Is defending our currency, justification for preemptive war?

[screembloodymurder]

Iran intends to sell oil for Euros rather than the dollar. I've read a number of articles that claim this is the real threat we face (not their nuclear program) and that we have no choice but to defend the dollar...even if that means a preemptive nuclear attack.

Absent any other threat, how many DU'ers would support a war to protect our standard of living?

Absent any other threat, how many Americans would support a war to protect our standard of living?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. I can think of about 4 or 5 of them,

but we're not allowed to call people out,

[helderheid]

2. I'm fairly certain that is the real reason we went to war in Iraq *edited

to add that I also don't believe there is any justification.

Saddam was about to start selling oil in Euros before the US invaded. Weapons of Money Distruction.

[Turbineguy]

11. I am certain

that the currency thing was a primary reason for the Iraq war. But since Bush and Co. never said so at the time, it is safe to assume that they would lie about their reasons for attacking Iran now.

However, the Iraq plan went all wrong. The eventual cost will work out to about $9 to per barrel of Iraqi oil ($1 trillion, 112,500,000 barrels of proven reserves). This in addition to the lives lost and ruined by Bush.

Since attacking Iran would definitely cut overall oil production, it would drive the price up more than it is now. Even the Bushies seem to be losing their patriotism at $3 a gallon. Nobody is ready to believe that the Iranians will pay for the U.S. costs of attacking their country. With the time Bush has left in office he will certainly kill more Americans than Osama bin Laden and company.

Bush is in a tough spot. He attacks Iran and the polls (that he pays no attention to) will go even lower. He may even plunge the world into chaos (not that it's likely to bother him much as long as he is safe and comfy).

The irony about the decision by Saddam Hussein to switch to Euros is that if Gore had become President, he might have stayed with the US Dollar. There would have been no reason at all to attack Iraq. Saddam knew if Bush became President he was toast and therefore the Euro became a safe haven currency for him. Remember, he collected 15% royalties himself.

[Warpy]

3. There is NO justification for pre emptive war

including the threat of an attack against one's own country, an attack that may never happen.

The only justification for war is an attack against one's own soil by an enemy who refuses diplomacy.

Anything else is just a money sqabble among rich families. Let them fight their own damn wars.

[Joanne98]

4. That's a good question. Saddam changed to Euros in 2000

I quess it would depend on whether they told us the truth or not. But if Bushco wasn't stealing so much money and running up our debt, things like that probably wouldn't matter. It's a good question though, because Alan Greenspan would be quilty of war crimes too. We should just hang them all.

[RufusEarl]

5. Check this out, see if it confirms your statement.

It discusses the Iran oil bourse.

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12356.htm

[guinivere]

6. Not me.

Dollars are not worth dying for.

I wonder when some other country will decide that a preemptive war against us is a good idea.

This may be an incredibly stupid question, but here goes: Why is it that the US can go around telling other countries what they can and cannot have as far as weapons and capabilites, but we pretty much do whatever we want in that regard?

[converted_democrat]

7. If people want to get pissed about the decline in our buying power,

and a threat to "our way of life" than they need to go to the source, * and the repuke held Senate and Congress..

edited for clarity

[ktlyon]

8. I am against war.

Why do we want to take our mistakes out on someone else. If our economy is in trouble that is our problem not Iran's. If we left ourselves open to outside interference maybe we should have looked at this awhile back. Borrowing money from foreign counties and becoming energy dependent on people that don't like us was pretty stupid. It didn't have to happen. We have been short sighted and greedy and now we will pay the price. We should be leading the world not blowing it up because we are impotent.

[converted_democrat]

9. Exactly, this isn't their fault, and they shouldn't suffer over the

mistakes of our nation..

[Truthy Nessy]

10. The American Dollar may be threatened by the Iran Bourse

I have been following the rise of gold and oil prices for about two years now. I have a Google alert on the Iranian Bourse, which now appears to be starting next week. I am not a Republican in no shape or form or beliefs. I voted in the last presidential election for the first time ever! My guy lost.
I found this article by US Rep Ron Paul via Google's alert.He is not your typical Republican and I found his writings contrary to much of the Bush cabal's ideology


http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr042506.htm
What the Price of Gold is Telling Us
excerpt: The point is that most who buy gold do so to protect against a depreciating currency rather than as an investment in the classical sense. Americans understand this less than citizens of other countries; some nations have suffered from severe monetary inflation that literally led to the destruction of their national currency. Though our inflation-- i.e. the depreciation of the U.S. dollar-- has been insidious, average Americans are unaware of how this occurs. For instance, few Americans know nor seem concerned that the 1913 pre-Federal Reserve dollar is now worth only four cents

Rep Ron Paul also wrote this:
http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2006/tst041706.htm
Sanctions against Iran
Excerpt: "As the drumbeat for military action against Iran grows louder, some members of Congress are calling to expand the longstanding U.S. trade ban that bars American companies from investing in that nation. In fact, many war hawks in Washington are pushing for a comprehensive international embargo against Iran. The international response has been lukewarm, however, because the world needs Iranian oil. But we cannot underestimate the irrational, almost manic desire of some neoconservatives to attack Iran one way or another, even if it means crippling a major source of oil and destabilizing the worldwide economy"

and one more:
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr040506.htm
Iran: The Next Neocon Target
Excerpt: The fact that Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for oil in an attempt to undermine the U.S. dollar is believed by many to be one of the ulterior motives for our invasion and occupation of Iraq. Similarly, the Iranian oil burse now about to open may be seen as a threat to those who depend on maintaining the current monetary system with the dollar as the world’s reserve currency

Here is my today's alert on the Iranian Bourse and it's effects.

Petrodollar as a case for war. http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/index.php?page=wv&newsID=134393

Iran takes a step on Friday in trading in Euros. http://www9.sbs.com.au/radio/index.php?page=wv&newsID=134393

and this one also
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8HDKTL80.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db

[converted_democrat]

12. Welcome to DU Truthy Nessy..

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

13. Absolutely not.

"Preemptive war is justified by an imminent threat of attack, a clear and present danger that the country in question is about to attack you. In such a case a preemptive attack is recognized as justifiable." - (Joseph Cirincione, Director of the Non-Proliferation Project of the Carnegie Endowment)

[Kailassa]

14. The Bourse is one reason. The other is to stop the oil supply.

The shock and awe campaign in Iraq was a cover for the bombing of the oil pipelines. Haliburton have been paid a bonus for succeeding in not repairing them. This has helped drive the oil prices up to $3 a gallon.

Once the oil supply from Iran is fucked up too, American oil companies will be free to move it up to $5 a gallon. They will have control of the Arab oil countries through the no-bid contracts they are awarded, and will be able to slowly realease "their" black gold onto the market to extort the maximum prices from consumers.

And many Americans have had a hidden motive in supporting war against both Iraq and Iran. They thought that getting control of all the oil would make life better and cheaper for the average American. Sadly for them, Iraqi blood did not transmute into oil. It transmuted into extortion.