Gassing up against Uncle Sam

Amidst the fog of war in Syria, the clamor of sanctions and the threat of conflict in Iran, some transnational business deals in the region have slipped quietly. That was certainly the case in July 2011 when the Western press largely ignored the announcement by Syria, Iran and Iraq that they were to build a gas pipeline to transport Iranian natural gas from the South Pars Field in the Persian Gulf through Baghdad to Damascus. At the time the saber rattling over the Iranian nuclear program was in full swing and protests in Syria were turning to armed conflict. Many, as a result, thought that the project would prove to be stillborn. But the announcement on Monday that Iran has already commenced building the first stage of the project — running from Kuhdasht in western Iran to Baghdad — has come as a wake up call to many, even though