Iranian Oil Exchange
                 …Declaration of War?

by Chris Cumming

News media around the world have been touting Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its threats to Israel and US interests in the region, but Iran is about to unleash another weapon of mass destruction.  It is called the Iranian Oil Bourse, a new oil exchange scheduled to commence trading oil in euros beginning the 20th of March.  Its goal is to make Iran the main hub for oil deals in the Middle East.

This will set in motion a series of events, which will see all the major countries emptying their central banks of US currency in favor of euros, a reshaping of the global monetary system, the collapse of the US economy and a shift of power from the US to Western Europe (the EU).  It may, in all probability, force the US into another war that would include the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Most people in the US, Canada, Australia and other western democracies are unaware that this was the primary reason for invading Iraq.  It is a documented fact that Saddam Hussein had switched to euros for the purchase of Iraqi oil.  This move would probably have been followed by other OPEC nations doing the same and threatening the US economy.  Garner Ted Armstrong stated this as far back as April 2003 and before.  In his news commentary, “It’s All About Oil” he stated:

“Meanwhile, as I have written previously, there could be a major, underlying reason for Bush’s adamant insistence that Iraq will undergo a regime change. That reason is found in the move Iraq made prior to the war to sell its dollars and buy euros, and demand that henceforth all oil payments be made in euros. If Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela and all of OPEC were to also insist upon payment in euros, it would flood the global economies with dollars, dropping the currencies’ value to around 40 to 50 per cent. That would mean the collapse of the US economy!
 

“Is a subliminal message being sent to the other oil producers – ‘do not demand payment in euros’?”

We have posted a number of commentaries on the EU staggering in its desired goal toward superpower status.  If the central banks in key nations around the world [China, Russian, Saudi Arabia, etc.] begin filling with euros for the purchase of oil, this could swiftly turn things around.  In another related commentary, Mr. Armstrong proclaimed, “One of the major features of the coming BEAST power to arise in Europe is that of its ECONOMY!”

Though US media is rarely speaking to these unfolding events, news sources from around the world are speaking of little else.  Notice these as we look at some of the key elements of this coming currency war of dollars vs. euros.

Importance of the dollar to the US Empire

In an article by Mike Whitney, “Doomsday for the Greenback,” he writes, “America’s capital is not in Washington DC. In fact, it is not geographic location at all. It is the greenback, the epicenter of the global rule. The dollar is the cornerstone upon which the mighty pillars of empire rest.”

Since the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971, the dollar has been propped by the fact that America monopolizes the oil trade.  Oil is denominated in dollars and primarily sold on either the New York Mercantile Exchange or London’s International Petroleum Exchange, both owned by Americans.  This forces the central banks around the world to maintain huge stockpiles of dollars.  These stockpiles of dollars make possible the more than eight TRILLION dollars of debt the US carries.  If the dollar is replaced by euros, the value of the dollar will drop to around fifty percent or one hundred percent inflation overnight.  The American and British economies would surely collapse.  In an article in the Woodstock Sentinel-Review I read, “While this [switch to euros for oil] would benefit the nations, it would hasten the shift of currency reserves out of the US dollar, prick the property and stock market bubbles and create a depression in the United States.”

William Clark, in his book, “Petrodollar Warfare” states the new Iranian bourse would compete head-on with the New York Mercantile Exchange and London’s International Petroleum Exchange.  In another article by Mike Whitney, “Iran’s Oil Exchange threatens the Greenback” we read:

“The Bush administration will never allow the Iranian government to open an oil exchange (bourse) that trades petroleum in euros. If that were to happen, hundreds of billions of dollars would come flooding back to the United States crushing the greenback and destroying the economy. This is why Bush and Co. are planning to lead the nation to war against Iran. It is straightforward defense of the current global system and the continuing dominance of the reserve currency, the dollar.”

The US has been engaging in brute force to insure the dollar remains the currency of oil.

The War in Iraq

William Clark, in an article published by the Centre for Research on Globalization: “It is now obvious that the invasion of Iraq had less to do with any threat from Saddam’s long-gone weapons of mass destruction program and certainly less to do with fighting international terrorism than it has to do with gaining control over Iraq’s hydrocarbon [oil] reserves and, in doing so, maintaining the U.S. dollar as the monopoly currency for the critical international oil trade.”

Another quote by Mike Whitney in his article, “Doomsday for the Greenback,” “The main impetus for the war was not petroleum, but greenbacks and the future of a currency that is underwritten by $8 trillion of debt.”

Vice President Dick Cheney is reported to have said that the country that controls Middle East oil can exercise a “stranglehold” over the global economy.  Was this a slip of the tongue?  If this is true for one country, it can be true for another.  The switch to euros would have other developing superpowers exercising this stranglehold.

The Move to the Euro

The US, of course, is not the only country thirsty for oil.  Europe imports more oil from the Middle East than the US.  Other rising powers such as Japan and most notably, China are increasing their demands for oil.  In addition, the Middle East, China, Japan and Russia are increasing their trade with the EU.  Both Russia and China began accumulating euros into their central banks some years back.  They see the true underlying impetus for our war in Iraq and its threat of intervention in Iran.  This is increasingly not in their best interest and the US is coming to stand more and more alone in its declared war on terrorism.  They are all showing signs of wanting to move away from the depreciating dollar.  Iran sees the oil exchange as the right move at the right time.  Garner Ted Armstrong saw this coming way back in March of 2003 in his news commentary, “Will OPEC Bankrupt the US?”  In it he states:

“Following suit, Iran has already begun converting the bulk of its central bank assets to the euro. Will it also begin asking for euros in return for the sale of oil?

 

“Not surprisingly, North Korea has joined in, beginning to switch from dollars to euros in its trade. Again, this is most likely a punitive measure. Venezuela is reportedly thinking about doing the same thing; demanding euros, not dollars, for its oil. It is a major oil exporter. But most ominously of all, it was during the April 14th, 2002 meeting of OPEC (oil producing and exporting countries) ministers in Spain, that some began saying they were interested in leaving the dollar for the euro.”

Are We Going To War With Iran?

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker magazine in January last year that the Bush administration had been "conducting secret reconnaissance missions inside Iran" to gather intelligence and targeting information.

In an editorial by Senior Editor, Joe Baker, “Iraq issues: Atoms or oil?” he states, “Cheney reportedly has told the Pentagon to be ready to launch a tactical nuclear attack on Iran in the event of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, even if Iran has no connection to the attack.”  Intelligence analyst Philip Giraldi stated the same thing in his article, “In Case of Emergency, Nuke Iran,” published in “The American Conservative.”  Once again in Mike Whitney’s article on doomsday for the greenback, “The world is preparing for a seismic shift in the global power-structure, but Washington believes it can forestall that change through military force.”


I see no way the US can allow Iran to launch this oil exchange.  The US may be looking at the fact they must go to war with Iran as its only way to survive economically.

What Will Happen Now?

For possibly the first time in its history, the US may be in a no-win scenario.  If it does nothing and the Iranian Oil Exchange starts a domino effect of central banks around the world switching to euros, the US economy could collapse.  If we go ahead with an attack, we threaten the economies of several nations who depend on Iranian oil.  Last summer, Russian President Putin promised a military response to any outside aggression against Iran.  We could easily see EU forces streaming into the Middle East in an attempt to secure both oil and to secure peace in the region.  The Vatican would certainly get involved.  In any case, countries would surely retaliate by dumping the dollar.

William Clark warns that without changing course, the American Experiment will end the way all empires end – with military over-extension and subsequent economic decline.  With the possible exception of North America, all eyes are on Iran and what happens on or before 20 March 2006.  Editor:  See the news stories here to see what has happened since 20 March 2006,

 

See Stories Used in this Commentary here

Breaking News Stories
Go here for the latest news stories on this subject. –news story added 2 May 2008
 

Further reading:
See Word From, The Euro...the New World Currency?
See Word from, Oil Crisis...is the World about to be Shocked? 
See Word from, "Is Iran an Immediate Threat?"  – "War With Iran Soon?"

See article: "Iraq and the hidden euro-dollar wars"
See article: "The Endangered US Dollar" 

See Word From, “It’s All About Oil”
See Word From, "Will OPEC Bankrupt The US?"  
See Word From, "Is A Global Economic Meltdown Underway?"
See Word From, "Global Financial Meltdown...Now Near?"

See Booklet, "Long-Term Economic, Political, And Religious Impact Of War With Iraq"