Posted November 7, 2013
by Jerry Alatalo
Many of you reading these words are familiar with John Perkins through listening to one or more of his many interviews, or through reading his ground-breaking book “Confessions Of An Economic Hitman“. For those who are not aware of Mr. Perkins, he is a self-confessed “economic hitman” and worked years ago with presidents and high-ranking government officials in nations around the world. His job was to convince government leaders to accept multi-billion dollar loans from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund – to accept loans which put their nations into debt which inevitably the nation(s) cannot repay.
The nations Mr. Perkins would “work” with all had something in common – the land and mountains of the country contained coveted-by-multinational corporations, valuable natural resources. His typical offer when speaking to presidents of these nations would follow a pattern. He would tell the president that “if you went along with the loans we could make you very wealthy”. Then, when the loans’ debt became too much for the nation to pay back, he would “advise” the president that “well, perhaps you could sell your oil to us (or natural gas, minerals, etc.) at a reduced rate, and cut back on social spending (austerity)”.
If the leader arranged the multi-billion dollar loans, he and his family would become wealthy, infrastructure projects utilizing companies outside the country for the construction would go ahead, then the natural resources would begin being extracted, profits going to the small percentage of the nation’s citizens who represented the “élite”. Most of the people in the countries where Mr. Perkins operated did not receive any benefits from the loans or projects that became financed with loan proceeds.
If the president initially decided to decline on an economic hitman’s offers, because the resources were very coveted, the ‘jackals”, as Perkins describes them, would take destabilization measures to promote popular uprisings against the government. These actions typically were organized and implemented by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and were responsible for government coups of democratically elected leaders in Iran (1952), Ecuador (1954), and Chile (1971), as well as others.
If a coup were unsuccessful at times assassination of leaders was the route taken. John Perkins personally knew presidents who died in plane crashes, those of Panama and Ecuador.
If the “jackals” of the intelligence agencies were unsuccessful in overthrowing the leader(s) who “will not play the game”, then war(s) would ensue to complete the job of regime change. Perkins ‘ book tells the whole story and I recommend it to those who are interested in “cutting to the chase” and learning true geopolitical/economics history.
John Perkins, in my opinion, is the most important, consequential whistleblower in history.
Just a short story on my experience with the book “Confessions Of An Economic Hitman”. I had bought the book twenty years or so ago, after seeing an interview of Perkins on TV. Let me say that until roughly two years ago, when I got my first computer, I never owned one and never surfed the internet. So, I read the jaw-dropping book, and, because we as humans can’t stop ourselves from recommending books that are so profound, I was recommending it often.
Without getting into all the details, somehow a person in law enforcement who I knew through business dealings, he being a customer of the company I worked for, said to me, “you’ve got a bulls-eye on your back”. I knew the man well as he was a regular customer, I didn’t respond because I had no idea what he was referring to. Only later did I realize that what occurred could be explained by John Perkins’ book being on a government book “watch list” of some sort. A list of books which law enforcement agencies possessed with which to identify people who could be “problematic”, if you will.
This was after September 11, 2001, nothing ever came of it, and it became an experience to remember for its small or large significance, where I innocently read a ground-breaking expose book and got a little caught up without any consequences. Not a big deal, but interesting.
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Video source: Breaking The Set – YouTube / John Perkins interviewed by Abby Martin
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THE ONENESS of HUMANITY 
Excellent book. I let someone borrow it a few years ago and never got it back. I wanted to give it to a lot of people to read so they’d better understand what actually happens in the world of commerce. Good post.
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I wrote the previous comment. I put in my name so I don’t know why it reads as “anonymous”. Strange. Anyway, “Confessions Of An Economic Hitman” is an excellent book that EVERY U.S. citizen NEEDS to read. It shows the true nature of the plague known as Capitalism. Thanks for posting something about it, Jerry.
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ASIC,
Mr. Perkins’ book is on our list of required reading, because the truth of history and consequences for humanity are important for good decision-making. My experience of becoming a person with “a target on your back”, simply for reading a book which conveyed important truths and real, historical events, was an experience that touched on a dark side of government which suppresses honest debate. For those who plan on buying Perkins’ book, I would recommend paying with cash. It is sad when people are placed on lists for seeking truth.
Thanks,
Jerry
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