>I agree with the entirety of your post. Theres more of an answer that can be found looking at the picture on a global scale - than just focusing on the whys and hows of 9/11. At the present time our Gov't considers the Saudi's to be friendlies<
I agree with this (and thanks!).
>A bigger problem looming in our continued relations with Arabia forseeably - is instability in the region that we've created. This is threatening to light up the whole middle east. We invaded and occupied a sovreign nation without cause; who could blame the Saudi's for not being happy about it then, and they're still not happy now. I'm sure they feel just as decieved with our intentions- this time around, as the anti saddam folks did, after we withdrew from Iraq in G W I - and left them as fair game for Saddam to hunt down and kill off.<
No- you're getting distracted.
I tried spelling this out several times (but it always gets too convoluted and lost and unpostable) and here I will try again- only this time I will post it.
A Eulogy for 911
1. World War 2. Europe was a disaster, the USA was victorious and unscathed.
2. The US agrees to rebuild Europe. We do this by supplying goods and services to Europe- stereos, clothes, cars, food and on and on- the goal is to rebuild Europe. They need it to successfully rebuild, we can make it (and profit from it). It works for both parties (this is why the 50's were "the good old days").
3. Europe needs our stuff but does not need the influx of US dollars (after all, American-made stuff is sold in US dollars- the goal is rebuilding, not dependence on a foreign curreny). As a result of Europe relying on the US (US dollar), they are buried in US dollars- this hurts their own economy.
4. How can these European countries get rid of US dollars without weakening their economy? By buying oil which they need regardless (get it?). The #1 thing ANY country absolutely needs to run is oil. Good thing US dollars and the US military is controlling oil- otherwise oil wouldn't safely get to where it needs to get to- otherwise they'd have no one else to give these US dollars to to (sic) get rid of them.
5. So- we protect the oil, print our own money, make our stuff, Europe buys our stuff, accumulates US dollars and gets rid of them by buying oil which they need anyway. We get our cut, they get their stuff. All fine and dandy- even Steven.
6. This brings us to today. Today Europe no longer needs our sneakers and microwaves and TVs- they make their own (or get them from a third world country like China, which has no real currency and is happy to get any business at all). They no longer have an influx of US dollars. But they still need oil, which you can only buy with US dollars (see: OPEC).
7. Ya see, as a result of the US supplying Europe for the past 70 years, a relationship has existed- a debtor/debtee relationship. It is the US' responsibility to outlay the cash to make the stuff (and run a negative deficit in the process) because Europe will eventually buy it all (and show a profit- this is how commerce works). For the past 70 years, America has been running as a deficit-economy... we had to- how else could we physically make the stuff to sell them? How else can you buy someTHING? It needs to first be a THING to sell.
8. Saddam was the fly in the ointment (see below). Up until Saddam, the only way Europe could get oil was with US dollars. This is why gas costs $4-6.00 a gallon in Europe (right down the block from the middle east) and much much less in America (on the other side of the world): it's because we control the oil. It's never been a problem because Europe was always looking to get rid of the incoming US dollars but now they don't need US dollars anymore.
9. Since it is a debtor/debtee relationship between the US and Europe, be definition, we end up on the short end of the stick- we must operate in the red... how else do you rebuild Europe after all?
9a. Saddam started selling oil for Euros. To those European nations, this is is triply beneficial:
A. Gas no longer will cost us $4-6.00 per gallon (because they cut OPEC and the US out). Gas is now $1.50 a gallon (ref: Afganistan pipeline).
B. We no longer have to convert monies from our flourishing (and now rebuilt) nations to US dollars to buy gas- buying gas no longer drains our treasuries (see: Euro).
C. We can do all of this while still retaining the debt owed to us by the US.
So as long as you can buy your oil from Saddam, you can have your cake and eat it too. You can then turn around and reduce the price of gas by 75% (imagine gas going from $3.00 a gallon to 75 cents), while no longer losing a chunk of your GNP (by converting it to dollars, to convert it to oil), and additionally- the US will end up STILL owing you billions and billions of dollars- your coffers will literally overflow with cash.
Oh, and PS- we just found out in the past decade or so that Iraq's oil reserves probably rival those of Saudi Arabia- roughly 330 bbl- enough to keep the US immersed in oil for the next 100 years.
This was the problem with Saddam.
The US has become the mafia of the world. What started as a honest, genuine attempt by the US to "rebuild the world" (and control the oil fields of the world in the process, to keep the wheels turning) has become The Sopranos- where if you want gas for your car, you first have to visit Uncle Sam.
Europe no longer needs the USA for anything. But they need oil, and the only way to get it is with US dollars. This is why the world hates us; this is the mentality that went into taking down Saddam- 911 was the tiniest part of a huge picture that involves our very way of life as Americans.
All nations have physical wealth- like Fort Knox. This physical wealth defines the economic viability of the country. (This is why the US can owe the world, yet own all the gold.) But there's only a few ways to define your country's wealth. Foremost among them is US dollars, which is the world economy. Now-rival to this is The Euro (which is the conglomeration of 15 nations under one currency which, in buying dollars, is larger than that of the US). There's also physical gold (but in actuality, 80% of the world's gold is in the US, mostly in West Point). There's also the yen and pound and so on, but the bottom line is the US dollar is the world's currency... it's "what all other countries in the world base their dollar against"; in gambling terms, we're "the house"... all nations have reserves of US dollars- they have to- to keep the oil flowing.
They're tangable, hard cash assets. Just as a bank is required to keep a % of its assets as actual cash, countries must also keep a "reserve" of hard currency in a fiat world economy (which, in oversimplified terms, is Bernake's job).
Well, in 2000, Saddam started selling oil for Euros, and also converted a portion of its reserves for Euros. In other words, he was "banking his faith in the integrity of the Euro"- and not the US dollar as much. He was taking Euros for oil and banking with/against Euros; he was poising himself to base his economy against the Euro, not the US dollar. He was closing the loop and cutting out the USA.
And he was encouraging other oil producing nations to do it too- and they were listening. "Why shut down your oil fields in August because OPEC tells you to? Why not keep them on and sell the surplus in Euros? You can get double the money in Euros too, and they have as many people as the US- their demand for oil is as large as the US'. Why shut them off- it's your land and your oil, isn't it? If OPEC wanted more oil they would say so- so why should we suffer because they want to control the US dollar?"
The US controls the world's supply of oil. They do this through OPEC- which is a conglomerate of oil producing nations. All oil producing nations agree to quotas- that means they pump until they've pumped enough then turn off the pumps. All oil producing nations, that is, except for Saudi Arabia- which controls its own output.
And since Saudi Arabia controls the output of oil (and you can only get oil in US dollars), Saudi Arabia by proxy controls the US dollar.
You see, the US made a deal with Saudi Arabia back in the 1940's. Saudi Arabia- with the world's largest cache of oil- agrees to sell oil only for US dollars and in exchange, Saudi Arabia gets infinite wealth* and protection from the strongest nation in the world.
*infinite wealth- since they control the output of oil, they control the US dollar. The US dollar is the world's currency. Their output affects the financial security of the world. Infinite wealth. This is why 15 of the 19 hijakers were Saudi but we never investigated or even considered Saudi Arabia as a suspect.
So here is Saddam with his OPEC quotas. And come mid-July, he's met his quota- time to turn off the pumps until January. And 1,000 miles away is Europe- starving for oil and paying double for it.
This is why we had to invade Iraq- everything else is window dressing- 911, Osama, planes or no planes, controlled demolitions etc. etc.. This is all about MONEY, and if we lose control of our money, America will simply implode-
How can a country that has a huge trade deficit (because they no longer need us to make their stuff) repay trillions of dollars in debt? We are one step away from a complete and total financial meltdown a thousand times worse than 1929. We're not that far away from "wheelbarrows of money to buy a loaf of bread" (SEE: recent US gold bonds).
Once Europe finds a way to get oil without buying it for US dollars, all that will be left is to pay the tab. And where is the USA- which no longer exports anything anymore, partly because they don't need our stuff and partly because China makes that stuff these days- going to come up with several trillion dollars? Once again: WE DON'T MAKE ANYTHING ANYMORE, WE CONSUME.
The casualties of 911- which historically continue to this day in Iraq with our boys- are all tragic heroes in an impossibly large series of events which historically can only be described as world shaping events- they truly are heroes and historical figures.
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THE FUTURE
There is only one of two possible future outcomes from these events. The more likely is another World War- the dollar vs the Euro, winner take all. If/as/when Europe evolves away from (traditional) oil, it will demand repayment of monies from the US (see: 1933). Eventually the debt will grow so large that any of an infinite number of trigger events will start world war three.
In this regard, Osama actually may be that trigger event, or a smaller trigger event that hopefully will prevent world war three. At that point, one side has to be 100% right and the other will have to be 100% wrong. This is where any 911 conspiracy lies- everything here encompasses that notion.
The less likely outcome is a peaceable solution- where everything gets worked out on equal terms (see: 1933). In a nutshell, Europe forgives the US of its debt and in exchange, the US allows oil for Euros. And the UN steps up and the US steps down its military. And everyone is happy.
But things rarely are worked out peacably.
PS- Re: the middle east. In 10 or 50 years, most of the oil will be gone. Those countries will face a financial meltdown (especially since there is no single currency). Those countries that invest their OPEC profits wisely today like Dubai, will end up ahead of the game when the oil runs out. Saudi Arabia will probably go down first- they're so ass backwards over there frankly it's embarrasing.
(This rant is in memory of Arnold Drake.)