(Conspiracy Nation, 1/1/05) -- According to author John Perkins, historian Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) predicted back in the 1950s that the real war in the 21st century would not be against the Communists but against the Muslims.
Perkins reveals that he was an "Economic Hit Man" (EHM) in his recent book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Because he was an insider involved in some major foreign policy economic moves during the past several decades, Perkins' book is able to offer valuable, previously-hazy perspectives on just what has actually been going on.
Perkins' area of expertise, during the years he worked for what he calls the corporatocracy, was providing highly optimistic economic forecasts for under-developed regions. (LDCs: Less-Developed Countries) His perceived credibility was a basis upon which immense loans to resource-rich regions were approved.
But why were hidden players so eager to loan such huge sums to backward nations? The short answer is, so that they would be in our debt. You may yourself have wondered at times why your yuppie friends insist upon picking up the check when you've dined at fancy restaurants. The reason is, that now you "owe" the yuppie something or other. On a much larger scale, this has been occuring throughout the world.
Think of it like this: After the enormous loans are made to
developing nations, we have them, "just as a Mafia don has the man
whose daughter's wedding and small business he has financed and then
refinanced," explains Perkins. It is The Old Switcheroo: first there is
easy credit; then the overextended loans are called in. When the debtor
sheepishly explains that he can't repay... it is time to make a
deal: a key vote at the U.N., a military base, or natural resource
concessions. In Ecuador, this translates into selling rain forests to
the oil companies. Elsewhere it is being translated into a
privatization of water systems.
Following the global oil shock in the early 1970s, the USA Thinkers & Planners decided to insure against such a crisis ever threatening us again. They worked out a special deal with Saudi Arabia, says Perkins. A carrot and stick approach was used. The Saudis were given "an offer they couldn't refuse." The Saudis would guarantee to supply the U.S. with oil, no matter what. In return, Saudi Arabia would get unquestioned political and military support from the U.S. Saudi Arabia had to agree to use her petrodollars to purchase U.S. Treasury securities, in return for which the interest on those loans would be used to massively improve Saudi Arabia's infrastructure and quality of life. The only catch was that the various construction projects must be given to American firms such as Bechtel. "The Saudis, rolling in cash, would deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to Treasury, which held on to the funds until they were needed to pay vendors or employees."
This Saudi Arabian Money-Laundering Affair set a pattern for other loans to developing nations. The money in large part never left the United States but was merely transferred from banks to engineering firms in the U.S. What the developing nations got was huge construction projects which, forecast Economic Hit Man Perkins, would enormously boom the local economies. When the foretold booms never materialized, those nations were left with empty pockets and looming creditors.
Perkins' book could also be titled, Yuppie Agonistes. Like many others, Perkins, in his younger years pursued wealth and made "little compromises" (rationalizations) along the way. Then one day he looked around himself and was punished by the thought, "My God. What have I done?" Too late to undue the damage, he attempts to make amends by breaking the corporatocracy's code of Omerta. He thereby risks its vengeance, but in his sunset years Perkins maybe realizes he no longer has as much to lose.
Never fear. A new, younger breed of Economic Hit Men was nursed along in the 1980s and is assuming control. Aging yuppies experiencing stirrings of conscience are not irreplaceable.
In the early days, the National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies were needed to perform in-depth psychological assessments so potential EHMs could be unearthed. No more. The 1980s doctrine, "Greed is good. Greed works," helped burgeon the ranks of EHM wannabees. "The EHM concept had expanded to include all manner of executives in a wide variety of businesses." Any means justifies an improving bottom-line, to these Generation X up-and-comers. "A whole new class of soldier was emerging on the world scene, and these people were becoming desensitized to their own actions."
(More info at www.JohnPerkins.org)
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