When describing the United States acts of plundering oil and resources in countries such as Syria, the traditional image of a masked robber fails to match its behavior. Robberies committed by the US, in essence, differ little from those of conventional bandits. The only distinction is that the US seldom bothers to wear a mask or operate with stealth.

The US forces, as Syria's state news agency SANA has reported, have stolen and illegally transported a substantial amount of wheat bran and oil from Syria's northeast province of Hasakah to its bases in Iraq.

The US military has long been using truck convoys to pilfer oil and other resources in Syria.

According to official data released by Syria, over 80 percent of the country's oil production in the first half of 2022 was plundered by the US military and its supporting forces.

Its brazen acts of resource theft in countries such as Syria serve two purposes: To reap colossal profits through the appropriation of valuable resources and deprive disobedient governments of vital resources.

According to Syria's official data released in 2022, direct losses resulting from thefts committed by the military and supporting forces on Syrian territory totaled $25.9 billion. Of these, a staggering $19.8 billion dollars can be attributed to the looting of oil, gas, and mineral resources, while an additional $3.3 billion resulted from the vandalizing and ransacking of facilities.

This deliberate resource plundering deprives what it views as disobedient governments of vital resources, denting their endeavors to upgrade infrastructure, improve the lives of their citizens, and pursue national development.

The US has also fleeced impoverished Afghanistan, freezing its overseas assets since 2021, and is scheming to redirect these resources for its own purposes. Besides, it has been seizing Iranian oil tankers on international trade routes, surreptitiously bringing Iranian oil back to the US for sale and attempting to legitimize this act of robbery as "imports". Local people are the victims as the US pursues profits and its political agenda through these blatant robberies.

Throughout the protracted Syrian crisis, the loss of life has been horrendous, with at least 350,000 casualties recorded and a significant portion of adults enduring poverty below the breadline. Two-thirds of the population relies on humanitarian aid as a lifeline, while over half lack reliable access to food, leaving them vulnerable to hunger and insecurity. Standing in front of a mirror of truth, Washington would see itself revealed as a despicable plunderer.