General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Yes, this is all about energy--Syria, Iraq, IS, and the President's Speech. [View all]Laelth
(32,017 posts)That's what precipitated part of this crisis. Cameron (in the U.K.) thought he could get authorization from Parliament to wage war in Syria, topple the pro-Russian Assad regime, and get the pipeline that Western Europe needed from Northern Iraq through Syria and to the Mediterranean to break Russia's near-monopoly on natural gas sales to Western Europe. Parliament shocked the P.M. when they bucked him and refused to back a war in Syria.
We got around that problem by pushing for Kurdish independence and a pipeline through Turkey. That has mostly broken Russia's monopoly, and our allies are pleased. All the same, the Kurds have to be protected (so that they can keep shipping their energy resources), and that's why we're taking military action against IS--to protect the Kurds.
I suspect that the average European is about as ignorant as the average American about all of these things. European politicians, however, are quite concerned. If the price of energy were to double in France, we'd likely see a far-right party come to power, and that wouldn't do any of us any good. So, yes. What we're doing in Iraq and Syria is the product of hidden negotiations between politicians that has not been exposed to the populations of the countries involved.
But it's still a good idea.
-Laelth