The Text below is the transcript of the interview between    Alex Knyazev of Russia TV24 and Peter    Koenig.   
    Questions Russia    TV24: What were the reasons Mr.    Gaddafi was killed and NATO invaded Libya?  
    PK: Mr. Muammar Gaddafi was certainly    not killed for humanitarian reasons.  
    Mr. Gaddafi wanted to empower Africa. He had a plan to create a    new African Union, based on a new African economic system. He    had a plan to introduce the Gold Dinar as backing for African    currencies, so they could become free from the dollar dominated    western monetary system, that kept and keeps usurping Africa;    Africas vast natural resources, especially oil and minerals.    As a first step, he offered this lucrative and very beneficial    alternative to other Muslim African states, but leaving it open    for any other African countries to join.  
    At the time of Gaddafis atrocious murdering by Hillary    Clinton, then Obamas Secretary of State, and the    French President Sarkozy, driven by NATO    forces, on 20 October 2011  Libyas gold reserves were    estimated at close to 150 tons, and about the same amount of    silver. The estimated value at that time was US$ 7billion.  
    Its your guess who may have stolen this enormous treasure from    the people of Libya. As of this date, it is nowhere to be    found.  
    Gaddafi also wanted to detach his oil sales from the dollar,    i.e. no longer trading hydrocarbons in US dollars, as was the    US / OPEC imposed rule since the early 1970s. Other African and    Middle Eastern oil and gas producers would have followed. In    fact, Iran had already in 2007, a plan to introduce the Tehran    Oil Bourse, where anyone could trade hydrocarbons in currencies    other than the US dollar. That idea came to a sudden halt, when    Bush (George W) started accusing Iran of planning to build a    nuclear bomb which was, of course a fabricated lie, confirmed    by the 16most prominent US security agencies- and later also by    the UN body for nuclear safety  the International Atomic    Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna. Washington needed a pretext to    stop the Tehran Oil Bourse which would have decimated the need    for dollars, and thereby most probably would have meant the end    of the dollar hegemony.  
    Saddam Hussein had the same idea. He promised    as soon as the murderous and criminal embargo imposed by the UN     of course dictated by Washington  would end in 2000, he    would sell his petrol in euros. He was killed.  
    Gaddafis new plan for Africa would have meant an entirely new    banking system for Africa, away from the now western (mainly    France and UK) central banks dominated African currencies. -It    could have meant the collapse of the US dollar -or at least an    enormous blow to this fake dollar based western monetary    system.  
    So, the Gold Dinar was not to happen. Anybody  to this day-    who threatens the dollar hegemony will have to die. That means    anybody other than China and Russia, because they have already    a few years ago largely detached their economy from the dollar,    by implementing hydrocarbons as well as other international    contracts in gold or the respective local currencies. That    alone has already helped reducing dollar holdings in    international reserve coffers from almost 90% some 20 years ago    to a rate fluctuating between 50% and 60% today.  
    The also Washington /    CIA induced Arab Spring was to turn the entire Middle East    into one huge chaos zone- which today of course, it is. And    there are no plans to secure it and to return it to normalcy,    to what it was before. To the contrary, chaos allows to divide    and conquer  to Balkanize, as is the plan for Syria and Iraq.    One of the Washington led western goals of this chaos of    constant conflict is to eventually install a system of private    central banks in the Middle Eastern / North African countries    controlled by Washington  privately owned central banks,  la    Federal Reserve (FED), where the neocons, the Rothschilds and    freemasonry would call the shots. That is expected to help    stabilize the US dollar hegemony, as the hydrocarbons produced    in this region generate trillions of dollars in trading per    year.  
    Gaddafi also wanted to introduce, or had already started    introducing into Africa a wireless telephone system that would    do away with the US / European monopolies, with the Alcatels    and AT and Ts of this world, which dominate and usurp the    African market without scruples.  
    Gaddafi was not only the leader of Libya, he had ambitions to    free Africa from the nefarious fangs of the west. Despite being    called a dictator and despot by the west  they do that to    anyone who doesnt submit to Washingtons rules  he was very    much liked by Libyans, by his people. He had a more than 80%    approvalrate by the Libyan people. Libyas oil fortune has    allowed him to create a social system in his country where    everybody would benefit from their lands riches  free health    care, free education, including scholarships abroad, modern    infrastructure, top-notch technology in medicine, and more.  
    Russia TV24: Why the gold dinar would    be unacceptable for the western leaders? Or not?  
    PK: Yes, the gold Dinar was totally    unacceptable for western leaders. It might have devastated the    US dollar hegemony, as well as Europes control over the    African economy  which is nothing less than neo-colonization    of Africa  in many ways worse than what happened for the past    400 or 800 years of murderous military colonization and    oppression -which is by the way still ongoing, just more    discretely.  
    Look at the Ivory Coast 2010 presidential elections.    Theirarguably unelected President, Alassane    Ouattara (picture on the right), was in a tie with the    peoples candidate, Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo    said he won the election and asked for a recount which was    denied. Ouattara, a former IMF staff, was pushed in, basically    by recommendation of the IMF. He is the darling of the    neoliberal international financial institutions  and is    leading a neocon government  an economy at the service of    western corporations. Thats what they wanted. Thats what they    got. Modern colonization is well alive and thriving. I call    this a financial coup, instigated by foreign financial    institutions.  
    Mr. Laurent Gbagbo was accused of rape,    murder and other atrocities and immediately transferred to the    International Criminal Court (sic-sic)  what justice?  in The    Hague, where he was waiting five years for a trial which    started on 28 January 2016 and is ongoing. On 15 May 2017, it    was extended at the Prosecutors request to collect further    evidence. This by all likelihood is just a farce to dupe the    public into believing that he is getting a fair trial. Already    in hearings in 2014, Gbagbo was found guilty of all charges,    including murder, rape and other crimes against humanity. Like    SlobodanMiloevi, he is an inconvenient    prisoner, or worse would he be as a free man. So, he will most    likely be locked away  and one day commit suicide or die    from a heart attack. The classic. Thats how the west    does away with potential witnesses of their atrocious crimes.    End of story. Nobody barks, because the free worldhas been    made believe by the western presstitute media that these people    are inhuman tyrants. Thats precisely what the western medias    headlines proclaimed about Muammar Gaddafi: Death of a Tyrant.  
    On the other hand, in 2015, Ouattara was reelected by a    landslide. Thats what western media say. Colonization under    African leadership. He is protected by the French army.      
    Back to Libya: Take the specific case of France and West and    Central Africa. The French Central Bank, the Banque de France,    backs the West and Central African Monetary Unions currency,    the CFA franc. The West African Central Bank, for example, is    covered, i.e. controlled, by about 70% of the Banque de France.    Banque de France has an almost total control over the economy    of its former West African colonies. No wonder, Sarkozy, a    murderer and war criminal  sorry, it must be said, backed    Hillarys  also a murderer and war criminal, push for NATO to    destroy the country and kill thousands of Libyans, including    Libyas leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Hillarys infamous words:    We came we saw he died. And that she said    shamelessly, jokingly, laughing. Would the termhuman    being still apply to such a monster?  
    Russia TV24: What countries are    mostly interested in the Libyan recovery and why? What are the    chances for the economy of Libya to be repaired?  
    PK: Well, if anybody should be    interested in Libyas recovery it would be first the Libyans    who are still living in Libya, because they are now living in a    Libya of chaos and high crime, of mafia-economics, of tyranny    by gang leadership. They certainly have an interest to return    to normalcy. North African neighboring countries should also be    interested in restoring order and rebuilding Libyas    infrastructure and economy, stopping the spill-over of high    crime and terrorism. They have lost an important trading    partner.  
    Of course, the rest of Africa, who have suffered from    continuous colonization of the west, after Gaddafis demise,    should also be interested in reestablishing Libya. They know,it    will never be the same Libya that was there to help their    economy, to help them prying loose from the western boots and    fangs of exploitation.  
    And Europe -should be most interested in reestablishing order    and a real economy in Libya- cleaning it from a murderous Mafia    that promotes drugs and slave trade ending up in Europe. Libya    today is one of the key hubs for the boat refugees from Africa    to Europe.Instead of helping Libyans to come to peace within    its borders and to rebuild their country, the European    Commission launched in 2015 a new European Border and Coast    Guard Agency, targeting specifically Libya  destroying refugee    boats, if they cannot stop them from leaving Tripoli, Benghazi    and otherLibyan Sea ports.  
    Of course, spineless Europe doesnt dare saying they would like    to remake Libya into a functional state.Libya is Washingtons    territory  and Washington wants chaos to continue in Libya.As    such Libya is a formidable ground for training and recruitment    of terrorists, drug and slave trading; a country where crime    prospers and the CIA takes their cut, as these criminal    activities are directed by the CIA and their affiliates. The    rest of the world doesnt see that. For them its all the fault    of the dictator Gaddafi, who thanks goodness was eliminated by    the western powers, lords of money and greed.  
    Russia TV24: Decades ago Libya was    very successful from an economic point of view. What main    things could you remember?  
    PK: Libya was economically and    socially a successful country, arguably the most successful of    Africa. Prosperity from oil was largely shared by Gaddafi with    his countrymen. Libya had a first-class social safety net, an    excellent transportation infrastructure, free medical services,    and modern hospitals,equipped with latest technology medical    equipment, free education for everyone  and students could    even receive scholarships to study abroad.  
    Under President Gaddafi, Libya built friendly relations based    on solidarity with other African States and was always ready to    help if a brother nation was in trouble. Gaddafi was a bit    like Hugo Chavez in South America. He had a    large heart and charisma, maybe not so much for western    leaders, but certainly for Libyas own population. Yet, he is    accused of tyranny by the West, and is said to having    financially supported Sarkozys Presidential campaign     Sarkozy, the very leader (sic-sic),who then helped Hillary    lynch Gaddafi. If that doesnt say a lot about Europes    criminal leaders  what will?  
    Muammar Gaddafi was accused by Washington  an accusation    immediately repeated by the spineless European puppets, of    being responsible for the December 1988 PanAm Flight 103    bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. More than 240 people perished    in the crash. Not a shred of evidence was discovered that Libya    was behind the plot. But it was a good reason to start a    program of sanctions against Gaddafis regime. It was most    likely a false flag. What interest would anybody have to bring    down that flight, other than clamping down on an oil-rich    country.  
    Russia TV24: Now we see oil    production has grown to at least 50% of the 2011 level. Can we    expect it to continue growing and affecting the oil market?  
    PK: Yes, Libyan oil production has    increased to about 50% of its 2011 level. Libya is known for    her high premium light petrol, commanding premium prices. It is    a market niche which might well be affected by Libyas stepped    up production. But who really benefits from this production    increase?  Most likely not the Libyans, but the international    corporations, mostly American and French oil giants. They call    the shots on the production levels. They are part of the    international cartel of oil price manipulators, as are the Wall    Street banksters,predominantly Goldman Sachs.  
    Russia TV24: The sanctions against    Libya are lifted and all barriers for foreign investments have    disappeared as well. Does it mean the county will face recovery    soon?  
    PK: Sanctions may be lifted, but that    does not mean that foreign investments will now flow to Libya.    The country is still under chaos and disarray  and in my    opinion will stay so in the foreseeable future. Thats in    Washingtons interest.Investors are reluctant to put their    money into a crime nest and a terrorist breeding ground which    is working closely with Washington and its secret services  to    provide terrorists to fight US-proxy wars around the Middle    East, for example in Syria and Iraq  and now even in    Afghanistan  and who knows where else.  
    Russia TV24:How do you assess the    political situation in the country today?  
    PK: As much as I would like to end on    a positive note, it is difficult. As long as the CIA, chief    instigator of all wars in the Middle East, is using the    purposefully created Libyan chaos to train and recruit Islamic    State fighters, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups which vary    only in name but have the same objective  namely regime change    in Syria  prospects for a foreseeable bright future are dim.  
    Of course, a lot depends on the unpredictable Trump Presidency.    Will he seek peace in the Middle East?  That would be the    surprise of the Century  or will he continue on the track    dictated by the Deep State (not least to save his skin)     continue destruction of the Middle East, Balkanization of Syria     all as a stepping stone to Full Spectrum Dominance  as is    written in the American Bible  the PNAC  Plan for a New    American Century  which outlines the American Pax    Romana. They were the bloodiest 200  300 years of the    Roman Empire. Here comes the positive note: It is unlikely that    the American empire will last that long. Its on its last    legs.When it finally falters, Libya may recover, and so may the    rest of the world.  
    Peter Koenig is an economist and    geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and    worked extensively around the world in the fields of    environment and water resources. He lectures at universities in    the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for    Global Research, ICH, RT, Sputnik, PressTV, The 4th Media    (China), TeleSUR, The Vineyard of The Saker Blog, and other    internet sites. He is the author of     Implosion  An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental    Destruction and Corporate Greed  fiction based on    facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the    globe. He is also a co-author of     The World Order and Revolution!  Essays from the    Resistance.  
Excerpt from:
Libya  Why Was Muammar Gaddafi Killed  May We Never Forget - Center for Research on Globalization