John Kerry, pictured above, was merely doing Saudi Arabia's
will when the WSJ reported that
"the process gave the Saudis leverage to extract a fresh U.S. commitment
to beef up training for rebels fighting Mr. Assad in Syria, whose demise the
Saudis still see as a top priority."
What was not
clear is what was the other part: what did the
Saudis bring to the table, or said otherwise, how exactly it was that Saudi
Arabia would compensate the US for bombing the Assad infrastructure until the
hated Syrian leader was toppled, creating a power vacuum in his wake that would
allow Syria, Qatar, Jordan and/or Turkey to divide the spoils of war as they
saw fit.
A glimpse of the
answer was provided earlier in the article "The Oil Weapon: A New Way To Wage
War", because at the end of the day it is always about oil, and
leverage.
The full answer
comes courtesy of Anadolu Agency, which
explains not only the big picture involving Saudi Arabia and its biggest asset,
oil, but also the latest fracturing of OPEC at the behest
of Saudi Arabia...
... which
however is merely using "the oil weapon"
to target the old slash new Cold War foe #1: Vladimir Putin.
To wit: Saudi Arabia
to pressure Russia, Iran with price of oil
Saudi Arabia will force the price of oil
down, in an effort to put political pressure on Iran and Russia, according to
the President of Saudi Arabia Oil Policies and Strategic Expectations Center.
Saudi
Arabia plans to sell oil cheap for political reasons, one analyst says.
To
pressure Iran to limit its nuclear program, and to change Russia's position on
Syria, Riyadh will sell oil below the average spot price at $50 to $60 per
barrel in the Asian markets and North America, says Rashid Abanmy, President
of the Riyadh-based Saudi Arabia Oil Policies and Strategic Expectations Center. The marked
decrease in the price of oil in the last three months, to $92 from $115 per
barrel, was caused by Saudi Arabia, according to Abanmy.
With
oil demand declining, the ostensible reason for the price drop is to attract
new clients, Abanmy said, but the real
reason is political. Saudi Arabia wants to get Iran to limit its nuclear
energy expansion, and to make
Russia change its position of support for the Assad Regime in Syria.
Both countries depend heavily on petroleum exports for revenue, and a lower oil
price means less money coming in, Abanmy pointed out. The Gulf states will be
less affected by the price drop, he added.
The
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is the technical
arbiter of the price of oil for Saudi Arabia and the 11 other countries that
make up the group, won't be able to affect Saudi Arabia's decision, Abanmy
maintained.
The
organization's decisions are only recommendations and are not binding for the
member oil producing countries, he explained.
Today's Brent
closing price: $90. Russia's oil price budget for the period
2015-2017? $100. Which means
much more "forced Brent liquidation" is in the cards in the coming
weeks as America's suddenly once again very strategic ally, Saudi Arabia, does
everything in its power to break Putin.
No comments:
Post a Comment