Friday, March 22, 2019

"Syria vows to recover Golan as Trump policy shift draws criticism"

The President's call for recognition, and Syria's response, should not come as a surprise to anyone.
A look at the advisory board of the oil company with the drilling rights noted in March 12's
"ATTN: Conspiracy Theorists, Take Your Blood Pressure Meds Now!! Senator Lindsey Graham Spotted In the Golan Heights"
was a pretty big hint which way the wind was blowing:

Keith Murdoch AC177 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardNews Corporation87
Nathaniel Rothschild 60 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardRIT Capital Partners plc82
Richard Cheney 21 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardGenie Energy Ltd.--
Michael Steinhardt 80 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardWisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.78
Lawrence Summers 63 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardDigital Currency Group63
William Richardson III235 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardNew Mexico State Investment Council71
Mary Landrieu 24 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardCenturyLink, Inc.62
Robert Woolsey Jr.106 RelationshipsMember of Advisory BoardBioDefense Corporation77

Let's see who we have here.
  • Keith Murdoch is better known as Rupert
  • Followed by a Rothschild, but not just any Rothschild, this one is heir apparent to his dad, the Baron. Wrong-o. This is the 4th Baron himself.
  • Then a former  Republican U.S. Vice-President and international oil guy
  • Steinhardt, a hedge fund billionaire.
  • An ex-Harvard Pres. with some interesting Russian privatization backstory.*
  • Former Dem. Senator Landrieu, now advisor to the Walton Family Foundation and member of AIPAC.
  • Former Dem. Governor, U.N. Ambassador, and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.
  • Former CIA Director Woolsey also has some high level U.S.-USSR negotiating experience 
Anyhoo, on to the headline story. From Reuters who seem to understand there are seismic forces in play here, with our pseudo-cryptic intro being just a part of what's up:
The Syrian government vowed to recover the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as its allies and enemies alike condemned U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday for moving to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory seized in war.

Trump’s statement on Thursday marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy over the status of a disputed area that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East conflict and annexed in 1981 - a move not recognized internationally.

Against this backdrop of hostility toward the U.S. move, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Beirut after visiting Israel on Friday. He is expected to pile pressure on the government to curb the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The declaration is the latest in a series of moves that have fueled anger among Israel’s Arab enemies and U.S.-allied Arabs.

It follows the U.S. recognition in December 2017 of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital - a decision that also drew international criticism as the disputed city’s status remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad with forces in Syria, said Trump’s comments risked seriously destabilizing the region and expressed hope the statement was just declaratory....
...MUCH MORE 

Also at Reuters:
Explainer: What is the significance of the Golan Heights
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