Reply #26: Trying to get big picture

[Snazzy]

(A rough sketch of my understanding of all this--I welcome anything that fills this in)

Pinochet has suspicious millions. Defended, upon his arrest in UK in '98, by Margaret Thatcher (via speech at a Tory mtg in Blackpool). Riggs, via London and Jersey branches, moves money to Bahamas into accounts oddly named after Brit. Royals.

Chilean mercs flow to Iraq (via Blackwater in NC, USA).

SA mercs flow to Iraq (largest merc force), and also are in play, have been in play everywhere in Africa where precious resources are involved. Companies always linked to De Beers/Rand/Anglo American but run by former UK SAS.

(Bush Sr. and Barrick (?; Anglo American and Heritage Oil also Canadian connections with this mess) might fit nice here).

Thatcher investigated for arms deal to Chile--snuffed by UK Gov. Suspicious deaths. Occurred while Thatcher was living in Houston and owned several companies. Also around this time he has an arms deal involving Mahfouz and Saudis, guns for oil. Mahfouz links to BCCI and bin Laden, of course; links to most everything corrupt and probably terror (but you can't talk about it in the UK, libel laws, and nobody media cares here--title of one article "bin Laden's Banker"; another "6 degrees of Mahfouz"). Thatcher leaves Texas upon lawsuits for South Africa.

EG coup plot linked to same merc companies (also involved in Angolan coup). Same people incld. Marathon Oil. US Plane.

Riggs bank implodes from unexpected consequences of the Patriot Act. Reveals, so far, EG, Saudi and Pinochet money laundering.

Riggs implosion doesn't happen, despite links to 9/11 terrorists, until the fox guarding the hen house goes to work for Riggs. Treasury's OCC, with a new regulator, discovers the scam that has been festering for years. Bank is fined and announces fire sale, under multiple agency probes. Jonathan Bush's name is not mentioned. PNC bank steps up to buy Riggs real quick. Not quick enough.

On bd. of PNC is Chair of US Steel, which formerly owned Marathon Oil (still on bd of that too). Tres. Sec. Snow was also on bd. of US Steel/Marathon. The PNC connection. The BFEE bailout.

Marathon just concluded a deal that was in limbo over the price of natural gas from EG with BG Group (British Gas). They had been negotiating for a better price since just before the attempted coup.

Spain's admin, BFEE's right wing partners in crime, had warships ready to deploy to the region at the time of the failed coup. The so-called gov in exile, led by Moto, resides in Spain. (And Spain and Chile both speak Spanish, of course, as does EG--I wonder if that is Thatcher's foreign language).

That's roughly where I'm at on this--skipping many interesting little details of course. When things break--failed coup or say the unexpected consequences of a sweeping law like the Patriot Act--you get to peer inside the engine block, see what's really driving this thing. The players from the RW of the old empire and the new are happily ling their pockets on the basis of most people and at least the press being too lazy to track this stuff.

(not mentioned--Florida banking under Jeb, which facilitated much of this. And I wonder how involved Jonathan was when Thatcher became a Houston house guest--someone could, probably will do a book on all this one day).

But they sure liked Riggs Bank--give it that American stamp of good capitalism. EG, Saudi, Chile so far, bet there's a bunch more. If you're going to be corrupt, why not go for the gusto!

According to Levin's SSCI report, 85% of the embassy accounts at Riggs don't pass the smell test. Did Thatcher have one? How about anybody in SA?