ARABS PLOT TO DROP DOLLAR

Ah, you beat me to it. That was to be my next subject. Congrats!

This will cause great consternation in DC and on Wall St and everywhere that dollars must be traded for oil...which forces foreign central banks to hold or buy dollars when they wish to purchase oil.

Saudia Arabia alone produces between ~ 8 - 12 billion bbls of oil per day, depending on quotas set by OPEC...the quotas are usually disregarded to one extent or another, depending on current prices for oil. Our agreement with the Saudis was to provide US military protection if they would sell oil only for dollars. Actually, this arrangement is the backbone of dollar world reserve currency status, or dollar hegemony if you prefer. Bretton Woods was a lot of talk...but the 'only dollars for oil' was the big one.

This will also put the 'Carter Doctrine' back in the headlines...or, it would if the US main stream media were worth a whit...which they are not.

...among other things the Carter Doctrine contained this key sentence (written by Zbigniew Brzezinski)...'Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.'

Question: is the phrase 'gain control of the Persian Gulf Region' limited to military control...or does the phrase encompass economic control as well?

The remainder of the Carter Doctrine can be found at this WIKI site... LINK

'Damn this looks bad if completely true.'

I would not give it much credibility except for the author...Robert Fisk. He is very intelligent, an independent thinker, has covered every war from the front lines since his career as a journalist began, and has my respect for his reporting on the debacle that would become the Iraq war before the Iraq war began...in fact, Fisk was in Baghdad reporting live when the US tanks rolled into that city...The last interview I heard him give on tv was during the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon and Fisk was living in Beruit at the time...he was having tea on his patio while Israeli aircraft bombed the neighborhood surrounding him. I do not believe Fisk would put his name on a bs article.

Fisk is not a WHOGAS, iow.

'Yeah some of the major news outlets are reporting it as well. So its very likely true. Now what fallout occurs from this? That's beyond my base, so I'll yield to teh "experts".'

I am certainly not an expert but I do follow oil news enough to play in oil commodities occasionally. Instead of commenting I will quote a couple of more paragraphs from Fisk's Independent article...

'The Americans, who are aware the meetings have taken place – although they have not discovered the details – are sure to fight this international cabal which will include hitherto loyal allies Japan and the Gulf Arabs. Against the background to these currency meetings, Sun Bigan, China's former special envoy to the Middle East, has warned there is a risk of deepening divisions between China and the US over influence and oil in the Middle East. "Bilateral quarrels and clashes are unavoidable," he told the Asia and Africa Review. "We cannot lower vigilance against hostility in the Middle East over energy interests and security."'

...but it's this paragraph that holds the key sentence...caps mine...

'This sounds like a dangerous prediction of a future economic war between the US and China over Middle East oil – yet again turning the region's conflicts into a battle for great power supremacy. China uses more oil incrementally than the US because its growth is less energy efficient. THE TRANSITIONAL CURRENCY IN THE MOVE AWAY FROM DOLLARS, ACCORDING TO CHINESE BANKING SOURCES, MAY WELL BE GOLD. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.'

...me again...Back when China disclosed that they were stockpiling gold, and Russia admitted to gold stockpiling shortly afterward, I posted a muse...'What if the Chinese issue a new currency backed by gold?'...I also speculated that there would probably be some movement out of all fiat currencies (backed by nothing) into any new currency backed by gold...It was simply a wild azz guess on my part...a 'what if' moment. IMO, this is the biggest macro economic story so far this year if it's true...because of the follow on events that will spring from the actions of oil producers accepting something other than dollars for oil.

This is a crossover story...poli board/money talk...imo...

Just checked spot gold...$1,020.50...not at all a meteoric rise since US mkts closed yesterday but a solid move up.

Way past my bed time...nite all...

'I am really in your brain, aren't I?'

No, you are simply a fascinating specimen of what every child in America and the world should strive to avoid becoming.

Here is some news for you azz hat...from Bloomberg 30 seconds ago...

Gold value $1,040.70 change up $22.90 % change 2.25

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and it will leave stocks so far behind that they will not be visible in the rear view mirror...

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I've been hearing that from gold bugs like you for 20 years. It hasn't happened yet.

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The Titanic sank only once...but it did sink.

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Dumb analogy, fwiw.

(Please be sure to show this post to your wife.)

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So you are saying that you don't believe outlier events can happen? You do not believe that a black swan can happen? If so, you are a bigger fool than I dreamed possible.

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I am so glad that book was written to give you something vague to hang your hat on everytime something happens. You second handers love vaguery (may have made that word up W style).

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Saudia Arabia alone produces between ~ 8 - 12 billion bbls of oil per day, depending on quotas set by OPEC.

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Ummmm no.

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Ummmm no.

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Good catch. That's what I get for not reading Rivers' long posts.