Israel
Eyes Iraqi Pipeline Project
By Atul Aneja
The Hindu, 11 April 2003
DOHA April 10. Even as the
U.S. military campaign in Iraq is yet to wrap up, early signs are emerging
of how the Washington's allies Israel, Jordan and Kuwait are
planning to engage a post-war Iraq in a commercial and political network
that would have far-reaching ramifications on the region.
As the battle for Baghdad
began, the Israeli Minister for Infrastructure, Yosef Paritzky, brought
on the agenda, the revival of oil pipeline from Mosul in northern Iraq
to the Israeli Mediterranean port of Haifa that has been in disuse since
1948.
The original pipeline from
Mosul reached the Israeli port via the Syrian mainland. But with Syria
in the firing line, both from Israel and recently from the U.S., there
is talk about diverting this pipeline's route.
Instead of heading towards
Syria, the Mosul pipeline, it is now proposed, could transit into Israel
via Jordan.
In case this idea materialises,
the reward for Jordan, which has clearly sided with the U.S. in the
war against Iraq would be enormous.
Not only would the transit
of this pipeline yield hefty revenues, Jordan's position as a strategic
lynchpin in the post-war West Asian political order would become fully
established.
Analysts point out that the
importance of this oil route is not just regional, but global in scope.
This is because the Mosul
pipeline would take Iraqi oil, not to the Persian Gulf, but to the Mediterranean
Sea. This will particularly suit the U.S., which has been worried about
receiving the bulk of its oil supplies from oil terminals in the potentially
turbulent Persian Gulf area.
Key beneficiary
The revived pipeline proposal also gives the U.S. the realistic option
of lowering its energy dependence on key Persian Gulf States such as
Saudi Arabia by introducing a pro-Washington Iraq as a formidable player
in the global energy market.
With Washington, expected
to be the key beneficiary from this proposal, it is likely that the
revamped Mosul-Haifa pipeline would turn out to be a giant enterprise.
The attempt of reinforcing post-war Iraq's links to the Mediterranean
also masks efforts to undermine Baghdad's traditional linkages with
the Persian Gulf.
Think tanks in Washington
and London are veering to the view that like Turkey, Iraq's destiny
should be tied more with the Levant countries rather than the Persian
Gulf.
It is felt that the inordinate
influence of Iraq, which is likely to be resurrected by the U.S. as
a "model democracy" on the States belonging to the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), that have fallen behind on the democracy road, can be
destabilising. In other words, Iraq diverted towards the Levant and
relatively insulated from the rest of the Persian Gulf can help in promoting
regional stability. Apart from Jordan, Kuwait has emerged as a key beneficiary
of the Iraq war.
It is now likely that Kuwait,
backed by U.S. and British military power, will establish a permanent
presence at Umm Qasr, on the mouth of the Persia Gulf and in close proximity
to Iran.
For the first time after
the 1956 Suez crisis, Britain is expected to acquire a permanent foothold
east of the Suez canal in Basra.