‘In November 2000 Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for his
oil. His arrogance was a threat to the dollar; his lack of any military might
was never a threat. At the first cabinet meeting with the new administration in
2001, as reported by Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the major topic was how
we would get rid of Saddam Hussein – though there was no evidence whatsoever he
posed a threat to us. This deep concern for Saddam Hussein surprised and
shocked O’Neill. 

It now is common knowledge that
the immediate reaction of the administration after 9/11 revolved around how
they could connect Saddam Hussein to the attacks, to justify an invasion and
overthrow of his government. Even with no evidence of any connection to 9/11,
or evidence of weapons of mass destruction, public and congressional support
was generated through distortions and flat out misrepresentation of the facts
to justify overthrowing Saddam Hussein. 

There was no public talk of
removing Saddam Hussein because of his attack on the integrity of the dollar as
a reserve currency by selling oil in Euros. Many believe this was the real
reason for our obsession with Iraq. I doubt it was the only reason, but it may
well have played a significant role in our motivation to wage war. Within a
very short period after the military victory, all Iraqi oil sales were carried
out in dollars. The Euro was abandoned. 

In 2001, Venezuela’s ambassador
to Russia spoke of Venezuela switching to the Euro for all their oil sales.
Within a year there was a coup attempt against Chavez, reportedly with
assistance from our CIA. 

After these attempts to nudge the
Euro toward replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency were met with
resistance, the sharp fall of the dollar against the Euro was reversed. These
events may well have played a significant role in maintaining dollar dominance. 

It’s become clear the U.S.
administration was sympathetic to those who plotted the overthrow of Chavez,
and was embarrassed by its failure. The fact that Chavez was democratically
elected had little influence on which side we supported. 

Now, a new attempt is being made
against the petrodollar system. Iran, another member of the “axis of evil,” has
announced her plans to initiate an oil bourse in March of this year. Guess
what, the oil sales will be priced Euros, not dollars.’ 

The End of Dollar Hegemony