Since its illegal 2003 invasion, the U.S. has maintained full control of Iraqi oil revenues: WHY?
By ethanh // 2024-09-30
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The Middle Eastern nation of Iraq appears to be a money-laundering proxy state for the West ever since the United States invaded the country illegally back in 2003 under the leadership of President George W. Bush. Bush signed Executive Order 13303 on May 22, 2003, stipulating that all revenues from oil sales in Iraq are to be funneled into an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Every president since Bush, including Joe Biden, has renewed EO13303 annually to make sure it stays in place. Entitled "Protection of the Development Fund for Iraq and Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest," EO13303 gives control over oil, Iraq's financial lifeline, to the private Federal Reserve and whichever U.S. president is currently occupying the White House. What the world wants to know is why is this the case? It turns out that Iraq's financial dependence on the U.S. dates back to 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 661 was imposed to punish Iraq by sanctioning it from international trade which, coupled with then-President Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the West's withdrawal demands, crippled Iraq's economy. In 1991, UN Security Council Resolution 687 was passed to extend these sanctions via the controversial "Food for Oil" program. That program allowed Iraq to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods like food and medicine. Fast-forward to 2003 when UN Security Council Resolution 1483 was passed to create a U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that would oversee the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) to manage Iraqi oil revenues. UNSC Resolution 1483 does not mention the Federal Reserve as being the depository for Iraqi funds, and in fact mentions the Central Bank of Iraq as the banking operation that was supposed to oversee Iraq's oil revenues. Somehow, the Federal Reserve ended up becoming the recipient of all that cash. "This decision allowed the U.S. government to maintain tight control over Iraq's oil revenues," explains Hussein Askary, writing for The Cradle. "From that point until today, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has had to submit requests for funds to the U.S. Treasury, which then approves or denies these requests based on its own criteria." "This monthly transfer of U.S. dollars – which are literally flown into Baghdad in pallets of hard cash – determines Iraq's and its 40-million-population's ability to pay for basic needs like salaries, food, and medicine." (Related: Back in June, the 50-year petrodollar partnership between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia expired, possibly pointing to a soon end for U.S. dollar dominance.)

Iraq: an easy U.S. blackmailing target

Because the U.S. controls Iraq's money system, Washington can blackmail and punish the country anytime it wishes. Whenever Iraq falls out of compliance with the regional goals of the U.S. in the Middle East, Washington can simply delay or deny fund transfers from the Federal Reserve. If the U.S. were not involved in controlling Iraq's oil revenues, Iraq would be sitting on around $120 billion worth of oil revenues. Instead, all that cash is tied up under the control of the Federal Reserve, and Iraq is suffering under a growing debt burden. "The country’s inability to control its own funds has prevented long-term reconstruction and development, forcing it to rely on international loans," Askary further writes. "Ironically, Iraq has also become one of the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bills, with investments totaling $41 billion in 2023." Even though the UN has since shuttered the DFI program, Iraq's finances are still under the full control of Washington and the Federal Reserve. Will that ever change, or will Iraq continue to be enslaved by its Western masters? More related news about how the U.S. controls the world via the corrupt financial system can be found at Corruption.news. Sources for this article include: TheCradle.co NaturalNews.com
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