[News] Tracking the Flow of Stolen Syrian Oil Into Iraq

[Anti-Imperialist News]

orinocotribune.com
<https://orinocotribune.com/tracking-the-flow-of-stolen-syrian-oil-into-iraq/>
Tracking the Flow of Stolen Syrian Oil Into IraqOctober 6, 2022
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

*While the US role in looting Syria’s resources is well-documented, less is
known about the complicity of Iraq’s Kurdistan region in its transportation
and distribution*

Although the porous Iraqi-Syrian border stretches for over 600 kilometers,
about half of it – in practice – is not subject to the authority of either
state. Over the years, this lack of comprehensive border control has given
rise to a number of security threats to both nations, not least the
persistent presence of ISIS
<https://thecradle.co/Article/Investigations/15142> elements in border
regions.

>From the Iraqi side, there has been a pro-active approach in countering
this low-level terrorism with the establishment of two defensive lines
<https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraqi-army-reveals-number-of-isis-terrorists-in-iraq/>
by
the Joint Operations Command, in addition to concrete barriers and
watchtowers.

Smuggling from Syria into Iraqi border towns is another salient feature of
current border activities, and one which presents both a threat
<https://eng.majalla.com/node/157141/politicssmuggling-across-syrian-iraqi-borders-new-challenge-intl-coalition>
and
an opportunity for the US-led international coalition whose forces operate
on both sides of the border.


*The US loots and smuggles Syria’s oil *Under the guise of this
international coalition, the US army controls the borders between Iraq and
Syria, specifically at the Fishkhabour-Semalka
<https://www.mees.com/2022/1/28/news-in-brief/krg-re-opens-syria-border/1bd434a0-804e-11ec-8b1a-297a360d45ec>
crossing,
the illegal Al-Waleed
<http://www.taghribnews.com/en/news/514815/us-tankers-transport-looted-syrian-oil-to-northern-iraq>
crossing
between Iraqi Kurdistan and US-occupied Syrian territory, and the
Al-Mahmoudiyah <https://sana.sy/en/?p=284780> crossing. All of these border
crossings have become notorious for the illicit smuggling of Syrian crude
oil <https://thecradle.co/Article/news/4895> into northern Iraq, with
direct involvement from US military forces
<https://thecradle.co/Article/News/14108>.

New footage of a US military convoy smuggling stolen oil out of Raqqah,
Syria.

The US army has been consistently looting the country's oil and smuggling
it into their Iraq bases.

Washington steals over 80 percent of Syria's oil output per day
MORE https://t.co/s1z2uIjzJk pic.twitter.com/ko7EsxTRdh
<https://t.co/ko7EsxTRdh>

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 10, 2022
<https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1557464105790963713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Reconnaissance drones routinely hover over the skies of the region, and
security is contracted out to private security firms by the US military.
The employees of these companies, who travel in four-wheel drive vehicles
under US air cover, are responsible for securing the transportation of
Syrian oil to Iraqi territory – even though their mandate is solely to
transport logistical equipment belonging to the international coalition.

When *The Cradle* reached the border area to investigate further, we were
prevented from reaching beyond the joint control point of the Peshmerga and
Asayish forces, the Kurdish military and intelligence agency forces,
respectively.

This checkpoint reflects the security coordination between the Pentagon and
the Ministry of Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan, and is conducted without
Baghdad’s knowledge or coordination. The central Iraqi government’s lack of
awareness of the situation on its borders may be summed up in what one
senior Iraqi security source told *The Cradle*: that the US troops were
there “supporting Kurdish forces as part of the Iraqi defense system to
combat terrorism.”


*Destination: Iraqi Kurdistan *However, tribal sources confirm that under
the cover of this “security zone,” illegal crossings between Iraq and Syria
are active, with dozens of tankers passing weekly in convoys transporting
smuggled Syrian oil, accompanied by US warplanes or helicopters.

Shepherds in the region also corroborate these claims, and indicate that
the Syrian oil is transported to the Harir military site in Erbil, the
capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), for the benefit of the
Kurdish oil company KAR Group, owned by Sheikh Baz Karim Barzanji
<https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/27620-KAR-group-CEO-invites-Iranian-Ambassador-to-visit-his-house-destroyed-by-missile-attack>,
who is close to the family of the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP), Massoud Barzani.
*Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Sheikh Baz Karim Barzanji after the IRGC
missile attack on Erbil (Photo credit: Reuters)*

The latter has strong relations with the new so-called “Club of Influential
Countries” in Iraq, in reference to the UAE and Turkey. Barzani also
maintains a strong relationship with the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, whose members have been protecting
convoys of Syrian oil tanks.

Sheikh Baz came under some scrutiny
<https://thecradle.co/Article/Investigations/8059> in March when one of his
villas, reportedly used as a safe house by Israel’s Mossad spy agency, was
struck by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missiles, killing and
injuring agents inside.

At the time, Kurdish politician Hiwa Seid Salim told
<https://thecradle.co/Article/Investigations/8059> *The Cradle* he suspects
the reason for the Iranian attack on Sheikh Baz’s villa was due to his
business activities, which Iranian security sources say includes selling
Iraqi (or Syrian) oil and gas to Israel.

Sheikh Baz was one of the channels of communication between the KDP and
government of Saddam Hussein on the transportation of Iraqi oil to Turkey
during the economic embargo on Iraq. After the 2003 US invasion, he worked
with USAID and transformed his construction contracting company – set up in
the 1990s – into an oil conglomerate.


*The logistics of the looting *Speaking to *The Cradle*, a former Iraqi
diplomat points out that the theft of Syrian natural resources witnessed a
significant increase when former US President Donald Trump came to power.
At that time, he told Iraqi officials that “Syrian oil is a cheap price for
Washington’s contribution to the fight against ISIS.”

While it is not possible to accurately determine the quantities of looted
oil, Iraqi tribal sources confirm that the tanker journey takes
approximately 48 hours through the main crossings, approved by the US army
(Fishkhabour, Al-Waleed or Al-Yaarubiyah), in a process that only pauses
for brief periods to fill their tanks.

According to these sources, there are usually no less than 70 to 100
tankers transporting Syrian oil during each journey.

Inside Syria, tanker convoys travel through areas outside the authority of
the central state. The trip starts from the Syrian Al-Jazira region and
passes through Al-Hasakah, where it stops for hours before continuing to
one of the border outlets to procure supplies, and then proceeds to the
Harir site in Erbil in the KRI.

There, the oil is emptied into other tanks that carry it to the US base at
Ain al-Assad in Iraq’s Anbar province, or to Halabja province, where
another US military base
<https://breakingdefense.com/2020/01/us-builds-several-new-bases-in-iraq-near-iran/>
is
located.
Map depicting the transportation of stolen Syrian oil to Iraq

The transfer of tankers from Kurdistan to the Ain al-Assad base or any
other US military site must obtain prior approval from the National
Operations Center. Therefore, these transfers take place under the guise of
“logistical support for the international coalition forces,” according to
one Iraqi security source in close contact with the US. Although Baghdad is
unlikely to be completely kept in the dark about this repeated violation of
Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it appears to have very
little say in the matter.

The source tells *The Cradle* that the tankers’ journey through the
Al-Qaim-al-Bukamal crossing would have been shorter had this crossing not
been under the control of armed Iraqi factions that accuse Prime
Minister Mustafa
al-Kadhimi <https://thecradle.co/Article/Investigations/15620> of “opening
the doors” for the Americans.

The same security source points out that these factions “have not stopped
calling for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, which continue their
security and intelligence work inside the state under the cover of
providing security and military advice to the Iraqi forces in the fight
against terrorism.”


*How much does the Iraqi government know? *The US military’s “advisory
work” is ostensibly limited to providing Iraqi forces with some satellite
images of the ISIS presence in the mountains in northern Iraq. However,
this information is arguably already attainable by Iraqi authorities
without US help, according to sources in the military joint operations
room, the highest military and security authority in Iraq.

*The Cradle* attempted to reach out to officials in the Iraqi government
for a comment on what is happening at Iraq’s border crossings, but there
was no response.

A political source attributed this non-response to “political fragility,”
whereby it has become common for decision-makers to avoid commenting on
what is considered “sensitive” information. This is particularly the case
at a time when Iraq is undergoing political uncertainty
<https://thecradle.co/Article/Analysis/15025> while very tentatively
emerging from its economic crisis.

There are positive steps recently undertaken by the Iraqi authorities,
including a recent meeting
<https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/iraq-border-guards-meet-syria-regime-officers-baghdad>
by
the country’s border guards with Syrian army officers in Baghdad – the
first of its kind since 2021 – aimed at strengthening cooperation and
fortifying the border against terrorism and smuggling networks.

Yet Baghdad’s failure to confront and clamp down on the illegal
transportation of stolen Syrian oil into Iraq further cements – and
confirms – the perception of a number of Iraqi factions that the government
of Mustafa al-Kadhimi is a mere puppet in American hands.
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