"That afternoon, in the idyllic setting of Claudine's apartment, relaxing in the window while snow swirled outside, I learned the history of the profession I was about to enter. Claudine described how throughout most of history, empires were built largely through military force or the threat of it. But with the end of World War II, the emergence of the Soviet Union , and the specter of nuclear holocaust, the military solution became too risky.
"The decisive moment occurred in 1951, when Iran rebelled against a British oil company that was exploiting Iranian natural resources and its people. The company was the forerunner of British Petroleum, today's BP. In response, the highly popular , democratically elected Iranian prime minister (and TIME magazine 's Man of the Year in 1951), Mohamad Mossdegh, nationalized all Iranian petroleum assets . An outraged England sought the help of World War II ally, the United States. However, both countries feared that military retaliation would provoke the Soviet Union into taking action on behalf of Iran.
"Instead of sending in the Marines, therefore, Washington dispatched CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt (Theodore 's grandson). He performed brilliantly, winning people over through payoffs and threats . He then enlisted them to organize a series of street riots and violent demonstrations, which created the impression that Mossadegh was both unpopular and inept. In the end, Mossadegh went down, and he spent the rest of his life under house arrest. The pro-American Mohamad Reza Shah became the unchallenged dictator. Kermit Roosevelt had set the stage for a new profession, the one whose ranks I was joining ."
P.21, "In for Life," CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN by John Perkins (2006)
Friday, September 9, 2016
CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN
"That afternoon, in the idyllic setting of Claudine's apartment, relaxing in the window while snow swirled outside, I learned the history of the profession I was about to enter. Claudine described how throughout most of history, empires were built largely through military force or the threat of it. But with the end of World War II, the emergence of the Soviet Union , and the specter of nuclear holocaust, the military solution became too risky.
"The decisive moment occurred in 1951, when Iran rebelled against a British oil company that was exploiting Iranian natural resources and its people. The company was the forerunner of British Petroleum, today's BP. In response, the highly popular , democratically elected Iranian prime minister (and TIME magazine 's Man of the Year in 1951), Mohamad Mossdegh, nationalized all Iranian petroleum assets . An outraged England sought the help of World War II ally, the United States. However, both countries feared that military retaliation would provoke the Soviet Union into taking action on behalf of Iran.
"Instead of sending in the Marines, therefore, Washington dispatched CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt (Theodore 's grandson). He performed brilliantly, winning people over through payoffs and threats . He then enlisted them to organize a series of street riots and violent demonstrations, which created the impression that Mossadegh was both unpopular and inept. In the end, Mossadegh went down, and he spent the rest of his life under house arrest. The pro-American Mohamad Reza Shah became the unchallenged dictator. Kermit Roosevelt had set the stage for a new profession, the one whose ranks I was joining ."
P.21, "In for Life," CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN by John Perkins (2006)