Petrodollar Warfare: Oil, Iraq and the Future of the Dollar

After a winter of overheated rhetorical sparring with Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency, under duress from the United States, refers Iran to the UN Security Council. America pushes hard for a resolution to order Iran to abandon its nuclear program, but China resists and Russia sits smugly on the sidelines.

US President Bush warns that Iran’s actions threaten the security of the United States and its allies, and that Iran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear energy program presents a grave and gathering danger. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounces American hypocrisy and expresses again his desire to wipe Israel off the map.
America threatens a military offensive. In protest, Iran shuts off all oil exports to the west. Oil spikes over $100 a barrel, and Israel launches a missile strike against Iran’s uranium conversion facility in Isfahan.

While sitting in line to buy gas at $2.50 a litre, you’re scratching your head, wondering what the hell’s going on and terrified over what will happen next.

Raise the Hammer