Why we are in the Middle East

In an article about the coming abandonment of the U.S. Dollar around the world is an interesting explanation of what the hell we are doing in the Middle East.  We had a good run with the petrodollars, but since we are devaluing the dollar in order to cheat those who bought it, those nations are planing a new trade currency, They do not need us:

...When that happens, the tide will have truly turned against the dollar, as it was an agreement between President Nixon and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1973 that originally created the petrodollar system. Nixon asked Faisal to accept only US dollars as payment for oil and to invest any excess profits in US Treasury bonds, notes, and bills. In exchange, Nixon pledged to protect Saudi oilfields from the Soviet Union and other potential aggressors, such as Iran and Iraq...

The plan might have worked longer, too, but there is moral hazard to easy money and fast spending.

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