Iranian President Hassan Rouhani returned to Tehran with a smile. The release of international sanctions has brought a bounty all its own to both the E.U. and Iran; 40 Billion Dollars’ worth.
Conspicuous as these events may be, there remain a few that reveal much more about the Obama Administration’s handling of both the Nuclear Agreement and Iraq/Syria. It continues to be my contention that the President deliberately avoided taking aggressive actions in either Syria or Iraq and for one very good reason. A pipeline from Iran to either the Black Sea and/or thru Syria to the Med (there is also a planned pipeline from Iran to the terminal hub in Turkey just west of Istanbul.)
Obama’s quid pro quo (to the Iranians) was a tacit concession that if they came to the table Obama would throttle back the Hawks in the U.S. Congress leaving the vacuum-of-U.S.-presence and related chaos for a later Administration to deal with. Although I’ve been right (again), I confess this is no pleasant victory and the patent displays of undisciplined focus can only be described as arrogant stupidity anchored with a dose of savage brutality.
Now then, on economic terms, the U.S. has absorbed a massive economic burden both in expenditures and missed opportunities that would otherwise have been offset with a cost participation feature. Bullets for Crude you might say – this was never considered and while the U.S. continues to add to the trillions of dollars wasted and thousands of spent lives in various Middle-East incursion the E.U., nonetheless, continues to benefit financially. Primarily due to the heavy lifting performed by the U.S. Again, Americans should be reminded of Washington’s indifference particularly where the People’s interests are concerned.
Last point: Yes, Iran has stated that in all their future dealing (in oil & gas) they will only accept the Euro as payment for product and yet, given that their output is in the lower tier of OPEC producers, the immediate effect (for the U.S.) will be negligible largely due to the massive oversupply of crude and NG presently on the market. There will come a time when the markets will settle and crude oil will resume its station as a medium for manipulating the influences of various currencies.
The efforts of Iran, with their energy infrastructure updated/expanded, being aimed at diluting the influence of the U.S. dollar does introduce a significant risk, quickly expanding the threat particularly if China resumes its growing demand (it’s important to note that China denominates its purchases of Russian crude, primarily, in Euros).
As the American public looks forward to their 2016 Nominations, they best understand how little thought and consideration has gone into managing the American public’s economic interests. Foreign policy is far more related to U.S. Domestic Economic Interests than most folks realize. Foreign Policy is far more about economic sense than it is one’s ability to sit in a room of bureaucrats feigning the temperament of erudition while listening to pontifications relating to archaic ideologies.
When you understand the demands of office you begin to realize how remarkably incompetent and dangerously malignant a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders truly is. I still say keep an eye on John Kerry. The fact that he is low-man on media coverage makes me all the more alert.
Curtis C. Greco, Founder
