The manner the USA were evacuating on rooftops during the closing stages of the Vietname War showed the intensity of their fear. At the height of the Vietnam War, more than half a million USA troops were on the ground in Vietnam. USA total air superiority was without any doubt, with carpet bombing carried out day and night. While the USA was doing that, the North Vietnames were able to escape the bombing by hiding in underground bunkers. Ingenius!
Throughout their campaign in Vietnam/Indochina, the USA dropped more than 7.6 million tons of bombs, compared to 2.1 million tons by all countries during WW2. That was the devastation they were prepared to do to North Vietnam, and the Chief of Staff of US Air Forces then, Curtis LeMay, was touted to have gloated that they were going to bomb North Vietnam back to the Stone Age.
Agent Orange, the anti vegetation biological/chemical, was aerial sprayed on jungle areas that even today made the land unsuitable for agriculture and still causing deformities in newborn babies. 'Scorched Earth' mentality was on the USA minds, wanting to destroy Vietnam totally in case it falls to the North. Amid all these, no one shouted war crimes. No action by the ICC.
Then there was Afghanistan, where the USA stayed for 20 years and still lost the war to Taliban farmers bearing small arms. The USA Military fled, leaving behind billions of dollars of weapons, on top of huge numbers of US citizens left behind. Last I heard, the Taliban restored some of the weapons left behind and are able to use them. How could an improvished rag tag outfit managed to chase the USA out of Afghanistan, says a lot about comparing GDP might against fighting prowess and tenacity.
Even success in Iraq is questionable, despite George W. Bush gloating declaration of 'Mission Accomplished'. In later years he was reported to have admitted that he was too impatient to make that declaration, knowing that 20 years down the road Iraq has 'democracy' tainted by a broken dream for its citizens. The USA only succeeded in taking control of Iraq's oil, using that as a bargaining chip to control Iraq, with oil revenues under the jurisdiction of the USA.
Anonymous
Some Iraqis are comparing their life under Saddam Hussein and under the USA installed 'Democractic Government' and deeply regret supporting the USA against Saddam.
ReplyDeleteBefore the invasion of the Coalition of the Willing, under fabricted evidence of WMD, Iraq was said to be at least more peaceful, Iraq's oil was not stolen and the people at least do not suffer fighting that erupted unannounced.
Where was the democratic Government that was supposed to be installed in Iraq for the Iraqis? Oh, I forgot that it was installed, but just a USA installed Government aka a stooge Government. Even the oil money is under the USA control. How sad! Worse than a vassal state, which at least have a say in controlling their resources and wealth.
I believe Ukraine will fare no better.
Wonderful Benefits of De-dollarization
ReplyDelete-- Sovereignty. Countries, especially developing ones, no longer have to let the US dictate their domestic and foreign policies. No more fear of sanctions that bully countries, corporations, politicians and individuals.
-- An America with diminished ability to print dollars. No more trillions of dollars out of thin air, while the USD stays strong. When dedollarization reaches a certain threshold, the US will be forced to play by the same rule as others. This means fewer US military bases around the world, fewer US-funded NGOs that start color revolutions, fewer politicians being bribed around the world and so on.
Basically, a fairer, less corrupt world. More “free market” and “free elections.”
-- Free to trade! Anyone can trade anything with anyone without Uncle Sam’s permission or threats. Same for investments. True freedom. While the US markets itself as a proponent of free trade, nothing can be farther from truth. This won’t just help countries like Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea, but everyone. For example, if India wants to build a seaport in Iran, it can be done without begging the US for permission.
The world’s GDP will literally go up due to dedollarization!
-- Cost savings: No middleman (US banks) taking commissions. For example, when China wants to buy oil from Saudi Arabia, both countries must use US banks to do the trade, and the banks take a commission for their “work.” It is estimated that the commission US banks earn in a year is almost equal to the GDP of a country like Portugal.
-- Privacy: Using US banks and SWIFT mean that the US gets to spy on everyone. By circumventing this system countries gain more privacy and freedom.
-- Save time: Faster transactions in local currencies. No American banks needed.
-- Less Exploitation of Developing Nations: The US dollar hegemony means that every country needs US dollar to survive. This artificial demand gives the US enormous power and makes the dollar strong. Thus, people in Mexico, China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Africa etc. are forced to work for $1 or few pennies per hour to make products that are sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars by American/European corporations.
The US dollar is also used to destroy currencies of other countries for political and economic reasons, as we are seeing in Turkey, where the Lira has lost more 50% of its value in the last two years, as the US tried to carry out a regime change by disrupting the economy and getting rid of Erdogan.
-- Boost in global e-commerce and tourism: Way more options than under the current dollar regime.
-- Debt Trap Gone: Far less debt trap and exploitation by Western countries and institutions like IMF and World Bank. External debts in US dollar are one of the primary tools used to impose austerity and privatization on developing countries. Look what’s happening right now in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Argentina, Egypt etc. This has been going on for decades.
-- FOREX? The entire concept of foreign exchange reserves will become less relevant since more trade will be done in local currencies.
Dollar, Euro and Yuan will likely be the three leading but equal choices as reserve currencies. There might also be a BRICS currency, if they manage to implement it wisely. No one country of region — USA, Europe or China — can bully others.
-- True Democracy: Multicurrency, multi-lenders, multi-partners… all these choices mean democratization of global finance.
No more monopoly, no more hegemony.
A multipolar and more just world will arise out of de-dollarization.