Oil, war and the future of the American Economy.
I just started reading this book “Petrodollar Warfare“. William R. Clark argues that the invasion of Iraq was precipitated by two converging phenomena: the imminent peak in global oil production, and the ascendance of the euro currency as opposed to a response to 9-11 terrorism or Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction as the U.S. government would have us believe. This meticulously researched book is helping me to put the pieces together in my mind.Energy analysts agree that world oil supplies are about to peak, after which there will be a steady decline in supplies of oil. Iraq, possessing the world’s second largest oil reserves, was therefore already a target of U.S. geostrategic interests. Together with the fact that Iraq had switched its oil export currency to euros — rather than U.S. dollars — the Bush administration’s unreported aim was to prevent further OPEC momentum in favor of the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency standard.
He recommends the multilateral pursuit of both energy and monetary reforms within a United Nations framework to create a more balanced global energy and monetary system thereby reducing the possibility of future oil-depletion and oil currency-related warfare.
And as long as we’re making this important connection, its worth noting that Iran just opened up a petroleum exchange based on euros.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/14-05-2006/80261-iran_oil-0
Uh-oh.
Along the same lines, I’d recommend taking a look at Michael Klare’s work. He’s defense correspondent of The Nation and author of Resource Wars and Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Petroleum Dependency.
http://pawss.hampshire.edu/klare/
I’m just finishing Blood and Oil and think that it’s particularly insightful even if a little dire.