I may have answered my own question by searching the internet.Ok, so I may be really dumb, but explain to me why we care? We produce around 37.9% ourselves, get another 43.1% from Canada 14.3 from Saudi Arabia and the rest are from Latin American countries and a teeny-tiny fraction is from Africa.
So the only Mid East imports we are getting are from Saudi Arabia and they come in 3rd and shrink by the day as our domestic output increases. We don't get any from Iraq or Syria. Russia takes care of it's own oil needs, being completely flush with the stuff and being China's biggest supplier and one of the main providers to the rest of Europe.
So Russia makes most of their own supply, America makes most of their own supply - nobodies majority is coming from any of the current disputed regions? What gives?
[FONT=q_serif]Syria sits in the heart of Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean sea to the west, is strategically important to Russia's naval force. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is limited by the narrow Turkish straits and would therefore need a more stable port to access to Mediterranean sea. Syria fits perfectly to Russian interest. In an effort of reviving USSR or its past status as superpower, Russian involvement in Syria crisis plays critical role in securing its geostrategic interests. The US wants nothing different: they want to contain Russia and cripple their naval force in Mediterranean sea.[/FONT]
[FONT=q_serif]The West wants less dependent on Russian supplied gas. In light of Ukraine crisis, Russia has threatened Europe with the supply of natural gas. The largest oil field in the world, which Qatar owns 2/3, was hoped to supply to Europe more steadily at cheaper price. The billion-dollar gas pipeline, proposed to connect Qatar through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey to Europe, was turned down. Assad's refusal to give permission, as part of Russian interests, indirectly or directly caused the war.[/FONT]