Source: U.S. Seeking to Build Base in Iraq’s Oil-Rich Region
BAGHDAD (Al-Mayadeen /AFP) – An Iraqi security source revealed that the U.S. forces are widely monitoring one of the western regions of Anbar to build their second base in the province.
The U.S. actions are aimed at constructing the second military base in Anbar province after the Ayn al-Asad air base, the sources told local media outlets.
According to the report, the Al Jazira area was chosen to construct a military base due to large oil and gas fields and other mines.
Al-Jazira region is one of the completely safe regions of Iraq and was not the scene of any terrorist operations for a long time.
The news came while informed Iraqi sources had previously announced that the American forces are not only not thinking of leaving Iraq, but are trying to expand the Ayn al Asad base by buying the lands around it.
An expert on Iraqi security issues emphasized a while ago that the continued presence of the U.S. troops in this country is aimed at supporting Washington’s interests and backing terrorism.
U.S. occupation forces also smuggle consignments of stolen Syrian oil into their bases on Iraqi soil, as the looting of Syrian natural resources continues.
The U.S. military has stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus maintains that the deployment is meant to plunder Syria’s natural resources. Former U.S. president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
American Found Guilty
of Torture
In another development, for only the second time ever an American has been convicted of torture in U.S. court — for brutal treatment of an employee at a weapons factory in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Justice Department has announced.
Ross Roggio, 54, faces possible life in prison after he was found guilty of torture and other crimes in federal court in Pennsylvania on Friday.
In 2015 Roggio was developing a factory to produce M-4 automatic assault rifles in the Kurdistan region of Iraq using parts illegally exported from the United States, the department said in a statement.
At the time one of his employees, an Estonian man, raised questions about the project.
To prevent the man from interfering, the indictment said, Roggio arranged for Kurdish soldiers to kidnap him.
The man was detained at a Kurdish military camp for 39 days during which Roggio allegedly led multiple interrogation and torture sessions, ordering the soldiers to beat him with hoses, use a bag to suffocate him, and threaten to cut off his fingers using a cutting tool.
“On at least one occasion, Roggio wrapped his belt around the victim’s neck, yanked the victim off the ground, and suspended him in the air, causing the victim to lose consciousness,” the department said.
Roggio and his company were charged in 2018 with 37 counts of illegally exporting firearms parts and tools for the project.