Globalization:
The Final Demise of National Security
Read the whole article at
|
“The Lord is my
light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
Psalm
27:1-4
|
Zbigniew Brzezinski, co-founder of the global elitist Trilateral Commission in 1973 and the principal architect of modern globalization, recently wrote in 2004,
"The notion of total national security is now a myth. Total security and total defense in the age of globalization are not attainable. The real issue is: with how much insecurity can America live while promoting its interests in an increasingly interactive, interdependent world?"1The original Trilateral Commission policy of national insecurity has now come full circle.
The U.S. Department of Commerce white paper, Maritime Security and Beyond, tells us what is at stake in our maritime security policies:
"America's coasts, rivers, bridges, tunnels, ports, ships, military bases, and waterside industries may be the terrorists' next targets. The overall risk associated with the vulnerability of the U.S. maritime assets, both as a potential target for terrorist activity and more importantly as a transportation platform for the introduction of a 'Trojan Horse,' in which a potential weapon of mass destruction (WMD), terrorist, contraband or illegal aliens, enters the U.S. through its seaports, has been made very clear in the last several years. A catastrophic event at a seaport facility would not only affect the global transport infrastructure, but could also result in global economic devastation for a long period of time." [emphasis added] 2The issue of national security is of huge importance to all Americans. There are only three ways to enter the U.S. -- by land, sea or air. While globalist politicians have done little, if anything, to secure land borders with Canada and Mexico, it is now apparent that they will do little or nothing to improve our maritime security as well. In fact, they seem to be intent on dismantling what little security remains.
Maritime security in the U.S. is run by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), which sits directly under the Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta. ...
Whether they know it or not, Americans rely on MARAD to protect its shores from any kind of maritime-related security risk. Yet, on January 24, 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Dave Sanborn to head MARAD.
Who is Dave Sanborn? He was most recently a senior executive for Dubai Ports World (DP World, Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America), the same United Arab Emarites company that caused a firestorm in American politics just a few weeks later when the U.S. public found out about the Arab takeover of 6 U.S. ports.
What kind of disturbing pattern is emerging that would allow a former employee of DP World to be picked to head MARAD... at virtually the same time that DP World seeks to take control over the majority of east coast shipping facilities?
This issue will explore globalization as it relates to national security, or the lack thereof, with a focus on maritime security. It will be shown that the modern degradation of national maritime security started with President James Earl Carter (an original member of the Trilateral Commission and hand-picked as a presidential candidate by Zbigniew Brzezinski) with the 1977 giveaway of the Panama Canal, which was the most strategic maritime asset that America ever owned. Further, it will be shown that the same global elite are riding the money-go-round with several Arab states, including the United Arab Emarites who are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was founded by Saudi Arabia in 1981.
It was the same Zbigniew Brzezinski who wrote in 1972 that the "nation state as a fundamental unit of man's organized life has ceased to be the principal creative force: International banks and multinational corporations are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation-state." [emphasis added] 4
The more things change, the more they remain the same!
The Panama Canal Giveaway
Since its official opening on August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by traversing the isthmus of Panama in Central America. The Canal was built exclusively by the United States after acquiring the land with the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903.
Each year, some 14,000 ships (military and commercial) transport well over 250 million tons of cargo. The distance from San Francisco to New York via the Canal is one-half the distance using the Cape Horn route at the tip of South America. To say the least, the Panama Canal has long been recognized by every trade and military authority in the world as an incredibly important and strategic waterway. ...
Never mind that the Panama Canal was sovereign U.S. property and the most strategic military and economic asset held by the U.S. in the hemisphere. Never mind that Omar Torrijos was a Marxist dictator who ascended to power not by democratic election but by military coup.
Because sovereign U.S. property cannot be ceded to any foreign power without a 2/3 full vote of the Senate and the House, a scheme was hatched to transfer the property by treaty negotiated by the Executive Branch. The treaty ultimately became known as the Carter-Torrijos Treaty. ...
Given that there were only a total of three hundred members of the Trilateral Commission worldwide with less than 100 from North America, consider the following:
No fewer than thirty-two Trilaterals were on the boards of the thirty-one banks participating in the Panamanian $115 million 10-year Eurodollar loan issued in 1972. Fifteen Trilaterals were on the boards of fourteen banks participating in the $20 million floating rate promissory note issued in 1972.6
Carter chose a fellow Trilateral Commission member, Sol Linowitz, to negotiate the Carter-Torrijos treaty. In order to avoid the normal Senate confirmation process (which would have certainly failed) Linowitz was appointed as a "temporary Ambassador."
The Linowitz conflict of interest was astounding. Linowitz was a director of Marine Midland Bank that stood to lose a bundle if Panama defaulted on its loans. Marine Midland was also the sole agent of the Panamanian government for its own banking relations with the U.S. Not surprisingly, because Linowitz was also a director of Time Magazine, editorial articles appeared in favor of the giveaway....
Twenty-one years later in 1999, President William Jefferson Clinton, also a member of the Trilateral Commission, oversaw the completion of the treaty by presiding over the actual transfer of title to Panama. While Panama had originally promised to protect America's security and strategic interest in the Canal, it proceeded in the exact opposite direction by signing long-term port management contracts with a Chinese company, Hutchinson Whampoa of Hong Kong. As a result, both ends of the Panama Canal are now controlled by a company closely aligned with, and partially owned by, the communist Chinese government. ...
Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, a great American patriot and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974, had strongly protested President Carter's Panama policy in 1977. In 1999, Admiral Moorer again spoke out with perfect clarity:
"In 1996, while China was illegally pouring millions of dollars into Clinton’s re-election effort, it was also funneling huge amounts of cash to Panamanian politicians to ensure that one of its front companies, Hutchinson Whampoa of Hong Kong, could move in when we vacate....West Coast Maritime Security
"This means that very soon we could see Communist China in control of one of the world’s most strategic waterways in our own backyard. President Clinton may say that they are our friends and allies, but the Chinese military and Communist Party literature refer to the United States as 'the main enemy.' And despite what President Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and the media may tell you about 'reform' in China, it is still run by a brutal, totalitarian, Communist regime that will do us harm if and when it thinks it can get the better of us.'" 7...
There are two Chinese shipping companies operating in the United States: China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) and China Shipping Group (CSG).
China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) is the largest container shipping company in the world, operating more than 540 ships and accounting for four-fifths of China's international fleet. Prior to its first public offering of stock in 2005, COSCO was completely owned by the Peoples Republic of China, where it continues even now as the PRC's merchant marine.
In the U.S., Seattle-based SSA Marine and COSCO have had an exclusive 25-year business relationship: SSA Marine has handled every COSCO container in every port on the West Coast, totaling some 7.7 million containers.
SSA Marine (previously known as Stevedoring Services of America) is a subsidiary of Carrix Corporation, with 2005 revenues easily in excess of $1.2 billion. Carrix is a privately owned multinational corporation whose business revenue is growing at a rate of about 18 percent per year. Carrix also owns Tideworks Technology and Rail Management Service (RMS), the world's largest rail yard operator with 45 facilities in 23 states.
SSA Marine obviously has a preferential relationship with China. In addition to its exclusive relationship with COSCO, it is currently investing $350 million to double the size of its terminal facility at the eastern end of the Panama Canal (operated by Hutchinson Whampoa), serving as a transshipment center for cargo between ships moving up the coast and those moving through the canal.
In 1996, COSCO attempted to lease a huge 130 acre terminal which had been converted from the abandoned Long Beach Naval Station. According to the Heritage Foundation,
"Long Beach is located in the heart California's military-industrial complex, and the port itself is a prime location where the Chinese military could intercept communications, which would allow them to track military exercises and deployment. COSCO, which is owned in part by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, is a less than ideal candidate for the port's lease. In March 1996, U.S. customs agents seized 2,000 AK47 assault rifles, bound for U.S. street gangs, that were on board a COSCO ship. With this in mind, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-85), effectively banning COSCO from renting any portion of the former Long Beach Naval Station." 8This did not hinder COSCO from expanding its facilities in Los Angeles and Oakland....
COSCO also operates an intermodal network (see map) in North America through a subsidiary and with the help of Carrix Corporation. The network facilitates "door-to-door" delivery of goods arriving from China.
The second Chinese shipping company mentioned above is the China Shipping Group (CSG). This company was formed in 1997 and is also owned by the Chinese government....
East Coast Maritime Security
On February 11, 2006, a U.S. Treasury department committee issued its approval for a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company, Dubai Ports World (DP World), to take over the operational management of six major American commercial ports and two U.S. military ports. After minimal investigation, it was later determined that the total count for takeover was 21 ports, split between eastern and gulf cost states. The ports in question were formerly managed by the London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company ("P&O"), which had just been acquired by DP World.
President George Bush and his cabinet members vehemently endorsed and defended the takeover. Most Americans and many of their respective elected officials wondered if the Executive Branch had completely lost its marbles.
The compelling negative aspects of this potential security collapse being reported are that the UAE...
United Arab Emirates: Home of Dubai Ports World
- provided citizenship to two of the hijackers in the 9-11 attack on America
- has been a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components sent to Iran, North Korea and Libya
- was one of only three nations that had recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government
- is an Islamic state closely aligned with Saudi Arabia, the center of the radical Wahabi school of Islam that has fomented terrorism world-wide....
One place in the world where it can be said "the buck stops here" is in the UAE. Put another way, if the world was a money funnel into which the global elite pour their billions of quarterly profits, then the bottom of that funnel empties out on the UAE and a few other countries who are members of the powerful Gulf Cooperation Council.
The GCC was founded by Saudi Arabia in 1981. Other members of the GCC include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.
Most Americans cannot fathom the economic prosperity in the GCC countries in the mid-east because of the constant barrage of news on war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent years, the massive infusion of fresh capital from all over the world is funding the building of cities out of the desert sand....
The corporate interests of virtually every global elite are heavily represented throughout the GCC. Huge deals are sealed in closed meetings. Secrecy is a standard business practice. Regulations of any kind are minimal. ...
These cities are being built with the latest technology and materials. They are "wired" with the latest Internet and computer technology. It's becoming a destination of choice for regional corporate headquarters. ... This is a place where money meets ambition, greed and avarice.
For instance, consider the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC):
"The DIFC is an onshore capital market designated as a financial free zone designed to create a unique financial services cluster economy for wealth creation initiatives. It is established as part of the larger vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the Government of Dubai to create an environment for growth, progress and economic development in the UAE and the wider region....It's no surprise that Morgan Stanley applied for and received a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate within the DIFC." ... The director-general of the DIFC Authority, Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, welcomed Morgan Stanley by stating,
"There are six primary sectors of focus within the DIFC: Banking Services... Capital Markets (Equity, Debt Instruments, Derivatives & Commodity Trading); Asset Management & Fund Registration....
"Licence applications are being considered from financial institutions in the above sectors. Each of these units will offer benefits such as zero tax rate on income and profits, 100 per cent foreign ownership, no restrictions on foreign exchange or capital/profit repatriation, operational support and business continuity facilities." [Emphasis added]11
“This is a testimony to our status as an international financial centre of repute. ... The opportunity available within the region, along with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and the international regulatory framework of the DIFC, provides the ideal platform for institutions such as Morgan Stanley to grow their business." [Emphasis added]13Ideal platform, indeed. Who couldn't grow their business with zero income tax, unlimited foreign ownership and no foreign exchange regulations?
Cities like Dubai are reminiscent of the rebuilding of Japan and Germany after WWII. Since their economic infrastructure was destroyed, they were rebuilt from the ground up with the latest industrial technology, leaving America behind and less competitive in world markets. ...
Most assume that the royal family's riches came from royalties paid on oil production, and this is certainly true. But even that kind of wealth cannot account for the rapid rise of DP World as a top player in shipping and port operation throughout the world.
Records show, for instance, that DP World purchased P&O for $6.8 billion. Only $300 million (5 percent) actually came from DP World -- the rest, $6.5 billion, was provided by Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank AG.
In short, it is the global banking community that enables the corporate expansion of powerful companies owned by close-knit Islamic families in the GCC countries. Without global bank support, there would be no DP World to take over American shipping ports.
Trilateral Support for DP World Takeover
On March 1, 2006, The Financial Times was first to report the story that former U.S. president Bill Clinton (member of the Trilateral Commission) had advised the UAE on damage control when confronted with stiff political resistance over the DP World takeover of American ports. Although it was intimated that Clinton acted in an informal capacity, the article also noted that his overall relationship with the UAE and Dubai is far from casual:
"Mr. Clinton’s contact with Dubai on the issue underscores the relationship he has developed with the United Arab Emirates since leaving office. In 2002, he was paid $300,000 to address a summit in Dubai."14Three days later on March 4, when reporting on Hillary Clinton's claim that she knew nothing of her husband's involvement with Dubai, the Financial Times revealed yet more details about Clinton's relationship to the UAE...
"Mrs. Clinton's financial disclosure forms reveal that her husband earned $450,000 giving speeches in Dubai in 2002. Officials from the UAE also reportedly donated between $500,000 and $1m to fund Mr. Clinton's presidential library in Arkansas - part of an effort by the emirates to forge a close relationship with the former US president."15...One snag to such a deal may be that sources say the U.S. company best equipped to partner with DP World is Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Cheney. ... Both Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, are members of the Trilateral Commission. ....
Who did President Bush originally appoint to head the 9/11 Commission? None other than original Trilateral Commission member, Henry Kissinger. Kissinger accepted the appointment but resigned a month later amid accusations of "conflict of interest." Bush replaced Kissinger with Thomas Kean, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a director of the oil giant Amerada Hess, and who had business ties to Saudi Arabia and the GCC....
No comments:
Post a Comment