst.

The Kurdish SDF has it's own reasons for engaging in this military embargo of Damascus.

Furthermore, the fact that the regime does not currently control the bulk country’s oil reserves once again brings their future status into question.

“The most logical way for Damascus to solve the fuel problem is to improve its relations with the Kurds,” Mutlu Civiroglu, a Syria and Kurdish affairs expert, told Rudaw English.
“The Kurdish-led SDF control the majority of Syria’s oil resources,” he said. “It’s therefore in the Syrian government’s own interests to improve relations with the Kurds.”

Civiroglu pointed out that Damascus has instead chosen to maintain a belligerent stance against the Kurds rather than acknowledging the sacrifices they have made defending Syria and its people from jihadist threats like ISIS.
“This attitude is not the solution and will not do any good for the Syrian government.”

It is a stupid strategy by Damascus. A smart dictatorship promises the moon and the stars, and then breaks those promises later after it gets what it wants. Assad is being dumb.
OTOH, the Kurds are unwanted in Deir Ezzor, and it's only a matter of time before violence breaks out. So both sides have motivation to find a compromise.

If you want more proof that this is a military war strategy, consider this headline from a few months ago.
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But for now the focus should be on our war against Damascus, and by extension, Tehran.

Analysts argue that the economic crises plaguing the regime will push it to compromise in order to reach a political solution.

For more than a week, the regime has suffered from a severe fuel crisis that has immobilized transportation in all regions, particularly in the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

The head of the Syrian Economic Task Force, Osama Kadi, said in an exclusive interview with Iqtissad that, “the suffocating embargo on the Assad regime is designed to embarrass Iran and force the regime to abandon such a weak ally, which will not be able to deliver oil for its ally.”

Iran will never, ever abandon Damascus, but that doesn't mean that they can't be forced to negotiate.

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determined to have a war unless Trump fires his ass.

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chuck utzman

TULSI 2020

gulfgal98's picture

@chuckutzman Bolton is still determined to start a war with Iran. Bolton is a sociopath.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

travelerxxx's picture

@gulfgal98

You're right, gg. Remember, Bolton very seriously considered running for president not so long ago. He did have support amongst the various war-monger types. Even if Trump sacks him, he is a threat. Like Steve Bannon, his influence would remain.

Until such time that Bolton steps out in front of a Greyhound bus, he is a danger to life on this planet. Hopefully he will be walking with Bannon if that happens...

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snoopydawg's picture

It's never the USA or its allies that are in the wrong. Always the victim. Of course the sanctions are illegal in the first place, but to then make things worse is just cruel. People who like to play top cop know damn well that sanctions don't hurt people at the top of the food chain, but they just don't care. Trump nullified the Iran leader's passport, but the guy never leaves the country so what did that accomplish?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.