Eric Zuesse

On Friday, March 18th, a combined effort by George Soros, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, and Tayyip Erdogan, has arranged to get the EU to abandon previously sacrosanct fundamental human rights of refugees, and to transfer $6B+ to Turkey, in return for placing the refugee burden onto Turkey and getting Turkey to cooperate so as to assist the breakup of Syria, which will enable a gas-pipeline and an oil-pipeline to be built through Syria to enable Qatar’s gas and Saudi Arabia’s oil to be pipelined through Syria into the EU, so as to replace Russian oil and gas, which now fuel the EU.

Here, in my rush translations from the original German-language reports at German Economic News (Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten) are the key reports and headlines:

http://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/2016/03/18/tuerkei-deal-deutschland-koennte-grossteil-der-fluechtlinge-aufnehmen/

Turkey deal: Germany could take majority of refugees

[Translated by Eric Zuesse from] German Economic News | Published:18:03:16 02:56 Clock

The most important consequence of the EU summit is not in the official statement. A plan long discussed, now finalizing: Germany takes the majority of refugees from Turkey, and oil and gas pipelines will replace Russian oil and gas to Europe by Saudi oil and Qatari gas.

Europe’s energy supply should result in future Syria. (Graphic: oilprice.net)

According to Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the leaders of the European Union mutually agreed with Turkey to cut Russia out of the EU gas market, cut Qatar [a U.S. ally] in. They agreed in the early hours of Friday on a refugee-&-gas-pipeline package to be approved by the Turkish government.

This agreement will substantially correspond to the Pact of Angela Merkel with Turkish President Erdogan. But it apparently comprises only a small portion of the agreement prepared between Germany, Turkey and the USA.

Gerald Knaus, director of the Soros-funded think tank “European Stability Initiative” (ESI), for many months now has been advising Chancellor Angela Merkel on the refugee crisis. His ESI submitted the plan in October.

The original plan consists of two parts: On the one hand, Germany should, during the coming year, “grant 500,000 Syrian refugees asylum, who are now in Turkey.” Other European countries may participate, but on a voluntary basis. At the same time Turkey will take from Greece “all new migrants.”

Knaus, himself Austrian, told the Viennese daily the press, that “in the background, a more radical idea has already been largely negotiated” which will “probably very soon be announced“: Knaus said that a “coalition of the willing” will take 900 Syrians per day — “no matter how many Syrians come to Greece.” This would be about 300,000 people per year — slightly less than in the original Soros plan.

The reason for Europe’s acquisition of hundreds of thousands of refugees is obvious: The proposed EU summit one-to-one solution would not be enough to relieve Turkey significantly. Moreover, it’s not lawful from the perspective of the Geneva Convention, as human rights organizations have complained since the start of the Soros proposal. The coalition of the willing currently consists of Germany, Portugal and Sweden. Austria has not yet agreed. Presumably Merkel will move some other countries also to participate. Thus, the plan could be presented as a European solution.

From an organizational standpoint, Knaus thinks that consideration in Turkey of the plan will succeed in an agreement being reached. Knaus holds this to be essential. He told the newspaper Die Welt: “The acceptance, by the public, of receiving the refugees is essential. Had we in Europe started earlier with a quota solution, we’d be farther along today. I think that also Sweden and Austria would have been on our side. Unfortunately, the process in the past year fell out of control. We had no idea who is coming into our country. This fueled fears. “

The Soros plan is apparently agreed with the US government. Angela Merkel supported in this way the geopolitical plans of the Americans, who have a special interest in developing their energy policies in the region. They are planning the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). Construction of TAP is pushed by the United States. This will run from the Turkish border via Greece, Albania and the Strait of Otranto to Italy. Thus, one of the main refugee routes to Europe, which is particularly overloaded after the closure of the Balkan route, will be cleared for pipelining gas into Europe.

Further destabilization of the TAP region is therefore not in the interests of the United States. They also want to ensure that Europe is supplied via a pipeline that’s under US control, not under Russian control. The US and Russia are fighting for the European energy market.

It is interesting in this context that a competing Russian pipeline through Syrian territory could also result. The surprising retreat of the Russians from Syria might suggest that there could be an agreement between Russia and the US: In this way, the geopolitical interests of both Great Powers could be safeguarded. The relationship between the pipeline projects and the war in Syria has the raw material site Oilprice.net analyzed in order that all parties want to solve the dependence of Saudi oil.

In this connection the role of the Americans is also in the media largely ignored regarding the visiting US diplomat Victoria Nuland in Idomeni. Nuland’s pithy sayings (such as “fuck the EU”) and her role in Ukraine, made her try to become known as a Goodwill Ambassador for Europe; she Thursday visited the refugee camps in the northern Greek Idomeni, reports Kathimerini .

The Turkish news portal Haberler reports what Nuland said in Idomeni: “More needs to be done for these people here. Athens has made a direct request to Washington. In this difficult situation, I’m here, for American-Greek solidarity. We will work together to solve the problem of distribution of refugees within the EU. In addition, we want to help ensure that the deal between the EU and Turkey is fair and transparent. It’s time to better accommodate the migrants. “

On 11 March, Nuland met with representatives of the Greek government in Athens to discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues, including the request for assistance of Greece to the United States, in solving the migration problem, reported the US State Department .

This context could explain also why Angela Merkel has waited so long to go to the German public with a real plan for the refugee crisis — even though they have long been familiar with the Soros plan and he apparently also laid the basis with the Chancellor for Turkey jointly to launch the proposal at the EU summit: this was to help Merkel not to inflame sentiment in Germany before the state elections. Because the message that Germany could possibly be the only country to take a large number of refugees, would have a serious impact that has led even without this perspective to tectonic shifts in favor of the AFD [anti-immigrant party].

Knaus sees the Ankara-Berlin axis as being crucial for geopolitical orientation against Russia. He said in an international interview that Germany made the mistake of placing undue reliance on the EU Commission: “Germany has early understood much. But it made the mistake of relying too much on the implementation by the Commission. Germany should have taken matters into its own hands earlier.”

Knaus sees the role of Germany as partners with Turkey and the USA. Here lies the common interest to host the refugees: “Germany does not expire like other states in an anti-Islam rhetoric. At the same time it sees Ankara, in a delicate geostrategic position between anti-Muslim governments in Europe and a strong Putin. A successful and connected partnership between Berlin and Turkey may be worth a lot for Turkey and its approach to Europe.”

This closes the circle for the TAP pipeline: The Americans want to snatch the European energy market away from Russia. In the absence of our own energy policy, Europeans are currently completely dependent on Russia. If both pipelines – quasi in a duopoly of the Americans and the Russians – are built, the energy policy space for the EU would increase significantly.

That led to the present situation, a murderous war that’s driven hundreds of thousands from Syria and Iraq. It had to be, from a geopolitical point of view of the parties — Russia, the US and the EU — regarded as collateral damage.

After all, the Soros plan would in fact lead to the result that the right of asylum would be respected so that immigration to Europe is not completely disordered. What guarantees that the EU gets Turkey to treat the refugees humanely, is completely unclear. It also is unclear whether the acceptance of refugees in Germany can be satisfactorily prepared. It also remains open whether the EU will have, as a result of the apparent cleavage of the project, neither the power to play as a political union, nor a role that goes beyond that of simply a large, attractive market.

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EU and Turkey Reach Agreement on Refugees

The EU and Turkey have agreed on a deal. The deal enters into force on March 20. From then on, refugees who arrive irregularly in Greece will be returned to Turkey.

German Economic News | March 18, 2016, 19:08 Clock

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“Shabby EU-Turkey deal is a day of mourning for asylum”

The human rights organization Pro Asyl has sharply condemned the deal with Turkey. Today is a day of mourning for the right of asylum. The organization announces that it will file lawsuits.

German Economic News | March 18, 2016, 19:00 Clock

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EU deal: Turkey does not agree to respect human rights Angela Merkel and Dutch Mark Rutte at the summit in Brussels. (Ph

The deal with Turkey stipulates that Turkey serves as large refugee camps for the EU. Turkey seems to have succeeded to determine the standards for the treatment of refugees and migrants. A commitment to respect for human rights was deleted from the final document.

German Economic News | March 18, 2016, 18:13 Clock

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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.