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It's not about chemical weapons.
It's not about oil even.
It's about the currency it is traded in.

Note: If you'd like to understand why this is important, I'd recommend reading Nitin Gupta's answer to What is the economics behind printing of currency?

IRAQ
2000.11 Saddam announces Iraq will only accept EUR as payment for its oil


2001.09 World Trade Centre destruction
2002.11 Saddam invites UN weapons inspectors into the country [18]
2003.01 UN weapons inspectors didn't find evidence of nuclear weapons in Iraq [18]
2003.01 Germany rules out Iraq invasion support

2003.01 France joins Germany in opposing Iraq invasion

2003.02 Europeans oppose Iraq invasion

2003.03 US, UK and Australia invade Iraq

2003.08 Public support for Iraq invasion plummets in the UK

2004.03 Madrid train bombings

2005.03 Italy plans Iraq pull out

2005.07 London bombings

2006.12 Saddam Hussein was executed and his hanging spread on the web

LIBYA
1999.08 Gaddafi announces plans for the African Development Bank, reviving the gold dinar as a single African currency


2009.00 Gaddafi announces Libya only accepts gold-backed dinar for oil

2011.02 Libyan Civil War starts

2011.07 US declares Libyan rebels as government and releases $30b

2011.10 US+NATO invade Libya

2011.10 Gaddafi is beaten and shot to death, and his body publicly displayed for days in an industrial freezer

IRAN
2003.Q1 US starts work on operation TIRANNT ("Theater IRAN Near Term")


2005.01 Iran announces Oil Bourse in Kish trading in EUR and IRR

2006.12 Security Council imposes sanctions on Iran for nuclear enrichment

2007.05 Bush authorises CIA operations against Iran

2007.09 Israel bombs Syria

2007.12 Iran completed converting all oil exports to non-USD

2008.02 Iranian Oil Bourse opens

2009.00 UK starts planning covert action in Syria

2009.02 Israel launches covert war against Iran

2009.11 IAEA adopts resolution against Iran's nuclear program

2009.11 Lula welcomes Ahmadinejad to Brazil

2010.05 US frustrates Iran-Turkey enriched fuel swap brokered by Brazil

2011.00 US+UK start training opposition forces in Syria

2011.03 Civil uprising starts in Syria

2013.03 ŸThe BRICS announce plans for a BRICS Development Bank

2013.06 Protests simultaneously hit the streets in Turkey and Brazil

Footnotes

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