PEPE ESCOBAR: SLOUCHING TOWARDS GREATER KURDISTAN/
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3255/slouching-towards-greater-kurdistan
Of course I’m just scratching the (Martian) surface. In fact this is much more complex than Curiosity landing in Mars. And we have no CalTech geniuses to guide us.
In this article I’m trying to make sense of Syria from the Pipelineistan angle.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/201285133440424621.html#disqus_thread
The cast of characters is worthy of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the US and Europe to Alawites, Wahhabis, Syrian Kurds, Iraqi Kurds and Turkish Kurds.
Here are some excerpts.
On Syria’s energy strategy:
“The centerpiece of Syria’s energy strategy is the “Four Seas Policy” – a concept introduced by Bashar al-Assad in early 2011, two months before the start of the uprising. It’s like a mini-Turkish power play – an energy network linking the Mediterranean, the Caspian, the Black Sea and the Gulf.
Damascus and Ankara soon got down to business – integrating their gas grids, linking them with the AGP and, crucially, planning the AGP’s extension from Aleppo to Kilis in Turkey; this could later link to the perennial Pipelineistan opera, the Nabucco, assuming this fat lady ever sings (and that’s far from given).
Damascus was also getting ready to go one up on the IPC; in late 2010 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Baghdad to build one gas and two oil pipelines. Target market, once again: Europe.
Then all hell broke loose. But even while the uprising was underway, the $10 billion Iran-Iraq-Syria Pipelineistan deal was clinched. If finished, it will carry at least 30 per cent more gas than the bound-to-be-scrapped Nabucco.
Aye, there’s the rub. What is sometimes referred to as the Islamic Gas Pipeline bypasses Turkey.”
On the Greater Kurdistan surge:
“In Ankara’s worldview, nothing can stand in the way of its dream of becoming the ultimate energy bridge between East and West. That implies an extremely complex relationship with no fewer than nine countries; Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.
As for the wider Arab world, even before the Arab Spring, an Arab Pipelineistan that could link Cairo, Amman, Damascus, Beirut and Baghdad was being seriously discussed. That would do more to unify and develop a new Middle East than any “peace process”, “regime change” or peaceful or militarised uprising.
Into this delicate equation, the dream of a Greater Kurdistan is now back in play. And the Kurds may have a reason to smile; Washington appears to be silently backing them – a very quiet strategic alliance.”
A suggestion to enterprising US reporters soon to be hitting the campaign trail. What about this question: “Mr. President (or Governor), what is your position on Greater Kurdistan?” Now THAT would be more entertaining – and revealing – than landing in Mars.
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