"Russia could retaliate in a way that would have phenomenal impact on the U.S. dollar. . . . Russia has the upper hand. They have it in their ability to turn the U.S. economy upside down and into collapse. There is no question whatsoever. Putin doesn’t need a nuclear bomb. He has a nuclear economic bomb that he can set off at any time."

Putin Has Nuclear Economic Bomb-Jim Sinclair

By Greg Hunter

World renowned gold expert Jim Sinclair is worried about the crisis in Ukraine. Sinclair says, “Welcome back to the cold war that can get hot overnight.” It appears President Obama has brought back the Cold War, and Sinclair contends, “He’s brought it back by changing to a new normal diplomacy, making outrageous threats on a continuing basis rather than seeking a solution.” The referendum vote in Crimea that is overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia, and yet, officials in the West say it is illegal or illegitimate. Sinclair says, “To say that is to deny the reality the government in the Ukraine is a government created by a coup. To say that is to bring us to the brink of war. . . . Mistakes can happen. War can start anytime you have two entities together with weapons of war looking at each other with lots of hate. I am concerned about the mistake of aggressive machinery and aggressive people looking right at each other.”

On possible U.S. sanctions on Russia, such as excluding them out of the international payment system called the SWIFT system, Sinclair says, “The use of the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) to create a difficulty, almost a prohibitive difficulty in doing business by preventing bank wires, that would be one of the possibilities. Already, the BRICS nations are developing their own SWIFT system. So, the mistake of using the SWIFT system, short of absolute war, is that it has created a competitor that all the BRICS will be using.” Sinclair also thinks, “To sanction Russia is to forget that Russia supplies Europe with its gas supplies. To sanction Russia is to forget there are many U.S. and European corporations operating within Russia right now. I honestly believe sanctioning Russia is the same as shooting yourself in the foot.” Sinclair goes on to say, “When you think you can push an ex-colonel of the KGB, you are not making a proper analysis of the personality of the person. The whole idea that Russia is only a regional power–where in the world did that come from? Anybody that is nuclear capable to the degree that Russia is with its delivery systems is a world power. We hear constantly Russia is only a regional power. We hear lies. We hear untruths. We don’t have a clear picture to what is taking place.”

On Russia countering Western sanctions, Sinclair says watch the “struggling dollar” and Russia accepting any currency for oil and natural gas. Sinclair explains, “It’s struggling . . . because it smells the real teeth of retaliation for sanctions being in the simple acceptance of any currency whatsoever for payment for gas to Europe. Believe me, they will settle in other currencies. . . . It makes energy cheaper. Why in the world would anyone want to pay in dollars if they can pay in their own currency? Russia could retaliate in a way that would have phenomenal impact on the U.S. dollar. . . . Russia has the upper hand. They have it in their ability to turn the U.S. economy upside down and into collapse. There is no question whatsoever. Putin doesn’t need a nuclear bomb. He has a nuclear economic bomb that he can set off at any time.”

What would the price of gold be this year? Sinclair predicts, “Gold has $2,000 an ounce in its sites in 2014.” On silver, Sinclair says, “Silver is gold on steroids. When gold takes off, silver goes up faster. . . . So, the idea you are going to get an old high on silver or better is a given.”

Last year, Sinclair, predicted gold will hit $50,000 an ounce sometime in the next several years. Is he still sticking with that prediction? Sinclair says, “I am still sticking by that, and the $50,000 per ounce is predicated on a shift in the mechanism on determining gold’s value from the paper markets to the physical markets. Should that emancipation take place, it is a possibility and could become a reality.” Sinclair goes on to explain, “Something has to happen. Emancipation of gold from the paper market will be a product of the drawdown of the inventories of the warehouses. I don’t believe for a moment that the COMEX is going to default, but I believe quite certainly that the COMEX will go from settling in gold to settling in cash.” So, how can the gold market be manipulated up or down in price? Sinclair says, “I can tell you exactly how it’s done. You just offer or demand supply . . . that is beyond any capacity that can be met. We’ve already had one day where two and a half years production was offered for sale. It couldn’t be in a physical market that has to deliver within three days. It can only be in a paper market that doesn’t have to deliver.”

Read more:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/03/greg-hunter/putin-has-an-economic-nuclear-bomb/