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The 2008 economic crash was painful for millions of average Americans. While the crash has been blamed on a number of factors ranging from the cratering housing market to a spike in oil prices, a new report from the Pentagon is pointing fingers in a new direction. The recently unclassified 2009 report, “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses” by Kevin D. Freeman, alleges that an organized financial attack was behind the dramatic collapse of the world economy.
This allegation differs from the reasons for the crash put forward by the government’s own Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which still insists the crash was mainly caused by high risk lending practices. However, Mr. Freeman insists that there are just too many unexplainable events to write things off as a housing-based crash. “Domestic economic factors would have caused a ‘normal downturn,’ but not the ‘near collapse’ of the global economic system that took place,” states his report.
A Three Phased Attack
In the report, Freeman investigates the market movements leading up to the 2008 crash and outlines a three-phased attack on U.S. financial markets. He feels the first two phases of the attack took place between 2007 and 2009, and that the third phase may be starting now, according to a recent interview in the Washington Times. Evidence for the third phase can be found in the current global debt crisis.
The first phase of the attack had its roots not in the housing markets, but rather in oil markets. With the escalation of oil prices from 2007 to mid-2008, households were strained to keep up with skyrocketing gas prices. Freeman’s report alleges that the rise had little to do with true supply and more to do with deliberate action by speculators to drive up the price. Foreign-backed hedge funds and institutional traders pushed prices to targeted levels, wrecking havoc in the U.S. economy.
The second phase of the attacks came in late 2008, as a result of a “bear raid” on Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and other key Wall Street players. Much of the collapse in their share prices, which in turn caused the governments to rush to bail out the markets as the system strained to its breaking points, was caused by naked short selling by a web of complex players, not all of whom are known. However, Freeman notes that many of his investigative efforts have been blocked by government agencies, and that the Pentagon has declined to fully investigate the anomalies. While officials there say they are not the right body to investigate financial activities, Freeman feels that few want to acknowledge America’s financial weaknesses. It is much easier to spend on missile defense systems than to fix America’s floundering economy.
Players To Watch
The best-positioned players for financial attacks on the U.S. are the Chinese, Russians, and jihadist groups backed by deep Middle East pockets. Owners of large amounts of American debt, these foreign groups could easily target weaknesses in the U.S. financial structure by simultaneously unloading their debt on thin markets. The exact methodology for doing so was laid out in the book Unrestricted Warfare back in 1999, and the Chinese military has long viewed economic attacks as a viable form of action against the U.S., should it be necessary.
Wealthy individuals can also work to take down the system. George Soros, who crashed the British pound, certainly has the tools. He has stated that he wants to remake the entire world’s economy. According to FoxNation, on April 8, a group he’s funded with $50 million dollars is holding a major economic conference. Soros’s goal for this event is to ‘establish new international rules’ and ‘reform the currency system.’
Other large individual investors like him can use credit default swaps, which are unregulated and untraceable contracts, to do as they please to the world’s currency exchanges. Freeman’s report labels them as ideal weapons in a financial war. The noted inefficiency of the SEC and other regulatory groups makes it all too easy for motivated, action-oriented individuals to get in, do damage, and be long gone while the economy continues to tank.
Protecting Yourself
Knowing that the international markets are vulnerable to attack, and that the U.S. debt situation has it in a precarious position, what can you do to protect yourself? It’s clear that the government isn’t interested in taking the necessary steps, and that our national deficits aren’t going to be erased tomorrow. Living in economic frailty and fear is hardly an attractive option.
Instead, work to set yourself free from financial terrorism as much as possible. Diversify out of American stock markets, and avoid paper wealth where you can. These items are painfully vulnerable, as Freeman’s report lays out. Instead, precious metals, land, and other pieces of tangible wealth will give you a hedge against the possibility of future financial terrorism.
