Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Well, I got it, but I lost a lot of the formatting on the way. It is posted under the "Fair Use" provisions of most copyright laws.

PREFACE

Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals
who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of
dollars . They funnel money from the World Bank, th e
U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID) ,
and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of
huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy fami-
lies who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools
incefraudulent financial reports, rigged elections ,
pay() s, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as
old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrify-
ing dimensions during this time ofglobalization.
I should know; I was an EHM.
I wrote that in 1982, as the beginning of a book with the working
title, Conscience of an Economic Hit Man . The book was dedicated to
the presidents of two countries, men who had been my clients ,
whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits -- Jaime Roldos ,
president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama . Both
had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental . They
were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate ,
government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire . We
EHMs failed to bring Roldos and Torrijos around, and the other typ e
of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behin d
us, stepped in.
I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more
times during the next twenty years . On each occasion, my decision to
begin again was influenced by current world events : the U.S. invasion
of Panama in 1989, the first Gulf War, Somalia, the rise of Osama bin
Laden. However, threats or bribes always conv inced me to stop .
In 2003, the president of a major publishing house that is owned
by a powerful international corporation read a draft of what had
now become Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. He described it
as "a riveting story that needs to be told." Then he smiled sadly,
shook his head, and told me that since the executives at world head -
quarters might object, he could not afford to risk publishing it . He
advised me to fictionalize it. "We could market you in the mold of a
novelist like John Le Carre or Graham Greene ."
But this is not fiction . It is the true story of my life . A more coura -
geous publisher, one not owned by an international corporation, ha s
agreed to help me tell it .
This story must be told. We live in a time of terrible crisis — and
tremendous opportunity. The story of this particular economic hi t
man is the story of how we got to where we are and why we currently
face crises that seem insurmountable . This story must be told be-
cause only by understanding our past mistakes will we be able t o
take advantage of future opportunities ; because 9/11 happened and
so did the second war in Iraq ; because in addition to the three thou -
sand people who died on September 11, 2001, at the hands of ter-
rorists, another twenty-four thousand died from hunger and related
causes. In fact, twenty-four thousand people die every single day
because they are unable to obtain life-sustaining food. i Most im-
portantly, this story must be told because today, for the first time in
history, one nation has the ability, the money, and the power to
change all this . It is the nation where I was born and the one I serve d
as an EHM: the United States of America.
What finally convinced me to ignore the threats and bribes?
The short answer is that my only child, Jessica, graduated from
college and went out into the world on her own. When I recently
told her that I was considering publishing this book and shared my
fears with her, she said, "Don't worry, dad. If they get you, I'll take
over where you left off. We need to do this for the grandchildren I
hope to give you someday!" That is the short answer.
The longer version relates to my dedication to the country wher e
I was raised, to my love of the ideals expressed by our Founding Fa-
thers, to my deep commitment to the American republic that today
promises "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all people ,
everywhere, and to my determination after 9/11 not to sit idly by any
longer while EHMs turn that republic into a global empire . That i s
the skeleton version of the long answer ; the flesh and blood ar e
added in the chapters that follow.
This is a true story. I lived every minute of it . The sights, the people,
x Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
the conversations, and the feelings I describe were all a part of my
life. It is my personal story, and yet it happened within the large r
context of world events that have shaped our history, have brough t
us to where we are today, and form the foundation of our children's
futures . I have made every effort to present these experiences, people ,
and conversations accurately. Whenever I discuss historical event s
or re-create conversations with other people, I do so with the help of
several tools: published documents ; personal records and notes ; rec-
ollections — my own and those of others who participated ; the five
manuscripts I began previously ; and historical accounts by othe r
authors, most notably recently published ones that disclose infor-
mation that formerly was classified or otherwise unavailable . Refer-
ences are provided in the endnotes, to allow interested readers t o
pursue these subjects in more depth. In some cases, I combine sev-
eral d'ggues I had with a person into one conversation to facilitat e
the flow o the narrative.
My publisher asked whether we actually referred to ourselves a s
economic hit men. I assured him that we did, although usually only
by the initials . In fact, on the day in 1971 when I began working with
my teacher Claudine, she informed me, "My assignment is to mol d
you into an economic hit man. No one can know about your in-
volvement — not even your wife?' Then she turned serious . "Once
you're in, you're in for life ."
Claudine's role is a fascinating example of the manipulation tha t
underlies the business I had entered. Beautiful and intelligent, sh e
was highly effective ; she understood my weaknesses and used the m
to her greatest advantage . Her job and the way she executed it ex-
emplify the subtlety of the people behind this system.
Claudine pulled no punches when describing what I would b e
called upon to do . My job, she said, was "to encourage world leaders
to become part of a vast network that promotes U.S. commercial in-
terests . In the end, those leaders become ensnared in a web of deb t
that ensures their loyalty. We can draw on them whenever we desir e
— to satisfy our political, economic, or military needs . In turn, they
bolster their political positions by bringing industrial parks, powe r
plants, and airports to their people . The owners of U.S. engineer-
ing/construction companies become fabulously wealthy ."
Today we see the results of this system run amok. Executives at
our most respected companies hire people at near-slave wages t o
Preface xi
and governments (collectively the corporatocracy) use their financial
and political muscle to ensure that our schools, businesses, and media
support both the fallacious concept and its corollary . They have
brought us to a point where our global culture is a monstrous ma -
chine that requires exponentially increasing amounts of fuel and
maintenance, so much so that in the end it will have consume d
everything in sight and will be left with no choice but to devour itself.
The corporatocracy is not a conspiracy, but its members do
endorse common values and goals . One of corporatocracy's most im-
portant functions is to perpetuate and continually expand an d
strengthen the system. The lives of those who "make it," and their
accoutrements — their mansions, yachts, and private jets — are pre-
sented as models to inspire us all to consume, consume, consume .
Every opportunity is taken to convince us that purchasing things i s
our civiN uty, that pillaging the earth is good for the economy an d
therefore serves our higher interests . People like me are paid out-
rageously high salaries to do the system's bidding. If we falter, a mor e
malicious form of hit man, the jackal, steps to the plate. And if the
jackal fails, then the job falls to the military.
This book is the confession of a man who, back when I was a n
EHM, was part of a relatively small group . People who play similar
roles are more abundant now. They have more euphemistic titles ,
and they walk the corridors of Monsanto, General Electric, Nike ,
General Motors, Wal-Mart, and nearly every other major corpora -
tion in the world. In a very real sense, Confessions of an Economic
Hit Man is their story as well as mine .
It is your story too, the story of your world and mine, of the firs t
truly global empire . History tells us that unless we modify this story,
it is guaranteed to end tragically . Empires never last . Every one of them
has failed terribly. They destroy many cultures as they race towar d
greater domination, and then they themselves fall . No country or com-
bination of countries can thrive in the long term by exploiting others .
This book was written so that we may take heed and remold our
story. I am certain that when enough of us become aware of how we
are being exploited by the economic engine that creates an insatiabl e
appetite for the world's resources, and results in systems that foste r
slavery, we will no longer tolerate it. We will reassess our role in a
world where a few swim in riches and the majority drown in poverty,
pollution, and violence . We will commit ourselves to navigating a
Preface xiii
Jesus Aguilo, Pat Anderson, Marina Cook, Michael Crowley, Robi n
Donovan, Kristen Frantz, Tiffany Lee, Catherine Lengronne, Diann e
Platner — all the BK staff who recognize the need to raise con-
sciousness and who work tirelessly to make this world a better place .
I must thank all those men and women who worked with me at
MAIN and were unaware of the roles they played in helping EHM
shape the global empire ; I especially thank the ones who worked for
me and with whom I traveled to distant lands and shared so man y
precious moments . Also Ehud Sperling and his staff at Inner Tradi -
tions International, publisher of my earlier books on indigenous cul -
tures and shamanism, and good friends who set me on this path a s
an author.
I am eternally grateful to the men and women who took me int o
their homes in the jungles, deserts, and mountains, in the cardboar d
shacks along the canals of Jakarta, and in the slums of countles s
cities ar und the world, who shared their food and their lives wit h
me and who have been my greatest source of inspiration .
John Perkins
August 2004