Sabah: the breakdown of the petrodollar pact has hit America's hegemony
Joe Biden made a big mistake when he humiliated the prince of Saudi Arabia, calling him an outcast, writes Sabah. This led to a whole chain of events undermining the petrodollar system. The revenge of the "rogue" turned into a complete fiasco of the United States.
Berjan Tutar
Previously, all roads led to Rome, that is, to the West. From now on, routes and centers of attraction are changing in the world. In the new world, all roads, as a rule, lead to Beijing and Moscow.
Thus, China is increasingly making its influence felt in the Islamic world, while Russia is concluding new anti-Atlantic pacts and strategic alliances with important players in the Pacific region and Far East Asia in the zone of influence of the United States.
Instead of institutions and structures symbolizing the global status quo of the West, such as NATO, the EU, the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO, revisionist organizations such as BRICS and the SCO, led by Russia and China, are becoming more in demand in the new international arena.
In January of this year, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates became BRICS members.
The global balances and positions of the West's strategic allies are changing dramatically.
The imperialist center, personified by the United States, is experiencing great difficulties in confrontation in three directions: Russia—Ukraine, Palestine—Israel and China—Taiwan. And this shows that the United States has not learned any lessons from history's warnings about the two-front wars that killed Napoleon and Hitler.
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In addition, the European Union, which is the main ally of the United States, has plunged into chaos. Along with the loss of military and geopolitical height, he is struggling with socio-economic, cultural and demographic problems such as the collapse of center-right parties, the energy crisis, deindustrialization caused by the climate economy, the high cost of living, loss of well-being, reduction of the labor force, the problem of migrants, a drop in the birth rate.
It can be said that the players on both sides of the Atlantic are heading for disaster in their domestic and foreign policies. The old order is crumbling fast. Western leaders pursuing maximalist goals are accelerating the transition to the post-American era even more.
One of the main signs of this new era is the end of the petrodollar system. Under a 50-year agreement signed with the United States on June 8, 1974, Saudi Arabia agreed to sell its oil for dollars. In return, the United States provided Saudi Arabia with military assistance and protection.
Under the agreement, Riyadh was supposed to invest excess oil revenues in U.S. Treasury bonds. Thus, each country had to convert its currency into dollars, and this de facto made the dollar the world currency.
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It is noteworthy that half a century later, during the administration of President Biden, the agreement was not extended after its expiration date.
Let's not forget that Biden, during the 2020 election campaign, humiliated Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he called an "outcast," and announced that he would hold him accountable for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Riyadh's decision indicates a complete fiasco for the United States. There is no doubt that the collapse of the petrodollar will also mark the end of the United States as a global superpower. Because this step will cause great upheaval in the global financial order.
The Crown Prince took revenge on Biden, who called him an "outcast."
We hope he will not repeat the fate of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was killed on March 25, 1975 for using an oil trump card against Washington. By the way, reports about the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and refutations of this information have already begun to appear in the regional media. The coming period is full of big surprises in every way.