Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

"If The US Does That, It'll Lose Iraq Forever" - Trump Threatened To Cut Off Baghdad's Access To Its NY Fed Cash


Charlie Echo
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

After rejecting Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's request to begin talks on the withdrawal of American troops, there are now more signs of the eroding ties between the two countries.

181119-sommer-iraqi-dinar-trump-tease_eh

The Wall Street Journal reports that according to Iraqi officials (yes, Iraq has anonymous sources too), the Trump administration warned Iraq this week that it risks losing access to a critical government bank account if Baghdad kicks out American forces.

We are sure, to Schiff et al., that sounds a lot like 'quid pro quo', but how will they balance the need to hammer the president with their neocon/establishment desire to keep boots on the ground, whatever it takes?

 
 

The warning regarding the Iraqi central bank account was conveyed to Iraq’s prime minister in a call on Wednesday, according to an official in his office, that also touched on the overall military, political and financial partnership between the two countries.

When Iraq needs hard currency, its central bank can request a shipment of bills that it then distributes into the financial system through banks and currency exchange houses. While the country’s official currency is the dinar, U.S. dollars are commonly used.

“The U.S. Fed basically has a stranglehold on the entire [Iraqi] economy,” said Shwan Taha, chairman of Iraqi investment bank Rabee Securities.

The potential economic and financial fallout is weighing on Iraqi officials

“Whenever you have any amicable divorce, you still have the worry about the children, pets, furniture and plants, some of which are sentimental,” said a senior Iraqi politician.

The New York Fed, which can freeze accounts under U.S. sanctions law or if it has reasonable suspicion the funds could violate U.S. law, said it doesn’t comment on specific account holders, but as WSJ notes, this financial threat isn’t theoretical:

The country’s financial system was squeezed in 2015 when the U.S. suspended access for several weeks to the central bank’s account at the New York Fed over concerns the cash was filtering through a loosely regulated market into Iranian banks and to the Islamic State extremist group.

The New York Fed doesn’t publicly disclose how much money it currently holds for Iraq’s central bank. But according to the Central Bank of Iraq’s most recent financial statement, at the end of 2018, the Fed held nearly $3 billion in overnight deposits.

The last few years have seen the Iraqi banking system devastated...

 

image.png.7cb7372ac491444bc26a23c781bf1b5e.png

 

 

An adviser to the prime minister, Abd al-Hassanein al-Hanein, said that while the threat was a concern, he did not expect the U.S. to go through with it.

“If the U.S. does that, it will lose Iraq forever,” he said.

Perhaps that is why Iraq has been building its de-dollarizing, gold reserves for the last few years...

bfm7FEB.jpg

So, after a year of desperately proclaiming that "The Fed is not political," it turns out that, in fact, The Fed is extremely geopolitical - we look forward to hearing the Left defend The NY Fed's "independent" decision to potentially cripple Iran's entire financial system.

 

  • Like 6
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Laid Back said:

Trump mentioned, US hold $35 billion dollars of their money in an account.
 

“The U.S. Fed basically has a stranglehold on the entire [Iraqi] economy,”

 

 

We should have a stranglehold on these people. They have allowed Iran to have some influence on their government and these people are stupid enough to hitch their wagon to a broke corrupt country like Iran! Now it’s time for us to swing our economic hammer on these Iraqi Nit Wits! JMHO! 🤠

  • Like 7
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Artitech said:

We should have a stranglehold on these people. They have allowed Iran to have some influence on their government and these people are stupid enough to hitch their wagon to a broke corrupt country like Iran! Now it’s time for us to swing our economic hammer on these Iraqi Nit Wits! JMHO! 🤠

Agreed 🤠

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Artitech said:

We should have a stranglehold on these people. They have allowed Iran to have some influence on their government and these people are stupid enough to hitch their wagon to a broke corrupt country like Iran! Now it’s time for us to swing our economic hammer on these Iraqi Nit Wits! JMHO! 🤠

instead of hitching it to a country that bans muslims, what world do you live in? Reap what you sow.

  • Haha 1
  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.