To address this, a discussion about political ideology seeps in, which violates HN guidelines. It has to do with the Gold Standard, the Bretton Woods agreement

To address this, a discussion about political ideology seeps in, which violates HN guidelines. It has to do with the Gold Standard, the Bretton Woods agreement, Nixon taking the US off the Gold Standard, and countries in the Middle East that the US has attacked (either overtly or secretly). Basically the hypothesis is that the US has attacked every oil-exporting country soon after they threaten to transact oil in any currency other than the petrodollar (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran, etc). I haven't read into it enough to support or refute the claims, but it's a common refrain in US-libertarian media.