Category Archives: Litani River

Very Short Observations IV

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The knowledge is intentionally withheld that the EU nations use dollars, not euros, in trade among themselves, as well as with other nations. It is amazing and true. So, the dollar is not only the petro-dollar, but the official currency of international trade. The most important world trade is in oil, and until now, it has been traded in dollars. Most international debt is also denominated in dollars. The dollar is used as the chief instrument of enforcing sanctions against nations who do not follow US policy. The dollar is the Thunder Bolt of Zeus that I mentioned in my earlier posts from 2015-16.

But the exceptionality of this currency which makes the US the exceptional nation may be coming to an end. China will be trading oil in the yuan, convertible to gold. Oil nations will be able to sell their oil for the yuan on the Shanghai Exchange, avoiding dollars. The yuan will be freely exchangeable for gold. Many oil nations will flock to the “Petro-Yuan”. This new development is of great geo-economic significance. Venezuela, for instance, would be able to sell its heavy crude from Lake Maracaibo for yuan. How the US will react to this challenge remains to be revealed. Will the US react aggressively to China?

A commodity that is necessary for all life on Earth is water. Mother Nature provides us water free of charge. Fortunate are those nations or people who have an abundance of it. Those nations who feel they are powerful enough are willing to go to war to get it. The countries of the Mediterranean basin that have an abundance of water are the new republics of the former Yugoslavia. Other countries are Turkey, Lebanon, and possibly Syria because of the two rivers that flow through North East Syria from Turkey: the Euphrates and the Tigris, which touches Syria as it leaves Turkey and enters Iraq.

Countries that are water poor: Libya and Israel. Libya was intentionally destroyed in 2011, killing and sodomizing its leader, Gaddafi, in order to plunder its resources, especially its oil. Gaddafi wanted a gold dinar for all of Africa. Israel, a water-poor yet highly advanced country, whose water needs are increasing daily, needs a source of free water. Presently, Israel imports about 50% of its fresh water from Turkey. If a confrontation develops between Israel and Turkey, in the future, Turkey could shut off its water exports to Israel. De-salination is an inadequate substitute; it is also very expensive.

And so Lebanon beckons. To get the waters of Lebanon, war is inevitable. Hezbollah, whether one likes it or not, is the guardian of Lebanese independence vis a vis Israel, so war is inevitable. Israel experienced Hezbollah in 2006 war. Hezbollah is no joke.

Saudi Arabia is not a country in the normal sense of the word, because it is owned by 50,000 to 100,000 royals who take most of its oil wealth for their own personal use. But the Saudis are now in trouble. They’re losing their war in Yemen. Oil revenues are down. A confrontation with Iran looms in the distance. Internal dissension exists. The situation in the Saudi Arabia is precarious. They have pushed themselves into a Zugzwang situation. An alliance with Israel and the dismissal of the Lebanese prime minister are possibly related. The official dogma: Hezbollah and Iran have become mortal enemies of Israel and the Saudis. Big war is inevitable for water, oil, and hegemony of the Middle East and the world. The US and NATO will side with the Saudis and Israel, unconditionally; most of the rest of the world will side with the Palestinians, Hezbollah, and Iran. Will this war turn nuclear? Possibly!

The Ukraine cannot be ignored; it is on the verge of collapse. The Ukraine’s internal and external policies are totally absurd. For example, certain nationalists want to break diplomatic relations with Russia. Also, they are buying expensive  anthracite hard coal from the US rather than cheaper and better quality coal from Russia or Donbass for its power plants; Ukrainians will be freezing this winter! Also they are trying to mpose the Ukrainian language on minorities such as Hungarians and Russians. Kiev will gamble war in order to save itself; it will not work.

Contrary to Main Stream Media propaganda, the US economy is not doing well. Both, debt and stocks are precariously high. The EU not much better; just ask the Greeks.

Truly, a very precarious time; very unique in history!

Syrian War II

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The ISIS stage of the Syrian war is changing; the US approach is changing. In addition to supporting ISIS it has also thrown its support behind the Kurds of Syria and Iraq. The plan to partition Syria and Lebanon has not changed. The occult plan to remove Assad and Partition Syria should have been accomplished by the end of 2014 but plans did not pan out; even the poison gas trick did not work.

The plan to remove Assad and to implement “Partition Syria” is still the goal, except it now has a sense of urgency. Assad is still in power and the Syrian Army is getting stronger. Assad is resilient and tough like his father Hafez was. Hafez would not buckle under US pressure and recognize the State of Israel, as did Egypt under Anvar Al Sadat and Jordan in the Camp David Accords under President Jimmy Carter. Lebanon would also not recognize Israel. By recognizing Israel, Anwar Al Sadat paid with his life. He was assassinated in 1979.

Israel thought it could partition Lebanon by itself, and get the waters of Lebanon, especially the Litani River. Israel, like any other state, is not viable without an abundance of fresh water, and their attempt did not succeed. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon of 2006 failed. Hesbollah gave Israel a very bloody nose. Israel sustained heavy losses and was forced to withdraw. The US and Israel decided to dismember Syria by proxy and so the Islamic State, ISIS, was created. The Syrian war started in earnest in 2011, the year that Gaddafi of Libya was impaled and killed. Remember what Hillary said: “We came, we saw, and he died. Ha! Ha !” Sick mind. Putting a demented twist on Caesar’s immortal words: Vene, Vidi, Vici.

By 2013, they blamed Assad for a chemical attack; it didn’t work. By 2014, the slogan was: Assad must go. Assad did not go. Russian support of Syria increased as did Iranian and that of Hesbollah of Lebanon. With their help, Assad was able to liberate the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, as well as Aleppo. Israel would bomb the Syrian Army position in support of ISIS. Even during so called peace time, prior to 2011, Israeli jets would regularly fly over Damascus and the summer residence of the President of Syria; Syria would not respond.

The situation today is very critical. The US has realized that the only way to partition Syria is to establish an independent Kurdistan out of North East Syria and North East Iraq. The US has forces in Iraq not to help Iraq fight ISIS but to control it and to delay its victory over ISIS. Independent Iraq would help Assad and the US wants to prevent that; the Iraqis know that, Especially Muqtada al Sader and the Shias. The Syrian war is heating up. Turkey will not tolerate an independent Kurdish state in Syria and Iraq. Severe estrangement is developing between US and Turkey and Turkey will probably leave NATO and abandon the US.

The US shot down a Syrian jet over Syria, an independent state and member of UN. In all honesty, this is a violation of International law. Syria is not an enemy of the US, nor has Syria asked for US help. Also, Syria is not a threat to US security. The actions of the US also violates the morals and ethics of the Universe. There is no justification for such actions except raw power. If the US persists in such actions, there will be a reaction. Remember the Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Russia will strengthen Syrian air defenses and US planes and drones will start falling from the sky a la Vietnam War. It is possible that Karma is based on the Third Law of Motion. Iran will also increase its help to Syria.

If the Kurds proclaim their independence with US help, Turkey will enter the fray on the side of Syria. If that happens, the US will lose. Would the US bomb Turkey? Possibly, but not likely. However, again, anything is possible.

Increased Iranian help, let us say, 200,000 Iranian Troops or Irano-Turkish combination of 300,000 troops would arouse US-Israeli-British ire and a huge Middle East War would begin. The war would engulf Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), Yemen. The Saudi dynasty and Jordanian monarchy would collapse. The petro dollar would be finished. Oil prices would skyrocket. The EU and the US would enter into super depression. The rest of the world would  not be any better. However, countries connected by land from the Pacific- Indian Ocean to the Atlantic would start to coalesce. Afro-Eurasia would start coalescing. The US and the UK would be excluded.

The plan of the US is partition of Syria via Kurdistan which would become an ally of Israel, supplying it with precious fresh water from the Euphrates as well as oil. The second reason is the humiliating defeat of Russia and its’ eviction from the Middle East. The third reason is the destruction and conquest of Iran, the enemy of Israel and Saudis. By controlling Iran, the US would be able to control the Persian Gulf. It also would enable the US to control Central Asia. Just look the geography of the area.  Extra big war is in the works in the Middle East which may go nuclear.

Syria, Turkey, Kurds, Israel, and the US.

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The Syrian war is entering a critical phase. Alliances are shifting but the goal has not and the goal is this: Partition Syria and remove Assad. The original proxy army of the US and Israel has not been too successful of late, but one cannot dismiss them. ISIS has proven that it has many lives; moderates and extremists.

The US support for ISIS is well known in the Middle East as is Israeli. Further cooperation will not bear much fruit. The US is betting now on the Kurds. If the Kurds obtain an autonomous area in the North-East of Syria, the area could become an anchor of US power in Syria and the rest of the Middle East.

The problem is Turkey. Turkey will not tolerate any autonomous region in Syria that is Kurdish, so the US finds itself between a rock and a hard place.

Turkey has been a faithful ally of the US since right after the Second World War. Also, Turkey has been a close friend of Israel. Most of the fresh water that Israel needs comes from Turkey. All three countries, US, Turkey, and Israel were, and possibly still are, supporters of ISIS.

The confrontation is increasing between Turkey and the US. Presently, Turkey is sitting on the fence. It is anchored in the West but wants to break free. This is a dilemma of historic proportions. If and when it occurs it will be a geo -strategically earth shaking event. If it happens, the US will be forced to leave Incerlik airbase. It is possible that diplomatic relations will be severed a la Iran.

Syria will shape the alliances of the region for years to come. Turkey has no choice but to side with Syria. This will guarantee Syrian unity and independence. The Kurds will have autonomy within a Syrian state. The US and Israel oppose such an arrangement, so more war is inevitable.

If this re-arrangement of alliances takes place, the end result will be as follows: Syria, Hezbollah, Iran, and Turkey will be backed by Russia and the opposing forces will be composed of ISIS, Peshmerga of Kurdistan National Government, the Saudis, the Gulf States, and Israel backed by the US.

If the US side wins though, the result will be as follows: Syria and Lebanon will be partitioned and Assad will be gone; water will flow to Israel from the Litani and Euphrates rivers; gas and oil will flow from the Gulf to Europe, decreasing EU dependence on Russian gas; a Kurdish republic will be established in N. E. Syria; Turkey and Iran will be weakened and, most important, Russia will be out of the Middle East.

However, if Syria wins, the following will happen: Syria stays united and much stronger under Assad; Turkey joins the East and its power is enhanced; Iranian power is enhanced as it becomes dominant in Iraq and Yemen and the Gulf; and most importantly, the Saudi dynasty will collapse, the US will lose the Middle East; Israel becomes totally isolated, and the Palestinians may rise up and win.

Whether the US will allow itself to be kicked out of the Middle East without a war remains to be seen.

Large Middle East War is inevitable

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There are different wars going on in the Middle East, all of them more or less going on at the same time. The purpose of the war in Syria is to partition it. The facade reason is that the “killer dictator” Assad must go. If Syria is partitioned into a Kurdish North East where the Euphrates flows, then water could be pumped to water-starved Israel by land and by sea. ISIS has been losing in Syria, although the final word has yet to be spoken. Whoever started ISIS is an enigma. Selling oil and financial transactions via SWIFT, (the Society for World-wide International Financial Transactions controlled by Federal Reserve Bank of New York), are not impeded by the US. Turkey is in Syria to prevent the creation of a Kurdish State, which would of course be a threat to its’ existence. Turkey initially supported ISIS because it felt it could occupy Syria’s Kurdish region but Erdogan switched after the coup d’état.

Turkey, despite being a NATO member, is being destabilized. South East Turkey, predominantly Kurdish, would be split to join the Kurdish areas of Syria, Iraq, and Iran into a greater Kurdistan which would then be friendly to Israel. Israel would then have an abundance of cheap water, oil, and gas. Turkey knows this. It is switching to Assad’s Syria, Iran, and Russia. A quiet alliance is forming between Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. The “One Belt, One Road” policy of China will go through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, via the Balkans into Europe. The US is also quietly organizing an Arab anti-Iran alliance that is friendly to Israel,  composed of the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

The partitioning of Iraq was in the cards of the West: the Sunni West around Ramadi, the Shia south from Baghdad to Basra, and the Kurdish north east around Kirkuk; possibly Mosul as well.

Lebanon would also be destroyed and Israel would get the water of the Litani River. So far, Israel has not been successful.

The Yemeni-Saudi war is not going too well. The Houthis are holding their own against the Saudis. It is quite likely that the Yemeni war will lead to a Saudi demise.

For all the problems in the Middle East, the US and Israel are blaming Iran as the major culprit. Because of Iranian missile testing, (which is not a violation of Nuclear Agreement that US has signed), the US and Israel are threatening Iran.

If the US and Israel attack Iran, Iran will respond by closing the Persian Gulf. the price of oil would go sky high. There would be a shortage of oil world wide. Iran would hit Israel with missiles. If Israel goes nuclear, Iran would try to destroy the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert. If Israel persisted with nuclear attack, Pakistan would lend Iran several nuclear bombs to hit Israel in return and a world wide chain reaction would follow resulting in a total collapse of many regions of the world.

Let us hope this does not happen. Only time will tell.

A coveted prize, the Litani River of Lebanon

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The Middle East has plenty of oil and gas, but water is in short supply. No country feels the lack of a natural water supply like Israel. Israel has only one river, which it has to share with Jordan,and that is the River Jordan which is being gradually depleted as it empties into the Dead Sea. Some natural water comes from the Syrian Golan Heights captured in the 1967 War, and desalination of sea water is another source but it is rather expensive. So, Israel is forced to import water, almost close to half of what it needs, from Turkey.

Israel is highly advanced  technically. It also has thriving agriculture with migrant workers from Africa. Both sectors use large amounts of water. The rate of water usage constantly increases, hence the constant need for more water. The adjacent state of Lebanon has fairly abundant water resources.

Israel is probably the fourth most powerful country in the world. It has nuclear weapons, a delivery system Jericho rocket range of 11000 kilometers, and a sea based missile system on diesel submarines supplied by Germany. It also has an anti-missile system, called the Iron Dome. It produces its own tanks, The Merkawa; its own jet fighter, the Kfir, plus other high tech weapons. It also gets most of its modern jet fighters from the US. The Israeli Defence Forces are highly trained and motivated. So Israel has everything except the water, and that is the problem. War over water is inevitable; the Litani River of Lebanon is in play.

Israel wants to play the victim, it wants to claim it had no choice. Its main opponent is Hezbollah of Lebanon. Hezbollah is well armed with modern weapons, including missiles which can reach any part of Israel. Hezbollah is presently helping President Assad of Syria. They are battle tested and will fight an asymmetrical war. The outcome could be very uncertain. Only time will tell.

Quo Vadis, 2016?

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2016 may turn out to be a very significant year. Many thought that 2015 would be the year of the stock market crash, but this didn’t happen. Many more negatives than positives occurred in 2015 though. Stock indecis reached new highs in the first half of the year, and now at the end of the year are in correction mode. It is not likely that they will crash in the last few days of trading remaining, although they could, since nobody expects it.

On the world scene, the West and Turkey were exposed as chief supporters of ISIS, in addition to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. The Paris and San Bernardino tragedies should not have been a surprise. The Russian plane disaster in Egypt was a surprise but the Western press did not moan about it. The Beirut bombing by ISIS did not get much coverage. The Turkish destruction of a Russian bomber over Syria was not really condemned by the West. The hypocrisy of the West was in full bloom in the Ukraine, the Middle East, South East Asia and other places in the world.

Also in 2015, precious metals, oil, and other commodities collapsed. The dollar was strong and Third World economies were in a severe depression. Canada, Australia, and some European states were entering a depression, but Russia just got stronger. China was trying to stabilize its economy. The Yuan became an International Reserve Currency member, and even though only as a junior partner, this is just the beginning.

What will 2016 bring? It will be much more exciting than 2015. It could be the Year of Super Black Swans. The most important event that will most likely take place is the American presidential election in November. There is a lot of anger and discontent in this country that the mainstream media does not show but which will fully manifest itself this Election Year. There is only one candidate that stands out, and that is Donald Trump. He is politically “incorrect” and people love it. All other candidates, Republican and Democratic, are nothing more than cookie cutter “apparachicks”. Powerful people in the country want to resuscitate Senator Ted Cruz, but they will not succeed; Donald Trump, on the Republican side is unstoppable and Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee.

The economy will play a key role in these elections. In an earlier post I stated that the present US economy is based on three pillars of paper: the dollar, the bond market, and the stock market, and all three are supported by debt. This situation cannot be sustained. The presidential election and the economy may turn out to be very ugly and a super bad Black Swan may manifest itself.

There is a war going on between Russia and the US, whether people realize this or not. The US wants to destroy Russia, leave it fragmented, and plundered. The war in the Ukraine may start any moment. The Kiev regime days are numbered. It will lash out and lose. History is on Novorossia’s side. When war starts, the Ukrainian Army will desert. Only Western mercenaries and jihadis will fight on the Kiev Junta side. The Ukrainian People will rebel and chase the Junta out of Kiev. A super Black Swan may develop in the Ukraine.

A super, super bad Black Swan may develop in the Middle East. It is sad that the West, Israel, and Turkey are supporting ISIS. There is a danger of an Israeli- Hesballah war. Hesballah is heavily engaged in operations against ISIS in Syria, so Israel may take the opportunity to attack Hesballah and get the waters of the Litani River. Israel desperately needs water. Hesballah may not be a pushover. Also, Palestanians will join in the fight against Israel. ISIS might lose the war in Iraq and Syria. Turkey has invaded Northern Iraq around Mosul. The Kurds in Turkey are rising up. Saudi Arabia is not doing well in Yemen. The US, Israel, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia may lose because they are on wrong side of History. Nuclear weapons  may be used. A super bad Black swan may develop.

The European Union is in deep crisis; it has no independent foreign policy  Economically, many of its’ countries are in a deep depression.The Baltic States, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria are in a depression. France, Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal are no better. Germany and Scandinavia are also suffering. The Russian sanctions have boomeranged. A super Black Swan here is not likely in 2016. A shifting of Europe from the North Atlantic to Russia is likely though, and migration will be a big problem.

Africa is waking up and wants to control its natural resources. It is shifting East. A super bad Black Swan here is not likely. Latin America is somewhat less stable. The governments of Venezuela, Brasil, and other Latin American republics will be under attack but will survive. The collapse of commodity prices and dollar debt will be a big problem for Africa and Latin America. The shift to the East will continue in this coming year.

The Indian Subcontinent will be fairly stable. The Taliban will gain strength and possibly gain power. The TAPI pipeline is being built from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to India. The Taliban will not oppose it. Iran is developing a very strong strategic partnership with Russia. This Iran-Russia partnership is one of the most natural partnerships to develop in the world. India is developing a strong relationship with Russia and Iran as well. This will continue in 2016. Putin  made a visit to Iran this year, and Prime Minister Modi of India visited Russia this week confirming the desire for this relationship.

China is developing a strong relationship with Russia. China and Russia realize they have to stick together or they will hang separately. South East Asia, despite the TPP, will move closer to China. It will develop Modus Vivendi with China. Its prosperity depends on close co-operation with China. China is the magnet that is pulling the world away from the US. A confrontation in the South China Sea is just one example. But the chances of a Black Swan in South East Asia is not very likely in 2016.

In Summary, 2016 will see increased confrontation between Russia and the US. The dollar will be under attack and gold will rise. Events occurring this year in the US will confirm that the US is in pre-revolutionary state. If powerful individuals try to eliminate Donald Trump, people will rebel. If one of the three paper pillars of the economy cracks, the whole system will collapse. The chances of nuclear war will increase. 2016 will be the beginning of the end of tall buildings, the most wasteful symbols of the system based on waste, arrogance, and greed. People will be returning to simpler things, a respect for natural things, like respect for Mother Earth. It is the only home we’ve got. Happy New Year!

 

The Republic of Turkey is imploding

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The bombing which occurred in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, several days ago and killed 129 or so people, and wounded around 200 people was provocative. Cui Bono ? That is the secret that will unravel in due time. Turkey is in NATO and a close ally of the US and Israel. Israel imports water from Turkey. Water is a source of life and well being. No country, especially a high tech country such as Israel can survive long without water. The waters of Lebanon, especially the Litani River, are coveted by Israel. There will be a war between Israel and Lebanon in the near future but that future has not arrived yet. Turkey has an abundance of rivers, small and medium sized which flow into the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Exporting water is a profitable business.

Turkey has many internal problems which in turn have external implications. The main problem is the Kurds. The Kurdish population accounts for about twenty five percent of the total population of the country. The total population of the country is around 84 million. There are several million Kurds in  the adjacent countries of Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The number of Kurds in the entire region is anywhere from 30 to 35 million. They want an independent state and more rights. Syria and Iran treat the Kurds well, but Turkey not so much. The Kurdish region of Iraq is rich in oil, in the area of Mosul and Kirkuk. During the rule of Saddam Hussein, US and Israel supported the Kurdish rebellion of Iraq. They still do. Both Israel and US want to partition Iraq and Syria, so they would not be a threat to Israel. It would also enable Israel to expand in the region.

The US, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States {Kuwait, Quattar, Dubai, and Abu Dabi}, oppose President Assad of Syria. The US and its allies want a puppet in Syria, or even better, the partition of Syria.  Syria, Iran, Hasbullah of Lebanon, Russia, and the rest of the world, minus the European Union, support Assad and Syria. They support non interference in the policies of other states. The US claims that it has the right to change a regime it does not like, that they are governments that want to be independent. US foreign policy is based on arrogance, or superbia, the deadliest of all the seven mortal sins. Economic nemesis is awaiting the US down the road.

Turkey is big enough and strong enough to have an independent foreign policy a la India or Iran. It should give full rights to the Kurds and also recognize the Armenian genocide of 1916, when the Turks killed one million six hundred thousand Armenians. France recognizes the massacre, Israel and US do not. That tells one about who really cares about human rights. The terrorist attack of several days against peaceful  Kurdish demonstrations in Ankara demonstrates the seriousness of the internal problems of Turkey. Turkey should not help others to destabilize its neighbours, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq. Turkey should solve its own internal problems or it will violently implode. Only time will tell.

Saudi Arabia will implode, then explode

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Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, by Ibn Saud, who joined four regions of Arabia into one and proclaimed himself a king. The four regions are Hejal, Najd, Eastern Arabia, aka Al Ahsa, and Southern Arabia, aka Asir. Southern Arabia borders Yemen where civil war is going on. Saudis support ex-president Hadhi, who was overthrown by  the Huthis, the biggest ethnic group in Yemen. Eastern Arabia borders the Persian Gulf,and across the Gulf faces Iran. Eastern Arabia is rich in hydrocarbons, oil and gas. A large desert country, it has to import most of the food for its 30 million inhabitants, a quarter of them foreign workers. The workers are mainly from the Middle East and South Asia. All the important posts of the country are in the hands of the descendants of the founder of the Kingdom, Ibn Saud. The number of descendants is anywhere between six and ten thousand individuals. Women have few if any rights. The Wahabi form of Islam is the official religion. Saudi Arabia, in essence is owned by Royal family members. It is   like the Walton family who owns Walmart.

A special relationship had been established between Saudi Arabia and the US in 1945 during the Second World War when President Roosevelt was returning from the Yalta Conference. The Saudi King met President Roosevelt on an American warship in the Mediterranian Sea. This special relationship was sealed. Saudi Arabia would become the special servant of the US. In return, the US would provide protection.

The US defaulted on its gold obligation or politely stated, President Nixon took the dollar off of the gold standard in August of 1971. Up until then, the Central Banks of surplus dollar countries could exchange their dollar holdings for 35 dollars an ounce. The US was losing its’ gold. Over night the gold window was closed. President de Gaulle of France extracted as much gold from the US as he could in the 1960’s. He sent French warships to load up the gold that belonged to France and took it there. Other countries followed. Imagine how enamored US officials became of de Gaulle!  (Incidentally, de Gaulle was forced to resign in 1969. Massive demonstrations took place in Paris in May of that year. Could there be any connection to de Gaulle’s independent economic and foreign policy?)  De Gaulle told the Europeans not to accept Britain into the European Union. He warned that Britain would be the American “Trojan Horse”. Georges Pompidou, a banker, then became president of France. Britain then joins the Union. Any connection there????

The dollar started to drift, and inflation and gold were rising. President Nixon introduced price control, which was not too successful. The key country in saving the dollar was Saudi Arabia. How? Let me explain. The pre emptive war which Israel carried out against the Arabs was stunningly successful; the Arabs were devastated, they lost Gaza, the West Bank along with East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights of Syria, and the Sinai.  The Suez Canal was closed. Israel controlled the Sinai bank of the Suez Canal. Then, Nasser of Egypt died. The defeat was too much for him. Anwar Al Sadat, a general, took over. A deal had to be made. Sadat broke with the Soviet Union. Secretly, the Arabs were encouraged to win their lost territories back. The Yom Kippur War started in October of 1973. Israel was losing this war. Golda Meir, the prime minister pushed back by threatening to use the “Samson Option”: that is, using nuclear weapons to win the war. Nixon ordered a huge military supply to Israel. The front stabilized and negotiations began. The Arab World formed OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Saudi Arabia, being the biggest producer and exporter, played a key role. The Petro Dollar was born. From henceforth, all oil and oil products would be traded in dollars. Every importing country had to have dollars to import oil. As for the US, all it had to do was to print paper dollars.  In 1975 Americans were allowed to buy  gold for the first time since 1935. The Shah of Iran also played a major role in the formation of OPEC. But then the Iranian Revolution came about in 1979 and the Shah was overthrown. The US lost control over Iran. Hundreds of billions of dollars of Iranian assets were frozen in the US. They are still frozen to this day. The Islamic Republic of Iran became the implacable enemy of Saudi Arabia…

Saudi Arabia is afraid of revolution a la Iran, or the possibility of a secular revolution, though this is less likely. The Saudi Royal family hates both Iran and Syria and they share a common goal with Israel:  Israel wants Syria and Iran destroyed, which would give Israel a free hand in the Middle East. (They would get the waters of Lebanon, especially the Litani River which flows in the  shape of a hockey stick through the Bekka Valley of Lebanon into the Mediterranean Sea.) Turkey would like parts of Syria bordering  on its south eastern area in order to control the Kurdish problem. Saudi Arabia faces the Houthi independence of Yemen. The war is not going well, at least presently. The Houthis will deliver a hanjar (Arabic word for a dagger) into the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. Europe is looking at Russia and Syria in a different light because of the massive refugee problem. If the world economy collapses further, the price of oil may go down to twenty dollars. That would implode the Kingdom, which would be followed by an Iranian style revolution. Israel will face a massive Palestinian uprising. The tragedy of this world is that morally and ethically speaking, the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia are on the wrong side of history. Only time will tell…