Thierry Meyssan writes a useful summary of the "most optimistic" or the "most pessimistic" case against the dollar, depending on which side of the geo-politico-economic divide one falls. In essence, the move to switch away from the dollar as international unit of account is gaining some momentum. Perhaps surprisingly to some, the notion of an islamic gold unit is also making some ground, so it may be that there are is a triumvurate of currency stability in earth's future:
Dollars, Euros, and gold.
What's this got to do with anything? In essence, money is an application of FC. Only in understanding the way the world is looking at - and pushing - money, can we understand how a new money project might unfold.
(Ed: I added an emphasis to stress the prediction within [and 2004] now confimed in 2006, 2006-2 and 2008)
(interesting but non-financial geopolitical backdrop - snipped, see URL)
Whatever happens, Washington can no longer backtrack. In fact, the survival of the U.S. is menaced - not by an external enemy, but by internal economic weakness and tensions running between its communities. Many are becoming conscious of the fact that U.S. power is based upon a mirage, the dollar. These are only pieces of paper, printed when more are needed, while the rest of the world feels obliged to use them.
For the past three years, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroder have engaged France and Germany in a pitiless war against the United States. They have sent emissaries world wide to convince other States to convert their monetary reserves to euros. The first to accept were Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Precisely the countries described by George W. Bush as those of the "axis of evil".
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has begun restoring the economic independence of the Russian Federation. He has reimbursed - ahead of time - the debts that Yeltsin had contracted with the International Monetary Fund and will also make an early repayment, before the end of the year, of the remaining debts to the Club of Paris.
Putin has calmly announced that he plans State control of the natural riches of his country. He has reminded others that the oligarchs made their fortunes overnight by appropriating, with the complicity of Yeltsin, all that belonged to the U.S.S.R. and that the State can demand the return of wealth which should never have been handed over to the oligarchs.
When Gerhard Schroder visited Putin at the beginning of October, Putin intimated that he would begin by regaining control over Russian gas and petrol and that he would convert their trading, now in dollars, to euros.
On his part, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir Mohammad, has experimented with the abandonment of the dollar in international exchanges, but in order to replace it with gold. He has signed bilateral agreements with his country's business partners. Malaysian exports and imports will in future be traded in gold.
Buoyed by this, he has suggested to the Islamic Bank of Development a plan that would put an end to U.S. dominance. Inspired by the Arab cartel which created the oil shortage of 1974, he has outlined a decisive monetary assault. The idea is to switch world petrol trading to gold, thereby provoking the fall of the dollar and the collapse of the U.S. economy.
At first, Saudi Arabia, menaced by Washington neo-conservatives, was opposed to this plan, but became agreable to it. The Islamic Bank of Development presented the proposal at the summit meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which was held recently in Malaya, presided over by Dr. Mahatir Mohammad. It was agreed that bilateral agreements for a transition to the gold standard would be prepared between Islamic countries, during the course of next year. At the next summit meeting, to be held in Senegal, the fifty-seven Member-States of the Islamic Conference would be invited to sign a multilateral agreement.
Vladimir Putin who also attended the Islamic Conference, since a large number of the citizens of the Russian Federation are Muslims, encouraged the plan.
Abandoning the dollar presents a long and difficult struggle, for Europe as well as for Muslim countries. While an international campaign accusing Dr. Mahatir Mohammed of ressuscitating anti-semitism has been launched, Henry Kissinger and Condoleeza Rice appealed to the oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for help in order to neutralise Putin. Last weekend, however, Putin had him arrested and detained.
Whatever happens, the monetary war has been declared. In the short-term, U.S. domination is menaced.
Thierry Meyssan
Journalist, writer and President of R\xe9seau Voltaire
http://www.reseauvoltaire.net