Robert Fisk: A financial revolution with profound political implications
Such large financial movements will have major political effects in the Middle East
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Independent Minds
The plan to de-dollarise the oil market, discussed both in public and in secret for at least two years and widely denied yesterday by the usual suspects – Saudi Arabia being, as expected, the first among them – reflects a growing resentment in the Middle East, Europe and in China at America's decades-long political as well as economic world dominance.
Nowhere has this more symbolic importance than in the Middle East, where the United Arab Emirates alone holds $900bn (£566bn) of dollar reserves and where Saudi Arabia has been quietly co-ordinating its defence, armaments and oil policies with the Russians since 2007.
This does not indicate a trade war with America – not yet – but Arab Gulf regimes have been growing increasingly restive at their economic as well as political dependence on Washington for many years. Of the $7.2 trillion in international reserves, $2.1trn is held by Arab countries – China holds about $2.3trn – and the nations interested in moving away from dollar-trading in oil are believed to hold over 80 per cent of international dollar reserves.
Saudi Arabia's denials of any such ambitions were regarded by Arab bankers as a normal part of Gulf politics. The Saudis, of course, managed to deny that Iraq had invaded Kuwait in 1990 – even when Saddam Hussein's legions stood along the Saudi frontier, until the US broadcast the news of Iraq's aggression to the world.
Saudi bankers are well aware that in nine years' time – the current timeframe for a transition away from the dollar in oil trading to Japanese and Chinese currencies, the euro, gold and a possible new Gulf currency – China will have doubled its national income to $10trn (assuming a growth rate of 7 per cent), at which point the US might hold no more than 20 per cent of the world's gross income.
Such massive financial movements, encouraged by the de-dollarisation of oil, will have enormous political effects in the Middle East, especially if economic superpower rivalry between America and China comes to dominate the Arab world. Will American economic support for Israel remain as loyal in nine years' time if China and the Arabs are setting the pace in global financial markets? Indeed – perhaps with this in mind – some Israeli financiers have been expressing interest over the past two years in non-dollar Arab bank investments. Whenever a change of this magnitude takes place over a number of years, it has to be commenced in secrecy.
Nor can it be denied that the very project to take oil trading away from the dollar market has deep political roots. The collapse of the Soviet Union has allowed the US to dominate the Middle East more than any other world region, and the Arabs – who can no longer contemplate an oil boycott of the kind they imposed on the West after the 1973 Middle East war – are still anxious to prove that they can flex their economic power to bring about change.
Saudi Arabia's pan-Arab offer to recognise Israel and its security in return for an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab land is not – according to the Saudis themselves – indefinite. If they are ignored or rebuffed, then they can search for other allies through new financial institutions to force a new Middle East peace. China will be happy to help.
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Comments
Might be, but for most of the developing and Muslim world it is unlikely to be any worst than under the US umbrella, in fact, up to now the Chinese have been approaching their external business affairs with great diplomacy.
May be, but for most of the developing and Muslim world it is unlikely to be any worst than under the US rule, in fact, up to now the Chinese have been approaching their external business affairs with great diplomacy.
Did you really think that if all those countries were really going to ditch the dollar, they would be putting their entire foreign reserves at risk by leaking the news to you? If the rumor you peddled were really true, it would be you lying in a ditch before you ever got the story out Fisk, not the dollar.
There are two other choices: a two-state solution with Israel as a Jewish state within the 1967 borders, or a one-state solution of a greater Israel but also either secular or multicultural Israel. Which has the advantage of no squabbles over territory, and greater safety for Jewish citizens. But they have to give up or compromise establishment, which will require a real leader. But time is rapidly running out, and they're stuck with Bibi, tant pis pour eux.
stat of Palestine is a fool because Israel is swallowing the the land fast,putting elements on the west bank and jerusalem,giving "Green land " as in Baghdad ,call it Palestine stat, it only like "Getto".
all of this is just buy time to finish what Zionist started 1968 ,one year after when took Jerusalem & west bank .
west and USA wanted to wash their hands and ask Arab countries to pay to PA,to do the job to secure Israel by the hand of Palestinians who are trained in (west,Cairo,Jordan).
we say cook the food with it's own oil!..i.e free of charge!
Officials deny UK media report on move from dollar
Associated Press
Kuwait's oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah, said there have been no talks on the topic among Gulf oil ministers. "At our level, no," he said. "I didn't even dream about it."
And the head of the United Arab Emirates' central bank, Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi, said the Gulf nation has no plans to stop pricing oil in dollars. "There has been no meeting ... whatsoever," he told The Associated Press, adding that the dollar "will continue as the price for oil."
"Some stories will run and run and this morning's report regarding a possible replacement of the dollar as the exchange currency for oil is another chapter in the plot against the dollar as the world's most dominant reserve currency," said Jane Foley, research director at Forex.com.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, dismissed the newspaper report as "not even serious" but did reiterate Russia's recent policy of multiplying the amount of reserve currencies "to ease the burden on a single world currency and save ourselves from another crisis."
Hans Redeker, global head of foreign exchange strategy at BNP Paribas, said Saudi Arabia, which has the biggest oil reserves, will be the key country when discussing which currencies oil should be factored in.
"What investors should not forget is that Saudi Arabia has an interest to keep the U.S. strong and involved in the region," he said.
"Switching the dollar for a basket of currencies for commodity factoring would weaken the U.S. additionally, which would be against the interest of Saudi Arabia," he added.
Busted??? Not nearly.
Senile and stating the obvious? Most likely.
Of course everyone accused will deny. They still hold their reserves in Dollars, until they are divested they arent going to come out and say the Dollar is doomed. Why devalue currency you currently hold, even if you are hot to lose it. What makes your gloating even more unseemly is this is OLD news. I'm sorry did I say "OLD" I meant to say OOOOOOOOLLLLLDDDDDDD news. AS I stated in yesterday's comments, Fisk's "revelation" that their might be an economic war in the MIddle East is hilariously NOT a revelation. The Project for a New American Century identified the region as the new economic war zone over 10 years ago. As early as 2004 Krugman stated the real reason for the Iraq invasion was petrodollar warfare. This IS what Fisk is talking about right? However we must give credit where credit is due. Nobody cared when all that other stuff happened but MR Fisk here seems to have single handedly delivered the death blow to the dollar.Now we just watch it squirm and moan until it stops convulsing.
I can bring just as many links to articles, that I have read in the past couple of years, that do talk about Middle Eastern countries wanting to get away from the dollar in oil trading. Just after the United States brought economic catastrophe to the world if you would have read the headlines many countries then a talked about moving away from the dollar.
I think you're getting your misinformation and propaganda from Israel or a singular European country AKA Britain, because here in the United States they're taking this threat very seriously. And you should hear the NAZI/right wing radio talk shows, talking about all these evil countries that want to bring down America financially.
As other economies such as the BRIC group, Brazil, Russia, India and China continue to grow, the share of world trade by the US will inevitably decline.
A basket of currencies from these nations will replace the dollar, as did the ECU which in turn lead on to the euro.
http://senseorsensibility.com
But...yesterday, while watching the news. I was shocked to see the maniacal reaction of the Gulf countries in response to what Mr. Fisk has written. Their behavior really tells that they were truely conducting secret meeting.
They were caught off guard, maybe they didnt have time to plan a smart response.
If they remained silent, this would've passed with not much noise.
With the USA trampling around the Muslim world with heavy-duty boots on, killing many hunderds of thousands, what other option do the middle east govs have? Their residents are getting pissed off with the USA facing puppet-muppet leaders and kings. So its either face the USA or internal revolutions - like the Shah of Iran did...
What is the definition of occupied Arab land? When Israel withdrew from Gaza four years ago, the reward was several thousand rockets fired into southern Israel.
While we dazzle the world with our colour, glitter and fade away, like blood thirsty vampires more are needed to feed it's hunger for blood of slaves.
Try and see the big picture, search for the sayings from which to learn wisdom, know the light rather than see the light, observe the good rather than know the good, learn the truth rather than defend the truth.
Knowledge, power and wisdom,
science, art, classic
The Omniscient, The Omnipotent, the Omnipresent
Angelic knowledge, Demonic powers, human wisdom
In this is proof for anyone who seeks the light of rationality, in this is news that everything has a reason, rather than no reason.
Try to see the big picture, rather than focussing on particulars.
Pakistan time to fight the West, time to fight those who say God is poor we are rich, time to fight and to say in return we are poor God is rich. Fight on the poors side, do not fight against them, God only changes the condition of a people who will to change. So will that you wish to change,and God will guide you.
Peace
Refuse to say God bless you, or God damn it, these are Christian talk, that have no relevance in Submission, say instead auzubillah, la quwate illa billah. God Protect me, no one possesses power except God.
2. The back up for severe medical cancer cases is from ISRAEL
3. The 200 DAILY trucks bringing food and clothing ARE from ISRAEL ECT ECT ECT
The hamas tunnels via egypt are well known are are part of the NONSIEGE SITUATION
The desire for some that while waging war with Israel the hamas should be supplied by all comfort goods as it desires is riduculus ... teddy bears are not essensial to life but to well being.
You make the Israelis look like the good guys - its a good PR stunt but does reflect the situation in Gaza.
Stop all this crap about Israel. The world knows all about Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians...
keep the arab free to use all currents available.
why should UK pay for oil by $?
Europe pay for oil by $?
some one say pay to us by my currency?Riyal,Egyptian pounds...etc.
Many powers are dreaming of filling the void that the dollar is creating, commentators on this thread seem to think that western powers are doing all in their power to fix the situation, the problem is the lack of central coordination. In the US 500 elected officials face an army of +40000 lobbyists, an industry with a quarter of a million workers. Thus western recovery resembles a compromise, which is not going well for the average Joe, who was not invited to the NAU seminars his corporate opponents had the privilege to attend.
My browser still wants to correct the writing for words like NAU, amero, and the SCO. Words that Fisk's emotional critiques would do well in researching.
In Hertzl's 'The Jewish State' the father of Zionism said: "We must investigate and take possession of the new Jewish country by means of every modern expedient." I guess I agree with Ehud Barak ( 3 June 1998) when he said, "If I were a Palestinian, I'd also join a terror group." I'd go a step further perhaps. Rather than throwing little stones in desperation, I'd hurdle a boulder.
Hopefully, somewhere deep inside, every Jew of conscience knows that this was no war; that this was not God's restitution of the holy land to it rightful owners. We know that a human atrocity was and continues to be perpetuated against an innocent people who couldn't come up with the arms and money to defend themselves against the western powers bent upon their demise as a people.
We cannot continue to say, "But what were we to do?" Zionism is not synonymous with Judaism. I wholly support the rally of the right of return of the Palestinian people. here.
Zionism is hurting themselves only.
why Jews go to their fate?
God gave them the temporary power to take their fate in the future.
[info]freedon4sale wrote:
Friday, 9 October 2009 at 09:51 am (UTC)
fin-d-fin....
all of them who you call "them " are one or two..!them come with 20 manes in the post,I know them very well,i did reach in the past,who send letters and email to congress men who creitise Israel,"them" were 10 of 12 coating 10000 people !
so it is one of Zionist fraud....to fool the media.
Rabin was unable to sleep in his house ;he had night mare from GAZA.
if Abbass did the same as what Gaza did,then west bank will be free,but stupid(traitor) Abbass giving Israel free security,protect Israel from Goldstone report to give his son the Mobile phone agency.
Late last week, the United Nations Human Rights Council considered a resolution to send a UN report on war crimes committed during the Gaza war to the UN General Assembly for possible action. Instead, Palestinian diplomats said they would agree to delay the vote until March.
What is the price that Abbass got from USA to do so?
Abbass should go for ever if USA really believe in democracy!
this is hypocrisy not democracy..!
I remember that when "Black head" shawkofe came to SAK sitting infront of King fahid telling what prince sultan had said about Iraq taking over Kiwit,saying oil with Kiwit or with Iraq is the same.that was not suitable to USA who were planing to take over the aria,USA gave satellite photo showing Iraqi forces to SA borders,it was one of the USA lies. to justy the king to "invite" USA on Land of SA.
The kings of the world will be adulterating the women(Jerusalem) making gold out of her!
The one who drink from beast pool will drink blood from that pool....!
read the revelation in full!
who ever does not listen to beast will be hit by hot balls from Sky!but they will be hidden in the mountains and caves.