US President Under Fire Over Syrian Pipeline
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – U.S. President Joe Biden has come under fire over his reported decision to lift sanctions on Syria for an energy deal with Islamist militants after he ended a massive pipeline project in America.
Under the agreement, Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad would facilitate a U.S.-backed natural gas pipeline running from Egypt through his territory to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
Hezbollah, Lebanon’s largest political and Islamist group, did not accept oil deliveries from its neighbor Israel as it seeks to destroy the Jewish state.
President Biden’s backing for the pipeline project is controversial. Critics recall that Biden, on his first day in office, halted the Keystone XL Pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas and create as many as 70,000 jobs.
He later blessed a controversial natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany.
Critics say Biden is more interested in creating energy jobs abroad than in America. However, the White House says it protects the environment and “fights climate change” at home, creating “greener jobs” in the future.
However, some U.S. lawmakers wonder why allowing Syria to earn cash with a pipeline would be good for America or the region.
Republican Joe Wilson, a House Foreign Affairs Committee member, reportedly asked: “Why in the world would the Biden administration lift sanctions on one of the most brutal human rights abusers in the world—the Assad regime?”
The administration seeks to waive portions of the bipartisan Caesar Act, which applied wide-ranging sanctions on Assad for reported war crimes in Syria, Congress sources said.
Lifting sanctions related to oil and gas deliveries would enable the energy deal and provide Assad with a financial and political lifeline.
Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is pressing Egypt to sell natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline running through Syria, several sources said.
The Assad regime is expected to earn at least millions of dollars through oil transit fees, critics say. Those backing the project say it would reduce Assad’s financial dependence on Iran, which Washington viewed as a major supporter of terrorism.
However, Republican foreign policy leaders fear removing sanctions on Assad would increase Hezbollah’s influence in the Middle East and perhaps embolden Iran.
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