|
Re: Re: Guerre en Iraq
Marielle JANSEN
Sunday, 11 May 2003 14:46:56 +0200
(f. n. ** Due to an overflow of messages on the war, no replies to these messages, including this one, or new contribution on such topic are going to be accepted by now. The accumulated messages are going to be posted at a ratio of one per day **)
Dear Frank,
I was happy with your reply to Jean-Marc. Having read his letter to you, I thought that it might cause you to resign from this forum. Luckily, you chose to continue the discussion, which I really appreciate.
Although I am not of the same opinion as you on the facts about the war and agree more with Jean-Marc, I am glad we have different opinions 'on board'. As we embrace the human race with all its beliefs and ideas and opinions, there must be room for everyone to express their views. Otherwise, this becomes just another movement with followers and opponents. I am always prepared to change my mind on the basis of new arguments and insights.
About the on-going discussion, I would like to ask your attention for a posting to another list, socialcredit@topica.com by Keith Wilde (Subject title Fw: Alice in Wonderland). I am forwarding it to this forum with a request to the moderators to place it on our web site. It is an interview by Standard Schaefer in 'mai-not-digest V5#561', titled "Financing the War, Financing the World". The interview is with Michael Hudson, author of 'Super Imperialism' and Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri (Kansas City), who has published widely on U.S. financial dominance.
Because I think we should all know this, I am copying three paragraphs, the first one from the introduction:
"(...) Recently, however, the left has often clumsily explained the economic motives for the war in terms of big oil, sheer greed and more ephemerally as a desire to weaken the euro. This is all likely, but it also reveals the degree to which the left's understanding of finance is outdated. This is not their fault, however. Not only do university economics departments remain dominated by the ersatz laissez faire notions of the Chicago School, but so are US Government, the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and the European central banks. The result has been the censorship of those few economists willing to point out that the US is very much the center of imperialism, unwilling to engage in the "free trade" or laissez faire that it promotes abroad." (....) And this from the actual interview: " Hudson: (...) Meanwhile, America's federal budget deficits can go on without limit, precisely because of the balance of payment deficit. The larger the payments deficit, the more dollars end up in the hands of foreign central banks, to be recycled into the purchase of US Treasury securities. This means that the US government's deficit - including the military spending in Iraq, by the way - is financed by foreign governments. This will continue despite the fact the debt already has grown greater than the ability to pay, until these countries finally break away from the system."
And from the conclusion: * Whether or not there are more U.S. military adventures in the Middle East, it seems crucial to expose to the world not only the lives lost, not only the private profits being made, but also how the U.S. Government has managed to fund these wars at everyone else's expense. * At the moment, it seems these wars only send more dollars abroad_both in IMF, World Bank loans, but also in U.S. humanitarian "aid" and military personnel expenditures. Thus, the dollar surplus abroad only creates more demand for U.S. Treasuries and more foreign dependence on the continuing existence of the U.S. Empire."
Standard Schaefer is an independent journalist, free-lance financial writer, poet, and cultural historian based in Pasadena, California. ssschaefer@earthlink.net
I hope that this interview will be an eye opener to many, as it has been to me. With thanks to you Frank, Jean-Marc, Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Wilde and with warm regards to all, Marielle Jansen
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
|
|
|
english ·original·
[FORUM]
[DISCUSSION]
[SYNTHESES]
[DOCUMENTS]
[CALENDAR]
[PARTICIPANTS]
[SUBSCRIBE]
[CONTACT]
[HOME]