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Sunday, August 06, 2006

Katelyn Best

Eugene, Orgeon | USA | August 6

As much as racism, Zionism (or anti-Zionism), terrorism (both
state-sponsored and otherwise), and simple hatred bleed the Middle
East, this new war is not about any of those issues. I believe that it
is due, in large part, to that magic three-letter word we've all come
to know and love: oil. Yes. Oil.

As far as we are being told, Israel originally attacked Lebanon
because Hezbollah had captured two soldiers. On the very first day of
fighting, three Lebanese and eight Israeli soldiers were killed, yet
Israel continued the attack in what was, as others have pointed out, a
completely out-of-proportion reaction. Frankly, nothing Hezbollah has
done justifies a full-scale attack of southern Lebanon, especially
when you consider that it's not only Hezbollah, but the entire
Lebanese population that's paying the price.

      Here is what we are not being told: July 13, 2006 marked not only the
start of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, but the inauguration of the new
Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku pipeline (BTC). The BTC pipeline runs through
Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, linking oil fields in the Caspian Sea
to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The chief
shareholder is British Petroleum.
      Israeli control of the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline,
including Lebanon, would protect the security of Western oil interests
in the area. It would also allow an already-envisioned underwater
pipeline to be built linking Ceyhan, and the end of the BTC pipeline,
directly to Israel, along the coast of Lebanon. A US invasion of
Syria, Iran, or both, doesn't seem unlikely following this either, as
that would further ensure the security of the BTC (the pipeline runs
very close to the Turkey-Syria border at one point). If Syria were
Western-controlled, another pipeline could be built through Syria and
Iraq, branching off of the main BTC trunk. The more of the region the
US, or its allies, controls, the higher the security of its economic
interests.

If all this isn't completely disturbing to begin with, let's remember
that this is where third-world countries come from. Western countries
force the export of their natural resources tariff-free and at low
cost, effectively destroying any opportunity for the victim countries
to become economically stable. These countries could be very wealthy,
but as long as they are not allowed to process their natural resources
on their own terms, that will never happen. The rich get richer, the
poor get poorer, and the bombs continue to drop...
      Perhaps the most shocking part of all is that we are being told
absolutely nothing about it, at least here in the US. My hat goes off
to anyone who's even heard of the BTC pipeline, and it's been in the
works for several years. Here is a well-defined, seemingly obvious
explanation for an otherwise pointless conflict, and the mainstream
news media hasn't said a word.
posted by SAVE LEBANON, @ 10:43 PM, , (2) comments
Cynthia
August, 09, 2006 2:11 PM
hey Katelyn,
I read about the BTC pipeline a few days ago and everything seemed to make sense. thanks for making others aware
Joe Kashou from United Arab Emirates
August, 15, 2006 9:11 PM
Katelyn,

That's the best perspective I read so far.

I agree with you that the entire Middle East Conflict is 'OIL' related.

China, and the European Union Massive Importers of OIL and Natural Gas from the Middle East.

The US interest in controlling this natural resource means they keep China and the European Union on a short leash.

Who needs the US if there's no conflict right :-) Just food for thought.

Thanks for bringin a fresh presepctive to the situation.