THERE are three reasons for wars in the Middle East and North Africa since 2001: oil, gas and the protection of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

In August 2001 the US State Department was in direct negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan over the contract rights to build a gas pipeline.

During negotiations the Taliban were told: ‘Accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs’. Instead the Taliban offered the rights to an Argentinean company, the Bridas Group. The resulting invasion was a consequence.

Iraq had been subject to sanctions since 1990 but, in 2000, it decided to change from trading oil in dollars to Euros.

The resulting invasion was the result.

Likewise with Libya. Rumours it intended to drop the US dollar for oil trading and nationalise its oil business for the benefit of Libyans immediately preceded the invasion by NATO.

In the pipeline is Iran, already having dropped the US dollar for at least 85 per cent of its oil trade and with huge reserves.

Clearly none of this has anything to do with installing democracy, otherwise the dictatorships in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar, who are currently savagely treating demonstrators would equally be at risk.

For the US, the preservation of the US dollar reserve currency is essential – with more than $3,233,000,000,000 circulating for use in commodity trading.

If a large part of this were to be surplus to requirements, the consequences for the USA would be terminal.

R LEE Burford Road Witney