The Dollar: Is It Economic Jihad?

I just saw this via Drudge: Whodunit? Sneak attack on U.S. dollar  - by Eamon Javers at POLITICO.  I didn't know what else to do so I sent him the links to this, that I've blogged several times before:

MEMRI June 16, 2008: Mujahideen Monitor U.S. Economy, Attempt to Undermine Dollar

June 16, 2008

Numerous postings on Islamist websites in the past two years reflect the mujahideen's growing interest in the state of the U.S. economy. As was argued in a 2007 MEMRI analysis, [1] many of the jihadists and their supporters have come to view their struggle against the U.S. and the West as an economic war. More specifically, they have come to the conclusion that it is financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere. Consequently, they emphasize the importance of targeting U.S. interests around the world, and of directing their military jihad primarily at targets that affect the U.S. economy.

The mujahideen's growing interest in undermining U.S. economy is reflected, for example, in an article in the 26th issue of the GIMF's e-magazine Sada Al-Jihad (Echo of Jihad), recently posted on Al-Hesbah and on other Islamist websites. [2] The article, titled "Why the Dollar Collapsed and How America Controls the Price of Oil," discusses the factors that contributed to the devaluation of the dollar in recent years.

The author lists among the key factors the economic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina; the losses caused by the September 11 attacks; the cost of the war on terror and of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the U.S.'s persistent trade deficit and growing government debt; investors' growing faith in the Euro; the recent subprime crisis in the U.S.; and the fact that financial institutions around the world have started to reduce their dollar reserves, thereby flooding the market with dollars and decreasing the demand for this currency.

The author ends his analysis with the following threat: "The dollar can expect two additional blows that will break its back... [namely] the announcement of the return of the Caliphate..." and the reinstatement of the gold standard in international monetary trade.

"Get Rid of [Your] American Dollars... and Buy Gold"

A recent posting on the Al-Ikhlas forum urges the mujahideen and their supporters to sell their dollars, if they have any, because Al-Qaeda is planning a strike inside the U.S. so that it will undermine the American economy: "[I advise you] to get rid of [your] American dollars... and buy gold instead... or real estate. The next attack inside the U.S. is imminent... Zawahiri will convey his instructions [regarding this attack] in his next [message]... This attack will put an end to the so-called United States of America and destroy its economy completely... The day of the attack is very near..." [3]

Given that it is highly atypical for Al-Qaeda to give prior warning of its attacks, the message is probably an attempt to pressure Muslims to sell dollars, in order to generate pessimism in the dollar market and thus accelerate the drop in its value.

[1]See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 387 "The Battle... Is Economic Rather than Military" - An Economically Oriented Concept of Jihad Emerges in Islamist Discourse," September 11, 2007, http://memriiwmp.org/content/en/report.htm?report=2371.

[2]http://www.myhesbah.net/v/showthread.php?t=182568.

[3]http://www.ek-ls.org/forum/showthread.php?t=152815.

And this - which I've also blogged ad nauseum - from Capitalism Gone Wild:

[Sept08] Electronic Run On Banks - $550 Billion Withdrawn In 1 Hour, Federal Reserve Halts Withdrawls - US Economy Would Have Collapsed

I really don't know why we have no media, no reporters who can or will follow dots and try to connect them.  It would be better if at least they tried and got the story wrong, instead of this sheer absence of effort.

They get paid, I don't. So-called journalists should be all over this stuff.  They should do their homework, because I'm getting REALLY TIRED of beating dead horses ...to no avail.

My apologies to Esther Sarah who taught me not to denigrate animals by using expressions like that. I just can't think of any other words in my present state... of Enormous Frustration.

See also my question, quietly getting oldin the BtB archives: Is Obama aiding and abetting economic jihad against America?

And even before that... in June 2008... I wrote this. I sure would appreciate being proven wrong.

Will the "pampered, narcisisstic and uniformed" among us happily accept Islam when it's presented as a stabilizing force to bring "peace and prosperity" back to our (Gd forbid) broken and chaotic society? It worked for the Taliban in Afghanistan, if you'll remember:

"After the Taliban threw out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and took control of the capital, they brought relative peace, returned electricity to the shattered city and began their campaign to impose their harsh version of Islamic law." (Associated Press, July 12, 1997)

This is not going to be pretty, boys and girls. And if you think that Islamofascists can't take down our economy in the process of taking over our entire continent, then you be a fool. Remember, these are people who have no qualms about beheading other people; in fact they relish it.

I'm thinking there should be some sort of resistance.... before it's too late. But where to begin?

Comments

[Jake]

Just like what happened last fall, George Soros has his fingers all over this.

[sildenafil citrate]

Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomia, "management of a household, administration") from οἶκος (oikos, "house") + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)".[1] Current economic models developed out of the broader field of political economy in the late 19th century, owing to a desire to use an empirical approach more akin to the physical sciences.