Venezuela and Bush

[historian]

Bush is succeeding in pissing off the venezualan president everytime he opens his stupid mouth. He supported the aborted coup several years ago then went silent when the ousted president returned.
Now I want to see whether chimp can push this president to the very edge and have Venezuela claim that it no longer accepts dollars for oil purchases, but it wants euros!
Has anyone any idea of that will do to the economy?
Chimp has destroyed everything else - why not the currency?

[mitchtv]

1. isn't that what Saddam did?

Syria might have to step aside.

[maggrwaggr]

3. it's one of the big three reasons we invaded

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/vv/20040220/lo_laweekly/51202&cid=891&ncid=1501

(snip)

One of those reasons is that sanctions and containment were working and everybody pretty much knew it. Many companies around the world were preparing to do business with Iraq in anticipation of a lifting of sanctions. But the U.S. and the U.K. had been bombing northern and southern Iraq since 1991. So it was very unlikely that we would be in any kind of position to gain significant contracts in any post-sanctions Iraq. And those sanctions were going to be lifted soon, Saddam would still be in place, and we would get no financial benefit.

The second reason has to do with our military-basing posture in the region. We had been very dissatisfied with our relations with Saudi Arabia, particularly the restrictions on our basing. And also there was dissatisfaction from the people of Saudi Arabia. So we were looking for alternate strategic locations beyond Kuwait, beyond Qatar, to secure something we had been searching for since the days of Carter to secure the energy lines of communication in the region. Bases in Iraq, then, were very important that is, if you hold that is Americas role in the world. Saddam Hussein was not about to invite us in.

The last reason is the conversion, the switch Saddam Hussein made in the Food for Oil program, from the dollar to the euro. He did this, by the way, long before 9/11, in November 2000 selling his oil for euros. The oil sales permitted in that program arent very much. But when the sanctions would be lifted, the sales from the country with the second largest oil reserves on the planet would have been moving to the euro.

The U.S. dollar is in a sensitive period because we are a debtor nation now. Our currency is still popular, but its not backed up like it used to be. If oil, a very solid commodity, is traded on the euro, that could cause massive, almost glacial, shifts in confidence in trading on the dollar. So one of the first executive orders that Bush signed in May <2003> switched trading on Iraqs oil back to the dollar.

[fearnobush]

2. That would mean total war and $5 dollar per gallon gas prices.

I believe the Chimp's masters will wait until they steal the next election (If we can't stop them) to do in Venesuela. Scary stuff. Fight Bush, Fight Diebold, we want our paper!!!

[TinaTyson]

4. What is John Kerry's position? I couldn't find it on his web site.

There is some stuff in his forums, from supporters, but I didn't see an official position.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Chimp is already...

promoting Cisneros and setting the groundwork for civil war in Venezuela.