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very, very little about the NSA. It claims to work only in we're finally beginning to understand around the world, I think, that cryptography, encoding and decoding messages, but in fact we all the only way my children or grandchildren or any child or know that they're the people who have been listening in on our grandchild anywhere on this planet is going to be able to have a telephone conversations. That's come out recently. And they're a —_ peaceful, stable and sustainable world is if every child has that. The very, very secretive organisation. G8 hasn't got that yet. They put me through a series of tests, very extensive tests, lie AG: Explain what the Group of Eight are. detector tests, psychological tests, during my last year in college. JP: Well, the Group of Eight are the wealthiest countries in the And I think it's fair to say that they identified me as a good potential world, and basically they run the world. And the leader is the economic hit man. They also identified a number of weaknesses in United States, and it's actually the corporations within these my character that would make it relatively easy for them to hook me, | companies—countries, excuse me—that run it. It's not the to bring me in. And I think those weaknesses I [inaudible] might governments because, after all, the governments serve at the call the three big drugs of our culture: money, power and sex. Who _ pleasure of the corporations. In our own country, we know that the amongst us doesn't have one of them? I had all three at the time. next two final presidential candidates, Republican and Democrat And then I joined the Peace Corps. I was encouraged to do that alike, are each going to have to raise something like half a billion by the National Security Agency. I spent three years in Ecuador dollars. And that's not going to come from me and you. Primarily living with indigenous people in the Amazon and the Andes, people _ that's going to come from the people who own and run our big who today and at that time were beginning to fight the oil corporations. They're totally beholden to the government. So the companies. In fact, the largest environmental lawsuit in the history G8, really, is this group of countries that represent the biggest of the world has just been brought by these people against Texaco, —_ multinational corporations in the world and really serve at their Chevron. And that was incredibly good training for what I was to behest. do. And what we're seeing now in Europe—and we're seeing it very And then, while I was still in the Peace Corps, I was brought in strongly in Latin America, in the Middle East—is this huge and recruited into a US private undercurrent of resistance, of protest, corporation called Charles T. Main, a against this empire that's been built out consulting firm out of Boston of about . . of this. And it's been such a subtle 2,000 employees, a very low-profile "So the G8, really, Is this empire that people haven't been aware work of hatTeame understand was | OUP Of Countries that military. Iwas built by economie hit the work of economic hit men, as I represent the biggest men. Most of us aren't aware of it. began to falfiland eventually kindot | ™MUltinational corporations Be ae. reuibie titestles that weal rose to the top of that organisation as its In the world and really lead are because we're part of a very chief ec ist. H icious ire that literally enslaves Nw aid tat sicwo ie | S@MVEat their behest.” corr ens ta ienly sxines NSA? Was there a connection? people. But we're beginning to JP: You know, what's very understand this. And the Europeans and interesting about this whole system, Amy, the Latin Americans are at the forefront is that there's no direct connection. The NSA had interviewed me, of this understanding. identified me and then essentially turned me over to this private corporation. It's a very subtle and very smart system, whereby it's | ECONOMIC HIT MEN IN LATIN AMERICA the private industry that goes out and does this work. So if we're AG: Let's talk back, going to Latin America, about this caught doing something, if we're caught bribing or corrupting local Chevron—Texaco lawsuit. officials in some country, it's blamed on private industry, not on the JP: Well, that's extremely significant. When I was sent to US government. Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1968, Texaco had just gone And it's interesting that in the few instances when economic hit into Ecuador, and the promise to the Ecuadorian people at that time men fail, what we call "the jackals", who are people who come into —_‘ from Texaco and their own politicians and the World Bank was "Oil overthrow governments or assassinate their leaders, also come out of _is going to pull this country out of poverty". And people believed it. private industry. These are not CIA employees. We all have this I believed it at the time. The exact opposite has happened. Oil has image of the 007, the government agent hired to kill, you know, with made the country much more impoverished, while Texaco has made licence to kill, but these days the government agents, in my fortunes off this. It's also destroyed vast areas of the Amazon experience, don't do that. It's done by private consultants that are rainforest. brought in to do this work. And I've known a number of these So the lawsuit today that's being brought by a New York individuals personally and still do. lawyer—Steve Donziger, here in New York—and some AG: In your book The Secret History of the American Empire, Ecuadorian lawyers is for $6 billion, the largest environmental you talk about taking on global power at every level. Right now, lawsuit in the history of the world, in the name of 30,000 Ecuadorian we're seeing these mass protests taking place in Germany ahead of _ people against Texaco, which is now owned by Chevron, for the G8 meeting. Talk about the significance of these. dumping over 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Ecuadorian JP: Well, I think it's extremely significant. Something is rainforest. That's 30 times more than the Exxon Valdez [oil spill happening in the world today, which is very, very important. Yeah, disaster]. And dozens and dozens of people have died and are as we watched the headlines this morning...what we can absolutely continuing to die of cancer and other pollution-related diseases in say is we live in a very dangerous world. It's also a very small this area of the Amazon. So all this oil has come out of this area, world, where we're able to know immediately what's going on in and it's the poorest area of one of the poorest countries in the Germany or in the middle of the Amazon or anywhere else. And hemisphere. And the irony of that is just so amazing. "So the G8, really, is this group of countries that represent the biggest multinational corporations in the world and really serve at their behest." of this understanding. ECONOMIC HIT MEN IN LATIN AMERICA AG: Let's talk back, going to Latin America, about this Chevron-Texaco lawsuit. JP: Well, that's extremely significant. When I was sent to Ecuador as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1968, Texaco had just gone into Ecuador, and the promise to the Ecuadorian people at that time from Texaco and their own politicians and the World Bank was "Oil is going to pull this country out of poverty". And people believed it. I believed it at the time. The exact opposite has happened. Oil has made the country much more impoverished, while Texaco has made fortunes off this. It's also destroyed vast areas of the Amazon rainforest. So the lawsuit today that's being brought by a New York lawyer—Steve Donziger, here in New York—and some Ecuadorian lawyers is for $6 billion, the largest environmental lawsuit in the history of the world, in the name of 30,000 Ecuadorian people against Texaco, which is now owned by Chevron, for dumping over 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Ecuadorian rainforest. That's 30 times more than the Exxon Valdez [oil spill disaster]. And dozens and dozens of people have died and are continuing to die of cancer and other pollution-related diseases in this area of the Amazon. So all this oil has come out of this area, and it's the poorest area of one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. And the irony of that is just so amazing. 12 + NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2007