by John Galt
August 14, 2016 23:00 ET
Deep inside the bowels of Langley, Riyadh, and Doha, there are some furious individuals who thought their establishment of disorder and conflict would result in a new world order that eradicated those foes who failed to fall in line with their program would be destroyed economically.
Instead, the tables have now been turned and the CIA, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are now facing the most embarrassing reversal of fortune since America’s withdrawal from Saigon. The plan was simple:
After Bashir Al-Assad, the dictator of Syria, refused to entertain the construction of a pipeline from Qatar and Saudi Arabia via Iraq and Syria into Turkey to block Russian market dominance, start a “civil war” and kill Assad. The plan was so devious it included the United States arming and training elements of Al Qaeda in Syria, which later became ISIS, so as to create a new nation to begin the process of extremist normalization that Islam and the Caliphate had returned along with the plans to maintain the “peace” using Wahhabist supported funding from the GCC to ensure stability.
This map from a previous article on the subject within these pages, sums up the strategic and economic importance of the pipeline:
Unfortunately for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and the CIA, the removal of Assad has proven to be a tad more difficult than originally planned thanks to Vladimir Putin’s intervention.
Thus the results of the recent meeting between Turkey and Russia are now beginning to illustrate just how destructive the incompetence of U.S. and Saudi foreign policy really is.
1. Turkish stream Pipeline Restart means the End of Qatar pipeline
On August 11, 2016, the industry magazine The Maritime Executive published an article with the following statement:
On August 9, Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in St. Petersburg and declared that they were “determined to improve bilateral relations;” Erdogan repeatedly referred to Putin as his “dear friend.” Among other factors, economic concerns have brought the two authoritarian rulers close together: Turkey relies on Russian tourists and Russian importers for economic growth, and it needs Russian financing and cooperation for the Turkish Stream line.
In a news conference following their meeting, Erdogan said that Turkey had no problem with the pipeline, and proposed to split its construction costs. “We’ve proposed to divide expenses on the construction of the pipeline’s section crossing our territory into halves,” he said. “As for the remaining part of the pipeline, a preliminary agreement has been reached regarding its financing on a 50-50 basis.”
This, without a doubt, was the death knell for the Syrian rebels and any prayers of a Qatar-Saudi pipeline from the Arabian Peninsula into Europe. The various pipelines which will criss-cross the Turkish landscape will not only guarantee a cheap supply of energy for Turkey, but remove any dependence they may have had on the European Union and OPEC cartels which held back independence for the more pro-Islamist Turkish government in Ankara. Russia could care less about the the political and religious integration of a nation as demonstrated by their relationship with Iran. This provides a basis for the rapprochement which began on August 9th.
2. Turkish support for rebels in NW Syria will probably end soon plus no further Turkish military intervention in Syria EXCEPT in areas where Kurds are aiding the PKK.
The Turkish rebels in Northwest Syria are now being cut to pieces one day at a time. After the apology by Erdogan for shooting down the Russian aircraft, the rebels should have realized that their only realistic alternative was to withdraw into Turkey and simply surrender any fantasies of expanding their historical claims to the region. The Ankara government is wise enough to allow Syria territorial integrity in this region which is too close to Russian bases and the threat of terrorist activity could only invite a further clash between the Russian and Turkish military.
Unfortunately for the Kurds, they are the pawns that are about to be removed from the Middle East chessboard.
With the failure of the Kurdish leadership inside Syria to accept a Federalized state option from Assad, the Russians have now all but green lighted the eradication of all Kurdish militia positions in Northern Syria for the purpose of ensuring “Turkish” security. Since the United States policy under Obama has been to basically ignore the plight of the Kurds in Syria, the prospect of a Russian reduction in activity within the Kurdish tribal region is only logical. Once the Syrian military secures the city of Aleppo and winter sets in to its maximum fury in that region, look for the Turks to begin the process of attacking and eradicating the Kurds in Syria and Iraq with astonishing efficiency.
3. ISIS will Lose their Northern Supply Route
As Russia now has the guarantees it needs from Erdogan to finish off the conflict in Syria, ISIS which was being supplied via GCC and US (CIA) agents in Southern Turkey now face a complete cut off of supplies. Russia will supplement the Turkish government with cheap petroleum products so the route for resale via the black market for ISIS oil will terminate in the months ahead. The United States will not be allowed to supply ‘rebels’ in Syria which indirectly aid and abet ISIS thus leaving a much longer supply route after the U.S. election via Jordan.
The prospect of ISIS being cut off from its funding and supplies via Turkey, along with a sustained offensive by the Russians and Syrians heading into winter will lead to the isolation and slaughter of what forces they have left. The Saudis and Qataris will protest in silence to Obama but in reality, the military aspect of ISIS being a threat will end in 2017 along with the history of Turkey aiding forces which are aligned with the Wahhabi idealists who funded them. Eventually, either Turkey or Russia will expose the CIA’s involvement and leave American with another black eye for the supplying the terrorists who boiled children alive and set up rape factories for under-age girls to recruit psychopaths for their cause.
4. Turkey is turning its back on Saudi and Qatar
The expensive gambit taken by Saudi and Qatari billionaires will severely sour relations between the GCC states and Turkey in the years to come or as long as Erdogan remains in power. The failed coup apparently has strengthened his resolve and the errors committed by the U.S. administration are now legendary with regards to decades of hard feelings between Ankara and Washington, D.C.
The meeting between Foreign Minister Cavusoglu with his Russian counterpart indicated that a joint political resolution to the Syrian Civil War could be obtained and Turkey would begin operations against ISIS once again. The Asia Times highlighted this cooperation in an article from August 13th:
In a nuanced stance, Cavusoglu said in Ankara on August 11 that Turkey and Russia agree that the next Syrian regime should be all-inclusive. “We think the same as Russia on Syria’s future. The next administration in Syria should be inclusive and cover everyone,” he said, adding it “should be a secular one.”
“We always say only a political solution (in Syria) can be permanent, in terms of not hurting civilians, separating moderate opposition from terrorist groups and (ensuring) humanitarian aid… We are on the same page with Russia that Syria should have an administration under which everyone can live with their beliefs,” he said.
This is as close as Turkey has ever come to accept that Assad has a legitimate role to play. Cavusoglu spoke in full knowledge of Erdogan’s one-on-one with Putin.
As the veteran Middle East hand Robert Fisk wrote, “There is a long list of the potential losers in the theater of St. Petersburg. First, Isis (IS) and al-Qaeda/Nusra/Fatah el-Sham, and all the other Islamist outfits now fighting the regime in Syria, who suddenly find that their most reliable arms conduit has teamed up with their most ferocious enemy… Russian air force. Then there’s the Saudi and Qatari billionaires who have been supplying the cash and guns for the Sunni warriors who are trying to overthrow both Damascus and Baghdad, and humble the Shia of Iran, Syria… and Lebanon”.
With the Saudis having massive problems with the Iranian sponsored rebels in Yemen and their nation now starting to default on payments to contractors working withing Saudi Arabia, this glaring gamble to finance the overthrow of Assad can only be seen as a disaster of epic proportions. This leaves the United States almost alone to clean up the mess in Iraq while not aiding the Kurds which would further enrage an already tenuous relationship with Turkey and the U.S.
The key statement from Cavusoglu per an article from the Anadolu Agency spoke volumes as to how far that relationship with NATO has fallen:
Questioned about increased cooperation between the Turkish and Russian defense industries in the context of Turkey’s NATO role, Cavusoglu said Ankara had already established defense sector cooperation with non-NATO countries, including missile development.
“Turkey wanted to cooperate with NATO members up to this point,” the minister said. “But the results we got did not satisfy us. Therefore, it is natural to look for other options. But we don’t see this as a move against NATO.”
5. The EU will have no choice but to re-open purchases of Russian gas and petroleum products or face a long cold winter as the southern options from Israel and Cyprus are not complete
The United States, GCC, and hardliners in Europe have done everything possible to avoid giving up on the pipeline dream from the Arabian Peninsula to the European Union. That dream has all but died this past month. With Kurdish and pro-Assad forces seizing larges swaths of territory there is very little possibility that the Iraqi government, a puppet of Iran, nor the Assad regime will relent and allow the instigators of the wars within Iraq and Syria to build a pipeline through their nations.
Thus the dream of a non-Russia supply of energy dies once again, and the dependency levels are now somewhat permanent until the tree hugging loons which run the globalist cartel relent and allow Europe to develop their own energy resources. Unfortunately for Europe, they are married to the bear and if it decides to take a big on on the Ukraine soon, they had best decide between freezing temperatures in the winter or abiding by the desires of their bankster masters. Without a global conflict to change the results, it would appear that Russians have obtained a tactical and strategic economic advantage over the European Union for the time being.
6. The CIA loses a Base of Operations
Lastly, the poor, dejected spooks have now lost a viable base of operations from Turkey. The ability to supply weapons and other assistance to Islamist rebels in Syria is now gone and thus their influence not just in Turkish affairs, but in the outcome of the Syrian Civil War. Unfortunately for Langley, this means that their next avenue of attack will be via Jordan, an innocent, peaceful government which wants no part of the Saudi-U.S.-Qatar triumphant of Middle East mischief. It will be fascinating to see if the CIA decides to actually help the Kurds or abandons them as they did in 1992 after the first Gulf War; only time will tell.
In the end, unless the United States commits large numbers of troops and resources to remove the Syrian government, Russia and Turkey now hold the upper hand in the region in cooperation with Iran. If the U.S. is not careful, Saudi Arabia might well be the next nation to implode into civil war and disintegrate as the various tribes realize the good times are over, and payment for peace comes to an end.
