German Panzer Banks Crush Greece, Washington Winces
http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?p=170807#170807
Finian CUNNINGHAM | 18.07.2015 | 00:00
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/07/18/german-panzer-banks-crush-greece-washington-winces.html
The German paymaster of Europe has subjugated
Greece with breathtaking ruthlessness. In 1941,
Nazi Germany crushed Greece with its Panzer
tanks. Today, without firing a shot, Germany’s
Panzer banks have accomplished the same, turning
the country into a de facto German «protectorate»
whose national assets and sovereignty are being
turned over by Berlin’s financial dictate.
Far from being all quiet on the «southern front»,
the Greek government is now facing a revolt
within its own ranks as the country’s parliament
absorbs Berlin’s shock attack on its economy and
sovereignty. France, Italy and other highly
indebted southern eurozone countries are also
reeling from German financial tyranny. The
reverberations are shaking the entire edifice of
the EU and its supposed values of European equality and solidarity».
Washington is far less concerned by the damage to
European values than by the opening up of deep
political rifts between EU capitals, which could
then undermine the architecture of its hegemony in Europe and toward Russia.
When the financial bailout «agreement» was
reached after tortuous negotiations last weekend,
European Union leaders tried their best to make
the outcome sound like a
kiss-and-makeup»compromise». European Council
President Donald Tusk hailed it as «a typical
agreement between European partners». French
President Francois Hollande declared: «Europe has
won!» While European Commission chief Jean-Claude
Juncker gave the game away by claiming that «Greece was not humiliated».
But the sweeping austerity measures that Athens
is being forced to implement in order to avail of
a third bailout put at €86 billion ($95 billion)
is far from a compromise. It is a capitulation by
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and
his»anti-austerity» Syriza government. Some €50
billion worth of Greek public assets are to be
locked up under EU creditor»trust» to be sold off
at some time in the future if Athens does not
implement the draconian austerity demands. By «EU
creditors»what is meant is German banks, which
are the paymaster of Athens and much of the rest of the EU.
The Washington Post did not equivocate on the
brutal terms, although it disguised Berlin’s
sinister role with the catch-all euphemism of
«European leaders». It reported: «Greece
acquiesced early Monday to a punishing ultimatum
from European leaders, agreeing to a
lighting-fast passage of reforms and a pledge to
strap itself into a fiscal straight-jacket to
save its banks and stay in the euro». The report
added that «a financial gun had been held to Greece’s head».
Reuters pointedly reported that Greece had
«surrendered». «Eurozone leaders made Greece
surrender much of its sovereignty to outside
supervision on Monday in return for agreeing to
talks on an 86 billion euros bailout to keep the
near-bankrupt country in the single currency».
In a second Washington Post article, the headline
betrays American misgivings about Berlin’s terms.
«Germany doesn’t want to save Greece. It seems to want to humiliate Greece».
As the dust settles over Germany’s de facto take
over of Greece’s sovereignty, Washington is now
fighting a rearguard action to try to mitigate
the terms of the surrender. The
Washington-dominated International Monetary Fund
(IMF) has renewed its calls for debt
restructuring for Athens. «The IMF is calling for
much greater debt relief for Greece than what EU
countries are willing to give so far,» reported
France 24, while the BBC headlined: «IMF attacks
EU over [Greece] bailout terms». Again, the
euphemism of «EU leaders» is being invoked, when
the unspoken specific target for Washington’s admonition is Berlin.
What has the United States alarmed is the
geopolitical fallout from the Greek crisis.
Explicitly, the US is worried that the debacle
driven by Germany’s hardline financial dictate
could result in Greece crashing out of the EU.
That in turn could lead to a wider melt down of
the 28-member bloc and the unravelling of
Washington’s anti-Russia project. That project is
dependent on a cohesive EU implementing US-led
trade and diplomatic sanctions against Moscow, as
well as serving as a platform for American-led
aggression toward Russia under the guise of the NATO military alliance.
As noted in an earlier column, in the days before
the latest bailout «agreement», Washington made a
strenuous intervention to urge Germany to soften
its demands on Greece. US Treasury Secretary Jack
Lew and IMF chief Christine Lagarde both called
on Berlin to afford debt restructuring for
Greece, that is, a substantial write-off of
Greece’s $350 billion debt – most of which is held by Berlin.
Notably, too, the British government, which
serves as a mouthpiece for Washington in Europe,
was also appealing to Berlin to soften its policy
on Greek finances – this at the same time that
Britain’s Chancellor George Osborne was unveiling
swingeing public spending cuts on his own
population. Hardly concern from London then for
Greek poverty, and more likely a dutiful
geopolitical message on behalf of Washington.
Washington’s appeals to Berlin fell on deaf ears,
which as noted, pushed on for a financial
scorched-earth surrender by Athens. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her powerful Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schäuble have shown no mercy to
the Athens government. Both have ruled out any
debt restructuring. Merkel said of the bailout
terms that Greece «faces a long tough road ahead».
But it’s not just Washington that is unnerved by
Germany’s newfound truculence with regard to EU
finances. Even within Germany, media reports have
voiced concerns that the Berlin Chancellery’s
financial dictates toward Greece are straining
the foundations of the bloc. German newspaper Der
Spiegel said Berlin was displaying a dangerous
«hypocrisy» over its insistence on debt repayment
considering the historic relief that Germany
itself received over Second World War reparations.
Another German media outlet, DWN, warned that
Berlin’s financial imperiousness was threatening
to collapse the EU. From a translation, the
newspaper said: «Angela Merkel and Wolfgang
Schäuble have overnight transformed the EU into
an entity that is no longer held together by
trust, but only by naked fear. With the signing
of the agreement with Greece the nightmare for
the EU has begun. Life in Europe is no longer
determined by contracts, but by the law of the jungle».
The Washington Post reported on the brewing
tensions within the EU over the Greek debt
negotiations in Brussels. «European leaders had
seriously clashed over the deal to rescue [sic]
Greece, with Germany and Finland taking a
hardline and the leaders of France and Italy
expressing a distinct lack of ease over the
German position – worried that it was undermining the European ideal».
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin was duelling
with Germany’s Wolfgang Schauble by insisting on
a degree of debt forgiveness for Greece. In the
end, Schauble over-ruled his French counterpart,
wrenching from Athens a humiliating surrender.
But in the aftermath of Berlin’s financial
conquest, the French government is now giving
full-throated endorsement to Washington’s renewed
call for debt relief, as articulated again this
week by the IMF. We can be sure that Berlin is in
no mood to make concessions over its financial
dictate, which can only lead to more
confrontation between it and Washington, together with Paris and Rome.
Latest Eurostat figures on country public
indebtedness from show that there is a clear
north-south divide in the EU on the issue of
national finances. Apart from Greece, whose total
public debt is running at a peak of 180 per cent
of gross domestic product (GDP), France, Italy,
Spain and Portugal are also seriously overloaded
with respective figures of 95, 130, 97 and 130 per cent of GDP.
In contrast, the northern European countries have
much lower debt levels. Poland is on 50 per cent
of GDP, while Latvia, Lithuanian and Estonia have
less than 40 per cent. Luxembourg, Netherlands,
Finland, Denmark average a debt-to-GDP ratio of
around 50 per cent, according to the Eurostat
figures. Germany itself has a national debt level of 77 per cent of GDP.
This division of debt correlates with the
differing policy in these capitals towards
Greece. Germany’s hardline stance is matched by
the relatively low-debt countries. There are
structural reasons for the varying indebtedness
that stem from the competitive advantages that
the euro currency has bestowed on Germany’s more
developed industrial and export-orientated economy.
No doubt the unease felt by France and other
highly indebted EU members is that the Berlin
paymaster will sooner or later come banging on
their doors for repayment – and on the same
draconian terms that are now being applied to
Greece. That would explain why France and Italy
in particular are rattled by Berlin’s financial
dictate and have been calling for some slack to
be shown to Athens. They feel that they could be
next for Berlin’s Panzer banks and shock-troops in pinstripe suits.
On the other hand, Washington’s disquiet arises
from the geopolitical backlash from a Europe that
is riven with rivalries and acrimony. From
Washington’s point of view, Berlin’s financial
«efficiency» towards weaker EU members is a
spanner in its geopolitical designs of
confronting Russia. The US wants to keep Europe
united, whereas Berlin’s quest is for financial
aggrandisement and economic dominance in the EU,
even if that means some weaker states being ejected.
Historical resonance abounds. As in Nazi
Germany’s ascent in times past, Washington and
its British ally will have to move decisively to
derail the Berlin machine for their own selfish
strategic interests with regard to Europe and
Russia. In that case, we may anticipate a
mounting political campaign from Washington and
its London lackey aimed at taking down German
might – before Paris also gets marched on by the Panzer banks.
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Please consider seriously the reason why these elite institutions are not discussed in the mainstream press despite the immense financial and political power they wield?
There are sick and evil occultists running the Western World. They are power mad lunatics like something from a kids cartoon with their fingers on the nuclear button! Armageddon is closer than you thought. Only God can save our souls from their clutches, at least that's my considered opinion - Tony
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