I think this article suffers a bit from a lack of editing, however it contains some very good explanations of what is driving Empire policies, and I think, in a very dangerous direction. Thus below I have rearranged some quotes to magnify the important contributions made in this article by Koenig.
The petro-dollar is highly dependent on trading hydrocarbons in dollars – following the 40-year old agreement with the Saudis as head of OPEC in turn for US military security and protection. This alone, the constant demand for US dollars by all nations who needed to trade hydrocarbons, propelled the dollar into a ‘permanent’ reserve currency – allowing Washington to print dollars at will and to become a financial hegemon.Although Koenig arrives at this dramatic conclusion, he fails to follow up on the dire implications! Meanwhile otherwise astute observers like Pepe Escobar and William Engdahl seem to be blithely celebrating the expected arrival of a "multi-polar [capitalist] world". I would feel much better about the current situation if we had a mature revolutionary movement in the US to counter any tendency by Empire directors to engage in Armageddon-like actions.
No longer. These times are gone.
The US is able to maintain pressure on other currencies, currently the ruble, only as long as the petro dollar remains the major world reserve currency. This is the main reason why Washington gets away with a seven-fold indebted dollar (i.e. total outstanding and uncovered commitments are currently more than 7 times higher than the US GDP (US$ 17.6 trillion, 2014 est. – vs. US$ 128 trillion of unmet obligations); making the US worldwide the most indebted country – by far.
Once the demand for the (petro) dollar fades – as hydrocarbons are no longer dealt in dollars – the value of the dollar will decline and at worst may result in hyperinflation in the dollar economies, including those closely linked to the US economy.
Washington’s relentless aggression on Russia is of course part of the PNAC (Plan for a New American Century), to achieve full world hegemony, but at the same time Washington is desperate not to lose its dollar supremacy. The US is in a terminal quagmire. There is no way out. Washington is acting like a wild beast in its last throbs of live [life]. The empire may be capable of destroying the world – including itself – just so that nobody may survive outside of the self-appointed Masters of the Universe.
Meanwhile, there is every indication that Empire directors are getting desperate with their multifarious actions to maintain their dominance in the world: promotion of terrorist incidents, false-flag incidents, sponsorship of terrorist armies, aggressive actions against Russia, a fully developed national security state here at home, etc.
