Re: Federal Budget Deficit Expected to Reach Over $300 Billion Next

["Dr. Bruce R. McFarling" <Bruce.McFarling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 26 Jan 2003 17:05:06 -0500,
"Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Dr. Bruce R. McFarling wrote:
>
>>So for that case, I don't see anything standing in
>>the way of 40/40/20 USD/EUR/JPY reserves, or even
>>0/70/30 USD/EUR/JPY reserves, except psychology.

>How about an invasion or a coup or a general strike
>inspired from Washington?  Is pyschology synonymous
>with fear in your book?

I think invasion can be ruled out, if it is already
so hard to put together an invasion of a a weakened
state ruled by a bad man also hated by Israel with
the lure of oil to help persuade domestic interests to
push the drumbeat for war.

(See, eg,

Nick Clegg:
We must choose between Europe and America http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=371567

Robert Fisk:
The wartime deceptions: Saddam is Hitler and it's not about oil
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=373102
)

Can the US really invade Saudi Arabia?  If it sponsors
a coup, who does the US get to run the country ... Al
Qaeda? And how the devil would the US generate a general
strike in Saudi Arabia?

Also, remember what happened the last time that the US
threatened to strangle Japan's existing sources of oil
imports.

No, I think it is more the habit of thinking of the
US as the world currency and the institutionalisation
of the practices that have gone with this.  If the
threat of Iraq is tamed, and especially if there is
a US occupation of Iraq, fury from the US balanced by
warm appreciation from Europe and Japan would seem to
be an extremely politic move for the monarchy.