Monday's historic oil-price crash which witnessed prices dropping below zero for the first time in history - some still hovering in negative territory through Tuesday morning - provides yet another astounding reminder and demonstration of the absurdity of America's ongoing presence in the Middle East.

Syria is the number one case in point given this week's oil supply and price chaos unleashed: US special forces are still occupying eastern Syria to protect exactly what again?

Middle East war correspondent Elijah Magnier pointed out mockingly, addressing Trump: "You are spending money on US troops to guard and steal oil that is worth nothing now."

Breaking: Trump orders US troops to withdraw from Syria for 100$ cash.#crudeoil #OilPrices pic.twitter.com/JhaBRff1yS — iad tawil (@iadtawil) April 20, 2020

Others took to Twitter to mock and highlight the irony of the administration's stated policy in the Middle East at this point. "I left troops in Syria to take the oil," President Trump has repeatedly said over much of the last year.

And remember too when the US wanted to sanction Iran to take its oil exports "close to zero"?

Just to add farce to this comedy, there are currently US soldiers illegally guarding #Oil in Syria pic.twitter.com/phCJuSzMsE — 300,000,34,900,74,000 (@moodynews101) April 20, 2020

Now that even the fig leaf of 'securing vital resources' motive as any level of an excuse for staying in the region has abruptly fallen away, it's time for Washington to finally admit it's in reality motivated by naked imperial aggression and endless occupation as an end - or rather maintaining the ability to simply remove and replace foreign governments.

Meanwhile, the hundreds if not possibly thousands of US personnel still in Syria are more at risk than ever, as Connecting Vets Radio reports this week: "The global pandemic didn't stop Green Berets stationed in al-Tanf Syria from training and standing ready."

Maybe they'll start frantically paying locals to take it off their hands?

But as the report continues:

According to an American military source who recently re-deployed out of Syria, the local population has not been taking the coronavirus seriously. The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, felt that it was only a matter of time before the parts of Syria where U.S. troops are stationed gets hit hard by the virus.

Again, all this for what?

"We have secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of U.S. Troops will remain in the area where they have the oil," Trump said last October. " And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."

AMERICA WAS READY TO ATTACK IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA AND OTHERS FOR THEIR OIL .... LOOK AT THIS NOW .... OIL IS FREE... WHAT IS THE WORTH OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES OF INNOCENTS... #OilCrash — Umer Ijaz (@035b2219e0ca4e1) April 21, 2020

Little did anyone know at the time how rich in irony and understatement this would prove to be only months later.