The Truth On Syria – All About The Petrol

You’ll have to understand that Syria has been in U.S sights long before this “humanitarian cause/save the people” campaign started up last year.

According to retired NATO Secretary General Wesley Clark, a memo from the Office of the US Secretary of Defense just a few weeks after 9/11 revealed plans to “attack and destroy the governments in 7 countries in five years”, starting with Iraq and moving on to “Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.” In a subsequent interview, Clark argues that this strategy is fundamentally about control of the region’s vast oil and gas resources.

Syria holds Russia’s only port to the Mediterranean Sea. That’s right – Russia ( the largest supplier of natural gas to all of Europe ) can’t operate its navy or its oil export operations without that port.

Can you imagine the blow to Russia if the U.S where to occupy Syria? Never gonna happen. Never.

As suggested “well before” Obama put his tail between his legs, and paddled back to the states the “last time” Putin ( and his Chinese counterparts ) would not allow U.S intervention in Syria. Not a chance.

Syria has also been in talks with Iran about building a pipeline to allow for Iranian oil reserves to be shipped through, as well Saudi’s Prince Bandar bin Sultan has stated ” whatever regime comes after” Assad, it will be “completely” in Saudi Arabia’s hands and will “not sign any agreement allowing any Gulf country to transport its gas across Syria to Europe and compete with Russian gas exports” so…….if you’re starting to put the pieces together here – Syria is an extremely significant and important country with respect to its geopolitical and geo “pipelineal” relations.

There is no question that Assad is a war criminal whose government deserves to be overthrown. The real  question is by whom, and for what interests?

I’m some 300 pips in the green on several short AUD trades tweeted / posted yesterday with plans to see if I can’t “hold on to these babies” a little longer. Wild swings in currencies overnight with USD taking a dip, but really just to trendline support. I’ll be watching close today for intra day reversal and opportunity to keep pushing long USD / short risk.

Perhaps you hadn’t noticed by way of the SP 500 making a 16 day run flat as a pancake – but “risk” is clearly selling off in the currency markets. I’d suggest keeping a watchful eye.

The Currency War Beneath the Surface

While mainstream media continues to peddle the humanitarian narrative, the real battle is being fought in currency markets where power dynamics shift faster than political rhetoric. Syria isn’t just another Middle Eastern conflict—it’s the epicenter of a global energy chess game that’s reshaping how traders should position themselves in USD, EUR, and commodity currencies moving forward.

Russia’s Energy Stranglehold on European Markets

Putin’s strategic positioning through Syria goes far beyond military posturing. Control of that Mediterranean port gives Russia unprecedented leverage over European energy markets, and that translates directly into EUR weakness whenever tensions escalate. The pipeline politics mentioned earlier aren’t theoretical—they’re actively pricing into currency pairs right now. When you see unexplained EUR/USD weakness during Syrian conflict periods, this is your answer. European central bankers can talk tough about sanctions all they want, but when winter heating bills arrive, reality sets in fast. Smart money knows this, which is why systematic EUR weakness during geopolitical flare-ups isn’t coincidence—it’s calculated positioning by traders who understand energy dependency equals currency vulnerability.

The Saudi Factor and Petrodollar Dynamics

Prince Bandar’s comments about controlling post-Assad pipelines reveal the deeper petrodollar protection racket at work. Saudi Arabia didn’t become the world’s swing oil producer by accident—they engineered dollar dependence through strategic pipeline control and energy route monopolization. Every barrel of oil that flows through non-dollar denominated systems weakens USD global dominance, which explains the desperate push to control Syrian territory. But here’s what most traders miss: this desperation signals USD structural weakness, not strength. When the world’s reserve currency requires military intervention to maintain energy pricing monopolies, you’re looking at a system under stress. That stress manifests in violent USD swings during Middle Eastern conflicts, creating massive opportunity for positioned traders.

Risk Currency Positioning in Geopolitical Chaos

Those AUD shorts mentioned earlier aren’t random trades—they’re calculated bets on how geopolitical uncertainty crushes commodity currencies first. Australia’s economy depends on Chinese demand for raw materials, and Chinese growth relies on stable energy imports through regions like Syria. When Middle Eastern supply routes face disruption, Beijing gets nervous, commodity demand weakens, and USD strength emerges as temporary safe haven flows override fundamental weakness. The 300-pip gains came from understanding this connection before markets fully priced the implications. Most retail traders see Syria conflict and think oil prices—they miss the secondary currency impacts that create the real profitable moves.

Market Structure Changes Nobody’s Discussing

That 16-day flat SP 500 run while currency markets showed massive volatility reveals something crucial about modern market structure. Equity markets are increasingly divorced from underlying economic reality through central bank intervention, but currency markets still reflect actual capital flows and geopolitical positioning. Syria represents a perfect example: stocks stayed calm while AUD, EUR, and emerging market currencies got crushed based on energy supply implications. This divergence creates opportunity for traders willing to ignore equity market complacency and focus on currency fundamentals. When traditional risk-on correlations break down, as they’re doing now, positioning becomes everything. The market dynamics suggest we’re entering a period where geopolitical currency trades will outperform traditional technical setups, simply because the underlying power structures are shifting faster than chart patterns can adapt. Smart money is already repositioning accordingly.

7 Responses

  1. Farhan Nasir (@FaniNasir) January 23, 2014 / 6:41 am

    Kong what about GBP ? thought it ll make a move lower after yesterday’s big move up , but its still going up , any comments ?

    • Forex Kong January 23, 2014 / 7:02 am

      Things go up …..then they go across……then they come down etc…..

      The move just seemed pretty large / unfounded so…..I’ll watch to see at least the smaller times show further weakness before entering.

      Then you get USD selling off a bit overnight, and a cross wind / combination.

      You didn’t kill it on short AUD???? Man!

      • pritesh89 January 23, 2014 / 9:33 am

        The move up in GBP relates to the Bank of England suggesting that they would move interest rates when employment fell to 7%. The news indicated that employment was 7.1%. Speculation that this was going to be the start of the rate raises in GBP.

        • Forex Kong January 23, 2014 / 9:52 am

          Great add – thank you.

          More hype / speculation about rates being raised yes and as well – I’ve been eyeing GBP from a larger / longer term fundamental perspective and have a sneaking suspicion it’s also taking a bit of safe haven flow.

  2. pritesh89 January 23, 2014 / 6:47 am

    Dear Kong
    It saddens me so much to think the leaders are so inhumane.

    Thanks for an insightful blog.

    • Forex Kong January 23, 2014 / 7:03 am

      Yes it’s tough.

      Tis a crazy world we live in that’s for sure.

  3. Buena January 25, 2014 / 7:43 pm

    Hi Kong,

    I know that this is supposed to be an FX blog and not a political one, but it’s good you take the stand to share your thoughts. I’d say that you are ‘half-informed’ on the matter especially on the former part of your post on the Secretary General’s remarks. Geneva 2 was going through last week and I’d highly recommend you to read Syria’s foreign minister’s speech here.http://www.globalresearch.ca/geneva-ii-syrian-foreign-minister-the-west-publicly-claims-to-be-fighting-terrorism-whilst-it-is-covertly-nourishing-it/5365833

    I’ve lived in Syria for 4.5 years and it’s sad that the propaganda campaign takes no mercy at selling lies as truth. The so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’ are islamist extremists linked to Al-Qaeda as well, disrupting a 100+ year co-existential harmony of peace with the Christians and Muslims. Assad and the Syrian Army are protecting their national sovereignty against a 83+ national extremist invasion of the country and people. I mean who wants crazy fanatics running around causing sectarian violence? This is not a revolution. This is a proxy-war.

    If you happen to have the time as well, I reccomend this Syrian documentary ‘Manufacturing Dissent: Truth About Syria’ to gain a new perspective on the issue.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuj0ZCY6Zq8

    Thanks for your continuous great work on your blog!

    Regards,

    Buena

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