Entered into the database on Thursday, July 27th, 2006 @ 13:46:21 MST
Is there a relationship between the bombing of Lebanon and the inauguration
of the World's largest strategic pipeline, which will channel more a million
barrels of oil a day to Western markets? Virtually unnoticed, the inauguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku (BTC)
oil pipeline, which links the Caspian sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, took
place on the 13th of July, at the very outset of the Israeli sponsored bombings
of Lebanon. One day before the Israeli air strikes, the main partners and shareholders
of the BTC pipeline project, including several heads of State and oil company
executives were in attendance at the port of Ceyhan. They were then rushed off
for an inauguration reception in Istanbul, hosted by Turkey's President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer in the plush surroundings of the Çýraðan Palace.
Also in attendance was British
Petroleum's (BP) CEO, Lord Browne together with senior government officials
from Britain, the US and Israel. BP leads the BTC pipeline consortium. Other
major Western shareholders include Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, France's Total
and Italy's ENI. (see Annex) Israel's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer was present
at the venue together with a delegation of top Israeli oil officials. The BTC pipeline totally bypasses the territory of the Russian Federation.
It transits through the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, both
of which have become US "protectorates", firmly integrated into a
military alliance with the US and NATO. Moreover, both Azerbaijan and Georgia
have longstanding military cooperation agreements with Israel. In 2005, Georgian
companies received some $24 million in military contracts funded out of U.S.
military assistance to Israel under the so-called "Foreign Military Financing
(FMF) program". http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/states/GA.html
Israel has a stake in the Azeri oil fields, from which it imports some twenty
percent of its oil. The opening of the pipeline will substantially enhance Israeli
oil imports from the Caspian sea basin.
But there is another dimension which directly relates to the war on Lebanon.
Whereas Russia has been weakened, Israel is slated to play a major strategic
role in "protecting" the Eastern Mediterranean transport and pipeline
corridors out of Ceyhan. Militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean The bombing of Lebanon is part of a carefully planned and coordinated military
road map. The extension of the war into Syria and Iran has already been contemplated
by US and Israeli military planners. This broader military agenda is intimately
related to strategic oil and oil pipelines. It is supported by the Western oil
giants which control the pipeline corridors. In the context of the war on Lebanon,
it seeks Israeli territorial control over the East Mediterranean coastline.
In this context, the BTC pipeline dominated by British Petroleum, has dramatically
changed the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean, which is now linked
, through an energy corridor, to the Caspian sea basin: "[The BTC pipeline] considerably changes the status of the region's
countries and cements a new pro-West alliance. Having taken the pipeline to
the Mediterranean, Washington has practically set up a new bloc with Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Turkey and Israel, " (Komerzant, Moscow, 14 July 2006) Israel is now part of the Anglo-American military axis, which serves the interests
of the Western oil giants in the Middle East and Central Asia. While the official reports state that the BTC pipeline will "channel oil
to Western markets", what is rarely acknowledged is that part of the oil
from the Caspian sea would be directly channeled towards Israel. In this regard,
an underwater Israeli-Turkish pipeline project has been envisaged which would
link Ceyhan to the Israeli port of Ashkelon and from there through Israel's
main pipeline system, to the Red Sea. The objective of Israel is not only to acquire Caspian sea oil for its own
consumption needs but also to play a key role in re-exporting Caspian sea oil
back to the Asian markets through the Red Sea port of Eilat. The strategic implications
of this re-routing of Caspian sea oil are farreaching. In April 2006, Israel and Turkey announced plans for four underwater pipelines,
which would bypass Syrian and Lebanese territory. "Turkey and Israel are negotiating the construction of a multi-million-dollar
energy and water project that will transport water, electricity, natural gas
and oil by pipelines to Israel, with the oil to be sent onward from Israel
to the Far East, The new Turkish-Israeli proposal under discussion would see the transfer
of water, electricity, natural gas and oil to Israel via four underwater pipelines.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961328841&pagename “Baku oil can be transported to Ashkelon via this new pipeline and
to India and the Far East.[via the Red sea]" "Ceyhan and the Mediterranean port of Ashkelon are situated only 400
km apart. Oil can be transported to the city in tankers or via specially constructed
under-water pipeline. From Ashkelon the oil can be pumped through already
existing pipeline to the port of Eilat at the Red Sea; and from there it can
be transported to India and other Asian countries in tankers. (REGNUM ) Water for Israel Also involved in this project is a pipeline to bring water to Israel, pumping
water from upstream resources of the Tigris and Euphrates river system in Anatolia.
This has been a long-run strategic objective of Israel to the detriment of Syria
and Iraq. Israel's agenda with regard to water is supported by the military
cooperation agreement between Tel Aviv and Ankara. The Re-routing of Central Asian Oil Diverting Central Asian oil and gas to the Eastern Mediterranean (under Israeli
military protection), for re-export to Asia, serves to undermine the inter-Asian
energy market, which is based on the development of direct pipeline corridors
linking Central Asia and Russia to South Asia, China and the Far East. Ultimately, this design is intended to weaken Russia's role in Central Asia
and cut off China from Central Asian oil resources. It is also intended to isolate
Iran. Meanwhile, Israel has emerged as a new powerful player in the global energy
market. War and Oil Pipelines Prior to the bombing of Lebanon, Israel and Turkey had announced the underwater
pipeline routes, which bypassed Syria and Lebanon. These underwater pipeline
routes did not overtly encroach on the territorial sovereignty of Lebanon and
Syria. On the other hand, the development of alternative land based corridors (for
oil and water) through Lebanon and Syria would require Israeli-Turkish territorial
control over the Eastern Mediterranean coastline through Lebanon and Syria.
The implementation of this project requires the militarisation of the East
Mediterranean coastline, sea ways and land routes, extending from the port of
Ceyhan across Syria and Lebanon to the Lebanese-Israeli border. Is this not one of the hidden objectives of the war on Lebanon? Open up a space
which enables Israel to control a vast territory extending from the Lebanese
border through Syria to Turkey. "The Long War" Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert has stated that the Israeli offensive against
Lebanon would "last a very long time". Meanwhile, the US has speeded
up weapons shipments to Israel. There are strategic objectives underlying the "Long War" which are
tied to oil and oil pipelines. The air campaign against Lebanon is inextricably related to US-Israeli strategic
objectives in the broader Middle East including Syria and Iran. In recent developments,
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated that the main purpose of her mission
to the Middle East was not to push for a ceasefire in Lebanon, but rather to
isolate Syria and Iran. (Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2006) At this particular juncture, the replenishing of Israeli stockpiles of US produced
WMDs points to an escalation of the war both within and beyond the borders of
Lebanon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annex The BTC Co. shareholders are: BP (30.1%); AzBTC (25.00%); Chevron (8.90%);
Statoil (8.71%); TPAO (6.53%); Eni (5.00%); Total (5.00%), Itochu (3.40%); INPEX
(2.50%), ConocoPhillips (2.50%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%). (source BP) For details on the Campaign against the pipeline see http://www.bakuceyhan.org.uk/more_info/bp_pipeline.htm
_________________________ Read from Looking Glass News Pipelineistan's
Biggest Game Begins The
Militarisation of the Eastern Mediterranean The
Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline: BP’s Time Bomb 
=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull 
Map by Eric Waddell, Global Research, 2003. (click
to enlarge)
