In recent decades Washington has made its domination over the rest of the world in all areas of life its prime objective, and that objective is being pursued whatever the cost even today.
One of the first steps in this direction was made by Nixon’s departure from the gold standard that was announced on August 15, 1971. From that moment on, it was no longer possible to convert dollars into gold coins. The main reason for this step was the disparity in real purchasing power of the dollar against the declared gold parity, along with the prolonged deficit of the US trade balance. This measure enabled the United States with the support of a number of European satellites to start printing dollars without any restrictions, which automatically placed the US economy above any international competition and provided its businesses with unfair advantages. It goes without saying that other countries were forced to suffer from this disparity, and the financial damage they’ve sustained hasn’t been repaid in any form by the United States.
To take advantage of this situation, Washington started to develop its military capabilities rapidly, ensuring is primacy over any economic competition through the use of bullets and bombs, ignoring international law completely while launching military interventions in the Middle East, Africa and other regions around the world.
In order to strengthen those trade and economic advantages Washington enjoyed over the rest of the world, the White House today is pushing for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) and the Transatlantic Trade Partnership (TTIP) to be signed by its satellites, which would allow the US to rewrite the norms of international trade for its “partners” even further. An extensive amount of pressure from Washington is being put these days on its “most loyal allies”, since even they seem reluctant to sign such one-sided and unprofitable deals.
But there’s yet another weapon of choice Washington has been using all too often – sanctions it’s imposing on those states who refuse to yield once they contest American coercion. We are being forced into believing that US jurisdiction is somehow above the norms of even international law. The most zealous among Washington strategists have been using such a mindset lately especially against European banks and countries like Iran and Russia, along with forcing its so-called allies to support such actions, even when it results in extensive amounts of damage being inflicted upon their economies.
The latest example of such unilateral action has been the ruling of the US Supreme Court to pay compensations to the families of those Americans killed in the terrorist attacks in 1983 and 1996 in Beirut and Riyadh, using the money from “frozen” Iranian assets. This decision has provoked massive public outrage in Iran. In one of his recent statements, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made it clear that Iran will not give the White House its money so easily.
Instead of backing down, as most countries do in the face of Washington’s coercive actions, Iranian lawmakers decided to adopt a law that serves as a form of response to the decision of the US Supreme Court. The Iranian Project media source would report:
The Iranian parliament have approved the general outlines of a bill that would obligate the government to claim compensation from the United States for its hostile moves against Iran over the past 63 years. Iran’s lawmakers adopted the double-urgency bill, in five articles with 174 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 4 abstentions.
According to the bill, administration will have to take legal measures to receive compensation from the US government for its crimes against Iran and its nationals and international court.
The cases include the US involvement in the 1953 coup against the government of then democratically-elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq and its role in another coup known as Nojeh, a failed attempt to overthrow the newly established Islamic Republic. The compensation demanded from the US is also for its involvement in an 8-year Iraqi-imposed war on Iran in the 1980s that led to more than 223,000 Iranian deaths, along with the damage inflicted on the Islamic Republic by dipping into Iran’s frozen assets in the US. It’s been announced that Iran would also be obliged to claim compensation from the US for its supporting or contributing to the Israeli regime’s anti-Iran provocations over the years.
Of course, this step that Iranian parliamentarians are taking is only the first of many in bid to show the international community that it is not Washington that rules the world, but a long number of countries that are bound to live together according to the norms of international law. The White House, intoxicated by its hegemonic ambitions, should no longer dictate its will to other nations, nations who increasingly frustrated by Washington’s unilateral and self-serving actions.
Therefore, it would be hardly surprising if tomorrow other states that suffered from the external interference of the US also demand the US to compensate them for their suffering and the damage they unlawfully sustained. And there could be many such states, not only the nations of Asia (in particular Japan regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Korea, Vietnam and many other others), but also nations including the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria, which may even create a “unified alliance of victims of Washington’s policies,” to make a united appeal for compensation. And if this compensation is not paid, international sanctions could be next and may soon be imposed upon the United States.
Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”