thanks for your reply godfry and sorry about my snap.
your second comment was more what I was hoping for. I have found many sources it is hard to know which ones to link first.
the relationship between the countries that are switching to euros (all called "axis of evil") and the reaction of the US is IMO undeniable. It is one of the key points of starting the thread and I don't want it to get lost in the debate over what currency is.
Quote:
"Axis of Evil"
Another under-reported story from this summer regarding the other OPEC
"Axis of Evil" country and their interest in selling oil in euros is Iran.
"Iran's proposal to receive payments for crude oil sales to Europe in euros
instead of US dollars is based primarily on economics, Iranian and industry
sources said. But politics are still likely to be a factor in any decision,
they said, as Iran uses the opportunity to hit back at the US government,
which recently labeled it part of an 'axis of evil'." (Gutman, Roy & Barry,
John, Beyond Baghdad: Expanding Targeting List)
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Quote:
Incidentally, the final "Axis of Evil" country, North Korea, recently
decided to officially drop the dollar and begin using euros for trade,
effective December 7, 2002. Unlike the OPEC-producers, their switch will
have negligible economic impact, but it illustrates the geopolitical
fallout of the President Bush's harsh rhetoric.
Even more alarming, and completely unreported in the US media, are some
monetary shifts in the reserve funds of foreign governments away from the
dollar with movements towards the euro (China, Venezuela, some OPEC
producers and last week Russia flushed some of their dollars for euros).
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how does oil affect the economy?
Quote:
"One of the dirty little secrets of today's international order is that the
rest of the globe could topple the United States from its hegemonic status
whenever they so choose with a concerted abandonment of the dollar
standard.
"This is America's preeminent, inescapable Achilles Heel for now and the
foreseeable future.
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these quotes come from
here unfortunately an archived article. many sources can be found by googling.
example
another interesting
item:
Quote:
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Last year the former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia told a committee of the US Congress: 'One of the major things the Saudis have historically done, in part out of friendship with the United States, is to insist that oil continues to be priced in dollars. Therefore, the US Treasury can print money and buy oil, which is an advantage no other country has. With the emergence of other currencies and with strains in the relationship, I wonder whether there will not again be, as there have been in the past, people in Saudi Arabia who raise the question of why they should be so kind to the United States.'
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