Is Lebanon The Next Target Of US Lust For Oil? – OpEd

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The protests and political upheavals in Lebanon and apprehensions by United States must be read very carefully. The developments in Lebanon have to be viewed with a different perspective after Lebanese Energy and Water Minister Neda Boustani announced the start of drilling of country’s first oil well in the waters off the coast of Beirut.

The oil well is to be drilled in the Mediterranean 30 kilometers from the Lebanese capital in the north. About a year and a half ago, Lebanon awarded its first offshore gas and oil exploration and production agreements to a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek for two blocks out of ten.

Ten oil blocks have been identified in the coastal waters of Lebanon with an area about 18,000 square kilometers.

The Americans, who have shown that the smell of oil drives them to the oil-rich countries, these days, pretend that they are really concerned about the situation in Lebanon and its people. Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, has recently claimed that Iraqi and Lebanese people want their countries back from Iran.

The expression of concerns by the US over the situation in Lebanon, in the light of Boustani’s announcement, has led various Lebanese groups, especially Hezbollah, to feel the danger very well. Hezbollah Executive Council Deputy Chief Sheikh Ali Da’mush has warned that the US and its allies are seeking to undermine the political system in Lebanon and restructure it in their own favor. 

The US wants a government comes to power which would be under its own control and implement Washington’s plans. For example, it wants Lebanon agree to demarcation of borders based on Israel’s wishes, grant projects for oil and gas extractions to US companies, permanently house the displaced Palestinian people, and target the axis of resistance and its missile power.

In addition to the United States, the Zionist regime is also happy with the unrest because Israel has disputes with Lebanon over common borders as well as oil and gas resources. Such an uprising provides the opportunity for Tel Aviv to plunder Lebanese natural resources.

The Zionist regime which is violating the Lebanese land, airspace and territorial waters frequently will take advantage of the protests in the country while Lebanese officials are doing their utmost to improve and calm the situation. Consequently, the officials will not be able to pay attention to regional issues, which is a matter that Hezbollah has repeatedly warned about.

Undoubtedly, one cannot have a positive view of sudden unrest in oil-rich countries in the Middle East under the shadow of US intervention. History has shown that oil-rich countries have always suffered from domestic tensions and crises so that Western powers, that usually lead the riots, can easily plunder their oil resources. 

In any case, it seems that after Syria, the US has specified Lebanon as its next destination for oil robbery, and US officials are expected to make specific comments on the developments in the country in future days.

Shabbir H. Kazmi

Shabbir H. Kazmi is an economic analyst from Pakistan. He has been writing for local and foreign publications for about quarter of a century. He maintains the blog ‘Geo Politics in South Asia and MENA’. He can be contacted at [email protected]

One thought on “Is Lebanon The Next Target Of US Lust For Oil? – OpEd

  • November 19, 2019 at 11:23 am
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    US imperialism has lost in Iraq and Lebanon and will lose in Syria very badly. US imperialism under Trump is all about looting of oil and land. Land is usually given to the Zionist state. So, these two objectives have become, and are supported by doestic traitors and looters who do not have majority of people supporting their causes.
    In Iraq and Lebanon there are Resistance forces that are ready to fight US imperialism for a long war. For me, I do not think US imperialism will become close to these forces because it is worried about causality. It may try to use domestic terrorist armies but those have lost whether On Iraq and Lebanon.
    US imperialism is just dreaming to control all countries with natural resources but no all are easy. The Middle East have become one of those spots that the USA cannot and will not win any conflict. Thus, the USA tries to get involved in one way or another in any uprising in Iraq and Iran, but it will receive nothing. In fact it will be disappointed.
    For both uprising whether in Iraq or Iran these uprisings or Revolutions are totally against the US system imposed in Iraq and and the US support of the corrupted sectarian system in Lebanon and have nothing to do with Iran which has never imposed these corrupted systems. Both Revolutions are for improving life and income of people and for developing economies able to live without being controlled by the world imperialist economy. The political and economic policies proposed for justice and democratic uncorrupted systems are all inconsistent with the type of system US imperialism aims at achieving. The USA always aims at a system of of high inquality, poverty, unemployment, and dependent to the US policies. Thus, the Revolutions and the USA are totally contradictory and no way to meet at any demand.
    Finally, the USA will never loot Iraq and Lebanon oil. And it will lose its looting in Syria.

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