Reconstructing Syria
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Rebuilding what Washington and its rogue allies destroyed will be an enormous longterm undertaking when begun in earnest, costing at least several hundred billions of dollars, maybe half a trillion or more before completed.
Endless war without resolution assures more vast destruction than already, along with the enormous human toll affecting millions of Syrians.
How reconstruction will be paid for remains to be determined. Damascus is broke, unable to do much without foreign support.
Russia, China, and perhaps other BRICS countries will be involved, not nations allied in destroying the country.
Earlier, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) estimated it would take decades for Syrian economic activity to return to its pre-2011 level.
Even when war ends, obstacles to investment are significant. Barring future hydrocarbon discoveries, Syria has limited oil and gas reserves.
Washington controls its most productive al-Omar oilfield in eastern Deir Ezzor, enforcing control by constructing a military base in the area.
It shows no US intention to leave areas it illegally occupies – other than perhaps using proxies instead of its own forces.
Illegal sanctions remain in force, a major deterrent to foreign investment, including reconstruction.
This week, House members passed legislation prohibiting US reconstruction aid for government controlled parts of Syria.
A Foreign Affairs Committee statement deplorably said “(i)t would be unconscionable for US Government funds to be used for stabilization or reconstruction in areas under” what it shamefully called control by Assad’s “illegitimate” government and “its proxies,” adding:
“We are not going to support the building of infrastructure that will benefit Hezbollah, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, or foreign militias recruited and paid by the” Islamic Republic.
Washington and its imperial allies raped and destroyed Syria. Endless war continues for regime change, why it was launched in the first place.
Reconstruction is a mute point until conflict resolution is achieved.
It’s unattainable any time soon because Washington, Israel, and their rogue allies want it continued to replace Syrian sovereign independence with pro-Western puppet rule.
Russia’s intervention and involvement in Syria prevents attainment of this objective – short of all-out war.
All bets are off if it erupts – risking direct conflict between the world’s dominant nuclear powers, something far more potentially serious if things go in this direction.
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