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Was Georgia a CIA coup?
Keith Parkins | 27.11.2003 16:19 | Analysis | Repression | Social Struggles
Was people power in Georgia in reality a CIA coup? An example of the desire of George W Bush to bring 'democracy' to the world?
'To me, I confess that [countries] are pieces on a chessboard upon which is played out great game for domination of the world.' -- Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, 1898
'We have 50 per cent of the world's wealth but only 6.3 per cent of its population. In this situation, in the coming period ... is to maintain this position of disparity. To do so, we have to dispense with all sentimentality ... we should cease thinking about human rights, the raising of living standards and democratisation.' -- George Kennan, US strategic planner, 1948
'It looked like a popular, bloodless revolution on the streets. Behind the scenes, it smells more like another victory for the United States over Russia in the post-Cold War international chess game.' -- Mark MacKinnon
Rumours that people power in Georgia was in reality a subtle CIA coup deserve closer scrutiny.
The first argument against is that the CIA is many things, but subtlety has never been one of them.
Coups engineered by CIA/MI6 have brought down progressive governments: Vietnam, Indonesia, Iran, Guatemala, Chile etc.
CIA has no qualms about bringing down dictators, or those previously classed as friends, sentimentality has no place in the CIA lexicon: Iraq, Indonesia, Panama.
There has even been cases of civil disobedience, bringing people out on the streets: Venezuela, Iran. But in these cases it has been relatively small scale.
In Georgia, there is a temporary co-incidence of interests. Those who may take over are pro-Western, pro-Nato, although it should be recognised they still wish to have a foot in the Russian camp.
Eduard Shevardnadze was a Grand Master of the Great Game, past masters being the British. That he has been checked, check-mated and driven out of the game, is in the interest of the West, if not Russia. That he was corrupt and authoritarian is neither here nor there.
The neighbouring countries have corrupt, authoritarian regimes. It remains to be seen whether the people will follow the example of Georgia and take to the streets, and if they do, what will be the reaction in Washington and London.
Eduard Shevardnadze may have been holding up the Baku Ceyan pipeline. This will not have gone down well in the boardroom of BP.
What is important is not who is running the country but to who they are accountable, and whether or not there is stability.
US was only too willing to deal with the Taliban. What held up a deal and ultimately led to the attack on Afghanistan was the need for regime change and stability to guarantee pipeline routes, 9-11 simply provided a useful pretext.
The Caspian is a region of great oil and gas reserves, exceeded only by the Middle East. There are three routes for pipelines: through Russia, Iran, or under the Caspian Sea through Georgia and Turkey and onto the Mediterranean. Only the Mediterranean route is acceptable to the US.
US bases are now in every former-Soviet Republic in Central Asia. US military has posts all along the proposed pipeline routes through Afghanistan.
Thus we can with certainty say that the removal of Eduard Shevardnadze, whether or not CIA inspired, was not to be opposed. The US was quick to recognise the interim president. It remains to be seen whether the IMF as quickly restores loans that were blocked under Eduard Shevardnadze.
People power has toppled regimes in Argentina and Bolivia. Toppled regimes contrary to strong warnings from US. What will be the reaction if people take to the streets in neigbouring countries to Georgia where the regimes are far worse than that of Eduard Shevardnadze?
Georgia is currently in a state of flux. The will of the people and the CIA are for a brief moment in history the same. It is now for the people to push for participatory democracy where they will be in control at every level, and not to accept imposed democracy US style which will enslave them to the will of international capital.
Ref
A very American Coup I, BVEJ newsletter, June 2002
A very British Coup?, Indymedia UK, 25 November 2003
Baku Ceyan pipeline, BVEJ newsletter, August 2003
Georgia keeps sights set on West, BBC News on-line, 24 November 2003
Mark MacKinnon, Georgia coup stinks of CIA involvement, Indymedia, 24 November 2003
Oil and the Caspian Region, BVEJ newsletter, January 2002
Oil and Turkey, BVEJ newsletter, October 2002
Pipeline politics, BVEJ newsletter, September 2003
Keith Parkins, Oil and Turkey, Indymedia UK, 31 August 2002
Keith Parkins, Pipeline politics, Indymedia UK, 11 August 2003
Keith Parkins, Pipeline politics, Indymedia UK, 21 August 2003
Keith Parkins, A sense of the masses - a manifesto for the new revolution, November 2003
Keith Parkins, Democracy US style, Indymedia UK, 21 November 2003
Keith Parkins, Georgia, Indymedia, 25 November 2003
John Pilger, The New Rulers of the World, Verso, 2003
John Pilger, I Know When Bush Is Lying: His Lips Move, New Statesman, 21 November 2003
Q&A: Georgia's 'velvet revolution', BBC news on-line, 23 November 2003
Regional alarm at Georgia crisis, BBC news on-line, 23 November 2003
Russia has Georgia on its mind, BBC news on-line, 24 November 2003
web
www.indymedia.org...
www.indymedia.org.uk...
www.heureka.clara.net...
www.indymedia.org...
www.indymedia.org.uk...
www.indymedia.org.uk...
www.indymedia.org.uk...
www.indymedia.org.uk...
www.baku.org.uk...
www.burningplanet.net...
Profile Leadership of US Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce:
HONORARY COUNCIL OF ADVISORS
JamesBaker III
ZbigniewBrzezinskiz
Henry Kissinger
Brent Scowcroft
John Sununu
CHAIRMAN EMERITUST. Don Stacy
CO-CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD
James A. Baker, IV
Partner, Baker Botts, L.L.P.
Reza Vaziri
President, R.V. Investment Group
FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The following individuals of high distinction have previously served on the Advisory Council and the Board of Directors:
Dick Cheney
Vice President of the United States of America
Richard Armitage
Deputy Secretary of State
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Ilham Aliyev
President of Azerbaijan.
Abdullah Akyuz
President, TUSIAD-US Inc.
Graham Allison
Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Sam Brownback (R-KS)
US Senator
Frank Henke
Chairman, American Bank & Trust Company
Richard Moncrief
Chairman, Moncrief Oil International
Hafiz Pashayev
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Richard Perle
American Enterprize Institute, former Assistant Secretary of Defense
Frank Verrastro
Director and Senior Fellow in the CSIS Energy Program
.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Shapoor Ansari, MD
Halim Atesh
General Manager, Azercell Telecom
Farhad Azima
Chairman & CEO, Aviation Leasing Group
Scott Blacklin
Vice President, Cisco Systems
Betty Blair
Editor, Azerbaijan International
Jahangir Hajiyev
Chairman, International Bank of Azerbaijan
Charles Koontz
Senior Vice President, SAIC
Robert Livingston
President, Livingston Group
Albert Marchetti
Vice President, Hess Corporation
Greg Saunders
Director, International Affairs, BP
Diana Sedney
Manager, International Government Relations for Chevron
Michael White
Azerbaijan Country Manager, ExxonMobil International Limited
Gregory K. Williams
Strategic Security Manager, Coca Cola
Originally posted by counterterrorist
more about Kissinger:
www.abovetopsecret.com... NWO neo-nazi/fascist Henry Kissinger brought over Erik Traub, top of Hitler’s bioweapons R&D. --
Lyndon LaRouche’s Executive Intelligence Review EIR looked at Henry Kissinger:
In 1982, Henry Kissinger formed Kissinger Associates, a consulting firm advising corporations and governments on policy. Partners and associates at Kissinger Associates included
Lawrence Eagleburger,
Brent Scowcroft,
Robert Anderson,
Lord Carrington,
Pehr Gyllenhammar,
Sir Y.K. Kan,
William Dill Rodgers,
William E. Simon, and
Eric Roll.
A 1994 Lyndon LaRouche EIR report by Joseph Brewda, Marcia Merry, Jeffrey Steinberg, Scott Thompson, Charles Tuttle, and Christopher White looked at Henry Kissinger.
“Kissinger Associates was formed through loans provided by the New York investment houses of ...Warburg ...Pincus ...and, Goldman-Sachs. Its main patrons and controllers are Warburg banking interests, with S.G. Warburg chairman Lord Roll, a partner of the firm and Lord Carrington, former NATO Secretary General and fellow board member of Hollinger Corp., also on Kissinger Associates’ board.
“While British press was after President Clinton’s scalp for months ...the center of the Clinton-gate assault is at headquarters of Hollinger Corp. ... originally called, Argus Corp., established as an outgrowth of World War II British Special Operations Executive SOE, by one of Britain’s top Economic Warfare experts. Paralleling the postwar creation of Argus Corp., British SOE intelligencer Louis Mortimer Bloomfield created a string of Canadian-based postwar intelligence proprietary companies, including British American Canadian Corp., and Permindex (Permanent Industrial Expositions).
“Permindex was caught by French intelligence and New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison when Permindex funneled money to hit squads implicated in the assassination of President John Kennedy and numerous attempts on the life of French President Charles de Gaulle. Permindex board member Clay Shaw, a New Orleans businessman, was the only person ever indicted and prosecuted as an alleged participant in the plot to assassinate President John Kennedy.
“Kissinger’s partners at the firm played central roles in determining U.S. foreign policy under the George H.W. Bush Administration. One partner, Lawrence Eagleburger, was Undersecretary then Secretary of State. Brent Scowcroft, another partner, was National Security Adviser and ran National Security Council. Kissinger’s ...a counselor to Chase Manhattan Bank ...Chair of the International Advisory Board of American International Group ...a funder of American Spectator magazine ...a board member of American Express, Union Pacific, Continental Grain ...a trustee of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Aspen Institute ...a director of International Rescue Committee ...former Chairman and Trustee of Trilateral Commission, and New York Council on Foreign Relations ...adviser to Goldman Sachs, NBC, ABC, and CBS, ...and, board member of Twentieth Century Fox.
“Until appointment as Undersecretary ...then, Secretary of State in the George Bush Sr. Administration, Eagleburger was ...Kissinger Associates president ...a director of IT&T, of LBS Bank of New York based in former Yugoslavia ...and, of Global Motors U.S., subsidiary of the Yugoslav producer of the Yugo automobile. Eagleburger joined the foreign service in 1957, served in Yugoslavia. From 1969-1977, Eagleburger was Assistant Secretary for European Affairs at State Department ...then, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in 1982, becoming president of Kissinger Associates in 1984, upon leaving government. In 1988, Eagleburger returned to government and became Undersecretary of State. In 1991 he became Deputy of State.
“Until his appointment as President Bush’s National Security Adviser, Scowcroft ran the Washington Office of Kissinger Associates.
Scowcroft served his military career in teaching posts, and in planning, operations, and intelligence positions with the general staff in Washington. Scowcroft hooked up with Kissinger in 1969, when he was assigned to national security matters at Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1973, Scowcroft worked under Kissinger as Deputy Assistant at National Security Council. Scowcroft replaced Kissinger as National Security Adviser in 1975. As Bush’s National Security Adviser, Scowcroft worked with Eagleburger in overseeing British policies in the Gulf War and Balkans war.
“Retired Chairman of Atlantic Richfield, Robert O. Anderson, Chairman of Aspen Institute is reputed to be the largest landholder in the U.S. Anderson built Atlantic Richfield into one of the largest U.S. oil companies. He ‘s currently a partner with ‘Tiny’ Rowland, the Chairman of the British intelligence proprietary, Lonrho, in their Hondo oil firm of Texas.
“Lord Peter Carrington left the board of Kissinger Associates when he became Secretary General of NATO, in 1984. An Irish baron, Carrington serves as Chancellor of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ... being the Queen’s foreign service and espionage order. First Lord of the Admiralty 1959-1963, Carrington was British secretary of state for defense 1970-1974, British secretary of state for energy in 1974 ...and, British secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs 1979-1982. From 1983 to 1984 Carrington was Chairman of General Electric of the United Kingdom. Carrington’s other financial interests include ...Australia & New Zealand Bank, a family concern he chaired ...and, directorships of Barclays Bank, Rio Tinto Zinc, Hambros Bank, and British Metal.
“Retired Chairman of Volvo since 1983, Chief Executive Officer in its subsidiaries since 1971, Pehr Gyllenhammar served in key positions in Swedish Ships Mortgage Bank and Skandia Insurance. Gyllenhammar has been on the Chase Manhattan International Advisory Board since 1962, a board later chaired by Kissinger.
“A resident of Hong Kong, Sir Y.K. Kan was the Chairman of the Bank of East Asia from 1963-1983 ...and, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council 1979-1983. Formed in 1918, Bank Of East Asia is a partner with S.G. Warburg in East Asia Warburg, Ltd.
“As chairman of powerful S.G. Warburg since 1973 ...and, Chairman and later President of Mercury Securities since 1974, Lord Roll of Ipsden, is one of the most important bankers in England. Lord Roll was director of the Bank of England from 1968 to 1977.
“William E. Simon was Deputy Secretary of the United States Treasury from 1973-1974 ...then, Secretary of the Treasury from 1974-1977. A longtime, senior partner of Salomon Brothers, the New York investment house ...currently, Chairman of William E. Simon & Sons.
Simon held government or quasi-government posts, such as ...United States Governor of the International Monetary Fund ...Governor of the Inter-American Development Bank ...and, Governor of the Asian Development Bank. He served on the boards of think tanks Atlantic Council, and Hoover Institute,” the LaRouche report said.
In 1997, a newsletter from Project Underground, based in Berkeley, reported an additional affiliation of Henry Kissinger and Associates. “Freeport-McMorRan, based in Louisiana, operates the world’s largest gold mine, and a copper mine in Irian Jaya Indonesia, and is being sued for 7 billion dollars by indigenous peoples for destroying the environment and indigenous culture.
“A Freeport-McMoRan board member is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the company’s main lobbyist for dealings with Indonesia. Kissinger met with President Shuharto just prior to the invasion of East Timor, reportedly to provide full American support. Kissinger’s firm receives a yearly retainer fee of $200,000 from Freeport-McMorRan,” Project Underground said.
According to Baron Manhattan’s research: “Vatican has large investments w/ Rothschilds of Britain, France & America, w/ Hambros Bank, w/ Credit Suisse in London & Zurich. In U.S.A. it has large investments w/ Morgan Bank, Chase-Manhattan Bank, First National Bank of New York, Bankers Trust Co., & others. Vatican has billions of shares in most powerful international corporations such as Gulf Oil, Shell, General Motors, Bethlehem Steel, General Electric, International Business Machines, T.W.A., etc. ”
In 1940, British intelligence saw American competition move into Axis oil marketplace – Nitze drafts NSC-68 -- Saudi Arabian oil owners, ruling family house of Ibn Saud represented by Jack Philby. Nazi oil buyers such as I.G. Farben represented by Allen Dulles, Philby’s partner. German bankers & Spanish financiers represented by John Foster Dulles, Allen’s partner. I.G. Farben – Texaco – CalTex
“In the early part of the twentieth century, there was fierce rivalry between the three largest oil companies …Shell, Exxon ...and, British Petroleum. “Shell … Henri Deterding, head of Shell, bought ... (2) the Russian Ural-Caspian oilfields...
...“British Petroleum … BP controlled not only Iran (Anglo-Persian Oil Company), but 25% of oil from Iraq Petroleum Company. Iraq Petroleum Company (earlier called, Turkish Petroleum Company) was formed following WWI, composed of British Petroleum, Exxon, Gulf, Texaco, Mobil, and Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian entrepreneur...
...“British Petroleum …. Reza Shah seized power in Iran in 1921 and soon took on the trappings of the Persian Peacock Throne. In 1941, when Hitler invaded Russia, the Shah refused to expel his Nazi allies, so the British and Russian armies invaded Iran to ensure oil and supply routes. The Shah was exiled to South Africa, where he died. During the war, Britain and Russia ruled, but at the end of WWII the old Shah’s 21-year-old son was placed in power. Iran, like most oil-producing countries, resented the power foreign-owned oil companies wielded over it.
A shrewd older politician, Dr. Mossadeq, was appointed chairman of a committee on Iranian oil policy. By 1951, Mossadeq was calling for nationalization …when he was elected prime minister by the Iranian parliament, Iran immediately seized BP’s oilfields. Iran was placed under international boycott by BP...
...“Gulf War I … The Gulf War was perpetrated by British and U.S. major oil shareholders to (1) warn Japan and European countries, especially Germany, that the U.S. controls the world’s oil supply …by armed force if necessary, (2) to control Iraq’s oil production through embargo resulting from the war, and (3) to conquer Iraq since it threatens Israel’s military hegemony in the Middle-East.
“Even though Iraq is under an embargo, it’s estimated Iraq ships about 100,000 barrels of illicit oil in excess of the U.N.-approved export quota per day. At the end of the war against Serbia in Bosnia and Kosovo, an embargo was slapped on Serbia. However, recently Serbia has been receiving black market oil from Russia. That’s why U.S. Navy SEALs boarded a Russian ship in the Gulf of Oman, to warn Russians not to continue selling oil to Serbia.
“The world oil cartel continues to fix gasoline prices worldwide. Prices in California have skyrocketed. During a past year, world crude oil prices have increased by approximately 340%. The April 1999 decision by OPEC to cut production quotas contributes to the hyperinflation of oil prices, but is only part of the problem. OPEC now produces about 40% of the world’s oil supply.
“The real cause of the current rise in price for oil is that speculators are now moving into what are called hard commodities … energy, base metals and food. Mar. 8, 2000, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, pointed out in a speech on Iran State TV that speculation, rather than physical shortages in crude oil, lay behind the current surge in oil prices...
“Henry Deterding, an enterprising young Dutchman, was a clerk in a bank in Batavia Jakarta at the turn of the century when the Duri oil field in Sumatra was discovered. A fast learner, he became involved in the company holding the lease over this oil field and by 1902 had risen to president of this company. Deterding was determined to seek domination over the oil industry via the ownership of concessions.
The sideshow developed in the northern foothills of the Caucasus mountains.
Ludwig Nobel, brother of the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel was sent by his father, who was an arms manufacturer supplying the Imperial Russian Army with guns into the Caucasus region, to secure a supply of walnut wood to be turned into gun stocks.
Instead, he came back with ownership of the oil concessions on what is now known as the Baku region of Azerbaijan.
*****“The House of Rothschild financed (1) the Rockefeller oil empire in America, (2) the emerging alliance soon to be named Royal Dutch Shell of the Dutch and English royal houses to take control over the oilfields in the Far East, and (3) the Russian oilfield operations controlled by the Nobel family.*****
“After oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf region and the British secured control of it, the Nobel family was forced by a ‘no holds barred’ price war between Rockefeller and Deterding to sell out. In order to win this fight, Deterding teamed up with Lord Samuels of London, who had established the oil shipping industry.
Josef Stalin spent his early political life as organizer of the Oil Workers Union in and around Baku. The Russian Revolution kept Russian oil off the world market for quite some time.
From the center of his web at 26 Broadway, New York City, Rockefeller bought oilfields as well as refineries as the industry moved from Pennsylvania, to Ohio, to Kansas, and on to California. Standard Oil’s income was larger than most states and it ‘bought’ federal and state politicians to enhance its position.
With its huge profits, Standard could finance its own expansion.the Far East and Europe. By 1885, 70% of Standard’s business was overseas. Standard now had its own network of agents throughout the world, its own intelligence service which provided information about its competitors and about political leaders in all the target market countries...
Standard Oil was exporting oil to the Middle East,