مذكرات خبير اقتصادي , او قرصان اقتصادي يروي فيها حقائق عن ارتباط الولايات المتحدة الامريكية بالانقلابات والحروب التي حدثت في النصف الثاني من القرن العشرين , ابتداءا من الامريكيتن وصولاً الى الشرق الاوسط في ايران والسعودية واخيراً العراق .
مما لا يخفى على احد ارتباط القوى العظمى العالمية بالارهاب , من ناحية التمويل و غض النظر عن تحركاتهم بل واستخدامهم كوسيلة للضغط و تصفية حساباتهم الدولية . من يرفض الاعتقاد بنظرية المؤامرة لا يقل سذاجة عن من يؤمن بها ايماناً اعمى , المؤامرات تحاك لاننا نيام و متخلفين و متفرقين , وهذة حقيقة لا يمكن انكارها .
لا اعلم مدى مصداقية بيكنز و ان كان له دور مهم فيما حدث كما حاول ان يبين في الكتاب , او انه يبالغ و يحاول رسم هاله من العظمة حوله لكن بكل الاحوال هو انسان سيء , ندمه كان على الصعيد النفسي فقط , اغتنى و اسس شركته و الف كتباً يربح منها الملايين بسبب عمله القذر , وهاهو يحقق شهرة و ارباح اكثر بعد نشره لهذا الكتاب .
ان كان خطراً حقيقياً و ما رواه يشكل تهديد لأمريكا او اي طرف آخر لـكان اُغتيل منذ سنين و ما ترك طليقاً يوزع الاتهامات بعد فوات الاوان .
لكن لابد من الاشارة الى اهمية الكتاب لنا كعرب لندرك حقيقة ما يدور حولنا ,ونتوقف عن قتل بعضنا البعض و تراشق الاتهامات و الانخراط في المليشيات و الجماعات المتطرفة تحت مسميات دينية و سياسية . نحن كالدمى منذ سنين و اوضاعنا تسوء سنة بعد اخرى فهل من يقظة ؟

" ان احداث حياتك المتعاقبة و اختياراتك فيها استجابة لتلك الاحداث , و هو ما وصل بك الى هذه النقطة .."

This book goes hand in hand with The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. Recommended.

Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Spoiled white American man who has morality crisis after morality crisis and yet manages to learn nothing. Finally marking this as abandoned 3 years later.

جون بركنز مؤلف هذا الكتاب هو كما يسمي نفسه قرصان اقتصاد سابق وعميل في وكالة الأمن القومي الأمريكية، كانت مهمته الرئيسية هي التلاعب بالإحصاءات والأرقام لإقناع بعض الدول النامية بطلب المزيد من القروض لإيقاعها في حفرة الديون حتى لاتستطيع الوفاء بها ومن ثم ابتزازها بإنشاء قواعد عسكرية أمريكية على أراضيها أو الحصول على صوتها في الأمم المتحدة أو أخذ حصة من نفطها، الكتاب يعرض لك لماذا حاربت أمريكا الشيوعية بكل شراسة وأصرت على دفع أرواح مواطنيها في التدخلات العسكرية ثمنًا لتطبيق ونشر الرأسمالية.

Perkins enlightens us on how he (and others) on behalf of large corporations and the United States government have worked a gigantic confidence game on many of the world's developing nations. Their actions have encouraged oligarchy and stifled democracy on most continents and bode ill for the future.

The con involves: finding the particular need for improvement of quality of life (more employment, rural electrification, markets for agricultural products, etc.); create a plausible way in which an infusion of money will make a difference; find (bribe, cajole, bamboozle) local advocates for this; provide gigantic loans to their government to "make it happen;" require that the money be spent on substantially on products or services supplied almost exclusively by the United States government or U.S. corporations; and, while certain companies and local individuals get rich, the country finds it impossible to ever get out of debt. Then, repeat in another location.

After expounding on this premise, Perkins takes us through many a "con" that he was part of. The variations are less interesting as time goes on and the pattern becomes morally burdensome. One of the chapters that I found m most interesting was about big oil and the rain forests in Ecuador. I was familiar with the court case litigating the damages done by Chevron during the exploration and production of oil (and Perkins alleges much that was not proved in that case). What caught my interest was that this marked a moral turning point for him and that, as he interacted with locals from the remote jungle towns, he found native peoples more conversant on world events than the majority of Americans.

Even if the prose is at times over the top, reading these Confessions should serve as a foundation for an interesting and, with luck, productive discussion.

First of all, i took too much time reading this book, although it's not the kind that should take long, and that's because i was frustrated and it didn't met my expectations from the beginning, on the book cover it says : "The shocking inside story of how America REALLY took over the world", not that shocking as story but frustrating because the author does an analyse which a bit flat, he doesn't give much details about the unethical acts that he or his company was doing despite his role and status in the companies he worked in, he cites some examples but those are already known by the public like the US involvement in South America, the suspicious contracts between USA and KSA ... Adding to that, the author wrote the book like a sensational fiction, though very poorly, where he is a Hollywood star and narrates details about his personal life, how, where and with whom he spends his vacations, while readers were waiting to know more about his professional life.
As a conclusion, if i were you i wouldn't expect too much from this book and the amount of knowledge you might learn

Good message, important, but reads like fiction. If this guy wanted to have any serious impact he should have written something less sensational. Also, he's a jackass. He spent his whole life screwing over everybody, including his friends, and then he writes a book (for which he probably made lots of money and became famous) and we're supposed to believe this guy suddenly developed a conscience? I don't buy it.

To Brian

Thanks for sending me this book: definitely a food for thought, although I don't necessarily agree with it 100%.

WARNING: This review is opinionated, political, long and probably somewhat naive because of my rudimentary understanding of international economics, CIA covert operations, and the effect of seductive blondes on susceptible males.

It took me quite a while to finish this book. I’m familiar with the gist of the argument, since I’ve read excerpts of it in the Indonesian media before. And I basically agree with the basic concept that Perkins proposes to the American government and businesses: stop being an imperial power and take unfair advantage of developing countries. But it reads like a bad airport novel, and so permeated with self-justifying victimhood that sometimes it’s difficult to take it in with a straight face. And what’s with the Jesus/New Age/Revolutionary War mumbo jumbo? Aside from the quality of the writing, I would like to comment on certain contentions made by the author, as follows.

1. There is a conspiracy between the US government, international banks and MNCs (“Corporatocracy”) to undermine developing countries by ensnaring them in odious debt.

It is no secret that a significant portion of the ruling elites in developing countries are corrupt, and that they occasionally collude with MNCs to plunder their own countries’ resources. In my former line of work, during the twilight years of the Suharto era in Indonesia, I happened to have the dubious honor of witnessing such deals first hand. There were grossly overpriced power plants (financed by a consortium of foreign lenders) that the state electricity company must buy power from --- at an astronomical rate compared to virtually anywhere in the rest of the world, not to mention a developing country such as ours. There were mining companies that, by the virtue of their inordinately powerful “Contract of Work” with the government (and vast sums paid to the military and politicians of all stripes) were able to act with impunity. There were construction companies that got jobs building the country’s infrastructure by giving free shares to members of the bureaucracy that had the power to award such contracts --- no need to enter into a tender, which would have been a sham anyway. Certain contracts were convoluted by design --- to obscure features that might raise certain issues in relation to the FCPA(1). Others involved paper companies that did nothing other than serving as cash conduits for various well-connected rent-seekers. The plain fact is that it was not possible for any company, MNCs or otherwise, to be involved in these kind of projects without giving some sort of kickback to the powers that be.

But was there a vast, shadowy Corporatocracy behind these activities? Did the NSA deliberately trained EHMs to push developing countries into accumulating odious debts that they wouldn’t be able to pay, thus putting such countries under the thumb of Pax Americana? Did sexy blondes seduce naïve young men with a bachelor’s degree in economics into EHM-hood?

I’m not an expert in international relations or economics, but it seems to me that such deals were a byproduct of a corrupt, authoritarian rule in a developing country with rich natural resources and exploitable market, rather than the end result of a conspiracy between the US government, international banks and MNCs. Sure, some of these MNCs bribed their way into the job: there really was no other way to do it if you wanted to get a piece of the pie. Even if your company came up with the lowest bid in the tender, or offered the best deal in the Production Sharing Agreement, you wouldn’t have gotten the contract if you didn’t provide kickbacks. But they also compete against each other, instead of conspiring with each other. Some of the CEOs of these companies were well connected, or even became US government officials themselves, who might have had a hand in pressuring developing countries’ governments to enter into agreements that benefit their companies. But again, is this not an effect of unfortunate, conflict-of-interest ridden concurrence rather than a deliberate, sustained US government program to undermine developing countries?

2. Economic development benefits only a few wealthy families in a developing country.

A power plant that causes the state electricity company to charge exorbitant rates to its consumers is nothing but an odious burden to the people. And so is a highway that is financed with crippling foreign debt. But infrastructure projects that are sustainably financed and built are vital to developing nations. And yes, economic development is desperately needed to feed their people, hundreds of millions of mostly uneducated, unskilled people who cannot depend on traditional livelihoods anymore. It is patronizing and unrealistic to say that people in developing nations should just remain in the backwater because economic development is inherently bad. Aside from certain indigenous people who are content to live traditional lives in their jungle abodes, the majority of people in developing countries want the same things that people in the First World do. We want reliable electricity supply at reasonable rates. We want modern transportation systems that enable us to move around with ease and safety. We want roads that are not potholed and turn into mud in the wet season. We want decent hospitals and schools. We want modern drainage systems that can properly rid of our cities of raw sewage and monsoon flooding. We want cars and computers and comfortable homes.

And we cannot get any of these without economic development --- or foreign loans. Why not, if the terms are acceptable and the interest rate reasonable?

Xenophobia and isolation from the global economy is not the answer. My parents’ generation remembers the economic desperation of the Sukarno (“Go to hell with your aid!”) era, when Indonesia quitted the UN and went to war with its “imperialist puppet” neighbor Malaysia. My Venezuelan friend couldn’t find milk and other daily necessities because of Chavez’s misguided populist economic policies. All sort of things go wrong in developing countries and not all of these are caused by the Corporatocracy.

So I think the answer is to plug in into the prevailing economic system, negotiate an acceptable term for such participation and if possible, beat the West at its own game. China, South Korea, Singapore and Japan did. If there was a conspiracy to subjugate foreign countries through debt, isn’t it incredibly ironic that the US’ external debt now stands at 97% of its GDP, while Indonesia’s is now merely 28% of its GDP (2)?.

3. Islamist terrorism is caused by American imperialism and economic exploitation by the corporatocracy.

The Islamists surely have plenty of grievances arising from the current situation in the Middle East. But like Christian fundamentalists in the West, the Islamists are also motivated by identity politics and religious chauvinism. In many cases, their violence is not aimed toward the West, but toward those whom they consider to be kaffir or infidels. This designation applies to non-Muslims as well as Muslims who do not share their ideology. Hence the church/temple bombings, killings of people that belong to minority Islamic sects, attacks on the police and other government officials, and the imposition of sharia-based laws on the general population.

This is garden variety fanaticism, not an anti-imperialist movement.


(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_...
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

كنت متخوفة عند شروعي في قراءة هذا الكتاب والذي يبدو من اسمه اني سأواجه تعقيدات إحصائية لن أفهمها ولكن كان هذا عكس توقعاتي تماما . كان الكتاب سيرة ذاتية لما اطلقه على نفسه "إعترافات قرصان إقتصاد" فالكتاب لغته سلسة كحكاية يخبرنا فيها طبيعة عمله وكيف حققوا أهدافهم المنشودة في معظم بلدان العالم.

يعد تلخيص الفكرة الأساسية لعملية القرصنة تلك عن كيفية الإغتيال الإقتصادي للأمم خاصة دول العالم الثالث النامية بإقناع تلك الدول بالتعاون معها للنهوض بها لكي تلحق بركب التقدم عن طريق توقيع عقود مع شركات خاضعة للكربوقراطية _سأعرفها بعد قليل_ لتطوير البنية التحتية لتلك البلدان عن طريق شق طرق جديدة، وإنشاء محطات توليد الكهرباء، وبناء السدود وشبكات الإتصالات وغير ذلك. في حين يقوم هؤلاء القراصنة والذين يطلق عليهم "خبراء إقتصاديين" بتوقع معدلات تنمية إقتصادية مرتفعة _و بالطبع توقعات منافية للحقيقة_ مما يعمل على تورط تلك الدول بشكل أكبر عن طريق مد فترة عقود تلك الشركات، إنشاء مشاريع ضخمة بتكلفة باهظة وفي الأخير لا تحقق المعدلات المطلوبة مما يدفع تلك الدول في النهاية للإستدانة والعجز عن سداد الديون فتتدخل الدولة العظمى "الإمبراطورية" بفرض شروطها كـ بناء قواعد عسكرية ، السيطرة على موارد طبيعية ، إستغلال البترول وهكذا .. وتفرض سيطرتها على تلك البلدان التي تتبع لها في النهاية وتنفذ سياستها.

أما عن مصطلح "الكربوقراطية" فهي مجوعة الشركات الكبرى والبنوك والحكومات مجتمعة الذين يعملون على تحقيق حلم الإمبراطورية الأمريكية وفرض سيطرتها على العالم أجمع. فالكربوقراطية متورط فيها البنك الدولي، صندوق النقد، أسماء الشركات الكبرى التي نسمع عنها كـ"فورد" على سبيل المثال وممثلين الحكومة أنفسهم رؤساء الولايات المتحدة الواحد تلو الآخر كـ(كارتر،ريجان،جورج بوش) ويحكي الكاتب عن تجربته الرئيسية والتي بدأت من فترة السبعينيات إلى أواخر التسعينات إلا إنه ظل على اتصال وتحليل لمجريات الأمور بعدها..


يحكي عن تجربته في كل من (إندونسيا، الإكوادور، بنما، إيران، السعودية، ا��عراق)
كل بلد ولها تجربتها المختلفة وموقفها من الرفض لإدراكها تلك الخدعة ورفضها للهيمنة الأمريكية الفجة أو القبول والإذعان وتنفيذ السياسة الأمريكية مقابل وعود بالحفاظ على حكمهم وتطوير دولتهم ..
كان يصل الأمر أحيانا للتصفية الجسدية في حالة الرفض كما حدث لرئيس بنما "عمر توريخوس" أو الإكوادور "رولدوس" .. وصل الحد بها لإستنزاف كل ما تجده أمامها من مصادر الطاقة والقوة لدرجة إنها لن يتبقى لها أخيراً إلا أن تلتهم نفسها !!

يصف الكاتب انهم كقراصنة إقتصاد استوعبوا دروس التاريخ فلن يقتحموا الدول بدروعهم وسيوفهم ولكنهم يرتدون نفس هيئة البلدان التي يتواجدون فيها ويمارسون أعمالهم بشكل طبيعي ويحاضرون في أعرق الجامعات
وقد كونوا صورة جيدة عن أنفسهم ولا يعدون ما يفعلونه خروج عن القانون حيث ان النظام في الأصل مبني على خدعة ويصف نفسه بأنه قانوني !!

John Perkins nos cuenta cómo se convirtió en un gánster económico al servicio de organismos como el Banco Mundial, la Agencia de Desarrollo Internacional estadounidense, el FMI, bancos y grandes corporaciones que con la excusa de desarrollo internacional saquean y someten a los países a su interés.

La capacidad de Estados Unidos de imprimir billetes sin respaldo de ninguna reserva de oro, solamente respaldados en la confianza a nivel mundial en la capacidad de su economía y capacidad de garantizar un orden mundial, le ha conferido un poder inmenso, ya que se puede conceder créditos que no devolverá nunca y acumular un gran endeudamiento. La aparición de otras monedas que pudieran sustituir al dólar produciría la caída de la economía estadounidense y el tener que hacer frente a su gran deuda, por eso EEUU luchan encarnizadamente por mantener la fortaleza de su moneda en las transacciones internacionales

كتاب مهم.

Ülkemin şu an içinde bulunduğu durumu göz önüne almadan önce bile yeterince sarsıcı bir kitapken, ayın 15'inden sonra kesinlikle vurucu bir kitap oldu benim nazarımda. Zira darbe girişiminde küresel imparatorluğun parmağı olduğunu iddia eden bir yazının üzerine şu kitabı okuyor olmak beni gerçekten çok sarstı. Perkins'in deyimiyle "Şirketokrasi" kendi çıkarları için bütün zayıf ülkeleri -ve tabii bizi de- öğütüyor ve biz büyük ölçüde çaresizlik içinde kalmanın üzüntüsünü yaşıyoruz. Gerçekten bitirdiğim zaman, içimde büyük bir iç sıkıntısı miras bırakan az sayıda kitap var ve bu kitap onlardan birisi. Beni bu kadar üzense içindekilere gerçekten inanıyor oluşum galiba.

Bunlar dışında kitap son derece samimi ve anlaşılır bir dille yazılmış bence. Yazar o kadar açık bir şekilde anlatmış ki her şeyi, hiçbir iktisadi ya da yakın siyasi tarih bilginiz olmasa dahi yazarın size anlatmaya çalıştığı şeyleri çok net bir şekilde kavrayabiliyorsunuz. Fakat az da olsa son zamanlardaki olaylara aşina olmanız, anlatılanların kafanızda tam olarak oturması için fazlasıyla yararlı olabilir.

Bazı ufak tefek dizgi hataları var kitapta ancak kitabın içeriği düşünülecek olursa bunların önemli sayılabileceğini sanmıyorum.

Özetle, ben Perkins'in ve haliyle kitabın samimiyetine inandım. Ve kitabı, kendi sınıfı içinde son derece başarılı buldum. Bence beş yıldızı hak ediyor. Okumanızı tavsiye ederim.