Defensive Fences Going Up All Over Middle East

Somewhere south of Mahbes, Western Sahara, in the freed zone. Sahrawi women in the II International march against the Moroccan built wall that divides western Sahara. The longest wall built on Earth, this wall consists of a long wall with a berm, barbed wire, millions of landmines and electronic systems, survived by thousands of Moroccan soldiers.By Western Sahara (Sahrawi women against the wall of shame) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Somewhere south of Mahbes, Western Sahara, in the freed zone. Sahrawi women march against the Moroccan built wall that divides western Sahara. The wall consists of a long wall with a berm, barbed wire, millions of landmines and electronic systems, survived by thousands of Moroccan soldiers.Photo by Western Sahara (Sahrawi women against the wall of shame) via Wikimedia Commons

As terrorism continues to rear its ugly head throughout the Middle East, several countries are taking an old approach to defending themselves, construction of walls and fences.

Tunisia, the country where a group of terrorists murdered foreign tourists along a popular beach is building a fence with watchtowers on its border with Libya. It is believed the killers were trained there.

After a suicide bomb exploded in a town in Turkey, the Turkish government announced its plans to strengthen the border with Syria, putting up a security fence.

Saudi Arabia is planning a wall along its entire border with its southern neighbor, Yemen.

In Morocco the world’s oldest functioning security barrier, built in the 1980s, protects the country from areas controlled by Polisario. Another barrier along the border with Algeria has been under construction since 2014.

“The Middle East and North Africa is now the most walled region in the world,” said Said Saddiki, a professor of International Relations and International Law at Al-Ain University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi. They range from “fences inside cities to anti-migrant walls and separation barriers to counter-insurgency” barricades, he said.

OPEC Meeting This Week in Vienna

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is scheduled to meet this week in Vienna. Their task will be to strike a fine balance between setting oil prices just right so that the international economy can continue on its slow and tedious recovery without having to deal with an extra burden of rising oil prices, while at the same time making up for the lack of oil flowing from Libya.

Oil Production Will Stay Steady

Analysts believe that OPEC will be forced to hold the level of oil production steady, with no serious changes on the horizon. OPEC is made up of 12 member nations, and together they produce roughly 40% of the world’s oil supply. The Wednesday meeting will be held in the midst of growing global fears that a significant increase in the price of crude oil will strike a blow at the hesitant international economic recovery which will lead to a decrease in the demand of oil worldwide.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has requested that OPEC increase oil output and so avoid another harmful rise in prices, taking into consideration that during the coming summer months Northern Hemisphere oil demand will increase.

Rising Oil Prices Blow to Economy

Brent oil prices have risen a startling 21% so far this year, mostly in response to the widespread protests and violence which have occupied much of the past six months in the Middle East and North African region, with a large contribution from Libya, an OPEC member state.

“I would expect OPEC to leave quotas unchanged, rather than raise them, given the growing evidence that global demand is slowing,” said Capital Economics analyst Julian Jessop. “There is speculation in the market that they will be doing something to acknowledge the supply problems in Libya.

“Regardless of what OPEC happens to do — prices have further to fall,” Jessop added, referring to recent economic data showing that one of the world’s most important oil consumers, the United States is having a rough economic time of it and will most likely reduce consumption rather than pay more for the crude.

What If the Oil Stops Flowing from Oman Too?

China Imports Oil From Oman

As tensions in the Middle East continue to rise, concern about the political stability in Oman is mounting. Unrest in the sultanate has not yet reached the levels seen in countries such as Libya or even Bahrain, with only 2 deaths which can be attributed to clashes between demonstrators and security forces, but there are fears that the situation in Oman will worsen.

China and Asia Worried

The majority of oil exports from the Middle East go to China and Asia who are especially worried that Oman will join in the general grassroots uprising spreading like wildfire throughout northern Africa and the Middle East, breeding fear in the east that the supply of oil from Oman may be disrupted.

Oman is not a member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) but it does have the largest supply of oil reserves of any country in the Middle East which is not a member. In 2010 Oman produced 863,000 barrels per day of total petroleum liquids, almost all of which was crude oil. Over the past three years oil production there has increase by more than 20%.

Can Saudi Arabia Fill In for Libya?

At the moment there is nothing but uncertainty about how much the flow of oil from Libya will be disrupted due to the war raging there. Saudi Arabia has said that it can increase output to cover the Libyan deficit of oil deliveries, but to what extent it can do this is a big question.

West Looking East with Concern

The main importers for the oil from the Middle East and North Africa are Asia and China, who are watching the developments in the region with growing concern. Most likely, if the situation worsens and oil supplies are severely disrupted, China and Asia will turn to Mexico for their oil, leaving countries such as the US, Great Britain and Europe to fend for themselves.

Queen Beatrix in Oman to Plead for Captured Crew

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

The Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands decided to proceed with her previously scheduled trip to Oman despite the fact that three Dutch military personnel are being held hostage in Libya. However, the status of the state visit was reduced to a private dinner on Tuesday night, not only because of the hostage situation, but also because of the unrest which is also taking place on Oman itself.

Queen Beatrix Persuading Oman to Pressure Libya

Diplomats have told journalists that the hope for this royal visit is that Queen Beatrix can persuade Oman to put pressure on Libya to release the Dutch helicopter crew which was captured by Libyan forces during their attempt to evacuate foreign citizens from the embattled nation. The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been negotiating for their release since their capture on March 3rd. Two others whom the crew was trying to evacuate were also captured at that time, but they have since been released and are out of Libya.

The Prime Minister stated that, “It is terrible for the crew of the Lynx helicopter. Everything is being done to make sure the crew gets home.”

Dangerous Mission Near Gaddafi Stronghold of Sirtre

The crew was captured near the town of Sirtre, a main stronghold of Gaddafi in the center of the country as the revolt there continues to escalate. A military historian, Christ Klep, maintains that the rescue mission was a surprise because of the extreme danger of landing a helicopter near Sirte.

“It seems to suggest it may have been a diplomat, for instance, or somebody of special importance anyway,” he told Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

“I would have thought you would want to avoid stirring things up in Libya and not attract attention to yourself.

“There must have been a reason they were prepared to take this extra risk and it was a real risk because it’s essentially impossible to defend one of those Lynx helicopters.”

Crew Treated Well

Canceling the Queen’s visit to Oman was not considered, as one diplomat explained, ‘Canceling the visit would have been the most stupid thing we could have done.’

Hans Hillen, the Dutch defense minister told MPs that the crew is being treated properly and all are in good health. This information was transmitted to him by the Dutch ambassador to Libya who was allowed to visit the hostages who are being held in Tripoli. Mr. Hillen continued to say that the crew’s good treatment is a positive sign that there is every reason to hope for a satisfactory solution to the situation.

Britain Stages Rescue Missions for Britons Stuck in Libya

British nationals who found themselves stranded in Libya as a result of the escalating crisis there were rescued last night in the second daring mission conducted last night by members of Britain’s Special Air Service and Special Boat Service. 150 people were taken to Malta aboard three RAF Hercules airplanes after meeting at remote locations in the Libyan desert.

There is a bit of confusion about how many of those rescued are actual Britons, but after a night in a Malta hotel those with British passports will be flown back to their homes in England.

This latest action brinks to five the number of rescue flights which the British government has ordered this past weekend. The British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said,

“Three RAF C-130 Hercules aircraft have successfully evacuated around a further 150 civilians from multiple locations in the eastern Libyan desert. The first and second aircraft have landed in Malta and the third is due to arrive shortly. The aircraft have picked up civilians from a number of nations including Britain.”

Libyan Unrest Threatening Oil Supply

As Libya tumbles into the unstable chasm of unrest, protests and violent demonstrations, the fear and uncertainty of such chaos is being felt in the cost of Brent crude oil, which climbed by $1 per barrel on Monday. Libya is a member of OPEC, and was the world’s 12th leading supplier of oil in 2009, and has the largest amount of oil reserves in Africa; according to the US Energy Information Agency there are 44 billion barrels of proven oil reserves there as of January 2010.

The protests are focused on ousting the leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. Protests have spread to Tripoli, Libya’s capital city, where Gadhafi’s son promised to fight against the protestors until “the last man is standing.” His remarks were made in the wake of violent clashes which left scores of protesters dead in Benghazi.

Commenting on what the world can expect from the coming days as far as oil supply is concerned, Tony Nunan, a risk-manager for the Tokyo company Mitsubishi Corp said, "In the short-term there would be a negative impact. There will be chaos and a real concern that supply could be disrupted in Libya. The bigger issue is if it spreads to Saudi Arabia."