U.S. Intervention or Not, the Sea is Already Boiling
September 3, 2013
Summary:
So far, public debate about the intervention in Syria has centered on the immediate scope and aims of any U.S.-led military operation, and whether the U.S. Congress should be involved. But no matter how the possible intervention and its aftermath play out, one thing is certain: the eastern Mediterranean -- where exploratory drilling has unearthed vast reserves of natural gas, and where competition between Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey is already fierce -- will become less stable.
So far, public debate about the intervention in Syria has centered on the immediate scope and aims of any U.S.-led military operation, and whether the U.S. Congress should be involved.
As morally satisfying as it might be, a rebel victory may be the most dangerous outcome of all for the eastern Mediterranean. Such a turn of events would open a security vacuum in a resource-rich and already volatile regio
Fears that an intervention might disrupt energy trade in the Persian Gulf have already pushed the price of oil to its highest level in a year and a half.
