First published at Palestine Chronicle, 2016-01-22.

Miles Report No. 66 - Middle East Nexus - nukes, oil, and the Canadian economy

Iran and nuclear weapons

Iran is now officially off the sanctions list and is looking forward to increased prosperity in financial, cultural, and civic terms. Obama said “the world is a safer place now,” which is true as the U.S. and Israel will no longer be threatening to start another war over an arguably imaginary bomb program. Netanyahu of course says he will keep an eye on Iran’s nuclear program, as if the IAEA were not doing its job.

The latter of course highlights the hypocrisy and underlines the pseudo-arguments aimed at Iran’s mainstream media created bomb program. Israel has over 100 deliverable nuclear weapons (I have read estimates as high as 400) so now perhaps the world can turn the sanction regime on to Israel to get rid of its nuclear weapons, thus making the world an even better “safer place.”

Israel, as a result of its military program faces no existential threat which was why Iran made such a good poster boy for the evil other that one needs to be forever vigilant against. Egypt has a peace agreement with Israel and is keeping the Gaza border closed. Jordan has a peace agreement with Israel and is very weak politically and militarily anyway. Saudi Arabia - remember our good head chopping misogynist buddy - is essentially an Israeli ally and is in the forefront of the fiat petrodollar scheme of our financialized world.

Syria is not at peace with Israel, but even with Russia as an ally since after WW II, they have not pressed the issue of the illegal annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel after the 1967 war. Nor have the Russians recently made any moves against Israeli interests in the region. Indeed without Russia’s intervention, ISIS and al-Qaeda, supported covertly by the U.S., Turkey, and possibly Israel, would be in a much stronger position than they are now, ready and able to export more terror overseas.

Iran and oil

Iran has tremendous oil reserves. As of now, they are eligible to be sold openly on global markets. They have sold oil before, but in small amounts and officially away from sanctions, trading with gold, rupees, yuan, and goods from India, China, and Russia. More than likely that trade will be increased significantly, probably without using the US$ as the method of exchange.

There are related effects to this, both of which come home to Canada. As the amount of oil on the markets increases, the price according to supply and demand will go down - even further than its current tendencies indicate. Obviously that will affect the price of oil in Canada, decreasing even more the viability of Canada’s oil sector as an economic engine for Canada.

Canadian economic woes

Canada as an “energy superstar” is about to go “supernova”. With an economy based partly on oil revenues, and a greater part of the economy based on trade with the sinking economy of the U.S. (in spite of Obama’s rose tinted State of the Union speech using highly manipulated statistics) that is tied completely around the US fiat petrodollar, our situation could become very poor financially.

Because “money” these days is really nothing more than a faith based electronic system of debt, the U.S. Fed, the World Bank, the IMF, the EU bank, and London’s City will try their utmost to maintain the US$ system that should have been allowed to crash then rebuild in 2008. China, Russia, and many other countries have developed at least two bank systems: the Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (BRICS countries) both working outside of the U.S.controlled system just listed. Also, they have developed their own payments system outside SWIFT and the many western based credit card systems. All of this avoids using the US$, as do many bilateral trade agreements between these various governments. All of this mainly because of US belligerence towards countries that don’t agree with US hegemony over global finances.

Infrastructure? Yes!

The good news within this economic mess are the government’s intentions to promote the building of infrastructure ranging from roads, rails, and bridges, to schools, hospitals, and green energy sources. Using Canadian money for Canadian purposes of building structures and foundations for the future - rather than for bailing out the banks and businesses foisted on their own petard - should be relatively straight-forward regardless of the value of the CAN$.

The problem arises if the government sources its money in US$ from banks demanding high interest payments. If the Bank of Canada is used to create the money for these projects, future interest would be zero, and any deficits could be paid off with what will probably be depreciating dollars. Canada has the resources and the skill set that all this infrastructure development should be done within our own borders, our own corporations, and - trade agreements be damned - not outsourced to other global corporations. Keep the work at home; keep the finances at home; utilize our own natural and trades resources for our own development.