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Yemen and Syria actually pipeline wars?
Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s pipeline wars in Yemen and Syria
BY CHRISTINA LIN on JUNE 12, 2016 in AT OPINION, MIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of the war in Yemen, at considerable cost in blood and treasure, is a literal affirmation of the term "backdoor strategy." However, both the "door" and the actual contours of that strategy remain submerged beneath the murky waters of Mideast politics.

In June 2015, a senior advisor on Yemen in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joke Buringa, wrote an article regarding Saudi Arabia’s interest in building an oil pipeline through Yemen. Her piece underscored the energy geopolitics behind Riyadh’s bombing campaign over the past year.

Saudi oil pipeline through Yemen’s Hadramaut

In her article entitled "Divide and Rule: Saudi Arabia, Oil and Yemen," Buringa revealed that the Saudis fear an Iranian blockade of the Hormuz Strait, and were seeking pipelines through Yemen. This would provide Riyadh with direct access to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean to reach the Asian market.[1]
Middle East Eye columnist Nafeez Ahmed, citing a 2008 State Department cable from Wikileaks, has confirmed the Saudi interest in building a pipeline that is "wholly owned, operated and protected by Saudi Arabia, through Hadramawt to a port on the Gulf of Aden."[2]

Hadramaut is Yemen’s wealthiest governorate that counts 4 of the 26 million population, 50% of Yemen’s landmass, 80% of its oil exports, a sufficient water supply, and gold reserve worth $4 billion.

When Iran and Oman signed an agreement for a gas pipeline in 2014, this increased Riyadh’s distrust of Oman and increased the attractiveness of the Hadramaut pipeline option in Yemen. In February 2015 when the Houthis took control of the government, Riyadh began its bombing campaign the following month.

Interestingly, according to Buringa, Hadramaut (which is now under the control of al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula or AQAP), is one of the few areas where the Saudi-led coalition didn’t conduct airstrikes. This has left the port and international airport of al-Mukalla in optimal shape. She observed "Saudi Arabia has been delivering arms to al-Qaeda, who is expanding its sphere of influence" and assessed that "those pipelines to Mukalla will probably get there eventually."

Indeed, Jamestown Foundation’s terrorism analyst Michael Horton concurs Riyadh views AQAP as a useful proxy in its war against the Houthis, which "would mirror the situation in Syria where al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra has for some time been regarded by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States as a relatively moderate proxy force" to counter the Assad government.[3]

Similarly, Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, al-Nusra, is now establishing an Islamic emirate in northern Syria.[5] Syria is also where Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey are interested in building a gas pipelines to reach the lucrative EU market.

Qatar-Turkey gas pipeline through Syria’s Aleppo

Writing in Armed Forces Journal, Major Rob Taylor joined numerous other pundits in observing that the Syrian civil war is actually a pipeline war over control of energy supply, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey needing to remove Assad "so they can control Syria and run their own pipeline through Turkey."[6]

"Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as al-Qaeda and other groups, are maneuvering to depose Assad and capitalize on their hoped-for Sunni conquest in Damascus. By doing this, they hope to gain a share of control over the ’new’ Syrian government, and a share in the pipeline wealth."

The proposed pipeline would traverse Aleppo where Turkey’s Erdogan has been lobbying for a no-fly zone backed by US military power and American tax dollars.
Along with troops in northern Iraq, northern Cyprus, and along its border with northern Syria, Turkey is building is first aircraft carrier.[12] With Riyadh and Doha’s vast energy reserves and Ankara’s NATO-trained military power, this Triumvirate has been backing the al-Nusra led Army of Conquest in northern Syria to overthrow the Syrian government, AGAP to overthrow the Houthis in Yemen, while in Libya, the Muslim Brotherhood-led Libya Dawn is supported by Turkey, Qatar and Sudan.



Posted by: 3dc 2016-06-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=459323