Friends, I've been continuing to read William Engdahl's, "A Century of War: Ango-American Oil Politics and The New World Order," and have it to be a uniquely revealing red pill. I thought I had escaped from the Matrix, but here I found a whole new coherence to actual reality that I hadn't known about. Lots of things click into place more neatly, and Engdahl's scholarship seems to be first rate. I haven't been able to absorb it all on first reading, but what I've learned so far is, I think, worth sharing. I'd like to briefly trace a few parallel threads in British and U.S. history. Many elements are involved, but the interesting thing is how clear the picture becomes when the elements are seen in their true relationships. The words below are my own: this is my updated analysis after having been informed by Engdahl. --- The first thread has to do with the evolution of capitalist states in general, and in particular the relationship between industry and banking. Not all capitalist states succeed in following the full course, but those that have done so seem to follow this basic trajectory. In particular, this has been true of the U.S. and Britain. In the first phase, the state becomes rich and strong by industrializing, building up its infrastructure, and gaining wealth through profitable trade arrangements. To the extent that diplomatic or military initiatives are deployed in support of these operations, they tend to focus on (1) opening up markets and gaining access to resources needed by home industries, and (2) maintaining position within the geopolitical arena (aka competitive imperialism). During this phase, the elites which dominate state policy-making tend to include very strong representation from industrialists, as with Herr Krupp, J.D. Rockefeller, the early factory and mill operators in Northern England and Scotland, etc. While the early days of phase 1 might be characterized by sweatshop labor conditions, the later stages tend to be characterized by high-employment and improving living conditions for the general domestic population (Victorian England, 50s USA). In some cases, as with Germany and World Wars 1 and 2, a state is prevented by competitors from developing beyond phase 1. But if phase 1 develops fully, it breeds the seeds of its own demise, ushering in phase 2. What happens is that accumulated wealth increasingly concentrates in banks and related financial institutions, out of the process of (1) financing industrial development, (2) financing the wars that are required to maintain geopolitical position, and (3) managing deposits, settlement accounts, etc. Phase 2 begins at that point where the wealth and influence of the financial sector (Wall Street, The City) eclipses that of the domestic industrial sector (Detroit, Manchester). The focus of state policy formulation, which in phase 1 was essentially the maximization of domestic industrial growth, becomes in phase 2 the maximization of financial-sector investment returns. Domestic industrial and infrastructure development must now compete with other investment opportunities. Because of all the international relationships that financial institutions have established in the course of supporting industrial trade during phase 1, the financial sector is well able to pursue its investment opportunities on a more-or-less global scale. Investment in a less-developed state economy, one on the up-curve of phase 1, can offer far greater returns than investments in an aging domestic industrial sector. Domestic industry deteriorates, unemployment rises, and the domestic economy goes into decline - while the financial sector continues to amass wealth. We see this in the rotting smokestack industries of America's north east, and we saw it a century before in the decline of once-proud British industry. In phase two the mission of diplomatic and military initiatives naturally shifts in alignment with overall state priorities - supporting the interests of the domestic financial sector. The mission is no longer to obtain raw materials for domestic industry, but rather to open up economies to investment, to control resources which have value on international markets, and other objectives we'll be looking at in a moment. From these considerations we can begin to find a clear and simple answer to the question: "Who are THEY? Who, exactly, are these elites who supposedly run the world?". At the very top of the pyramid of policy formulation, in today's world and at past times as well, are the big banks. In particular, today, we are talking about the wealthy few who control the biggest and most influential financial institutions in New York and London. . . . but that gets us ahead of our story. --- The second thread has to do with with role of oil in world affairs over the past century or so. Oil's central importance has been multi-faceted and all-pervasive. For those of you into chaos theory, we can see the impact of oil as being a chaotic event leading to profound, non-linear, surprising shifts in system dynamics. When Britain was still at its height of influence, in the years leading up to World War 1, its phase-2 elites had already recognized that oil was destined to become the lifeblood of a new kind of global economy - what we might today call 'the energy economy'. This became abundantly clear to them as British fleets were converted from coal to oil, and the greater energy density provided clear strategic advantages in terms of range, speed, payload, etc. Furthermore the importance of airplanes was beginning to become apparent to those with vision, and here oil was the only viable fuel source. All sea fleets and airplanes, and for similar reasons many other infrastructures globally, would eventually need to adapt to oil to in order to maintain competitive productivity and performance. Armed with this foresight, it became clear to Anglo elites that control over oil resources and oil markets would be the key to maintaining the power of The City, while the British Empire descended into decay, having lost its industrial backbone. An elite fraternity (network) was assembled, consisting of elements from British Intelligence, top banking houses, and oil operators. Every oil executive running some foreign business operation, for example, was at the same time acting as an agent for British Intelligence, providing valuable insider information about local conditions, and able to provide cover and contacts for visiting intelligence operatives. At the same time our executive would be accessing investment funds from The City and depositing his profits in select City banks. This fraternity was kept highly secret, and it was able to effectively coordinate the resources of British Intelligence and diplomacy, strategic state policy, the investments of the financial sector, and oil explorations, operations, acquisitions, alliances etc. This was a clear example of what we might a call a "secret government by conspiracy" - and in typical British fashion, the fraternity operated as a relatively coherent team, competently secretive, and single-minded in pursuing its objectives. The supreme British virtues - team-spirit, diplomacy, and theater (in this case, acting & deception) - found useful application. Oil was the central lever which promised control over the future global economy, but the oil business itself was not the main focus of interest of top Anglo elites in The City. Control over oil was a means to a much grander end: control over global finance. To put it simply, the real goal of the The City was to retain its position as the primary banking hub of global commerce, a position it had gained on the back of Britain's phenomenal phase-1 industrial and imperial achievements. With this goal in mind, we can understand the importance of maintaining the pound as the leading reserve currency, and we can see the power that provides to the banks who control pound-lending interest rates. By controlling oil and oil markets, the price of oil in those markets, and the exchange currency, The City - with a little help from its fraternal friends - would have many ways by which to maintain its general dominance over global finance. Again, as in our first thread, we see parallel scenarios, played out first by Britain and later by the USA. Each enjoyed a remarkably successful phase 1 period, each made the transition to phase 2 for very similar reasons, each experienced domestic economic decay, and each ended up pursuing a strategy of global financial dominance by means of oil dominance. --- For our next thread, we will examine the intertwining of these parallel stories, the Anlo-American rivalries, the passing of the golden baton of supreme power from London to New York, and the establishment of a unique and enduring partnership arrangement between the U.S. and Britain - a remarkable accomplishment by British diplomatic and banking circles which in strategic importance can be considered the equal of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. The public friendship display between Bush and Blair is a more or less accurate cartoon portrayal of the actual relationship enjoyed between elite New York and London banking circles. Britain's nemesis, as a national power, was World War 1. The City's strategy of financial and oil dominance was being threatened by Germany's phase-1 success and its growing financial sector. This was worrisome, but The City could still maintain financial dominance if it could control Germany's oil supply. That's why Germany's Berlin-to-Baghdad railway project was seen as a dire strategic threat by City observers. If Germany completed the railway, and gained independent access to Middle East oil sources, The City's financial dominance would indeed be in jeopardy. Not only would Germany have its own source of oil - and the ability to manage the cost of production, the rate of extraction, and the price - but the railroad would also open up a continental trading network that would rival Britain's traditional sea-lane dominance, and bring similar rewards to the new gate-controller. The mark would threaten the pound in the reserve currency arena, and German financial elites would become pretenders to the banking-hub throne traditionally held by The City. America figures little in this scenario so far. The rivalries and collaborations between British and U.S. interests continued at their own pace and in their own way separate from the British challenges on its own side of the pond. Germany and most of Europe were in Britain's 'sphere of oil influence', and America had its own spheres. Already before World War 1 we see a proto-cartel scenario on a global scale among these two players The City - with its fraternity of intelligence and diplomatic operatives - undertook two projects in response to the German threat. Plan A was to frustrate the Berlin-Baghdad rail project by whatever means necessary. Plan B was to prepare for war with Germany, making astute use of alliances to maximize the probability of success and to shift the burden of warfare as much as possible to others. Again, diplomacy shows its face as Britain's strongest geopolitical suit, displaying itself initially by its ability to build friendships and alliances, while later displaying itself in the skill and timing by which those alliances are later betrayed. Britain orchestrated an elaborate network of secret mutual-defense alliances, creating a hidden level of extreme volatility that few knew even existed, and the extent of which the Germans did not fully appreciate. The City and its fraternity intentionally created a powder keg, kept it concealed as a terrorist does his bomb, and arranged that when the powder keg exploded everyone would be fighting everyone else, and Britain would be able to deal with the war from its traditional balance-of-powers perspective. Plan A and Plan B intersected in the Balkans. That's where the fraternity was making its last-ditch attempt to stop the rail line, and the Balkans can be considered to be the geographical focal point of the various secret alliances - midway between the Great Powers and the Middle East oil reserves. Almost any spark could have ignited the power keg, Britain had all of her ducks in place, and whether or not the fraternity was behind the Duke's assassination doesn't really matter - they might as well have been and the outcome is the same whoever did the deed. The main forces at work on the ground here were Germany's determination to complete the rail line vs. Britain's determination to stop it. The unstoppable force of Germany's ambition was colliding with the immovable object of The City's hold on power. Two tectonic plates were colliding, and the Balkans were right on the fault line, at a point of maximum stress. We could expect the earthquake to strike there, and the actual triggering event is in some sense an irrelevancy, as is the particular match which might get tossed onto dry grass. Britain had arranged the inevitable earthquake, and had created for itself a viable strategy framework for victory. The alliances were more or less balanced from a military perspective; accessing all-important oil would be difficult for the German side, and Britain's sea dominance would presumably play a key role in supporting its alliances, defending its homeland, and in giving Britain maximum flexibility in choosing its theaters of engagement. Germany on the other hand, a much more straightforward and forthright player, in nowhere near the same league as Britain diplomatically, was comparatively ill-prepared for strategic engagement. It would be depending on its own brute strength, its more authoritarian style of alliance management, and whatever war strategy it could cobble together in response to the elaborate secret system the fraternity had so carefully orchestrated. And it would need to devote much of its effort to obtaining oil supplies. --- There was however one tiny fly in The City's ointment. Not so tiny actually. In the vaults of the British treasury, unfortunately, the cupboard was bare. A dandy war had been orchestrated by the fraternity, all the ducks were in order, the strategy was viable, but a funding source was missing. For want of a nail the horseshoe might be lost, etc., and Germany might gain the upper hand after all. Once again it is British skills in diplomacy and banking that save the day, as regards proceeding with the planned war project. In particular, the close fraternal connections between certain top bankers in New York and London provided a channel by which funding for the war effort could be obtained. New York's J.P. Morgan became the exclusive broker for The City in America, arranging financing, handling the transactions, and managing Britain's procurements (food, weapons, etc.) from sources on the U.S. side of the pond. Morgan made money had over fist in all sorts of ways, his agents like a swarm of mosquitos sucking blood, as he carried out his all-important role in enabling The City to pursue its war plans. As the war continued on longer than anticipated, British and allied debts grew to unprecedented heights. Morgan had orchestrated the largest private financing deal the world had ever seen. Many other banks and investors had been brought in, creating a link between British victory and the continued strength of the American economy. If Britain and its allies were to lose the war and default on their loans, Morgan would be left holding the bag, along with his network of investors, and the U.S. economy would go into a tumble. Germany proved to be more resilient and resourceful than the fraternity had anticipated, and it became apparent that U.S. military intervention would be necessary to assure victory and bring the war, finally, to a conclusion. The main obstacle here was a nearly universal isolationist sentiment in the U.S., not only in the realm of public opinion, but in top business and political circles as well. Furthermore, among those with some measure of war fervor, at least as many were pro-German as were pro-British. Germany had presented no particular problems for America, and had been a good trading partner, while Britain had been through the years frequently a thorn in the side of U.S. interests, competing for Latin American oil sources, and in other ways. Such a challenge was not beyond the capabilities of the fraternity, with its first-rank covert operatives, and with typically astute British diplomacy running cover. Among the primary British strategic virtues, I earlier forgot to mention their genius in the realm of propaganda (a tradition we can still witness any day on BBC). The City had links to Wall Street, Wall Street had links to the big U.S. newspaper chains, and we see the emergence of effective anti-German pieces, chipping away at isolationist and pro-German views. With Germany publicly claiming the right to attack any vessel it considered to be of military relevance, the fraternity and its American counterparts arranged for the Lusitania to sail, with the public being told the vessel carried civilian passengers only, while German intelligence was led to suspect that armaments might be secretly aboard, as many claim was actually the case. In coordination with this operation, this arranged 'outrage incident', a coordinated media campaign set the stage for anti-German hysteria, and was then fully unleashed in the aftermath of the actual torpedo event. By these and other means the fraternity, with the help of its Wall Street collaborators and their media friends, American opinion was brought into line with the necessities of pulling Morgan's bacon out of the fire, assuring a British victory, and thereby, somewhat indirectly, giving The City a new lease on life. In the final analysis, the tail had wagged the dog. --- This has gone on longer than I anticipated, but I think it may be of some interest to many of you. I'll continue tomorrow, beginning with the aftermath of World War 1. rkm -- ============================================================ If you find this material useful, you might want to check out our website (http://cyberjournal.org) or try out our low-traffic, moderated email list by sending a message to: •••@••.••• You are encouraged to forward any material from the lists or the website, provided it is for non-commercial use and you include the source and this disclaimer. Richard Moore (rkm) Wexford, Ireland blog: http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ "Escaping The Matrix - Global Transformation: WHY WE NEED IT, AND HOW WE CAN ACHIEVE IT ", old draft: http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/rkmGlblTrans.html _____________________________ "...the Patriot Act followed 9-11 as smoothly as the suspension of the Weimar constitution followed the Reichstag fire." - Srdja Trifkovic There is not a problem with the system. The system is the problem. Faith in ourselves - not gods, ideologies, leaders, or programs. _____________________________ cj list archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=cj newslog list archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=newslog _____________________________ Informative links: http://www.indymedia.org/ http://www.globalresearch.ca/ http://www.greenleft.org.au/index.htm http://www.MiddleEast.org http://www.rachel.org http://www.truthout.org http://www.williambowles.info/monthly_index/ http://www.zmag.org http://www.co-intelligence.org ============================================================
