The biggest news shared by the US President, during last week, was that the IS chief Al-Baghdadi has been killed in an operation by the US marines. This news appeared after a couple of weeks of Trump’s decision of evacuating US troops from Syria leaving Kurd militia which was US ally, helpless and on the mercy of its opponents calling that they are ‘no angels.’ This policy was criticized internally and internationally. He further commented that ‘Syria is no more than a sand and death trap’ and he is getting out of these un-ending wars. But later he decided to control the ‘Oil fields in the Northern Syria’ and to send about five hundred soldiers in this area for the said purpose. He said, “We have saved these oil fields and now we have enough oil.”

Senior officials of the US administration are worried on these decisions of Trump because now they have to face many legal and technical issues in this concern. It was Trump’s promise during election campaign that we will snatch the whole mineral oil of the world and now he is getting forward in this direction. He said Iran and IS will be the beneficiary of the income from these oil fields which is contrary to the US interests. Once he opined that to the victors belong the spoils. He has also kept an eye on the Libyan oil fields as a part of this policy. One of his aides, Jane Keane said, “ The oil fields will go into the hands of Iranian proxies if we do not control them and hence Assad and Iran will face a monetary loss.” Trumps is of the opinion that the big US oil companies will to operate in this area because IS is very weak and control no area in this region so there is no risk for them. But the experts and the representatives of the oil companies say that, firstly, the oil is of low quality, secondly this is very high risk area and it is really tough to go and work there.

According to International law, this oil is owned by the Syrian state and it will be difficult for US government to establish a legal authority on it. But Trump thinks that we must do it to meet the expenses of the war. A proposal is raised in this concern that US government should talk to Russian and Syrian governments on this matter and use the income of this oil for the reconstruction of Syria. Russia has less interest in this matter and if Assad gets this share, the financial burden being born by Iran will be lessened. Russia state that what Trump is going to do is sampling international state banditry and Iran says that it is just a plan to control Syrian oil fields. This policy of Trump has deepened the symbolism that USA is in the Middle East only to control its oil.

TARIQ KHAN,

Faisalabad.