Geo–Politics, Human Rights, and You
John Perkins
Thursday, 18 Oct 2007 at 8:00 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union
John Perkins detailed his former role as an economic hit man in a book by the same name. His job was to convince Third World countries to accept enormous loans for infrastructure development - loans that were much larger than needed - and to guarantee that the development projects were contracted to U.S. corporations like Halliburton and Bechtel. He contends that once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the U.S. government and the international aid agencies allied with it were able to control these economies and to ensure that oil and other resources were channeled to serve the interests of building a global empire. In his new book, The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption, he draws on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, government officials, and activists, to examine the current geopolitical crisis. Part of the World Affairs Series.Cosponsored By:
- World Affairs
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
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