Мейли, хо-хо! Бул Джеймс Бейкер III үчүн эрте Рождество.
Анын Техастагы Бейкер Боттс юридикалык фирмасынын эльфтери жыл бою 11-сентябрдагы кол салууда каза болгондордун үй-бүлөлөрүнө Сауд Аравиясынан Падышалыктын Аль-Каида фронтторун каржылаганы тууралуу маалымат алышына жол бербөө үчүн күнү-түнү иштеп келишкен.
It’s tough work, but this week came the payoff when President Bush appointed Baker, the firm’s senior partner, to restructure the debts of the nation of Iraq.
And who will net the big bucks under Jim Baker’s plan? Answer: his client, Saudi Arabia, which claims $30.7 billion due from Iraq plus $12 billion in reparations from the First Gulf war.
КУУРЧАК САПТАР
Келгиле, бул жерде эмне болуп жатканын ойлонуп көрөлү.
We are talking about something called “sovereign debt.” And unless George Bush has finally ‘fessed up and named himself Pasha of Iraq, he is not their sovereign. Mr. Bush has no authority to seize control of that nation’s assets nor its debts.
But our President is not going to let something as trivial as international law stand in the way of a quick buck for Mr. Baker. To get around the wee issue that Bush has no legal authority to mess with Iraq’s debt, the White House has crafted a neat little subterfuge. The official press release says the President has not appointed Mr. Baker. Rather Mr. Bush is “responding to a request from the Iraqi Governing Council.” That is, Bush is acting on the authority of the puppet government he imposed on Iraqis at gunpoint.
I will grant the Iraqi “government” has some knowledge of international finance; its key member, Ahmed Chalabi, is a convicted bank swindler.
The Bush team must see the other advantage in having the rump rulers of Iraq pretend to choose Mr. Baker; the US Senate will not have to review or confirm the appointment. If you remember, Henry Kissinger ran away from the September 11 commission with his consulting firm tucked between his legs after the Senate demanded he reveal his client list. In the case of Jim Baker, who will be acting as a de facto US Treasury secretary for international affairs, our elected Congress will have no chance to ask him who is paying his firm.… nor even require him to get off conflicting payrolls.
This takes the Bush administration’ Conflicts-R-Us appointments process to a new low. Or maybe there’s no conflict at all. If you see Jim Baker’s new job as working not to protect a new Iraqi democracy but to protect the loot of the old theocracy of Saudi Arabia, the conflict disappears.
Iraq’s debt totals something on the order of $120 billion to $150 billion, depending on who’s counting. And who’s counting is very important.
Сауд Аравиясына карыздын көбү Саддам Хусейнге саудиялыктар үчүн алардын жек көрүүчү душманы Ирандын шийилерине каршы прокси согушун жүргүзүү үчүн берилген. Ал эми мурдагы сауд дипломатынын айтымында, падышалыктын шейхтери 7-жылдары “ислам бомбасын” жасоо үчүн Саддамга 1980 миллиард доллардай акча беришкен.
Should Iraqis today and those not yet born have to be put in a debtor’s prison to pay off the secret payouts to Saddam? James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, says ‘No!’ Wolfensohn has never been on my Christmas card list, but in this case he’s got it right: Iraq should simply cancel $120 billion in debt.
Normally, the World Bank is in charge of post-war debt restructuring. That’s why the official name of the World Bank is “International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.” This is the Bank’s expertise. Bush has rushed Baker in to pre-empt the debt write-off the World Bank would certainly promote.
"МЕН Флориданы оңдодум"
Эмне үчүн президентибиз Бейкер мырзанын кардарларынын каалоолоруна мынчалык кам көрөт? Буш Бейкерге эмне карыз? 2000-жылдагы шайлоодон баштап жолдорду санап көрөйүн.
Just last week Baker said, “I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush.” That was the substance of his remarks to an audience of Russian big wigs as reported to me by my somewhat astonished colleagues at BBC television.
ZNetwork анын окурмандарынын берешендиги аркылуу гана каржыланат.
белек тартуу кылуу