While agreements had called for OPEC nations to receive as much as 55% of the price of a barrel of oil<\/a>, no citizen of an OPEC country was allowed to be a director of any of these oil companies, nor were they allowed to see the books. Estimates are American oil companies paid these countries as little as 10%. By 1973, member countries owned as much as 60% of the oil industry in their respective nations, and they were effectively setting their own prices. A barrel of crude nearly quadrupled to over $11.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n America didn’t respond militarily, though Richard Nixon negotiated a major concession<\/a> from OPEC members in 1971: all oil transactions would be conducted in American dollars<\/a>, setting the dollar as the de facto international currency for trade. The United States has made money hand over fist since, exploiting its financial hegemony on the international monetary exchange.<\/p>\n After the invasion of Kuwait in 1991, sanctions were placed on Iraq that prevented them from selling Iraqi oil other than through the United Nations endorsed Oil for Food Program<\/a>. It’s estimated that a half million Iraqi children died from cholera<\/a> because Iraq was not permitted to import antibiotics out of fear that Iraq might use these simple drugs to create “biological weapons of mass distraction.” Unofficial estimates put the total number of preventable Iraqi deaths as high as 1.7 million<\/a>. These and other actions by Western states in the Middle East<\/a> created significant acrimony between cultures and nations.<\/p>\n As the year 2000 rolled around and the sanctions were nearing expiration, Saddam Hussein began rumbling about creating his own international oil exchange denominated in Euros<\/a>. This would have had devastating effects on the US dollar. Any ostensible reason to get into Iraq and destroy Saddam Hussein and his oil exchange was good enough, and the 9\/11 attacks gave America a pretext. Although there was never any evidence linking Iraq with al Qaeda or the Taliban, nor was there any evidence of weapons of mass destruction, an invasion plan was initiated months before the events of 9\/11<\/a> according to Bush Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O’Neill.<\/p>\n America needed to demonstrate to any who might challenge its petrodollar dominion that their actions would be seen as a declaration of war. The hundreds of thousands of people killed and wounded, the destroyed infrastructure, the wrecked economy — all intended to remind the world that you have to beat the champion to become the champion.<\/p>\n Although America had sent troops to Afghanistan first to locate and kill Osama bin Laden, a majority of the military’s resources were committed to the war in Iraq. Once Saddam Hussein was captured and executed, and the country handed over to “local control,” the drawdown of American troops could begin. But instead of coming home, these resources were redirected to take care of another thorny issue, and that was the Taliban. Thus we witness the 2009 “surge” in Afghanistan, however it draws into question why it was so important that we rid ourselves of the Taliban.<\/p>\n The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline was the brainchild of Unocal<\/a>, a major petroleum explorer and marketer since bought out by Chevron in 2005. It wanted to harvest natural gas from the rich oil fields in southern Turkmenistan<\/a> and transport it via a pipeline that would cross Afghanistan and Pakistan into India. There, Chevron would harvest its bounty and make certain that China, Russia or any other interested party would not get their hands on it unless Chevron was involved. America secured the Afghan government’s cooperation for 8% of the gross<\/a>, but the fly in the ointment was the Taliban.<\/p>\n According to Voice of America<\/a>, the Taliban controlled 80% geographically of Afghanistan<\/a> as of September 11, 2009. They demanded a larger share of the proceeds than the Afghan government was offering. Chevron didn’t want to build a pipeline only to have to patrol thousands of square miles protecting it from sabotage, so the Taliban issued needed resolution. As of yet, construction on the pipeline has not begun.<\/p>\n It’s also why, because of the law of unintended consequences, America finds itself slowly encroaching into Pakistan. As the Taliban cross the border to avoid the American military, they remain capable of disrupting pipeline operations there. Unable to secure their cooperation, America concluded they need to be eliminated. There’s one more problem that’s being resolved as the Taliban are pushed out, and that’s in the poppy fields.<\/p>\n![\"Map](\"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/trans-afghanistan-pipeline-map.jpg\" "\\"trans-afghanistan-pipeline-map\\"")
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