December
23 , 2005
Syriana - An
Expose of Intrigues of Oil Companies
Syriana, a recently released
film drawing large audiences, is as complex a film
as are the intrigues of international oil companies,
mainly US-based, who would resort to any tactic,
no matter how immoral or obnoxious, to widen their
margins of profit and maintain their control on
the precious commodity under the sands of Middle
East. The film does not sermonize; it simply puts
a human face on shocking statistics.
The story is based on Robert Baer’s explosive
bestseller “See No Evil: The True Story of
a Ground Soldier in CIA’s War on Terrorism”.
The book, when published, had stirred controversy
as it was at considerable variance from the official
version of the postulates in the war on terrorism.
Baer was a CIA operative from 1976 to 1997 and had
served in several Middle East centers. He speaks
Arabic, Farsi, French and German. His subsequent
book “Sleeping With the Devil” also
draws on his personal experiences and deals with
“How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude”.
Both books take a searing look at the way corruption
makes the world go round. Baer calls oil traders
“vultures of the global economy”.
Written and directed by Stephan Gaghan, who won
an Oscar in 2000 for his screenplay of “Traffic”,
Syriana is another film in a similar genre of multi-layered
story that can be seen either as a cerebral, thought-provoking,
complex motion picture, or a confusing hodgepodge
of a film.
Perhaps, it is a bit of both. It bombards the viewer
with information, never giving him a chance to disconnect.
There are too many ellipses in the story and the
viewer is expected to connect the dots. He has to
remain riveted to the screen to comprehend the connection
among the apparently disjointed episodes.
I went to the neighborhood library to read Baer’s
book but was informed that there were six persons
on the waiting list. His latest book “Sleeping
With the Devil – How Washington Sold our Soul
for Saudi Crude” was sitting on the shelve
waiting for a reader. That means that at least six
other persons had felt like me to read his book
on which the film is based to have a clearer comprehension
of the story.
Be that as it may, the film lacks no clarity in
its message, despite the fact that the writer/director
meticulously avoids any direct or indirect sermonizing.
Only one character in the film speaks out on the
benefits of corruption in the Middle East that greases
the power structure to serve the interests of foreign
big business. The film is essentially an exploration
into the existing system that has evolved over many
years. But it does make the point that the US, irrespective
of the party in power, will make sure the flow is
not cut off. For, its prosperity depends on oil
– the most precious commodity of the world
today.
Indirectly, it finds fault with the Middle East
for squandering its earnings. Similarly, it takes
a dig at China for its increasing consumption of
oil and its ability to outbid the traditional players
in the field to secure supplies for itself.
It shows how the naïve and frustrated young
men of Pakistan and of the Gulf can be turned into
suicide bombers without any idea as to who was holding
their strings. The scramble for oil, causing the
stationing of foreign troops on the Arab soil, has
prompted Al-Qaeda and others to take up cudgels
against the local ruling elite.
The plot centers around the merger of two American
oil companies, one an industry giant, which has
lost a big contract in Saudi Arabia to the Chinese,
the other, a small outfit of Texas that has just
won a lucrative contract in a small nation of the
region –Kazakhistan- perhaps by bribing the
concerned ruler.
At the same time, the Emir of a Gulf oil kingdom
has to pick between his two sons to succeed him.
One is a playboy, the other a US educated, and reform
minded visionary who wants to bring progress and
civil rights to his country . The idealist prince
is disinclined to continue to garrison US troops
on his soil, but his fun-loving brother wants the
troops there to protect his throne and lifestyle
from the ‘Islamic radicals’. A young
Pakistani worker, thrown out of work by a shift
in the control of oil fields, joins a terrorist
setup and is led to attacks an oil tanker.
The idealist prince, on the other hand, is eliminated
in an air attack by missile, evidently by US operatives.
Oil is behind both episodes. It is the most valuable
resource but the machinations of the oil companies
turn it into an evil that ruins everything it touches.
The viewer cannot avoid gaining the impression that
the United States, with its secret dealings, underhand
alliances, and shady maneuverings has abandoned
its moral values in order to remain in control of
the resource. There is no mention of any country
( even Syrian is a fictitious name) but the viewer
might also connect to the current situation in Iraq.
There is no hero in the film. The CIA operative,
Bob Barnes (played by George Clooney) comes closest
to the role. But, he too forfeits his stature once
the story presents him too as a pawn in the game
of oil giants. He discovers that even the government
had to be subservient to the oil industry.
The film is a must see but for only those who are
seeking political thrillers.
(arifhussaini@hotmail.com December 15, 2005)
