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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Specialists: U.S. must factor Chicoms into ME geostrategic equation |
| 2005-11-01 |
| From East Asia Intel, subscription) Middle East specialists recently told Congress that China is making strategic moves in the oil-rich Middle East. Blinding Statement of the Obvious, but Congress needs the point to be hammered home---repeately, until they act. Daniel Byman, director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies, told the House Armed Service Committee that China is becoming a major player in the Middle East. Since they are a big buyer of Iranian MM oil. âThe United States has been the uncontested security power in the Middle East since the end of the Cold War,â he said. âBut China in particular is likely to play a greater role in the years to come as its energy needs increase and power grows in general.â China is seeking improved ties with Iran and other oil-rich nations. As it becomes a greater commercial power, âChina is likely to try to increase ties to key oil producers like Saudi Arabia,â Byman said. Edward Walker, director of the Middle East Institute and a former U.S. ambassador, echoed the warning. âOur situation in the Gulf is becoming increasingly complex with the entry of China into the equation,â he said. âThe prospect of Chinese naval berthing facilities in Gwadar in Pakistan dominating entry into the Straits of Hormuz is a forewarning of future Chinese expansion into the region to feed and protect its growing energy appetite and close relationship with Iran,â he told the hearing. âBeijing may also expand its naval forces to give it the ability to project power in the region and it may also increase arm sales to countries in the region as a way to carry influence,â Byman said. The Chicoms want to be the new USSR in the neighborhood. âIf China does emerge as a major regional player this will have profound implications for the United States. In the past Iran, Syria or other hostile powers tried to play off the Soviet Union or any potential power that could balance the United States and try to resist pressure on things like terrorism or proliferation as a result. China is likely to play this role at least in the eyes of regional states,â he said. He also warned that U.S. allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia may âflirtâ with China as a way to avoid U.S. pressure for democratic change. âWashington is going to have to factor in Beijing as it thinks about the Middle East and that's going to complicate U.S. policy in the region,â Byman said. Competition for oil could become âthe greatest threat we face if we cannot moderate worldwide consumption and guarantee reliable supply,â Walker said. As they say, it is all about oiiiiiil. We need to get our energy house in order. We are more and more dependent upon psychopaths for our energy supplies. Plus the billions of energy dollars are coming back at us in terrorists, booms, and the soaring cost of security. Something very wrong with this picture. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |