ago as I was reseraching other issues. Though it is the copy of a post dated December 15, 2005 there are key points that were new to me and might be new discoveries for others in the readership.
Extracted from a post at Peak Oil News hopefully it can bring some insights that have developed since mid-December.
If you find it old and outdated then perhaps you will please excuse and overlook its entry?
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Petrodollar Warfare Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar
World-wire.com
The invasion of Iraq may well be remembered as the first oil currency war. Far from being a response to 9-11 terrorism or Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, William R. Clark's new book, Petrodollar Warfare Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar, argues that the invasion was precipitated by two converging phenomena: the imminent peak in global oil production, and the ascendance of the euro currency.
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 currency trade 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.
Meticulously researched by Clark, a Project Censored Award Winning Author, Petrodollar Warfare examines U.S. dollar hegemony and the unsustainable macroeconomics of 'petrodollar recycling,' pointing out that the issues underlying the Iraq War also apply to geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and other countries including the member states of the European Union (EU), Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.
The author warns that without changing course, the American Experiment will end the way all empires end - with military over-extension and subsequent economic decline. 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.
A sober call for an end to aggressive U.S. unilateralism, Petrodollar Warfare is a unique contribution to the debate about the future global political economy.
About the Author: William Clark has received two Project Censored awards, first in 2003 for his ground-breaking research on the Iraq War, oil currency conflict, and U.S. geostrategy and again in 2005 for his research on Iran's upcoming euro-denominated oil bourse. (Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Stories, Seven Stories Press). He is an Information Security Analyst at Argosy Omnimedia, and holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Information and Telecommunication Systems from Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Rockville, Maryland.
288 pages 6 x 9" Current Affairs / Political Science & Government / Finance Pb ISBN 0-86571-514-9 US$17.95 / Can$24.95
Advanced Praise for Petrodollar Warfare
While the economic advantages accruing to American elites from US dollar hegemony have been mostly hidden from view, the impending end of dollar supremacy will affect everyone in obvious, painful ways. In this riveting macro-economic investigation, William Clark guides us through the hidden history of the petrodollar era and deftly uncovers the basis of current US strategy in the Middle East. If you think you understand the headlines, think again: current events can only be understood when we follow the money.
This sobering book not only elucidates our past and present, but shows the way toward global monetary reform. As Clark makes clear, America's founding ideals can only be fulfilled if the people of the US are willing to confront the twin demons of proto-fascism and kleptocracy.
- Richard Heinberg, author of The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies, and Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World
It is clear to almost all informed observers that both the US and the world are entering new, dangerous, and quite uncharted territory, especially now that questions about global oil supplies have exploded into mainstream prominence. All of this leads to an ever more complex world with no simple explanations, and nowhere is this more true than the tragic interplay between oil, politics, and money.
Petrodollar Warfare is therefore to be greatly welcomed, since William Clark's book provides a badly needed, carefully researched explanation of the deep and dark mechanisms underlying international movements of money and military forces. Clark tells the fascinating and distressing story of how America achieved world dominance and looks with tough honesty and realism at what the future might hold. If Petrodollar Warfare's bold analysis can help more Americans to understand the current pathology of their own extraordinary country, then it will assist both the world and America to find a better path into a less violent and energy-addicted future.
- Julian Darley, founder of Global Public Media and the Post Carbon Institute, author of High Noon for Natural Gas: The New Energy Crisis and Relocalize Now! Getting Ready for Climate Change and the End of Cheap Oil.