Reflection for Confessions of an Economic Hitman
This story addresses a very important matter between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United States uses many tactics to get what they want and to make things happen. Also, the United States keeps many of its operations classified so people don’t know what is going on. The main reason behind the matter between both countries is because Saudi Arabia announced an embargo. This is where the United States decided to send a man from one of their organizations to make a deal with the Saudi’s, his name was John Perkins. Perkins, an economic hitman, was brought in for a particular job. His job was to develop forecasts that predict what might happen in Saudi Arabia if vast amounts of money were invested in its infrastructure, and to map out scenarios for spending the money. Everything he did was classified and top secret because no one can know about his job; not even his wife! This was a highly secret operation. Perkins is considered a very reliable narrator, mainly because he actually lived through and experienced all of it. Also, he personally witnessed all events, even stating the events in his story. This is a true story that stayed classified from everyone except the organization, from knowing what Saudi Arabia is doing! Perkin’s description of the events is valid for a few reasons: there are many witnesses that can back him up and the proof located inside the documents and reports written and given. I also believe that what he says is reasonable and fair. It’s fair not only because all reports on what happened were documented, but also because there is no reason for him to lie. In addition to being fair, I also believe that these events are believable. Classified operations are events that take place daily in countries around the world, especially the United States. The United States is always involved in situations like this, in order to get what they want, no matter what the circumstance. Unfortunately, this is something they had to do to help them succeed against what Saudi Arabia did. I guess it all comes down to power. They were happy because they succeeded in their plans and Saudi Arabia gave into their demands. The United States is known for its powerful persuasive techniques. Basically, they do what they need to do and no one can change that. Sometimes parts of a government, in any country, can’t step in to change things, let alone the citizens of that country. If things are taken to far or get out of hand, citizens can start a movement. They could take matters into their own hands and take charge through signed petitions, starting marches and demonstrations, or any other nonviolent action to get their point across and make sure they are heard. The downfall to all of this is that there is only a small chance that it will work, or make a difference because the United States usually does what they think is needed in order to accomplish what they set out to do, not allowing anyone to come in their way. Also, they use many different tactics to help them succeed. One tactic that the United States implements, is the use of economic hitmen. Economic hitmen not only affect countries, but they also greatly impact the people living in those countries. The sad part is, most of the time they don’t even care. People start to feel a sense of helplessness and they become disenfranchised with their governments, which is not a good thing. They also feel a lack of control, losing the ability to have any say or control in what the government is doing. There are many reasons as to why people become disenfranchised themselves such as economic hit men changing how the country is run, and deals being made without anyone’s consent. This goes against many beliefs, laws, and expectations that people have; it just isn’t fair for the people that live there. It’s almost like being betrayed by your own country. In addition, economic hit men have to do more with colonialism then most think. They have many similar actions that affect people. Colonialism and economic hit men both take things from people that are not rightfully theirs to begin with, in a negative way that leads to losing trust in a system that is suppose to protect the citizens from harm. There was a very important reason as to why Perkins wrote this story. He wanted the world to know what really happens behind the scenes. In addition, he wanted the world to know, across countries, what takes place in the government when the world isn’t watching. No one really knew what was going on and most of the time citizens were left in the dark, until now. John Perkins was a brave man who told the world what was truthfully taking place within government operations. I believe that the telling of this story was a good move on Perkins part because people now have a better understanding of who their government really is, and what their government is really capable of. The book also reveals government secrets in the United States of America and what they have been hiding from the American people. Also, I believe my teacher chose to include this reading in our civics class because it allows us, the students, to realize how governments work, and how they have a tendency to hide things from its citizens. It gives us insight into a deeper level of government operations. While writing this story, Perkins uses chapter titles. Even though I was not very familiar with the chapter titles in the reading, I still found them to be very interesting and they impelled me to want to know more about the story, and the events in the story. All in all, I would recommend reading this story to anyone who seeks the truth. It is a story filled with facts, surprises, and truth. Lastly, it is probably the closest piece of readable information that talks about the corruption of governments.