On November 1, 2004, both CNN and Bloomberg News reported that a spoken objective of Osama Bin Laden was to bankrupt the United States.
Both articles suggest that bin Laden was referring to draining the US via military expenditures, but if you read the text as I do, bin laden was referring to financially bankrupting the US as a nation.
Since October, the American Insurance Group, (AIG) has received over 180 billion dollars from the US taxpayer. And last week AIG announced that they lost 62 billion in the last quarter alone – with more huge losses looming.
So, congress is beginning to ask, where are those losses? Physically, where is the money going?
The treasury has refused to answer to congress, but
Reuters today reports that billions of credit default swaps are being cashed in by oversees banks and investors.
So while your 401k and other stock investments have been cut in half, foreign investors are taking home a full piggy bank.
Now, do you think Mr. bin Laden could be smart enough to set this up? Could he have a few investments in AIG credit default swaps?
Mr. bin Laden, and a lot of others who where “crazy enough” to buy the swaps, are smiling. They will end up owning the US – without ever having to drop a nuke – and there isn’t any radiation to bother with either.
Not bad for a day’s (or a few year’s) work!
While our military is the most extravagantly supported in the world, our capitalism has shown itself about as stable as the Titanic. Why would any rational enemy of the US attack us head on militarily, when there is an entirely unprotected and vulnerable soft underbelly warfare arena – the money markets.