passim, 104–106, 145–146, 192–193, 330, 340–341
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), 95–96
Saudi Arabian Money-Laundering Affair, 88–99, 104–105
passim, 172, 192
SAVAK, 78, 123
Scheeler, Charlie, 266
School of the Americas, 68, 167, 185, 210, 236
Sconset Limited, 337
Scott Paper, 218–219
Seabrook nuclear plant, 162, 170
Segarra, Carmen, 326
Sengwer, 312
Serageldin, Kareem, 317
Sergeant Chuchu. See Martínez, José de Jesús
Seychelles, 222–225
Shah of Iran, 30, 33, 61, 77–78, 117–128, 166, 190, 209, 217, 340
shamanism, 54, 196–197, 226–228, 289, 291, 294
Shell Oil, 151, 271, 318, 336
Shiwiar, 256
Shuar, 21, 196–200, 226–228, 256, 272, 289
Shultz, George, 86, 163, 168, 183, 186
Sié Chéou-Kang Center, 336
SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics), 151, 164
Singer, Paul, 273, 325
Snowden, Edward, 277, 280
Somalia, xi
SOMO, 331
Somoza, Anastasio Garcia, 185
Sorkin, Andrew Ross, 323
South Africa, 222–225, 323
South African Special Forces Brigade (Recces), 222–225
South Korea, 30, 219
Soviet Union: Afghan war, 104–105, 193
conflict with West, 9, 11, 27, 218–219, 276
fall of, 67, 179, 285
Latin America and, 56, 79
Middle East and, 30–31, 77, 194, 251
Spadafora, Hugo, 184
Spain, 337
Standard and Poor’s Rating Services, 283
Standard Bank, 323
Standard Oil, 66, 152
State of the World forum, 179
Stiglitz, Joseph, 274
Stone & Webster (SWEC), 24, 27, 95, 180–181, 189, 192, 195–198
Stroessner, Alfredo, 185
structural adjustment, 179. See also World Bank, conditionalities and subsidies, 80, 234, 268–271, 310, 336
Suharto, 33
Sukarno, 32–33, 49
Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), 151, 164
surveillance, 279–281
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, 321
Taft, William Howard, 68
Taibbi, Matt, 338
Taliban, 208
Tauzin, Billy, 335
Tax Justice Network, 314
Taylor, Charles, 329
Teresa, Mother, 290
Texaco, 7–9, 153–154, 165, 229–230, 256, 258
Theckston, James, 239
Themis Capital, 329
Thomas, Samantha, 289–290
Thurber, James, 267–268
Torres, Manuel, 133
Torrijos, Omar, Herrera, xi, 65–72
passim, 77–82, 110–116, 128, 152, 154, 162–169
passim, 183–184, 188, 229, 233, 339–340
Toynbee, Arnold, 56
trade agreements, 217–218, 231, 328, 331
Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP), 217, 331
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), 217–218, 331
Tripp, Linda, 281
Troika, 337
Tucson Gas & Electric, 143
Tunduam, 226–227, 289
Turkey, 250–252
Twist, Bill and Lynne, 197, 228, 230, 256, 283
UBS, 241, 322, 328
Uganda, 104
United Arab Emirates, 330
United Fruit, 66, 78–79, 233–234
United Kingdom, 251, 281, 321–327, 330–333
United Nations, 14, 27, 79–80, 87, 285, 309–310, 319
United Technologies, 270
United Way, 197
US Agency for International Development (USAID), 9, 11, 26, 29, 49, 55, 69, 286, 334–345
US Army, 19, 20, 187, 278
US Border Patrol, 279
US Central Intelligence Agency: Chile and, 85, 210, 234
Colombia and, 130, 184
communism and, 9–10, 66, 77, 130, 225, 236, 276
Ecuador and, 165–166, 184, 217, 340–341
Guatemala and, 79, 210, 234
Honduras and, 233–236, 315
Iran and, 30–31, 78, 117, 123, 128, 209, 217
Iraq and, 246
jackals and, xi, 1, 85, 113, 277, 279, 315
Nicaragua and, 210
Panama and, 167, 169, 184, 217, 233, 340–341
Peru and, 210
prostitution and, 102
revolving door of, 86–87
Saudi Arabia and, 105–106
Seychelles and, 223–225
US Defense Intelligence Agency, 277
US Department of Defense, 24
US Department of the Navy, 17
US Department of the Treasury, 91–92, 95, 97–98, 103, 141, 340
US Export-Import Bank, 286
US-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JECOR), 91, 95–96, 104
US Justice Department, 262
US National Security Agency, 18–20, 22, 26, 30–31, 64, 66, 128, 80–281, 339
US Navy SEALs, 278, 336
US Peace Corps, 7–8, 11, 20–22, 141, 339
US Pentagon, 9, 277
US Southern Command, 68, 167
US Special Forces, 277
US Supreme Court, 274
USAID, 9, 11, 26, 29, 49, 55, 69, 286, 334–345
Vásquez, Romeo, 235
Venezuela, 68, 206–212, 318
Vietnam: communism and, 11, 28, 33, 37, 68, 219
Ha Lò Prison, 242–248
US loss in, 30, 83, 110, 219
US models for, 86, 281–282
World Bank and, 11
vulture funds, 273–274, 312, 317–318, 320–321, 325–326
Wahhabi sect, 88–90, 98–99
Wall Capital, 317
Walmart, 272, 319, 323
Walton family, 272–273
Washington, George, 204, 296
Washington, Martha, 296
Waste Management Inc., 103–104
Weinberger, Caspar, 86, 163, 167–168, 183, 186
Wells Fargo, 338
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, 68
Wieden, Dan, 289
Wieden+Kennedy, 289
WikiLeaks, 277, 280, 315, 316, 318, 328, 331
Wilson, Woodrow, 68
World Bank: conditionalities and, 179, 285, 311, 313–314, 331
corporations and, 8–9, 317–318, 323, 334–335
debt, 2, 8, 11–12, 91, 93, 229, 233, 263–264, 274, 310
economic studies, 22, 69
environmental impacts of, 319, 334
founding of, 85, 179
poverty and, 11, 207, 262–264, 311, 314, 324, 338
resettlement and, 312, 324, 328–330, 333
McNamara, Robert and, 38, 61, 86–87, 176
vulture funds and, 317–318
World Development Movement, 310
World Economic Forum, 323
World Trade Center bombing, xii, 106, 199–204, 207–208, 253, 280, 341
World Trade Organization, 179
World War II, 30, 32, 68, 85, 179, 276–277
Xstrata, 325
“Yamin,” 118–127
passim, 134, 189
Yemen, 330 Zambia, 310, 312
Zambotti, Bruno, 58, 60–61, 64, 109, 112, 125, 154–155, 171, 173
Zapata Oil, 79
Zelaya, Manuel, 232–236, 315
Zhang, Mandy, 287
Zimbabwe, 333
Zinn, Howard, 220, 227, 236, 262–267 passim
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Perkins has lived four lives: as an economic hit man (EHM); as the CEO of a successful alternative energy company, who was rewarded for not disclosing his EHM past; as an expert on indigenous cultures
and shamanism, a teacher and writer who used this expertise to promote ecology and sustainability while continuing to honor his vow of silence about his life as an EHM; and now as a writer and activist who, in telling the real-life story about his extraordinary dealings as an EHM, has exposed the world of international intrigue and corruption that is turning the American republic into a global empire despised by increasing numbers of people around the planet.
As an EHM, John had the job of persuading economically developing countries to accept enormous loans for infrastructure development — loans that were much larger than needed — and to guarantee that the development projects would be contracted to US corporations such as Halliburton and Bechtel. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the US government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able to control these economies and to ensure that oil and other resources were channeled to serve the interests of building a global empire.
In his capacity as an EHM, John traveled all over the world and was either a direct participant in or a witness to some of the most dramatic events in modern history, including the Saudi Arabian Money-Laundering Affair, the fall of the shah of Iran, the death of Panama’s head of state, the subsequent invasion of Panama, and events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In 1980, Perkins founded Independent Power Systems Inc., an alternative energy company. Under his leadership as CEO, IPS became an extremely successful firm in a high-risk business where most of its competitors failed. Many “coincidences” and favors from people in powerful positions helped make IPS an industry leader. John also served as a highly paid consultant to some of the corporations whose pockets he had previously helped to line — taking on this role partly in response to a series of not-so-veiled threats and lucrative payoffs.
After selling IPS in 1990, John became a champion for indigenous rights and environmental movements, working especially closely with Amazon nations to help them preserve their rain forests. He wrote five books, published in many languages, about indigenous cultures, shamanism, ecology, and sustainability; taught at universities and learning centers on four continents; and founded and served on the board of directors of several leading nonprofit organizations.
Two of the nonprofit organizations he founded or cofounded, Dream Change and the Pachamama Alliance, have become models for inspiring people to make a better world, empowering individuals to create more environmentally sustainable, resource regenerative, socially just, and balanced communities. These organizations also have played major roles in helping Amazonian people protect their lands and cultures against encroaching development.
During the 1990s and into the new millennium, John honored his vow of silence about his EHM life and continued to receive lucrative corporate consulting fees. He assuaged his guilt by applying to his nonprofit work much of the money he earned as a consultant. Arts & Entertainment television featured him in a special titled Headhunters of the Amazon, narrated by Leonard Nimoy. Italian Cosmopolitan ran a major article on his workshops in Europe that focused on inspiring participants to experience individual transformation and to take actions that create more harmonious relationships between human societies and the planet. Time magazine selected Dream Change as one of the thirteen organizations in the world whose websites best reflect the ideals and goals of Earth Day.
Then came September 11, 2001. The terrible events of that day led John to drop the veil of secrecy around his life as an EHM, to ignore the threats and bribes, and to write Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. He came to believe in his responsibility to share his insider knowledge about the role that the US government, multinational “aid” organizations, and corporations have played in bringing the world to a place where such an event could occur. He wanted to expose the fact that EHMs are more ubiquitous today than ever before. He felt that he owed this to his country, to his daughter, to all the people around the world who suffer because of the work he and his peers have done, and to himself. In this book, he outlined the dangerous path his country is taking as it moves away from the original ideals of the American republic and toward a quest for global empire.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man became an international best seller. It spent more than seventy weeks on the New York Times best seller list, has sold more than 1.25 million copies, and has been published in more than thirty languages. It launched John on a global speaking tour that has continued ever since. He has taken worldwide his message of the need to replace the death economy with a life economy, speaking at corporate summits, to large groups of CEOs and other business leaders; and at consumer conferences and music festivals; and he has taught or lectured at more than fifty universities.
John has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, CNBC, NPR, A&E, and the History Channel; been interviewed in Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, and many other publications; and appeared in numerous documentaries, including The End of Poverty?, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology of an Economic Hit Man. He was awarded the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace and the Rainforest Action Network Challenging Business As Usual Award.
Since Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John has written The Secret History of the American Empire (Penguin) and Hoodwinked (Random House). He also is the author of books on indigenous cultures and transformation, including Shapeshifting, The World Is As You Dream It, Psychonavigation, Spirit of the Shuar, and The Stress-Free Habit (all from Inner Traditions).
To learn more about John, to connect with him on his social channels, to order his books, to subscribe to his newsletter, or to contact him, please visit www.johnperkins.org.
To discover more about the work of Dream Change and Pachamama Alliance, two of his 501(c) organizations, please visit www.dreamchange.org and www.pachamama.org.
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John Perkins, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
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