Trump's desire 'to take' Syrian oil presents a barrelful of problems
President Trump was persuaded to keep a number of troops in Syria partly so the United States could have some of its oil. But the idea of seizing petroleum in the war-torn country presents big barrel of problems.
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There are a number of legal and strategic challenges for the United States, or any U.S. firm, to get that oil, according to a several experts. Trump's suggestion that the oil can be taken by the United States is the latest in a long list of legally dubious proclamations the president has made while in office.
To start, the United States has no legal claim to the oil in the first place. Pillaging the natural resources of another nation is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, according to Ryan Goodman, a professor at the New York University School of Law who once served as special counsel to the general counsel of the Defense Department.
“The war crime of pillage is almost as old as the laws of war,” Goodman said. “Most infamously, the Nuremberg tribunal after World War II saw Germans convicted of the war crime of seizing oil in Eastern Europe.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/10/28/the-energy-202-trump-s-desire-to-take-syrian-oil-presents-a-barrelful-of-problems/5db5df8088e0fa5ad928dafb/
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