The sudden unannounced arrival of the highest US navy officer Normal Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, at a dusty American base in Syria’s distant northeast on Friday could bring to mind a well-known quote by Dick Cheney, vice-president within the George W Bush presidency:

“The nice Lord didn’t see match to place oil and fuel solely the place there are democratically elected regimes pleasant to the USA. Often now we have to function in locations the place, all thought of, one wouldn’t usually select to go. However we go the place the enterprise is.”

Based on eyewitness accounts, as lately as final week, on 27 February, US troops transported not less than 34 tankers full of stolen Syrian oil by way of the unlawful Al-Mahmoudiya border crossing to their bases in Iraq. Within the estimation of the Syrian international ministry, the cumulative losses incurred by the nation’s oil and fuel sector on account of theft and different US actions had been to the tune of $107 billion as of August final yr.

Oil is a novel mineral that anaesthetises thought, blurs imaginative and prescient, corrupts. However in response to a Reuters report, Milley’s go to was about one thing else than oil —  purportedly “to evaluate efforts to stop a resurgence” of the Islamic State militant group and “evaluation safeguards for American forces in opposition to assaults, together with from drones flown by Iran-backed militia.”

Among the many numerous set voting in favor embody Gaetz, Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Chip Roy (R-TX) Cori Bush (D-MO), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) Ro Khanna (D-CA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

Right here’s the roll name for the Yea votes. Democratic members’ names are italicized: