Friday
Nov192004
Something I Often Wonder About
Friday, November 19, 2004 at 6:18AM
This quote, offered by Tom Matrullo from Arundhati Roy's speech and article titled Peace and Corporate Liberation Theology, stimulated me to think about a question I often ponder.
We know very well who benefits from war in the age of Empire. But we must also ask ourselves honestly who benefits from peace in the age of Empire? War mongering is criminal.
But talking of peace without talking of justice could easily become advocacy for a kind of capitulation. And talking of justice without unmasking the institutions and the systems that perpetrate injustice, is beyond hypocritical.
What I wonder about is this ... today Alan Greenspan evidently voiced some concern about how long America could continue running a trade deficit that seems to hover above $50 billion per month. I believe that it is well-known that various insttitutions and investors in other countries keep buying American paper of various sorts.
But, the market seems disquiet these days, eyeing the American deficit and making noises (observed through the rapid drop-off in the value of the greenback) about their growing lack of confidence.
Isn't it the case that this deficit financing by foreigners (what your banker would call your approved overdraft, in your case) ... isn't it the case that financing this current account deficit enables the U.S. to keep spending $5+ billion per month in Iraq ?
Aren't foreigners - essentially Japan, China, the UK, Germany - aren't these economies and people effectively financing the US invasion and occupation of Iraq ?
If they put an upper limit on the overdraft, won't it become clear that the USA is basically .... bankrupt ... particularly if it insists on carrying on in Oraq ?
We know very well who benefits from war in the age of Empire. But we must also ask ourselves honestly who benefits from peace in the age of Empire? War mongering is criminal.
But talking of peace without talking of justice could easily become advocacy for a kind of capitulation. And talking of justice without unmasking the institutions and the systems that perpetrate injustice, is beyond hypocritical.
What I wonder about is this ... today Alan Greenspan evidently voiced some concern about how long America could continue running a trade deficit that seems to hover above $50 billion per month. I believe that it is well-known that various insttitutions and investors in other countries keep buying American paper of various sorts.
But, the market seems disquiet these days, eyeing the American deficit and making noises (observed through the rapid drop-off in the value of the greenback) about their growing lack of confidence.
Isn't it the case that this deficit financing by foreigners (what your banker would call your approved overdraft, in your case) ... isn't it the case that financing this current account deficit enables the U.S. to keep spending $5+ billion per month in Iraq ?
Aren't foreigners - essentially Japan, China, the UK, Germany - aren't these economies and people effectively financing the US invasion and occupation of Iraq ?
If they put an upper limit on the overdraft, won't it become clear that the USA is basically .... bankrupt ... particularly if it insists on carrying on in Oraq ?
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