During the war on terror, the United States quietly turned the world financial system into a hidden empire. The American government used the power of the dollar and its influence over obscure organizations such as the Swift financial messaging service to monitor what its adversaries and terrorists were doing and, in some cases, to cut entire states, such as North Korea, out of world financial flows. These policies effectively pressed foreign banks into service as agents of American influence and helped bring states like Iran to the negotiating table.
On Nov. 4, the United States is set to escalate sanctions against
