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Video above thanks to The Guardian. Putin high-fives MBS at the G20. Now we know what's behind that grin.
The initially secretive petrodollar agreement signed between President Nixon and King Faisal made the US a mercenary in the hire of the most vicious, brutal and intolerant regime in the world at that time, in exchange for the Saudis using their oil revenues to prop up the US dollar, which was falling following Nixon's decision to break with Bretton Woods and take the USD off the gold standard. The agreement itself was not the problem, it was the way it was encorced - out of desperation. The US made the egregious error of helping Saudi spread its vile terroristic Wahhabism around the globe using a million and one excuses (alleged WMDs in Iraq, alleged chemical weapons in Syria) to re-arrange the Middle East according to the Saudi will instead of adopting a rational approach and protecting the Saudis as promised, but according to American principles of morality based on Christian teachings. That is why the US failed. Its client was a heinous bully who dictated a violent and intolerant religion to the Middle East and the US, its new guardian, instead of setting limits, itself acted like a heinous bully, taking sides in a religious dispute that had lasted for centuries and could not be resolved by force. It thereby lost the respect of its client and the rest of the world. Putin is now the de facto head of OPEC and is taking over the role of protecting Saudi, under a deal similar to the Nixon-Faisal deal, but with a major difference. The US is therefore no longer needed by the Saudis and they no longer have an obligation to prop up the dollar (though they have a pragmatic reason to keep the dollar stable for the sake of the world economy). And Putin will base his actions essentially on liberal Christian principles, meaning he will try not to harm any group and will respect all sovereignties. the real source of lasting respect - which the US failed to recognize. And as head of OPEC, he will be extending his protection to the other members. Including Venezuela. Indeed, the Venezuelan oil company that the US has tried to sabotage is now operating under the aegis of Rosneft, having moved its European office to Moscow. Oh, and OPEC now has its own air force - the Russian one. Below is our translation of an article from politpuzzle.ru that signals a geopolitical plate shift. Saudi is no longer talking like a US ally. In fact, it just moved very close to Russia. The Saudi energy minister just told the US to back off of its sanctions on Russia. They had warned before that if they levelled sanctions at Saudi over the Kashoggi affair, oil could hit $100 or $200 a barrel. The New York Times sneered: “While Saudi Arabia is still the leading producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and can exert enormous influence over oil prices, it is no longer the energy superpower that American motorists feared during the Arab oil embargo era of the 1970s.” But the author didn’t note that they may not be dealing with just Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are joining forces with Russia in a new project that could turn the oil and financial world on its head. Our translation says: “Earlier, Riyadh and its allies from the Gulf countries announced plans to transform the intergovernmental organization OPEC in order to create an alliance with a group of ten countries headed by Russia.” Yes, that’s right. The US won’t be dealing with Riyadh so much as it will with Moscow. There are no doubt several reasons for this about-face in Saudi-US relations. For one thing, the US Senate unanimously found in December 2018 that the heretofore-untouchable crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was responsible for the murder of Jamal Kashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October 2. Very few sentient humans doubt his culpability, of course, but neither did many doubt that the Saudis were responsible for funding, training and arming Al-Qaeda and ISIS, costing hundreds of thousands of lives in Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere, including Western countries, which paid trillions to pretend-fight terror as a result. Yet none of these suddenly courageous senators had dared to breathe a word about this much more grievous Saudi crime of terror, which had been perpetrated for over a decade. Nor had they ever condemned Israel (Saudi’s partner) for its crimes, such as shooting unarmed protesters (which they are still doing unabated),stealing Palestinian land for Jewish settlement, launching deadly missile strikes at Syria, etc. In fact, they are right now rewarding Israel for these crimes by declaring the Syrian Golan Heights to be part of Israel and trying to pass a blatantly unconstitutional law banning any support for the BDS (Bloycott, Divestment and Sanction) movement aimed at preventing Israel from illegally occupying Arab lands! So why did the senators suddenly discover morality in the midst of the Kashoggi affair? Did they come to Jesus? No. Most still worship Israel as before, ignoring the teachings of Christ while calling themselves "Christian" Zioniists. But after all, it is generally believed among the Elites, that Saudi is propping up the dollar under the petrodollar agreement signed by Nixon and King Faisal in 1973 – in exchange for the US military killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians throughout the world unfortunate enough to subscribe to the wrong kind of Islam (Shiites) or to the wrong religion (Yazidis, Christians), or to punish Muslim leaders like Saddam Hussein for being too secular when they are supposed to be enforcing Shariah per Saudi dictates. (For those who have not read our analyses of the petrodollar and the theory behind it, you can find two of them here and here, for example. It is the scandal of the century that no one dares to mention). Two things recently changed the whole equation for both the Saudis and the US: 1) Trump, who made no bones of his grovelling adoration of the Saudis during his first state visit, became as president a thorn in the side to the Establishment due to his brazen statements aimed at just about everyone. The senators’ show of new-found bravery against MBS was aimed at showing the public how supposedly cowardly Trump was for not condemning MBS. It was a slap in Trump's face. 2) The likelihood of MBS’s involvement in the murder of Kashoggi was strongly highlighted by Erdoğan and could no longer be hidden from the public. If the Senate had tried to ignore it, despite the public outcry, it would have further tarnished their already abysmal reputation, which is another reason why they acted to condemn MBS. 3) Trump had warned of “severe punishment” if the Saudis turned out to be involved in the murder of Kashoggi. It was pure bluster and he, of course, did nothing even when they were proved to be behind the murder, but his promise of punishment was an embarrassment to MBS, who is already hypersensitive to criticism (after all, that’s why the outspoken journo Kashoggi died in the first place), and who took it as an unforgivable insult. 4) On the other hand, when Putin waltzed into the G20 summit (see video linked above), where most other world “leaders” were shunning MBS, he famously high-fived the latter, grinning from ear to ear. This greeting was face-saving for MBS, who was obviously grateful for it. Putin then pulled up a chair right beside the beleaguered prince, still smiling. And you know what? Putin was doing nothing less than courting the prince. And for a very good reason. We seem to be seeing the outcome according to the report below. (The US presstitutes feigned horror that Putin would be friendly with the murderer but they had ignored the Saudi support for terror since the days of Dubbya so their show of morality was a sham). From all of the above, it is not surprising that MBS would figure he had only one true friend in the non-Arab world and that was Vladimir Putin. Now Putin, Xi and others know that Saudi is the linchpin on which the financial world, and hence the US dollar, turns. Yet the West is so cock-sure of its power that it doesn’t bother to use diplomacy with MBS, just takes him for granted. BIG mistake. The translated article below shows us what can happen to an arrogant superpower that thinks it can do as it pleases, with impunity. Putin and Xi have their long knives out. And now they’ve got a powerful partner who may turn out to be an ally in their de-dollarization campaign. And de-dollarization is the key to the multipolar world they seek. It is my opinion – not forecast, mind you, just opinion – that the Saudis may be about to make a move. If they do what I think they may do, then Judgment Day will have arrived for the hegemon in Washington. To understand why I say that, let’s look what the Saudi oil minister actually said, quoting from the translation below, with my notes in brackets: “During a speech at a press conference in Baku on March 17, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, called on the United States to refrain from anti-Russian sanctions. According to him, if Washington implements new measures, the consequences of this decision will affect the whole world. He also noted the role of Moscow in the international arena. [This is a clever double entendre, with a sophisticated and devious Middle Eastern twist intended as a subtle warning that either the Saudis will produce consequences for the world economy or the implementation of the measures would have natural consequences of their own. The reader/listener is not so sure and that is the intent. Of course, if the Saudis are not amused by the hegemon's mistreatment of their oil producing partner, then they could start eroding the dollar. In fact, they are the real hegemon, not the US, because they decide the fate of the West]. “Russia is a big supplier of gas to Europe, and oil to China. If this (the imposition of sanctions - ed.) Happens, the consequences will affect Europe, China and the whole world,” the Saudi minister threatened. Al-Falih notes that today Russia is acting as a technology leader and the largest supplier of energy resources in the world. In addition, Moscow occupies an important place in the space industry. He concluded that despite disputes in foreign policy, Saudi Arabia is determined to continue cooperation with the Russian Federation.” [And that too carries an undisguised threat. In fact that “cooperation” referred to here could include anything. It may even include a means of protecting their high-ranking OPEC partner Venezuela. Since MBS has been deeply insulted by the accusation of the US Senate and Trump’s threat (albeit insincere) of “severe punishment,” he is most likely looking for a way to avenge himself. Weakening the dollar would not be a bad choice of vendettas. Nor would cooperating with Russia in helping Venezuela bypass sanctions. After all, Venezuelan oil company PDVSA is now operating under the aegis of Rosneft.] Putin’s critics, even Russians who are fond of him, have been asking why he allows the Israelis, for example, to ride roughshod over Syria, pretending they suspect Iran is cooking up an attack. Iran is doing no such thing. The only real aggressor in the region is Israel, despite the Iranians’ flippant rhetoric about wiping out Israel. Sure, they might like to, but not with the US protecting them. But now, if Putin and Xi can persuade MBS to use the rouble or the yuan instead of the dollar, then that turns the financial world on its head. It will make investors think twice and thrice about buying Treasuries. And what is the hegemon without his fistful of dollars? He’s just an arrogant nation that no one trusts or likes and a whole lot of people everywhere want him to fail. They may get their wish. BEGIN TRANSLATION Saudi Arabia threatened Washington with consequences over new sanctions against Russia Russia, 18 Mar 2019 Saudi Arabia has warned Washington against new economic restrictions against Russia. If the US launches such measures, the consequences are guaranteed to affect the whole world. In February of this year, an updated bill was published on the US Congress website, according to which additional sanctions are being imposed against Russia. The ban covers transactions with the sovereign debt of the Russian Federation with a maturity of more than 14 days. In addition, the restrictions will affect investment in energy projects outside the Russian Federation worth more than $250 million. During a speech at a press conference in Baku [Azerbaijani capital] on March 17, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, called on the United States to refrain from anti-Russian sanctions. According to him, if Washington implements new measures, the consequences of this decision will affect the whole world. He also noted the role of Moscow in the international arena. “Russia is a big supplier of gas to Europe, and oil to China. If this (the imposition of sanctions - ed.) happens, the consequences will affect Europe, China and the whole world,” the Saudi minister threatened. Al-Falih notes that today Russia is acting as a technology leader and the largest supplier of energy resources in the world. In addition, Moscow occupies an important place in the space industry. [This may be a hint that Russia is capable of challenging the US as the new protector not only of Saudi but also the rest of OPEC - including Venezuela. In other words, hands off Venezuela]. He concluded that despite disputes in foreign policy, Saudi Arabia is determined to continue cooperation with the Russian Federation. Earlier, Riyadh and its allies from the Gulf countries announced plans to transform the intergovernmental organization OPEC in order to create an alliance with a group of ten countries headed by Russia. Author: Ilya Alexandrov END TRANSLATION
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