Would you be surprised to know that the Israeli-Lebanon conflict has something to do with oil? Canadian economist Michel Chossudovsky lays it out for us at global research.ca:
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.
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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.
Mr. Chossudovsky suggests that the pro-American governments of Israel and Turkey are now aligned to protect the re-routing of Caspian Sea oil:
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.
From the SF Gate, April 28, 2006:
Israel and Turkey are teaming up to construct four parallel pipelines beneath the Mediterranean Sea capable of carrying crude oil, natural gas, electricity and water more than 500 miles into the heart of the Mideast.
Funded by the European Industrial Bank, Israeli and Turkish engineers are studying the feasibility of the multibillion-dollar pipeline project, which would begin in the Turkish port of Ceyhan near the Syrian border and end at the Israeli port of Haifa.
Mr. Chossudovsky continues:
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 far-reaching.
For those of us shaking our heads at the western world's unwillingness to demand a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, the lure of oil profits begins to make sense. For if Israel and Turkey are to undertake militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean, along with U.S. protectorates Georgia and Azerbijain, the sea along Lebanon's border, as well as that of Syria, must be controlled.
Time to take out your atlases and watch the western world's energy end-run around Russia.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/...