The American Empire and Big Business
Part 1, 11/2/2005
By Deanna Spingola
2 November 2005

The sham war against terror was built on lies and deception initiated by the Bush administration and perpetuated by the complicit media, particularly the numerous “conservative” talk show hosts. Angry talk radio hosts batter their “call in listeners” in a win/lose relationship. Either you believe what they say or you lose. They control with spoiled brat anger instead of sound respectful reasoning. Administration critics are demonized with angry name calling. No one dare question any government actions in this “free” society. Rather than real investigative reporting so called newscasters employ antagonism to protect their republican pundit positions. But that, after all, is the whole purpose. If one of them should honestly question such issues as the war they would undoubtedly end up collecting unemployment. The war is #3 in an economic strategy.

Iraq is just another country to be brought into submission in the perpetual push for globalization. It is really the unfinished economic feud started by George H. W. Bush whose objective was to establish a new world order. [i] The current battle is not about capturing Osama bin Laden, weapons of mass destruction, spreading democracy, oil, getting rid of an accused tyrant or any other trumped up distraction. Our military is being manipulated in an ongoing process to build the American empire with the ultimate long term insider goal of a one world government. The events of 9/11 were the motivation for this strategy. The strategy is clearly defined in a government document dated 17 September 2002 entitled The National Security Strategy of the United States of America. [ii]

However, American empire building has been going on for a long time under the guise of protecting our interests in other countries. There are three ways our American government, an entity that is supposed to represent the voters, uses to imperialize and thus control a target country. Method three is used if the first two are ineffective:

1.     Economic aid/debt to secure adherence to United States objectives for the target country.

2.     Covert operations which include fixed elections to install puppet leaders, assassinations of uncooperative existing elected leaders or supporting adversarial individuals in a government seizure.

3.     Military invasion. To retain the blinders worn by most Americans there must be a reason for the attack such as they attacked us first. Whether they actually did or not is immaterial.

An economic hit man is the key figure in the process of destabilizing target countries. “U.S. intelligence agencies – including the National Security Agency (NSA) would identify prospective EHMs (economic hit men), who would then be hired by international corporations. The EHMs would never be paid by the government; instead, they would draw their salaries from the private sector. As a result, their dirty work, if exposed, would be chalked up to corporate greed rather than to government policy. In addition, the corporations that hired them, although paid by government agencies and their multinational banking counterparts (with taxpayer money), would be insulated from congressional oversight and public scrutiny, shielded by a growing body of legal initiatives, including trademark, international trade, and Freedom of Information laws.” [iii]   

The “two primary objectives” of an economic hit man according to John Perkins, author of “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” is: “First, I was to justify huge international loans that would funnel money back to MAIN and other U.S. companies (such as Bechtel, Halliburton, Stone & Webster, and Brown & Root) through massive engineering and construction projects. Second, I would work to bankrupt the countries that received those loans (after they had paid MAIN and the other U.S. contractors, of course) so that they would be forever beholden to their creditors, and so they would present easy targets when we needed favors, including military bases, UN votes, or access to oil and other natural resources.” [iv] MAIN is the consulting company that John Perkins worked for after being identified as a prospective EHM by the NSA.

“The unspoken aspect of every one of these projects was that they were intended to create huge profits for the contractors, and to make a handful of wealthy and influential families in the receiving countries very happy, while assuring the long- term financial dependence and therefore the political loyalty of governments around the world. The larger the loan, the better. The fact that the debt burden placed on a country would deprive its poorest citizens of health, education, and other social services for decades to come was not taken into consideration.” [v]

John Perkins was told by his mentor: she said: “We’re a small exclusive club; we’re paid – well paid – to cheat countries around the globe out of billions of dollars. A large part of your job is to encourage world leaders to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial interests. In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of debt that ensures their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desire – to satisfy our political, economic, or military needs. In turn, these leaders bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, power plants, and airports to their people. Meanwhile, the owners of U.S. engineering and construction companies become very wealthy.” [vi]

The economic hit man presents preposterous promises to the target government leader. Targets are typically vulnerable third world countries with unexploited natural resources. An economic hit man works for a major American corporation, sometimes the government, or an international banker. With his inflated facts and figures, the economic hit man gives assurances of greatly increased economic growth for the target country. The target country then borrows staggering sums of money with the notion that they can repay the loan, plus those high consultation fees, based on the spurious economic growth. The program is additionally designed to make the compromised leader incredibly wealthy while saddling his country with overwhelming debt.

The economic boom, based on false projections, does not happen and the country, thanks to its crooked leader, virtually has sold its soul to the merciless adversary. The only ones who benefit are the bankers, the American government, big business and corruptible leaders in less developed countries. Leaders who are incorruptible are vilified in the American press – this helps when it is time to employ #2 in the economic strategy. It is all about exploitation of cheap foreign labor, money and the resources of the earth such as oil. Our aid to foreign countries is rarely, if ever, altruistic. The U.S. could easily help the sick and the starving in third world countries but our self serving intervention merely increases our imperialistic and corporate greedy goals. The genuine objective of foreign aid is imperialism which is the basic cause of most wars, pollution, starvation, depleted uranium toxicity and genocide. Unlike the rest of the world, do most Americans fail to recognize what we have become?

When the French construction of the canal began in 1881, Panama was part of Columbia. The project ended in financial disaster is 1889. Under Theodore Roosevelt, the United States requested that Columbia sign a treaty turning the isthmus over to a North American consortium. Columbia refused this treaty so in 1903 Roosevelt sent the warship Nashville with a full bevy of troops and invaded the defenseless little country of Panama. They killed the local militia commander and declared Panama an independent nation. A puppet government was installed and a treaty was signed which established an American zone on both sides of the future waterway. Washington assumed full control over this “new” nation. Thereafter Panama was ruled by Washington sponsored wealthy right-wing dictators whose first priority was American interests. This included big American interests like Standard Oil and United Fruit Company (later purchased by George H. W. Bush). Meanwhile Panamanian citizens lived in poverty.

This ended with a declaration of Panamanian independence in 1968. U.S. endorsed dictator Arnulfo Arias was overthrown and Omar Torrijos became head of state, though he was not a part of the coup. The unique characteristic about this leader Torrijos was his integrity thus he was unjustifiably vilified by our media. [vii] He could not be swayed by Washington nor would he cave to communism for support. He wanted to remove the U.S. military and claimed that Panamanians “had its own rights – to sovereignty over its people, its lands, and a waterway that bisected it – and that these rights were as valid and as divinely bestowed as any enjoyed by the United States.” [viii]

Carter and Torrijos signed a treaty on 7 September 1977 Washington, DC. “That moment had a significant importance ongoing struggle of Panamanians for their liberation, their independence, and for strengthening their sovereignty. Omar Torrijos dared to break the colonialist circle imposed on Panama by the United States.” “We Panamanians understood that the United States, a powerful, imperialist and aggressive nation would not yield easily the benefits it had gained by its political, economic and military presence in the Republic of Panama.” [ix]

If hyped up economic promises with burgeoning debt are ineffective then the second method – assassination by CIA jackals is permanently effective and certainly serves as a deterrent to other like minded leaders. In addition to Arbenz, Mossadegh and Allende and many others both Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama died in 1981. CIA assassinations of the leaders of other countries are a well known fact. Even a popular religious leader recently called for the assassination of the elected leader of Venezuela, an uncooperative individual currently being demonized by our press.

Torrijos died on 1 August 1981 in a plane crash. “Torrijos' death generated charges and speculation that he was the victim of an assassination plot. For instance, in pre-trial hearings in Miami May, 1991 Noriega's attorney Frank Rubino was quoted as saying ‘General Noriega has in his possession documents showing attempts to assassinate General Noriega and Mr. Torrijos by agencies of the United States’. Those documents were not allowed as evidence in trial, because the presiding judge agreed with the government's claim that their public mention would violate the Classified Information Procedures Act.” [x]

“The assassination of General Torrijos and the violent campaign of defamation against General Noriega, the increasing violations of the canal treaties; the political, economic and diplomatic terrorism show that nothing will deter the United States in its determination to impose the limitless presence of the Southern Command in Panama.” [xi]

There are exceptions such as Saudi Arabia. We had a different relationship with them – our goal was not to bankrupt them. Since its inception, Israel could always count on American support which of course infuriated the Arabs. On 16 Oct 1973 Iran and the five Arab states placed a 70% hike in the price of oil as retaliation against our pro-Israeli position. The Arabs also considered withdrawing all their funds from American banks which would have resulted in an economic panic. What exacerbated the situation even more – on 19 October 1973 Nixon asked congress for $2.2 billion in aid for Israel. On 20 October 1973 the Arabs placed a total embargo on all oil shipments to the United States. This ended on 18 March 1974 but created a symbiotic relationship between government, big business and the international banks.

Saudi Arabia, because of their vast oil resources and because of their greatly increased wealth from that oil during the OPEC oil embargo suddenly became politically important. Washington developed an interdependent relationship with Saudi Arabia – offering them technical support, military hardware and training and the opportunity to modernize their country using U.S. corporations whose long-term technical services would be required. Military defense would be essential for the ongoing reign of the House of Saud as well as for Saudi Arabia. Israel and the other neighbors were disgruntled that Saudi Arabia had suddenly decided to collaborate with the Americans. Modernization also brought materialism which diminished their religious fervor and infuriated other more conservative Muslims.

In exchange the U.S. wanted guarantees against another embargo and a unparalleled method of funneling Saudi’s unlimited oil money back into the U.S. King Faisal and the House of Saud agreed to spend its oil money in U.S. government securities. The interest from the securities would be used by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to hire U.S. corporations to industrialize Saudi Arabia. “This system assured that the Saudi money would be recycled back into the American economy.” [xii] It established a precedent for economic hit men. What a extraordinary example of money laundering. Hey, I thought that was illegal!

If your heart and mind tell you plainly that the bombing of impoverished, hungry, innocent peasants is a terrible thing to do and will not make the American people any more secure, then listen. Put yourself in the victim’s place; listen to your core values. Do we really want innocent blood on our hands?

Part 2

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