Executive Summary
In early 2026, America is using money as a weapon against Iraq. Iraq wants to choose Nouri al-Maliki as its prime minister, but America says no.
America is threatening to take away Iraq's oil money to force Iraq to obey.
This shows a bigger pattern: rich countries use banks and money to control poor countries. Now, countries around the world are buying gold to escape this control system.
Introduction
The Money Power Game
Imagine this: You earn money at your job. You put the money in your neighbor's bank account because he has a big safe and you think it is safer there.
One day, your neighbor does not like your political choice. He says, "If you do not vote the way I want, I will not let you take your money out." You are trapped.
You need the money to pay rent, buy food, and live. Your neighbor now controls your life through the bank account.
This is exactly what is happening to Iraq in 2026. Iraq sells oil to countries around the world. It gets paid in American dollars. These dollars go into an account at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
Iraq cannot touch this money without permission from America.
America now says, "Choose a different leader, or we will not let you have your oil money."
How Did Iraq Get Into This Trap?
After America invaded Iraq in 2003, the American government created a special bank account called the Development Fund Iraq.
The US military and government ran this account. They said the money would be safe there and would help rebuild Iraq. Iraq trusted this. Iraq agreed to keep its oil money in America's bank.
Twenty-three years have passed. Iraq still keeps all its oil money in that same American bank account. Here is the problem: Iraq's government depends on this money.
Iraq's oil makes 90% of all government money. Without this money, Iraq cannot pay teachers. Soldiers cannot get paid. Hospitals cannot function. Babies would not get medicine.
The Current Crisis
Money as a Political Weapon
In January 2026, Iraq's main Shiite political groups nominated Nouri al-Maliki to be prime minister again.
Maliki was prime minister before. Some people like him. Some people do not like him. But Iraq's parliament should decide this question, not America.
America did not like the choice.
President Trump said America would not help Iraq anymore. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent messages saying Iraq cannot choose a government that listens to Iran.
These words really mean: "If you choose this leader, we will freeze your oil money."
Iraq's leaders understood the message. If America freezes Iraq's $60 to 70 billion of oil money, the Iraqi government will collapse.
Teachers will not work. Soldiers will not work. The electricity system will fail. The government will fall apart.
How Much Power Does America Have?
Let me give you clear numbers.
Iraq produces about 4.5 million barrels of oil per day. Each barrel sells for about $80.
That is $360 million per day.
That is about $130 billion per year from oil. Iraq's government gets 90% of this money from oil sales—about $117 billion per year.
If America freezes this money at the Federal Reserve, Iraq's government cannot pay:
4.5 million government workers (no salary)
Military and security forces (no weapons, no bullets, no food)
Teachers and schools (no books, no buildings)
Hospitals and doctors (no medicine, no equipment)
Roads and bridges (no repairs, no construction)
Everything collapses
This is why America's threat works. America does not need to invade Iraq. America does not need 500,000 soldiers.
America just needs to control the bank account. This is money power.
Why Are Countries Buying Gold?
Other countries are watching what is happening to Iraq. They are scared. They are thinking: "America could do this to us too."
Countries are buying gold to escape this trap. In 2024 and 2025, central banks (which are like the banks of countries) bought record amounts of gold. Here are the numbers:
China bought 500 tons of gold in 2024-2025. Russia bought 300 tons. India bought 200 tons.
Turkey bought 100 tons. Saudi Arabia bought 50 tons. These are huge amounts.
Why gold? Because gold is real. You can hold it. America cannot freeze it. America cannot take it. You can hide it in vaults that America cannot reach.
In 2022, America froze Russia's $300 billion dollars of American money when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia could not use any of it. This shocked the world. Countries learned: American dollars can be stolen by America.
Gold is different. If you own a bar of gold in your vault, America cannot take it. Nobody can take it. This is why countries want gold.
The De-Dollarization Movement
Breaking Free
The world is slowly breaking away from the American dollar system. Here is what is happening:
First, countries are buying gold instead of keeping dollars. Central banks bought record amounts of gold in 2025.
Second, countries are creating new payment systems that do not use American banks. China created a system called CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System). Russia, India, and others are building systems that do not use American dollars.
Third, countries are trading with each other using their own currencies. India and Russia trade using rupees and rubles, not dollars. China and Brazil trade using yuan and reais, not dollars. This is called de-dollarization.
Why is this happening?
Because America keeps using financial punishment as a weapon.
Iran (First Freeze) — Started in 1979 $12 billion, later froze in 1995, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2020 : Total $120 billion
Venezuela — 2017-2019,2026
Afghanistan — August 2021 $9.5 Billion
Russia — February 2022 $300 Billion ( EU & US); $220 Billion in EU.
Now America is threatening to freeze Iraqi money. $60-70 billion
Every time America does this, more countries think: "We do not want dollars. We want gold. We want to escape."
The Paradox
How Power Creates Its Own Weakness
This creates a big problem for America. American power comes from the dollar. The dollar is powerful because everyone uses it. But every time America uses financial punishment, fewer countries want to use the dollar.
Imagine a shopkeeper in a neighborhood. Everyone shops at his store. He is powerful. But then he starts refusing to sell to people he does not like. People get angry. They start shopping at other stores. Soon, nobody shops at his store anymore. His power is gone.
This is happening to America now. America is using financial weapons so much that countries are running away. They are buying gold. They are building new payment systems. They are reducing their use of dollars.
The Maliki situation in Iraq is a perfect example. America is using money power to control Iraq's government choice. But this makes Iraq and other countries want to escape the dollar system faster.
What Happens Next?
Iraq has several choices. It can choose the leader America wants, keep its oil money, and stay trapped. Or it can choose its own leader, lose its money temporarily, and eventually build new financial systems with other countries.
Or it can try to move its money out of the Federal Reserve before America freezes it.
Most countries, when they feel this pressure, start building new arrangements. They negotiate with China to trade oil for yuan. They join alternative payment systems. They buy more gold.
The bigger question is this: Will America's power continue, or will the world escape the dollar system?The answer is probably both. The dollar will remain important. But it will be less powerful. More gold will be used. New payment systems will grow.
Iraq's 2026 crisis is a small example of a giant global shift. The world is slowly breaking free from American financial control.
Gold is becoming more important. New payment systems are growing. The old system is cracking. It is not collapsing tomorrow. But the cracks are getting bigger.
