U.S. clout is going the way of the dodo bird

BY: Martin Love

The U.S. slowly and inevitably not only loses its de facto “empire” but in turn loses its capacity to wield the power and influence it has since the fall of the Soviet Union and began trying to muscle its way militarily around the globe.

NOURNEWS/NORTH CAROLINA - If one looks far enough to the horizon it’s not difficult to get the sense that huge and transformative change is coming to world affairs where the U.S. slowly and inevitably not only loses its de facto “empire” but in turn loses its capacity to wield the power and influence it has since the fall of the Soviet Union and began trying to muscle its way militarily around the globe. The U.S. has been all about trying to reduce countries like Iran to servitude, a country that in the words of Dr. Juan Cole at the University of Michigan, and arguably the top U.S. scholar of Islam and religion and Mideast matters, has been “fiercely nationalistic and independent” for more than four decades since the Revolution.

That description sounds like a glowing assent to Iran’s efforts to grow and prosper, and who can legitimately criticize any country that takes pride in itself and its people and simply wants to decide its own fate on its own terms and defend itself…as long as it does not deliberately aim to harm other countries in the same fashion that the U.S. has tried (and often succeeded) by military attack, occupations and sanctions.

Regarding sanctions, consider that the U.S. and some of its fading European allies have, by one estimation, imposed sanctions of one degree or another this century on more than 30 countries, and such have the potential to greatly harm (if not murder) up to two billion people given the Covid 19 pandemic among other challenges to “health” and the health of economies across the globe, in the broadest sense of the word. Moreover, the imposed sanctions, which have blocked medical aid and food support, have been entirely unlawful according to the UN charter, and none have ever been “approved” by the UN Security Council.

These various sanctions against a multitude of countries, often aimed to bring down extant governments so that “puppet” regimes obedient to the U.S. primarily can be installed, are senseless. What country or even individual has ever been swayed for long by hostile attacks?  Countries in the Levant, in particular Syria and Lebanon, now particularly hard hit by sanctions and lacking the resilience of Iran, would do well to follow Iran and look East for succor and reliable assistance. Iran’s recent deal with China is a very big deal, to say the least.

According to Dr. Cole, Trump’s re-imposition of sanctions on Iran and the trashing of the JCPOA is fast becoming the cardinal error of the Trump gang, influenced by the Zionists especially – to the extent that the U.S. has “lost” Iran to the Far East and China’s Belt and Road initiative. On the table is a 25-year pact with China that includes all sorts of economic investments in Iran, plus military and political support. Moreover, Iran will under the terms of the deal be able to sell some of its oil again, albeit at a discount and for “soft” currencies, but this is better than being cut off entirely from the vital energy trade.

One must wonder if Iran might be able to sell its energy resources to China for the ultimate hard “currency” – gold? Gold has been ascending against fiat currencies around the world, and lately has been rising strongly in U.S. dollar terms. Officially, China has reported a gold stockpile of around 2000 tons, even less that Russia’s gold horde, but unofficially China may have 20,000 or more tons of gold and is the world’s largest producer of the shiny metal. Or perhaps Iranian authorities might consider buying gold with the “soft” currencies it takes in from sales of resources in the Far East? Longer term, gold is the coming monetary asset par excellence and while it is currently trading around 1800 U.S dollars an ounce, some experts claim it could eventually trade for several multiples higher. And one must not forget China could eventually back the yuan with gold while it tries to decouple its economy from the faltering U.S. dollar.

As for the U.S. claiming it has some 8000 tons of gold, few know the truth. The U.S. government has refused repeated calls for audits of its gold reserves, and in fact an audit has not been performed since the 1950s. However unlikely, the U.S. may have far, far less than 8000 tons.

Beyond all the efforts Iran and other countries like Syria and Venezuela are making to try to generate or regenerate prosperity in this era of viral pandemic and what amounts to a Depression not seen since the 1930s in the U.S. at least, is the looming prospect that America continues to lose its influence and clout in every respect. Debt is one of the biggest problems. In June in the U.S. the fiscal deficit was over $800 billion! There is no way the U.S. can afford to spend so much, particularly on its military “empire”, and not witness the dollar go the way of the dodo bird in this decade. Patience is always advised as the world watches the U.S. decline unfold, and meanwhile the U.S. can’t even suppress Covid 19 as many countries already have with great relative success.