Rachel Blevins on US Forces in Syria

It should be remembered that US forces include Private Military Contractors. See also this polygraph.info piece Updated: What Is the Connection Between the Wagner Group and the Russian State? It's about the US airstrike and artillery attack in Syria on February 7, 2018 which killed between five and over two hundred Russian citizens, depending upon who you asked at the time. The Wagner group had been contracted to wrest control of oilfields in Syria from US supported rebels. See the Washington Post story: Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops:

The Pentagon said coalition forces conducted strikes in response to "an unprovoked Syrian pro-regime forces attack" in Syria on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8. (Video: U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs)

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See also What's The Difference Between Al Jazeera and The Guardian? and this recent interview with Vanessa Beeley: Why is Israel attacking Syria and why won't the US just get out?

See also Vanessa Beeley on Recent White Helmet Activity in Syria and Vanessa Beeley on US Oil Theft in Syria which also has some references to Liz Truss' comments on UK mercenaries operating in Ukraine. This is the August 2020 Politico article Vanessa mentions: Little-known U.S. firm secures deal for Syrian oil:

An American company has inked a contract with Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria to develop and export the region’s crude oil under a secretive deal approved by the U.S. government months after President Donald Trump announced he was leaving U.S. troops to “secure the oil,” multiple people familiar with the project told POLITICO.

That report mentions John P. Dorrier Jr., former executive of Gulfsands, a British oil company. See this January 2023 article about illicit oil-production in Syria to see what a mess it is! Gulfsands sets out plan for return to Syria:

Under the plan, Gulfsands and its peers could return to their blocks, with appropriate sanction and other approvals. Back with operational control, they could improve oilfield practice – reducing the impact on the environment – while also producing oil. ...

Gulfsands CEO John Bell said various local groups – including the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), People’s Defence Unit (YPG), Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) – have taken operational control of the fields and are producing “illegally”.

The company estimates Block 26 has been producing around 20,000 bpd since 2017. As a result, over this period, it has produced more than 41 million barrels of oil illicitly. At an average oil price of $70 per barrel, this has a potential value of around US$2.9 billion.

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