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of that world. In any case, I was called off the job, and a little while the corporatocracy, which is a group of men who run our biggest later a team of assassins were sent in from South Africa—forty-five, corporations. This isn't a conspiracy theory. They don't need to forty-six, I can't remember the exact number, were sent inas arugby conspire. They all know what serves their best interest. But they team to bring in Christmas gifts to children of the Seychelles, but really are the equivalent of the emperor because they do not serve at their real job was to overthrow the government and assassinate the wish of the people, they're not democratically elected, they don't René. At the time, I didn't know these individuals. Now, I know serve any limited term. They essentially answer to no one except Jack Corbin. I know him very well, personally. I've met him since. their own boards, and most corporate CEOs actually run their Our paths crossed back then, but we didn't know each other. boards, rather than the other way around. And they are the power AG: What exactly did he do? behind this. And so, if we want to turn this around, we have to JP: Well, the team went in, and they were apprehended at the impact them very strongly, which means that we have to change the airport. A security guard discovered a hidden weapon on one of corporations, which is their power base. Today corporations exist them. A huge gun battle broke out at the Mahi airport, and these for the primary purpose of making large profits, making a few very mercenaries were surrounded by perhaps a thousand soldiers on the _rich people a lot richer on a quarterly basis, on a daily basis, on a outside. Jack told me it was one of the few times in his life where he _ very short-term basis... There is no reason for that to be. figured he was going to die and had time to think about it. Many Corporations have been defined as individuals. Individuals have times he could have died, but he just reacted quickly. And they to be good citizens. Corporations need to be good citizens. Their didn't know what to do, but eventually an Air India 707 came into —_— primary goal must be to take care of their employees, their view and asked permission to land, and [was given] permission to customers and all the people around the world who provide the land. As soon as it landed, they resources that go into making this world hijacked it and they flew it back to run, and to take care of the environments Durban, South Africa. " . and the communities where those people This was now on US national news, ‘We must get the corporations live. and...I didn't know what was going to A We must get the corporations to happen when I was called off the case, to redefine themselves... redefine themselves, and I think it's very but now I'm seeing it unfold. And to the Every corporate executive realistic that we can do so. Every world, what we saw was that this plane out there is smart enough to corporate executive out there is smart flies into Durban, South Africa, . . enough to realise that he's running a very surrounded by South African security realise that he's running a failed system... It has to change. guards. The men on the plane give A " Corporate executives know that... I themselves up. They march off. very failed system. believe that they want to see change... They're sent to court and then sentenced We must convince them that their to prison, and some, I think, to corporations need to be institutions to execution, and that's the end of the story as make this a better world, rather than far as we know. institutions that serve a few very rich people and whose goal is to Now that I know Jack, what actually happened was when the make those people even richer. plane was surrounded, the security forces got on the telephone with We need to turn this around. We must. the plane and discovered there were their good friend—their teachers in fact—on the plane. They worked out a deal. The men ECUADOR REVISITED gave themselves up. They did spend three months in prison. They AG: I want to ask one last quick question on Ecuador. Ecuador's had their own wing with television, etc., and then were quietly defence minister Guadalupe Larriva died in a helicopter crash near released after three months. A lot of those same men, that team, the Manta US Air Base installation [on 24 January]. Do you know today are in Iraq working for us there, doing things that, you know, anything about that? our soldiers are forbidden from doing. And they're making very JP: Well, yeah. I just came from Ecuador and everybody is good money doing it. talking about it, because the same thing happened to Jaime Roldés's AG: Who is this man, Jack Corbin, working for today in Iraq? minister of defence before he [Roldés] was sinated. The fact JP: Well, he works for a private company in Iraq that has a that it happened next to the US Air Base in Manta and it was a freak contract, you know, that comes through the Pentagon, CIA, one of crash, two helicopters colliding, and with the similarities with what those organisations. So, like so much of this work, there's a happened to Jaime Rold6s—people all through Ecuador are saying tremendous number of these mercenaries there, as you've reported this was a warning to Rafael Correa, the new President of Ecuador. on this program. Jack Corbin and his people are at the very top of AG: We're going to have to leave it there. John Perkins, thanks that level. They're the extremely skilled ones who do the really for joining us. John Perkins's new book is called The Secret History delicate work. We've also got a lot of people working for of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth Blackwater and others that, you know, are not quite as skilled and = about Global Corruption. oo are just out there doing kind of the grunt work. But there are all kinds at that level. Editor's Note: Every corporate executive out there is smart enough to realise that he’s running a very failed system." ECUADOR REVISITED AG: I want to ask one last quick question on Ecuador. Ecuador's defence minister Guadalupe Larriva died in a helicopter crash near the Manta US Air Base installation [on 24 January]. Do you know anything about that? JP: Well, yeah. I just came from Ecuador and everybody is talking about it, because the same thing happened to Jaime Roldés's minister of defence before he [Roldés] was assassinated. The fact that it happened next to the US Air Base in Manta and it was a freak crash, two helicopters colliding, and with the similarities with what happened to Jaime Rold6s—people all through Ecuador are saying this was a warning to Rafael Correa, the new President of Ecuador. AG: We're going to have to leave it there. John Perkins, thanks for joining us. John Perkins's new book is called The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption. oo Editor's Note: This is an abridged, edited version of Amy Goodman's interview with John Perkins for Democracy Now! radio and television. For the complete transcript, go to http://www.democracynow.org/ article.pl?sid=07/06/05/149254. John Perkins's book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man was reviewed in NEXUS 12/06. His essay on the dark side of globalisation was published in A Game As Old As Empire, reviewed in NEXUS 14/04. His new book The Secret History of the American Empire is reviewed in this edition. CREATING CORPORATE CITIZENS AG: John Perkins, what do you see as the solutions right now? JP: Well, Amy, this empire that we've created really has an emperor, and it's not the president of this country. The president serves for a short period of time, but it doesn't really matter whether we have a Democrat or a Republican in the White House or running Congress: the empire goes on because it's really run by what I call 16 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2007