In light of recent events, the demcon project Rojava will be tested. What will they do now? Will AANES seek independence?

Trump has said the US shouldn't be involved in Syria, will he recall the remaining few thousand US troops from Syria? Or will the neocons convince Trump he can engage in "good" nation-building and create Kurdistan from AANES and northern Iraq? Would SDF go for such a plan since their stated goal is not a Kurdish state, but a multicultural state organised along the lines of democratic confederalism?

  • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    12 days ago

    Thanks for confirming that US isn’t getting any of oil from Rojava.

    For this statement to be true, we have to ignore the following from the same article:

    “Pioneering” American entrepreneurs have waded into the “murky” oil business in Syria, according to a report by the Financial Times which investigated the US oil firm Delta Crescent Energy (DCE). The company was founded by a member of a former member of the US Delta Force who knew the Kurdish leadership — the Syrian Democratic Forces — through the security company he founded, TigerSwan.

    In April last year, the US Treasury granted a rare license allowing DCE to sidestep American sanctions on Syria’s oil sector. Question marks have been raised over how this has happened. The founders of DCE are said to have donated to Republican candidates but they have denied using political influence to secure the license. Speaking about DCE’s work in the Kurdish controlled north-east region, Joel Rayburn, US special envoy to Syria said that US officials endorsed the project “because we support trying to get the economy of north-east Syria up and running.”

    Are you implying that the US is doing a charity in that region when you are saying that they aren't getting any oil? If so, why is there a US oil firm in the Kurdish controlled north-east region which is also known as Rojava, also known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)?

    I am not quite following your logic here.

    • 小莱卡@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      11 days ago

      Whoever ends up with the oil is irrelevant imo, the main objective for the US was that Syrian gov wasnt getting it. Although the US did indeed end up stealing a lot of it.

    • multitotal@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      12 days ago

      How much oil did DCE extract/sell? I don't mean that as a gotcha, I am genuinely asking.

      Many US companies "get contracts" for things they never deliver on. Many people scam the government in that way. The company could have also been a CIA front, a way to get operatives on the ground under the guise of "prospecting" or "making deals".

      I'm not denying that Rojava isn't talking to the US or cooperating, they absolutely are. I'm just thinking that Rojava gets more out of the relationship, while they only contribute a little towards US' overall goals.

      • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        12 days ago

        How much oil did DCE extract/sell? I don’t mean that as a gotcha, I am genuinely asking.

        This is not a simple oil firm that has a website and produces all of this data transparently like any other S&P500 would. For context, this is an oil firm operating in the following conditions:

        • It is operating in a territory owned by an armed group funded by the USA
        • It is operating in a devastated country riddled with sanctions(Caesar law -> Prohibiting US businesses from investing or operating in Syria)
        • From the article that I shared before: DCE is said to be unlike other major oil firms that have long been involved in pumping crude from the Middle East, including neighbouring Iraq. This unknown outfit’s mission is to explore, refine and export oil from a corner of war-torn Syria controlled by a US-backed Kurdish-dominated militia. “It’s too pioneering; too adventuresome . . . some might say too risky,” the former US ambassador to Denmark told the FT, speaking about DCE’s operations.

        To go back to your main argument("Thanks for confirming that US isn’t getting any of oil from Rojava"), evidence show that they are profiting from this situation with Syrian oil. However, we don't know how much oil they are extracting because the data is muddied due to the legality of the actions done by the firm itself. In other words, this oil firm is actually delivering "something" that they are unable to say openly. Even Radio Free Asia is trying to silence the claim that the US is stealing Syrian oil. That's how bad things are in Syria.

        • multitotal@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          11 days ago

          evidence show that they are profiting from this situation with Syrian oil.

          What evidence? Conjecture is not evidence.

          we don’t know how much oil they are extracting

          Since you haven't come up with a number, I'm confident in saying 0.

          • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
            ·
            10 days ago

            I have already shared plenty of evidence but you are rudely dismissive.

            Once again, this is not a normal oil firm operating in legality for the reasons I have shared before so I can't produce any data about their oil production.

            I will share these 2 other links that mentions more of the logitics behind the robbery of oil. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1274216.shtml https://english.news.cn/20221202/cabcfafc67e94dae81bd425ca81bbcf9/c.html

            According to reports, the U.S. forces on Thursday sent 54 oil-laden tankers from northeastern Syria to its bases in northern Iraq, the latest shipment of stolen Syrian oil to be delivered.

            "I noted relevant reports. Some Syrians are reported to have said that what the U.S. troops did leaves them struggling to survive winter," spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily news briefing.

            Show

            • multitotal@lemmygrad.ml
              ·
              9 days ago

              I am not denying the oil wasn't Syrian and that it was stolen. The situation is a bit more complicated than "US stole the oil". Those are the kind of simplistic one-liners we laugh at liberals/conservatives for.

              What really happened was that the oil was under the control of ISIS. Then the US armed and trained the SDF so they could defend themselves against ISIS/FSA. SDF took control of the oil, started/continued extracting it, and then sold the oil back to the Syrian government (or Iraq) because that's where the pipelines go.

              Yes, oil fields under the control of DAANES helps us goals. But guess what? It helps DAANES' goals too. Why are people of Rojava assumed not to have agency?

              • rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml
                ·
                8 days ago

                You know what? I will open a post in Genzedong about this topic so more knowledgeable and tactful comrades could join the conversation. Otherwise, you will keep dismissing all of my argument to support your imperialist's favorite puppet.

                Yes, oil fields under the control of DAANES helps us goals. But guess what? It helps DAANES’ goals too. Why are people of Rojava assumed not to have agency?

                This is a very bad argument. Before the civil war, Syria's economy was worth $68 billion, ranking 68th globally. It was a middle-income economy, on par with Paraguay and Slovenia, and boasted a diverse economic structure with low inflation. Arguments like this that advocate for the material benefit of a few at the expense of the rest ignore that a material reality of unity is way better for everyone in Syria.

                Also, this same nasty argument could be made by a huge amount of pro imperialists liberals and Patsocs if we change it to this:

                Yes, x resource under the control of y group helps USA goals. But guess what? It helps Y group’s goals too. Why are people of y group assumed not to have agency?