- ^ Profile: Shaukat Aziz - BBC NEWS
- ^ Foreign Reserves Phenomenon
- ^ [1]
- ^ Pak economic growth has bolstered int’l confidence: WB
- ^ World Bank President praises Pakistan's recent economic achievements
- ^ IMF praise for Pakistan - BBC News
- ^ ADB praises micro-finance in Pakistan
- ^ Shaukat takes oath as MNA, Retains Attock Seat - Pakistan Times
- ^ "Soomro takes oath as Pakistan's caretaker PM", Xinhua News Agency, November 16, 2007.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4565212.stm
- ^ http://www.pakdef.info/forum/showthread.php?t=7131
- ^ http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ID26Df01.html
- ^ Economic Indicators
- ^ http://economicpakistan.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/economic-indicators-1999-2007-beyond Economic Indicators
- ^ http://www.pakboi.gov.pk/eco-ind.htm
- ^ http://dailymailnews.com/200903/28/news/dmcitypage10.html
- ^ [2]
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Site Map AL -QAEDA-BILDERBERG CONNECTION? -- FBI LINKING AL-QAEDA FUNDS, INSIDER TRADING AMONGST GLOBAL FINANCE ELITES AND A SOURED TEXAS ASSET BUYOUT AS PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER UNDER INVESTIGATION |
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by Aaron Dykes June 2, 2007 As we reported yesterday, an FBI investigation led to charges for two high level Pakistani financiers on multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud. The FBI has announced it is now investigating further links to Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz , as well as Salman Shah, the Prime Minister's financial advisor, Ali Raza , the president of the National Bank of Pakistan and a significant list of other Pakistani financial heads. The Times of India reported that FBI investigators believe the criminal operation may also be tied to allegations of money-laundering operations for Al Qaeda.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, also former Chairman of Citigroup
Pakistani Financial Advisor Salman Shah, also governor of World Bank of Pakistan
Ali Raza, president of the National Bank of Pakistan The alleged insider trading took place on knowledge of the TxU buyout , a largest-ever $45 billion leverage deal brokered by Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and Goldman Sachs, two key firms inside the Bilderberg group, who dominate the investment banking world, and are shown to be very closely linked. Credit Suisse First Boston, who served as advisors on the TxU buyout and are also represented annually at Bilderberg, are named in the FBI insider trading case that has so far charged Hafiz Naseem, a Credit Suisse FB investment banker , with criminal counts of conspiracy and fraud. Is there a link between elite Pakistani bankers who brokered the TxU leveraged buyout with Bilderberg firms KKR, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse and the alleged Pakistani role in a laundering scheme for Al-Qaeda? Civil charges have been filed against Ajaz Rahim , the head of investment banking at Faysal Bank in Pakistan, on conspiracy and 25 counts of securities fraud. The high levels of investigation are interesting-- given the close relationship with Western banking, as well as the pivotal role Pakistan plays in the intelligence community and the so-called War on Terror . Pakistan is well known for harboring Al Qaeda, though the government does not officially support the terrorist group. It was from Pakistan that former ISI chief General Mahmud Ahmad wired $100,000 to supposed lead-hijacker Mohammad Atta , a known CIA-asset, to fund the 9/11 attacks. Of course, the ISI is largely an extension of the CIA and other western intelligence agencies, and works as base of operations for intelligence in the Middle East.
Fmr. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski with Osama bin Laden, circa 1979. Just north of Pakistan, Zbigniew Brzezinski funded, armed and created the Taliban-- headed by bin Laden-- to offset expected aggression by Soviet forces into Afghanistan in 1979 while Brzezinski was National Security Adviser to President Carter-- proving directly the U.S. link to bin Laden. "I told the President, about six months before the Soviets entered Afghanistan, that in my judgment I thought they would be going into Afghanistan. And I decided then, and I recommended to the President, that we shouldn't be passive...We weren't passive," Brzezinski told CNN during a 1997 interview. Brzezinski, of course, helped David Rockefeller found the Trilateral Commission, and is also involved in the Council on Foreign Relations, both of which bleed over into the Bilderberg group, all of which serve an agenda working towards world government. When Osama bin Laden and his Taliban became a red herring in the War on Terror, they simply moved south to Pakistan, leaving American forces to seize control of Afghanistan (as well as its land, oil, Caspian trade route, and opium crop) while fighting a non-existent enemy. Despite the fact that the phony War on Terror is supposedly fought globally, neither American, Pakistani or U.N. troops have gone after the Taliban forces residing in Pakistan. The reason for this is not Pakistan's duplicity, but that the terrorist group was simply a pretense to control Afghanistan, as its governing forces were perhaps not as accessible as Rick Perry has been in selling out Texas. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has also been accessible to the globalists-- he is basically a controlled asset, after all. While he is currently under investigation in the related cases of insider trading over Texas asset deals and Al Qaeda money laundering operations, he was Citigroup's Chairman-- a New York-based investment group operating in the top echelon of the financial world. Aziz spent approximately 30 years with the company. Citigroup, obviously well established in the banking web, has several Bilderberg ties, including notorious former chair Walter Bigelow Wriston (who transformed Citigroup into one of the biggest conglomerates in the world and also wrote a book called The Twilight of Sovereignty [1992]). Former Citigroup Chairman and CEO John S. Reed was a Bilderberg member as well and also Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. A number of other top Citigroup executives are members of the Council on Foreign Relations, including CEO Charles Prince, former president & CEO Richard A. Freytag and Vice Chairman William R. Rhodes. Citigroup grew out of the National City Bank of New York, which was built up by William Rockefeller , brother of John D. Rockefeller. William's grandson James Stillman Rockefeller also headed the bank and worked closely with Walter B. Wriston. Dr. Salman Shah, financial advisor to the Prime Minister in Pakistan with Paul Wolfowitz in 2005. He also serves as the governor of the World Bank for Pakistan. Prime Minister Aziz also publicized his relationship with the Carlyle Group and plans for Pakistani investment while attending the 2007 Davos meeting. According to this report: On the second day of Davos, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the group that the United States' very own Carlyle Group, which "manages $46.9 billion worldwide," is planning to invest several billion dollars in the Middle East.
Salman Shah, financial advisor to the Prime Minister in Pakistan with Paul Wolfowitz in 2005. He also serves as the governor of the World Bank for Pakistan. Aziz's attachments to Western banking go too deep for him to have any real separation from it; on the contrary, it surely those ties launched him into to the top of the Pakistani government. The Prime Minister's financial advisor, Salman Shah, who is also under investigation, serves as the Governor of the World Bank for Pakistan , which he spoke to in 2004 , 2005 , 2006 (PDF links). He was educated in the United States and taught for many years at a number of Western institutions. He has also spoken at Credit Suisse First Boston conferences , the Bilderberg firm which advised the TxU merger. Haseem, who has been criminally charged in the case, worked for Credit Suisse FB. Former Pakistani Prime Minister, Moin Qureshi, was Vice President at the World Bank prior to becoming PM and obtained permanent residence in the United States after his term where he established the Emerging Markets Company.
Investigations probing top positions in Pakistani finance and government have implications for the world finance community at large, particularly as the investigations relate to trading on the TxU buyout-- which was nothing more than the leveraging of Texas assets by Bilderberg brokers, particularly Henry R. Kravis, founding partner of KKR who led the TxU deal. Kravis also holds the previous record for largest buyout-- the leveraging of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company at approximately $26 billion in 1988-- a price that came after a bidding war, which was dramatized in the film Barbarians at the Gate. Gov. Perry Summoned to Bilderberg While Insider Trading Charges Mount in Related Texas Buyout Ron Paul: Bilderberg "a sign that he's very much involved in the international conspiracy" as Texas Governor off to Global Government Think Tank's Secret Meeting by Aaron Dykes May 31, 2007
Texas Governor Rick Perry's attendance at this year's Bilderberg meeting was reported today by the Dallas Morning News and confirmed by the Governor's Press Office as he left Austin for Istanbul-- where the exclusive and private meeting of elites from throughout the Western world will take place. The trip could be in violation of the Logan Act which prevents U.S. citizens from unauthorized negotiations with foreign entities. While the agenda of the meeting is kept secret, the overlap in interests between Governor Perry and Bilderberg are clear, as Texas becomes increasingly overrun by international firms taking control over land, roads and newly privatized utilities-- seizing Texas in a manner similar to IMF takeover of third world nations. Rick Perry has not only been instrumental in the contentious development of the Trans-Texas Corridor-- often argued to be necessary infrastructure for regional government under C.F.R. plans for a North American Community and the Security & Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP.gov) signed by President Bush-- Rick Perry has also privatized TxU (Texas Utilities), handing it off to global investment firms and private control who are heavily involved in the Bilderberg group. The $45 billion dollar TxU buyout is no less than the largest buyout ever, and involves at least three firms represented annually at Bilderberg, each characteristic of global investment-- Goldman Sachs, represented by its Chairman Peter D. Sutherland (also Chairman of British Petroleum [BP]), Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. (KKR) represented by Henry R. Kravis, founder and partner, and Credit Suisse First Boston represented by Chairman and CEO Ronald S. Lloyd. Now, the biggest ever buyout is unfolding in scandal-- as Ajaz Rahim, head of investment banking at Saudi owned Faysal Bank in Pakistan, is criminally charged with conspiracy and securities fraud for insider trading based on information he received from Credit Suisse, who advised on the TxU deal. Hafiz Muhammad Zubair Naseem, an investment banker with Credit Suisse Securities USA was also charged criminally with conspiracy and securities fraud earlier in the month. Whether further charges could be forthcoming in the TxU insider trading scandal remains to be seen.
Governor Perry was involved in facilitating the TxU buyout, including the issuance of an executive order to instigate fast-track approval for TxU plant deals: "Last year, after private meetings with TXU executives, Perry fast-tracked the permitting process for TXU's 11-plant expansion through an executive order, slashing the time frame in half, to six months...." "The bottom line: Only Governor Perry and TXU, which stands to make a lot of money, are championing these plants." While his executive order was challenged by politicians, his accessibility to globalist firms is clear-- he is willing to take part in the total and literal looting of Texas land and other resources-- as public interests and private property are seized then sold off to business partners and exploited for profit. The unprecedented leveraging of Texas to foreign entities follows closely the blueprint for control used by the IMF in the buyout and seizure of third world nations-- which the IMF takes over after impossible loans are not paid back. The IMF loans themselves are specifically designed so that default is certain-- matched against stringent conditions that give leverage and control to the bank and its interests. Texas' pivotal role in plans for regional government in North America through the Trans-Texas Corridor, as well as its close relationship with Mexico, has made it a central target for globalist development operations-- thus, insuring total access to figureheads like Perry is critical for Bilderberg and its web of global influence. Furthermore, Texas has been relatively free from federal control in terms of land ownership up to this point, and has been partly targeted for seizure of family-owned private land. Indexed by a 1996 government resource, Texas ranks 9th lowest in federal land ownership by percentage (with only 1.194% Federally owned in 1996), but second lowest by total acreage, with over 166,209,769 acres NOT owned by the federal government. Only Alaska has more un-owned land, though 47% of its land is federally owned, and much of Alaska may not be useful property anyway. No other state comes anywhere near the 100 million acre mark for land available for federal control (that is, currently not federally owned)-- thus Texas has become a target for expanded control. However, much of this Texas land not currently under federal control is now being acquired through eminent domain and other means for use in the TTC project and many other deals benefiting private foreign corporations. Rick Perry has not only been accused of hatching the entire Trans-Texas Corridor plan, and handing it over to foreign corporations like Cintra-Zachry, who will toll existing roads for private profit in many cases, he also lobbied to allow these corporations to keep the details of the arrangement secret, in the face of opposition and outcry by Texas Congress and the public, respectively. Gov. Perry also vetoed a bill that would place some limitation on the profit potential for foreign companies running tolls, and more recently decried the two-year moratorium on toll road contracts to foreign companies, which he is seeking to overturn. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) stated today on the Alex Jones Show regarding Perry's announced attendance at the Bilderberg meeting that it "sure is a sign that he's very much involved in the international conspiracy and, of course, he's been the promoter of the highway, but wasn't it pretty neat how the people in Texas spoke out and the Legislature also, all of a sudden, backed away with a moratorium."
Ron Paul also added that he was "impressed" that Bilderberg was covered
by the "regular media," calling it 'hopeful.' Governor Perry with former Mexican President Vicente Fox Governor Perry has also been cozy with Mexico's kleptocracy in the past, meeting in 2003 with then President of Mexico Vicente Fox, who awarded local police for giving sanctuary to illegal immigrants while the two heads discussed other business and cooperation, including a water deal. Fox was a signing member of the 2005 SPP.gov agreement (Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America). Alex Jones protested the occasion. Perry has other interesting overlap with the Bilderberg agenda, including his shameless promotion of the dangerously untested Gardasil vaccine which is supposed to protect against HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer. Governor Perry went so far as to mandate the HPV vaccine, which-- by mandating-- conveniently protects Merck, the manufacturer of the vaccine, from all liability. Meanwhile, the Rockefeller Foundation announced a campaign pushing HPV vaccines worldwide, calling for "immediate action to ensure rapid global access to new cervical cancer vaccines"-- a vaccine that only prevents 4 of approximately 100 mutating strains of the human pappilomavirus and has already caused 1,637 adverse reactions reports and killed three girls. David Rockefeller has a vested interest in the pharma-industrial complex and is also one of the cornerstones of the Bilderberg group, who still attends every year, even at age 92. Typically, the agenda of Bilderberg is kept secret, though this year has garnered unprecedented media coverage of the bashful consortium of international elites who would prefer to remain in the shadows. In the recent past, rumors have circulated that Perry could be a potential candidate for president or vice-president in the future. That, too, fits in with Bilderberg's legacy as a kingmaker-- both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton attended Bilderberg before winning the presidency. The mainstream media reported that John Edward's nomination as vice president was due to Bilderberg. Perry's rise in Texas politics was largely due to his close association with President Bush, who pushed him into his position as Lieutenant Governor while governor of Texas; Bush's advisor Karl Rove reportedly persuaded Perry to switch to the Republican party in the 80s during massive Republican realignment throughout the state. Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones contributed to this report. Pakistani Prime Minister Under FBI Lens in Stock Scam
Times of India | May 29, 2007 The probe is also looking at some top bankers and government officials who are allegedly involved in money-laundering operations for Al Qaida, sources say. The scam came to light recently when Hafiz Naseem, a Pakistani banker, was arrested in New York in the first week of May and charged with 26 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud. He is accused of leaking details about nine deals, including the record $32 billion leveraged buyout of Texas energy giant TXU. A FBI team arrived in Pakistan recently to probe the case and interviewed many top Pakistani bankers, say sources. Among those the FBI wanted to talk to, according to sources, were the financial adviser to the Prime Minister, Salman Shah; president of National Bank of Pakistan, Ali Raza; Chief of House Building Finance Corporation, Zaigham Mehmood; chairman of Arif Habib Brokerage Houses, Arif Habib; chairman of Karachi Stock Exchange, Shaukat Tareen; and chairman of Pakistan International Airlines, Zafar Ali Khan. The prime minister, formerly a senior official in Citi Group, has also been linked to the probe, sources claim. Salman Shah by Wikipedia Dr. Salman Shah (Urdu: سلمان شاہ) was the former caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan. He has also served as an advisor to the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on finance, economic affairs, statistics and revenues. He is the son-in-law of former Chief of Army Staff General Asif Nawaz. He has two sons, one of whom is Asif Nawaz Shah, and three daughters. Dr. Shah, a Lahore based Economist, holds a PhD in Finance and Economics from Indiana University, Bloomington's Kelley School of Business. He has 16 years of teaching experience at institutions such as University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Toronto, and Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is one of the most highly educated members of Shaukat Aziz's team. Prior to his current appointment as Finance Minister, he has served on following positions:
Dr. Shah was also appointed as a member of the task force on investment by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh which gave recommendations to the Board of Investment to increase investments in the country. Dr Shah headed the regional task forces of Karachi and Lahore regions for the BOI under Dr Hafeez Sheikh. He has taught in several prestigious institutes, such as Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and LUMS, in Lahore. Prominent Pakistan banker Rahim charged for conspiracy, insider trading May 30, 2007 By Chad Bray NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A prominent investment banker from Pakistan has been charged criminally in an alleged insider-trading scheme using leaked information about pending mergers, including TXU Corp.'s proposed buyout by a private-equity group, according to court documents. According to a criminal complaint, Ajaz Rahim, country head of investment banking at Faysal Bank, has been charged with conspiracy and 25 counts of securities fraud. Rahim allegedly netted more than $7.5 million in improper profits in the scheme, including more than $5.1 million from trading prior to the TXU announcement. Prosecutors have alleged that Rahim was tipped off about proposed acquisitions involving nine publicly traded companies between April 2006 and February 2007 by Hafiz Muhammad Zubair Naseem, a Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC (CS 42.31, -2.41, -5.39%) investment banker. Naseem, a member of Credit Suisse's Global Energy Group in New York, was charged criminally with conspiracy and securities fraud earlier this month. The transactions included Express Scripts Inc.'s (ESRX) failed bid for Caremark RX Inc. and the proposed buyout of TXU by a group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Inc. Caremark was eventually sold to CVS Corp. Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil insider-trading charges against Rahim. Feds Charge Prominent Pakistani Banker In CSFB-TXU Insider Trading Case Posted by John Carney, May 30, 2007, 2:37pm
Federal prosecutors yesterday brought criminal charges against Pakistani banker Ajaz Rahim, who they allege traded on inside information leaked to him by a junior Credit Suisse banker. Rahim is a prominent figure in Pakistani investment banking, and until quite recently worked as the country head of investment banking of the Faysal Bank in Karachi. The picture to the left appears to be of Rahim and Farook Bengali, the chief executive of Faysal. It was prominently placed on the bank's website until recently but has been removed. DealBreaker was not able to confirm that the picture is Rahim. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors arrested Hafiz Mohammed Zubair Naseem, a junior associate in the energy group at Credit Suisse, on charges that he had leaked information on nine deals which his employer was involved with, including the buyout of Texas energy giant TXU. At the time of the arrest, prosecutors said that Naseem had leaked the information to a banker in Pakistan but did not name him. A little more than a week later, the SEC amended its civil complaint against Naseem and named Rahim as a defendant. The complaint alleges that in at least twenty-five instance, Rahim made trades several minutes after concluding phone calls with Naseem. An arrest warrant has been issued for Rahim but his whereabouts are currently unknown. After the SEC named him as a defendant, Rahim’s lawyer, Spencer Barasch, had said that his client would not come to the US for a deposition in the suit unless he received guarantees that he would not be arrested. Naseem had also said he planned to call Rahim as a witness for the defense in his own trial. Through his lawyer, Rahim is denying any wrong doing. “Mr. Rahim looks forward to vigorously defending himself against the charges,” Barasch told DealBook yesterday. 9/11 funds came from Pakistan, says FBI by MANOJ JOSHI, TNN 1 Aug 2003 The Times of India NEW DELHI: India played a key role in providing US authorities the information that funding for the September 11 attacks came from Pakistan. A top FBI counter-terrorism official told the US Senate governmental affairs committee on Thursday that investigators have “traced the origin of the funding of 9/11 back to financial accounts in Pakistan.’’ John S. Pistole, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, however, did not specify how those accounts in Pakistan were funded, or the role of Pakistani elements. The Times of India first reported on October 10, 2001 that India told the US that some $100,000 had been wired to the leader of the hijackers, Mahmud Atta, by British-born terrorist Ahmad Saeed Umar Sheikh. Indian authorities also told the US that the trail led back from Sheikh to the then chief of ISI, Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad who was subsequently forced to retire by Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf. The FBI had been provided with the details, including Sheikh’s mobile numbers. But Pistole’s testimony is silent on these issues. The FBI has estimated the September 11 attacks cost between $175,000 and $250,000. That money — which paid for flight training, travel and other expenses — flowed to the hijackers through associates in Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Those associates reported to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who managed much of the planning for the attacks from Pakistan, US officials have said. The Bush Administration is being cagey about declassifying 28 secret pages in a recent report on the 9/11 incident which officials say outline connections between Saudi charities, royal family members and terrorism. US authorities are silent about the role some Pakistanis may have played in the conspiracy. The role of Sheikh and Lt Gen Ahmad has yet to see the light of the day. Sheikh, wanted for kidnapping and terrorist conspiracy in India, has since been sentenced to death in Pakistan for the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Zbigniew Brzezinski by Sourcewatch.org Zbigniew Brzezinski, born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1928, the son of a diplomat posted to Canada in 1938, serves as Counselor, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and is Professor of American Foreign Policy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. Brzezinski is said to be a protege of both Nelson A. Rockefeller and Paul H. Nitze, his CSIS profile states. [1] In the private sector, Brzezinski serves as an "international advisor of several major US/global corporations." He is a "frequent participant in annual business/trade conventions" and is President of Z.B. Inc. "(an advisory firm on international issues to corporations and financial institutions). Also a frequent public speaker and commentator on major domestic and foreign TV programs, and contributor to domestic and foreign newspapers and journals."[2] Brzezinski's career with the U.S. Government spans several presidents: advisor to John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson; policy advisor to James Earl Carter, Jr.; and George Herbert Walker Bush's co-chair on the National Security Advisory Task Force (1988).[3] He earned his B.A. (1949) and M.A. (1950) at McGill University and his Ph.D. at Harvard University (1953). He holds honorary degrees from several universities.[4]
Taliban-al Qaeda Machinator? In a 1997 interview for CNN's Cold War Series, Brzezinski hinted about the Carter Administration's proactive Afghanistan policy before the Soviet invasion in 1979, that he had conceived. Interviewer: How did you interpret Soviet behavior in Afghanistan, such as the April revolution, the rise of... I mean, what did you think their long-term plans were, and what did you think should be done about it? Brzezinski: I told the President, about six months before the Soviets entered Afghanistan, that in my judgment I thought they would be going into Afghanistan. And I decided then, and I recommended to the President, that we shouldn't be passive. Interviewer: What happened? Brzezinski: We weren't passive. The National Security Archive, Interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, for CNN's Coldwar Series, June 13, 1997 7 months after the interview for the CNN series, Brzezinski, in a interview for the French publication, Le Nouvel Observateur, was more forthright, and unapologetically claimed to be the mastermind of a feint which caused the Soviet Union to embark upon a military intervention to support their client government in Kabul, as well as training and arming extremists, which later became the Taliban government. Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn't believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don't regret anything today? Brzezinski: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire. Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic [integrisme], having given arms and advice to future terrorists? Brzezinski: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? Le Nouvel Observateur, Interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Paris, January 15-21, 1998, translated by Bill Blum - [5] Higher Educational Institution Affiliations
Public/Political Positions Held
Source for Timelines: Jeri Charles Associates, a speaker's booking agency; Brzezinski webpage Published Works
Affiliations
INTERVIEW WITH DR ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI-(13/6/97)
The National Security Archive,
Interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, for CNN's Coldwar Series, June
13, 1997
INT: How did you interpret Soviet
behavior in Afghanistan, such as the April revolution, the rise of... I
mean, what did you think their long-term plans were, and what did you
think should be done about it? Shaukat Aziz by Wikipedia
Aziz at the 2007 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Shaukat Aziz (Urdu: شوکت عزیز), (born March 6, 1949 in Karachi, Pakistan) was the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2004 to 2007. He became Finance Minister in November 1999 and was named by the Pakistan Muslim League for the position of Prime Minister after the resignation of Zafarullah Khan Jamali on June 6, 2004. He became Prime Minister on August 28, 2004 and served until November 15 2007. He became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to complete a full term in office. He is a rare high-level government leader of a major power with a strong background as a successful businessman and financier. Education Aziz attended Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi and Abbottabad Public School, Abbottabad. He passed his Intermediate from Saint Patrick's College, Karachi. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Gordon College, Rawalpindi, in 1967. He obtained an MBA Degree in 1969 from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, one of the premier business schools in Pakistan. It was during his studies at the IBA that he secured an internship at Citibank and began his banking career. Pre-politics In 1969 he joined Citibank, serving in various countries, including Pakistan, Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Philippines, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. He served as Citibank's head of Global Wealth Management & Private Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking for the Asia Pacific region and the CEEMEA region (Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa); as Corporate Planning Officer, Citicorp; as Managing Director, Saudi America Bank; as Citibank's Chief Country Officer in Malaysia and, later, in Jordan. He has been a board member of Citibank subsidiaries, including Saudi American Bank, Citicorp Islamic Bank, and of several non-profit organizations[1]. Finance Minister On 26 November 1999, while addressing a gathering of PakPAC, a political lobbying sub-body of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), Musharraf stated that Shaukat Aziz has come to Pakistan with forty other financial experts who have offered free service to revive the Pakistani economy. Then he asked Shaukat Aziz to stand up and introduce himself to the audience. In November 1999 Aziz became the government's Finance Minister with responsibility for Finance, Economic Affairs, Statistics, Planning and Development, and Revenue Divisions. As Minister of Finance Aziz also headed the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Investment, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, and the Cabinet Committee on Privatization. In 2001 Aziz was declared 'Finance Minister of the Year' by Euromoney and Banker's Magazine. By October 2007, at the end of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s tenure, Pakistan raised back its Foreign Reserves to $16.4 billion. Pakistan's trade deficit was at $13 billion, exports were $18 billion, revenue generation was $13 billion and attracted foreign investment was $8.4 billion. [2] Pakistan's fiscal performance was praised by IMF and World Bank.[3] The World Bank further reiterated that Pakistan's Economic growth bolstered International confidence.[4] World Bank Praises: World Bank President Mr Wolfensohn said, ""The progress has been terrific. Now Pakistan must stay the course until the benefits of its achievements reach the vulnerable sections of the society including the very poor, women, children and the disabled,".[5] IMF Praises: IMF's new Middle East director Mr. George Abed, said he was "very pleased with the record of Pakistan in the past three years of continued macroeconomic and financial stabilisation and we have begun to think of Pakistan as a country of promise and a country of potentially high rate of growth."[6] Asian Development Bank also praised Pakistan's Micro-Finance [7] Media Recognition: In 2001, Mr. Aziz was also named "Finance Minister of the Year" by the prestigious Euromoney and Bankers Magazines. Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz at the White House with US president George W. Bush, 24th January, 2006. Aziz was named by the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) as the next Prime Minister after Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned on June 6, 2004. The post was held by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain while Aziz fulfilled the constitutional requirement of securing a seat in the lower house of parliament. Aziz ran from two constituencies, Tharparkar-I in Sindh, and Attock District.[8] While campaigning on July 29, 2004 Aziz survived an assassination attempt in the small town of Fateh Jang in Attock District. A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a car in which Aziz was travelling, killing his chauffeur and eight others. However, Aziz continued campaigning and won from both constituencies. Since he could retain only one seat, he immediately vacated his Tharparkar seat, preferring to represent Attock, where he had won by 76,156 votes to 29,497. Aziz was elected Prime Minister by parliament on August 27, 2004, by a vote of 191 to 151 in the National Assembly of Pakistan, and was sworn in on August 28, 2004. He retained his position as Minister of Finance, and he presided over an unprecedented boom in the Pakistani economy as well as broad based structural reforms. Aziz left office on November 16, 2007, at the end of the parliamentary term and became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan who left seat after completion of parliamentary term of five years.[9] Assassination attempts While campaigning on July 29, 2004 Aziz survived an assassination attempt in the small town of Fateh Jang in Attock District. A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a car in which Aziz was travelling, killing his chauffeur and eight others. Nuclear Policy and Energy Policy Shaukat Aziz, as Prime Minister of Pakistan, played an important role in establishing of both military and civilian purpose nuclear power plants within Pakistan. Aziz launched work on the 325-megawatt plant in Chashma, which is the second to be built at the site with Chinese help. He also met with then-PAEC Chairman Mr. Parvez Butt, who, together with fellow scientists and engineers, submitted a long-term nuclear power plants and nuclear technology plan. On December, 28, 2005, Aziz inaugurated Chasma nuclear power plant along with PAEC Chairman Parvez Butt, where both Chinese and Pakistani nuclear scientists attended. In an inauguration, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said "a milestone" in the history of nuclear technology in Pakistan"[10]. He also allowed PAEC to upgrade its nuclear laboratories and Karachi nuclear power plant. He also sat up funds of PAEC to established more nuclear power plants within the country. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz allowed PAEC to designed another heavy water power plant in Khushab district of Punjab. Aziz played a pivotal role in hydroelectric power plants project in Pakistan. He also assisted President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf in the Diamer-Basha Dam project. On January, 17,2006, he announced the decision of Government to construct 5 multi-purpose storages in the country during next 10 -12 years. Diamer Basha Dam Project will be undertaken in the first phase. His efforts were heavily involved in launching of wind power plants in Pakistan. Aziz also set up Solar Power plants in different cities of Pakistan]. Heis also credited with establishing particle accelerators in the universities of Pakistan. He, along with known Pakistani chemist and research scientist, Atta ur Rahman, worked closely to establish particle accelerators at Quaid-i-Azam University and many other universities of Pakistan. He also alloted funds of Riazuddin National Center for Physics, also at Qau. Aziz chaired a meeting of WAPDA's and KESC scientists on 2006. He was briefed by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr. Muhammad Akram. He issued directions to the concerned ministries and departments to focus on energy requirements of the country with a view to sustaining the tempo of development. He would also convene a meeting soon to draw up a plan for the purpose[11]. Dr. Akram said in the Press Conference that the "Prime Minister has given special directives to meet the energy demand in the country. He said that Prime Minister will be convening a meeting of WAPDA, its transmission and distribution departments and petroleum sector in next two weeks to discuss with officials the energy issues to ensure future requirements and not to affect industrial and agricultural growth in the country. Involvement in Pakistan's Astronautics and Aerospace Program On March 2007, Aziz met with PAF Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed, where he discussed him about the Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder program. He also set up an separate fund for JF-17 Thunder program. On April of 2007, Aziz visited the People's Republic of China, where he met with high government and military officials. Aziz signed a deal with Chinese to deliver Chengdu J-10 fifth-generation aircrafts. On August 2006, Aziz visited People's Republic of China. He sought Chinese cooperation in rocket science and space technology. China can help Pakistan in developing and launching satellites[12]. In a joint statement of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that "both countries are determined to elevate their friendship and strategic partnership". In 2007, after a visit to China, the Prime Minister said in a press conference held in Islamabad that serial production of JF-17 Thunder would soon start in 2008 and Pakistan would like to sell fourth generation JF-17 Thunder multirole combat aircraft to those interested. The Prime Minister also confirmed that the JF-17s in Pakistan had completed 500 combat missions/sorties. The same year, he met with chairman of SUPARCO, the leading Pakistani space agency, where he was briefed by the chairman on the status of Pakistan's Space Program. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz gave green signal SUPARCO to developed PAKSAT-IR and Satellite Launch Vehicle to be developed. However, the status of SLV are remained unclear. Shaukat Aziz's credentials and Economic Policy Shaukat Aziz is a banker by training and extensive experience in New York. His credentials are similar to those of the successful US treasury secretaries such as Bob Rubin and Nick Brady who did well under Clinton and Reagan administrations. He understands the role of banking, finance, investment and consumer credit in economic growth of a nation. He focused on building strong banking, investment and finance sectors in Pakistan to underpin its economy. He strengthened capital availability, an essential and increasingly important economic input, in addition to labor and land improvements. With higher education budget up 15-fold and overall education spending up 36% in two years, he focused on education to improve the availability of skilled labor to fill new jobs. He pushed land development and public and private construction spending to improve infrastructure and facilities to attract greater business investment. Aziz was largely successful in his efforts. He was regarded as a reformer, with Pakistan's structural reforms ranking high amongst emerging economies. Aziz co-chaired the Secretary-General's High Level Panel on the United Nations System-wide Coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment.[13]
In 2008, Aziz participated in the Global Creative Leadership Summit, organized by the Louise Blouin Foundation. As a delegate, he delivered a keynote speech for the panel entitled “Economic Crisis, Economics of Change: Credit, Commodities, and Trade.” References Walter B. Wriston by Answers.com Walter Wriston (August 3, 1919 – January 19, 2005) was a banker and former chairman of Citicorp. As chief executive of Citibank / Citicorp (later Citigroup) from 1967-1984, Wriston was widely regarded as the single most influential commercial banker of his time. Personal information Walter Bigelow Wriston was born in Middletown, Connecticut to Ruth Bigelow Wriston, a chemistry teacher, and Henry Merritt Wriston, a history professor at Wesleyan University who was later president of Lawrence College and Brown University. Reared as a traditional Methodist in Appleton, Wisconsin, Wriston was not allowed to listen to the radio or go to the movie theater on Sundays. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in 1941 where he was a member of the Eclectic Society and received the "Parker Prize" (awarded to the Wesleyan sophomore or junior who excels in public speaking). He also received a Master's Degree from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1942. After graduate school, Wriston became a junior Foreign Service officer at the State Department in which position he helped negotiate the exchange of Japanese interned in the United States for Americans held prisoner in Japan. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942, he served in the U.S. Army for four years, being with the Signal Corps on Cebu in the Philippines during his service. In 1942, Walter Wriston married his first wife, Barbara Brengle Wriston, with whom he had one daughter. Two years after Barbara’s death in 1966, he married lawyer and businesswoman Kathryn Dineen. He kept himself trim, playing tennis regularly and acting as a carpenter, electrician, plumber, backhoe operator, front-end loader operator and chain-saw-wielding tree farmer on his Connecticut retreat. During the July 1977 New York City blackout, he walked down 23 flights from his high-rise apartment, hiked to corporate headquarters, then climbed 15 flights up to his office. Wriston was an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[1] Wriston died in January 2005, aged 85. Wriston's papers, including the text of hundreds of speeches and articles spanning his lengthy career, are at Tufts University's Digital Collections and Archives. Politics From 1982 to 1989, Wriston was chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board, and in June 2004 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil honor, by President George W. Bush. Wriston admitted he was twice offered the job of Secretary of the Treasury, in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. He turned down the offers, but said it was not because of the public scrutiny he was sure to face. "I've been living in Macy's window for 20 years," he said. One report is that Wriston declined the offers because these were not made to him personally by the-then President. Wriston also would have had to take a substantial pay cut had he accepted the government position. In 1987, the Manhattan Institute of Policy Research initiated a lecture series [1] in honor of Mr. Wriston, and in 2004, the Idea Channel organized a seven-part series of interviews with him as well. Quotes
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John S. Reed by Answers.com John Shepard Reed (born 1939) is the former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, Citibank, and post-merger, Citigroup. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Argentina and Brazil. Reed earned his undergraduate degrees in a 3-2 program from Washington and Jefferson College and MIT, earning an B.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1961. He was also a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity while at W&J and MIT. He served two years in the U.S. Army before returning to get his master's degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1965. [1] Reed was heavily responsible for pushing for the adoption of the ATM around the USA, and led Citicorp through a perilous period in the early 1990s. He was approached by Sandy Weill to merge with Travelers Group after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (repealing the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932), allowing banking and insurance companies to merge. The result was Citigroup, where Reed was later ousted in a management shakeup with Weill. Reed's departure was announced in a February 28, 2000 press release. In the aftermath of the November 2008 federal bailout of Citigroup, Reed was described as deeply skeptical of the "Wall Street financial engineering" that led to its collapse and "committed to consumer banking and sound commercial underwriting."[1] Reed was asked to be interim CEO of the New York Stock Exchange after the Richard Grasso over-compensation scandal. He accepted the job for a $1 salary and set up new governance rules as the NYSE became a public corporation. Reed is on the board of directors at Altria Group. References ^ Pearlstein, Steven (2008-11-24). "Too Big to Succeed?". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/24/AR2008112400745.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved on 2008-11-24. CITIGROUP CEO CHARLES PRINCE NAMED CO-CHAIR OF THE PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY by Partnership for New York City February 10, 2005 Prince Joins Martin Lipton at the Helm of New York City's Leading Business Organization The Partnership for New York City announced today that Charles Prince, Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Inc., has been elected to serve as Co-Chair of the Partnership. Mr. Prince joins Martin Lipton, Senior Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, at the helm of New York City’s business leadership organization. “I am extremely pleased that Chuck Prince will be serving as Co-Chair with me,” said Mr. Lipton. “This is a critical time for the private sector and for the future of New York City. I look forward to working with him on important issues such as public education, five borough economic development, mass transit and the other priorities of the business community.” “The Partnership is grateful that Chuck Prince has undertaken this leadership role within the business community,” said Partnership President and C.E.O. Kathryn S. Wylde. “Chuck is a highly respected New Yorker who will ensure that the Partnership continues to be an effective champion of the City and a promoter of its economic growth.” Prior to being named Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup, Mr. Prince was Chairman and CEO of Citigroup's Corporate and Investment Banking Group, which provides corporations, governments and institutional investors in more than 100 countries with corporate and investment banking, sales and trading and transaction services. Mr. Prince began his career as an attorney at U.S. Steel Corporation in 1975 and in 1979 joined Commercial Credit Company (a predecessor company to Citigroup). Mr. Prince was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Commercial Credit Company in 1983, a post he held through its initial public offering in 1986. He assumed additional administrative responsibilities in 1995 and was named Executive Vice President in early 1996. He was made Chief Administrative Officer in early 2000 and Chief Operating Officer in early 2001. He was named Chairman and CEO of the Global Corporate and Investment Bank in 2002. He became CEO of Citigroup in 2003. Born in 1950, Mr. Prince is a graduate of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He also holds a Master's Degree in International Relations and a law degree from the University of Southern California as well as a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University. Mr. Prince is a member of various bar associations and other professional associations as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the New York Urban League and is a member of the Board of Directors of Citigroup, the United Negro College Fund and Teachers College, Columbia University. William Rockefeller by Answers.com
William Avery Rockefeller, Jr. (May 31, 1841-June 24, 1922), American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza (Davison) Rockefeller. Youth, education Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York, and in 1853 his family moved to Strongsville, Ohio. As a young pupil in public school, he was inspired and motivated by his teacher-mentor, Rufus Osgood Mason, whom Rockefeller later named "A Rockefeller Patron". Business career In 1865, he entered the oil business by starting a refinery. In 1867, his older brother (John D. Rockefeller)'s partnership of Rockefeller & Andrews absorbed this refinery. In 1870, that company became Standard Oil. William was considered far more personable and receptive man to work with than his more conservative older brother. However, he was very adept in business matters. Rockefeller served as the company's New York representative until 1911 when Standard Oil of New Jersey was split up by the United States Supreme Court. He also had interests in copper, railways, and public utilities, and built up the National City Bank of New York, now part of Citigroup. In the late 1890s, Rockefeller joined fellow Standard Oil principal Henry H. Rogers in forming the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, a holding company that intended to control the copper industry. Rockefeller, along with Henry Rogers, devised a deceptive scheme which made them a profit of $36 million. First, they purchased Anaconda Properties from Marcus Daly for $39 million, with the understanding that the check was to be deposited in the bank and remain there for a definite time (National City Bank was run by Rockefeller's friends). Rogers and Rockefeller then set up a paper organization known as the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company, with their own clerks as dummy directors, saying the company was worth $75 million. They then had the Amalgamated Copper Company buy Anaconda from them for $75 million in capital stock, which was conveniently printed for the purpose. Then, they borrowed $39 million from the bank using Amalgamated Copper as collateral. They paid back Daly for Anaconda and sold $75 million worth of stock in Amalgamated Copper to the public. They paid back the bank's $39 million and had a profit of $36 million in cash. So, by deceiving Daly, the bank, and the public, Rockefeller and Rogers had made Amalgamated Copper a $36 million profit before the company was even operating. With help from banker John D. Ryan, Amalgamated acquired two large competitors, and soon controlled all the mines of Butte, Montana, later becoming Anaconda Copper Company, fourth largest company in the world by the late 1920s. Home, family In 1886, Rockefeller bought property along the Hudson River from General Lloyd Aspinwall, and turned it into an ostentatious mansion named "Rockwood Hall". The property was subsequently located within the Rockefeller family estate of "Pocantico", in Westchester County, New York (see Kykuit). He married Almira Geraldine Goodsell in 1864. Her sister, Esther Judson Goodsell, was married to Oliver Burr Jennings, who became one of the original stockholders of Standard Oil. Their son William Goodsell Rockefeller married Elsie Stillman, daughter of National City Bank president James Stillman, and they were the parents of James Stillman Rockefeller. He died in 1922 in Tarrytown, New York, and was interred in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York. The New York Times, in discussing a trust he set up for his born and yet-to-be born great-grandchildren, states that "The original William left a gross estate of $102,000,000, which was reduced to $50,000,000 principally by $30,000,000 of debts and $18,600,000 of inheritance and estate taxes." (New York Times, Aug 5, 1937, page 1 "Estate of William Rockefeller Increasing $1,000,000 a Year") Children 1. Lewis Edward
Rockefeller (1865–1866) James Stillman Rockefeller by Answers.com James Stillman Rockefeller (June 8, 1902 - August 10, 2004) was a member of the prominent U.S. Rockefeller family. Personal life A paternal grandson of William Rockefeller, his maternal grandfather James Stillman and uncle James Alexander Stillman served as president of the National City Bank of New York, now Citibank. His father was William Goodsell Rockefeller and his mother Sarah Elizabeth Stillman. He graduated from Yale University in 1924, where he was elected to the secret society Scroll and Key. That same year Rockefeller captained a crew of Yale teammates, winning a gold medal in rowing at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France and appeared on the cover of Time magazine on July 7, 1924. (Dr. Benjamin Spock, who would later become a famous expert on child-care, was a member of the crew.) On April 15, 1925, he married Nancy Carnegie, grand-niece of Andrew Carnegie. During World War II, Rockefeller served in the Airborne Command. He had four children: James Stillman Rockefeller, Jr., Nancy Sherlock Carnegie Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie Rockefeller, and Georgia Stillman Rockefeller. On August 5, 2004, Rockefeller suffered a stroke. His advance directives for medical care specified that he not be put on life support. He died at 4am on August 10, 2004, at the age of 102. Rockefeller was survived by four children, fourteen grandchildren, thirty-seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter. Business career Rockefeller joined the National City Bank in 1930 after working at Brown Brothers Harriman and served as president from 1952 to 1959 and chairman from 1959 to 1967. It was during his tenure that the bank merged with the smaller First National Bank and took the name The First National City Bank of New York. (Under each of his successors, the bank's name has changed: George Moore shortened it to "First National City Bank" and formed a holding company, First National City Corp.; under Walter Wriston these became "Citibank" and "Citicorp"; under John Reed the firm merged with Travelers Group to become Citigroup. James Stillman Rockefeller also concerned himself with other family investments, and prior to his death was America's oldest living Olympic champion, and the earliest living cover subject of Time magazine. External links Feeding the deals at Davos Buzz up! By Dateline D.C. Sunday, February 4, 2007 WASHINGTON For the readers of the financial pages it would seem that the world's movers and shakers moved from around the world to the small town of Davos, Switzerland. And for those who believe that our world is motivated by conspiracies -- starting with Yale's Skull & Bones Club, through the Bilderberg meetings, to the raucous gatherings at Bohemian Grove -- Davos, in January, has become the 21st century's conspiracy epicenter. Davos is either famous or notorious for hosting the World Economic Forum, which has met every year since 1972. There, the self-styled elite and leadership of the world's politicians and the richest corporations that fund them meet, discuss and plan our future. Davos was not always like that. It still is known as an exclusive winter sports area with a wonderful climate that for more than 100 years was a treatment center for the wealthy with lung diseases. The city reinvented itself in the 1990s to become the forum's near-permanent meeting place under the supervision of the Swiss government. Prior meetings had taken place in London, New York and Washington. The cities were disrupted by demonstrations and it was very apparent to those attending that the sessions were controversial and unwelcome. Inevitably, using the word "security" as the magic wand, Davos was shown to be ideal: a remote mountain town accessible only by one road and one railway line. During a forum, which makes an enormous profit for Switzerland, the meeting site is further isolated by the Swiss army, which for a few days ensures the safety of the world's elite. Perhaps the respiratory cripples of the past have been replaced by the mental cripples of 2007 or maybe they are only wearing blinders to the real needs and problems of the people that they claim to represent. On the second day of Davos, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the group that the United States' very own Carlyle Group, which "manages $46.9 billion worldwide," is planning to invest several billion dollars in the Middle East. Naturally, Aziz did not know where these investments would be, what their return would be to Carlyle and what benefits they might bring to Americans. After all, we don't need to be told again that trade with China brings wonderful profits: "CHINA: Communists High Investment in North America." The Mercedes limousines trailed the private helicopters carrying a near 2,500 of the world's elite into Davos for more than 200 workshops on the "shifting power equation" -- by which they mean from the West to Asia, a quiet nudge to show China that the elite believe that they are ahead in the power struggle. It was an amazing attendance list, at a mere $25,000 per person. The first man listed was Palestinian territory President Mahmoud Abbas, followed by the chairman of Deutsche Bank, Josef Ackerman. Then there was the president of Venezuela's oil companies, Enrique Garcia, and Bill Gates of Microsoft. And let's not forget Saudi Minister of State Abdullah Zainal and DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche. Eight hundred of the most powerful chairmen of the largest companies met privately to polish and change their images. They made and consolidated deals with two dozen heads of state and Cabinet members from Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, most of George Bush's Cabinet and their opposite numbers in China, Russia, India and Japan. Because of complaints that everyone's democratic institutions were being overridden, this year the World Economic Forum became "transparent." Fifty percent of the meetings were open to journalists, who were allowed to take notes and watch videos. The wheeling and dealing at Davos was remarkable; rules of ethics have to be revised and enforced to separate persuasion from corruption -- a near impossible task. So, it was a minor relief to read about our own Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff heading a panel on the possible use by terrorists of nuclear weapons. Poor Chertoff was supported on his panel by David Cameron, a new head of Britain's conservatives, who admits to a "pre-political" drug use, and a Dutchman, Gijs de Vries, the European Union's anti-terrorism coordinator, who didn't appear to admit that terrorism even existed. The fourth member was Pakistan's Aziz, who said his country was "wildly successful" in fighting terrorism. Aziz did not mention the decade of deals negotiated by A.Q. Khan, head of the Pakistan nuclear agency, in selling -- for his personal bank accounts -- nuclear equipment and technology to Iran, Iraq, Libya and North Korea. And no one asked why Pakistan was protecting Khan from the FBI and Western law enforcement. Secretary Chertoff faced a battery of hostile questions about use of secret CIA prisons, relaxing the rules on torture and America degrading basic human rights. Unprepared for so much antagonism from a very select audience, Chertoff did not improve his position by saying, "We have to be precise about what truly is fundamental and what isn't fundamental." But who will tell the secret organizers that the World Economic Forum is not fundamental to anyone's needs. Dateline D.C. is written by a Washington-based British journalist and political observer. Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi by Wikipedia Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi, usually referred to as Moeen Qureshi, (born 1930) is a Pakistani economist and political figure. A former Vice President of the World Bank, he was the acting Prime Minister of Pakistan from July 18, 1993 until 19 October, 1993. Education Mr. Qureshi holds a B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. (Economics) from the University of Punjab and a Ph.D. (Economics) from Indiana University. Experience at the World Bank From 1980 to 1991 he was at the World Bank, first as Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the Bank from 1980-1987, and then as Senior Vice President for Operations, in charge of all Bank operations during 1987-1991. Prior to that, Mr. Qureshi was at the International Finance Corporation as Vice President and second in command between 1974-1977, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 1977-1981. He served with the International Monetary Fund from 1958 to 1970 and served both at headquarters and in the field in a variety of senior economic and operations assignments before joining the IFC.[1] As the Interim Prime Minister The continuing political crisis of 1993 in Pakistan came to an abrupt halt when the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan both resigned after two weeks of intense negotiations among the Nawaz Sharif government, Benazir Bhutto, and the army. The resolution of the crisis was unique because for the first time in the nation's history a government had voluntarily stepped down in order to avoid a possible military intervention. The negotiations had been mediated by General Abdul Waheed Kakar, the Army Chief of Staff. The resultant agreement and its implementation followed strict constitutional procedure. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was replaced by the chairman of the Senate,Wasim Sajjad, who functioned as Acting President until the elections. More important, Moeen Qureshi, a former civil servant and senior World Bank official, agreed to serve as caretaker Prime Minister. Qureshi, a Pakistani national, had left the World Bank in 1992, obtained permanent residence status in the United States, and established his own company, Emerging Markets Corporation . He is currently Chairman, Managing Partner and a founder of the company. References |
