The representatives of the world's One Percents are currently meeting at the annual World Economic Forum held at their favorite hangout, a ski resort in Davos, Switzerland. Lehmann's article provides background on one of the most contentious issues that will be dealt with at the forum--the fight over pipelines that will deliver gas from the huge PARS gas fields located in the Persian gulf between Qatar and Iran with Syria as a major transit point.
The pipeline issue is seen by many political observers as a key issue driving the present Syrian war and threatens a future war with Iran. (For more background, see this excellent article by Pepe Escobar.) The pipeline issue, in turn, affects the value of the US dollar which has been imposed on much of the world by the US Empire.
The energy security stall mate after the Russia – EU Summit in Bruxelles in December 2012 continues in Davos. Russian – European relations with regard to energy security have suffered considerably since the onset of the war in Syria. With the United States, using its political leverage to drive a wedge in between Russia and Europe, and with the cause of the Syria war still not being discussed openly and constructively, both Russia, Europe and the US-Dollar may be heading toward a deep freeze.Although Russia since 1991 has returned to the capitalist world camp, that doesn't mean the end of conflicts among leading nations. The capitalist system always spawns numerous conflicts among One Percent elites for dominance with devastating results for the 99 Percents of the world. Need I remind you of the two world wars where German and Anglo-American One Percents competed for world dominance? The last, WWII, resulted in 65 million lives lost and probably five times that many with permanent disabilities. The present rivalries for world dominance include the One Percent ruling classes from the US Empire (NATO countries), China, and Russia.
