Persian Gulf attack: Cui Bono?

Submitted by Steve Brown…

Search for the term, “Where does Israel import its oil from” and prepare to be surprised by the result. The number one search result returns information from Zion Oil, a religious right Wall Street affinity scam which has fleeced Bible-belt ‘investors’ for years, and now sells for .37 cents US per share.

Even so, Zion Oil has described Israel’s oil import dilemma quite well:  “Over the past 25 years, significant fuel imports have come from Angola, Colombia, Mexico, Egypt, and Norway. In more recent times, the Israelis have turned to Russia, Kazakhstan, and some of the other -stans for the bulk of their oil. In 2015 – 2016, most of Israel’s oil is supplied from the volatile Kurdish region.”

Note that no source for Israeli oil must traverse the Strait of Hormuz. And does Israel have the capability to carry out such a measured attack in the Strait?  Of course it has, and the Israeli Navy is known to operate there. The Dolphin-2 class subs were supplied to Israel not only for profit, but perhaps due to German guilt about its role in the creation of Israel in the first place. The Dolpin-2’s are the largest subs to be built in Germany since 1945, and perfectly capable of the type of action we have seen, attacking the Japanese tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, let’s retread some old ground about the top people in the Trump regime, from early days to now. They are predominantly oil men:

Tillerson.. Pruitt… Zinke .. Perry .. Bernhardt.. and not least… Mike Pompeo.  Yes, Mike Pompeo — the Koch Brothers own.

By the above, we know that US oil men will benefit from the resultant oil price rise; and we know that Israel will not suffer from oil import delays, if the Strait of Hormuz were to be impaired or closed. We also know that Israel has subs capable of such an attack.

So, who else benefits from the tanker attacks?  Clearly, besides Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will benefit from higher oil prices. KSA and the UAE also know that CentCom will not allow the Strait to be impaired or closed, and that the US will use military means to keep the oil lanes open if necessary.

The cost to Saudi and the UAE for military action to keep the Strait open is nothing, while the US benefits from the conflict, via ever higher share prices for its arms industry, increased public debt, and increased oil prices to benefit the US fracking industry.

It is true that Russia also benefits from higher oil prices, but the notion that Russia might covertly attack Japanese oil tankers in the gulf to raise the cost per barrel is not only ludicrous; consider the costly endeavour Russia has already engaged in, to secure its interests in Syria and the Middle East.  The idea that Russia would wish to expand its role as world peace-keeper by provoking US aggression versus Iran is more than farcical.*

Yes, Russia benefits through peace – not war; as proven by the Afghanistan fiasco, which ended in 1989. The Russian leadership learned its lesson well in Afghanistan; while the United States has not, and never will.

Now, who does not profit from the tanker attacks? Clearly Iran does not benefit. At the time the attacks on the Japanese tankers occurred, Iran’s leadership was meeting with Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan. For Iran to attack Japanese tankers at a time when its leadership is meeting with the leader of Japan defies logic and tests the boundaries of geo-political reality.  In fact, the very idea that Iran would make such a move at that time, allows us to identify the true perpetrators of this attack.

Furthermore, for Iran to invite the wrath of the US military by such a pointless provocation when Iran is struggling with the weaponization of SWIFT and the USD, only compounds the unreality of such a scenario.

Finally, we must conclude with our opening query: cui bono? The United States benefits for the reasons stated above. So does Saudi Arabia.  And the UAE.

And since By Deception Thou Shalt make War … the reader may conclude, primarily Israel.

*To its great credit, Russia has however guaranteed Iran’s safety.