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Sunday, 23 March 2003
It's blood for dollars, not oil ::
The real reasons America is invading Iraq - theage.com.au:
It would be fatal to America’s global strategic ambitions if countries in Europe began to ask for euros instead of US dollars for their exports, or if China demanded settlement of their accounts with the US in yuan instead of US dollars. The US would have to redirect domestic demand for imported goods paid for in dollar-denominated IOUs into exports to earn yuan and euros to pay for US imports.
...
In 2000, Saddam’s regime had the temerity to demand payment in euros for the trickle of Iraqi oil the US has allowed onto the international market. Iran and Venezuela are following Iraq’s example. This is the real threat to US hegemony.
...
Bush personifies the American quest for absolute security. Americans don’t yet understand or care that this status can only be achieved by making everybody else absolutely insecure.
This is why the most lasting thing to come out of the war with Iraq is likely to be the faster development of a unified Western Europe and an economically powerful China to challenge US hegemony.
Via a friend whose brother works for an oil company: the absence of Iraqi oil on the world market since the Gulf War has not had much of an effect on oil prices. Iraqi oil is not particularly high-quality; it’s just so plentiful and cheap that the additional refining costs are worthwhile.
References:
More on petro-dollars (24 March 2003)
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