Perkins John. The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption

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Hall and a group of top executives; now, an invitation from a man

who was truly a living legend in the engineering profession. I had

heard many stories about George Rich's exploits in Africa and the

Middle East. He was one of the first to venture into remote areas

and develop hydroelectric sites for rural towns. He had traveled

down the Congo River back in the days when it was still Joseph

Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Rumor had it that he had trudged

across deserts with Lawrence of Arabia. Now, late in life (I had

been informed that lie was eighty-four), he was held in the highest

esteem by engineers from around the globe. I had discovered that

mentioning his name to the heads of companies in Bogota and

Tehran would win invita-t ions to home-cooked meals in their

homes (something practically unheard of among Iranians). He

was also one of the founding partners of Uhl, Hall, and Rich, an

engineering firm that had been created by MAIN'S CEO and his

two closest associates to do work that, for reasons no one ever

satisfactorily explained to me, could not be accomplished by

MAIN itself. I had been told that the laws of New York state

required such a company. But my hunch—and it was just a

hunch—was that it had been set up to conduct more clandestine

activities, or perhaps to help its three principals launder money—

t heir own and that of wealthy clients and government organiza-

tions.

I followed George Rich out of the restaurant. However, we did

not go to his office. Instead, after taking the elevator down to the

Moor where MAIN'S executive offices were located, we headed

along the corridor to the boardroom. He produced a key and

ushered me

189THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN

EMPIRE

inside. "Changed my mind," he said, motioning for me to sit in

one of the plush chairs. "I think this place is a bit more private

than my office."

He turned his back and strolled over to a display on the wall. It

centered around a lighted map of the world with a parabolic

shadow that moved across it indicating where day became night. I

had been admitted to this room once before to study this map.

Mac Hall's private secretary had unlocked the door and stood

discreetly to the side as I determined what time I would have to

rouse myself that night to make a telephone call to Bangkok.

Rich pointed at the top of the African continent. "Egypt." He

turned to face me. "I know you just got the cheerleader version

from that A-I-D guy. Now, I want to make sure you know the real

story. I understand you're pretty sharp, got the true picture of what

we do. You'll be going to Egypt soon and then to Kuwait, Iraq,

and Saudi Arabia." He let this sink in, fully aware, I was certain,

of the thrill the names of these countries—and the knowledge that

I would visit them—inspired in me. "You know, of course, that

our job is much bigger than what it appears, what the contracts

state." He leaned forward and stared at me. "Right?"

"Yes, sir. I fully understand."

"Good. I've never been knighted. I'm no 'sir.' My name's

George."

I could only smile, wondering whether I would ever be able to

call him that, to his face.

"OK," I said.

He tapped the map with his knuckles. "You've been informed

about the Muslim Brotherhood."

"Yes."

"Well, they're very dangerous, must be won over,

compromised, bought out, destroyed, whatever, because they can't

be stopped. Sadat proved that. You go after them and they just

gain more support. Like throwing kerosene on a fire." He pulled a

chair up in front of mine and stood behind it, facing me. "But

that's not your job, not

190EGYPT: CONTROLLING AFRICA

now at least." He sat down, so close our knees nearly touched.

"Look at that map." He pointed. "What do you see?"

I was confused. "Egypt, you mean?"

"Of course, Egypt. But where is it? Where's Egypt?" He patted

my knee. "Get up there and take a good look."

I did. "On the Mediterranean and Red Seas, next door to

Israel."

He gave a sigh. "What continent?"

"Africa."

"Yes, the light flashes on!" He reached above his head and

made the motions of a man pulling a string. "Yes indeed, Africa.

Take another look at that map. Contrary to what most Americans

seem to think, Egypt's an African country. Is it part of the Middle

East? Sure. The Middle East isn't a continent. Middle country. A

rope that ties Europe and Asia. And, contrary to public opinion,

Egypt ties both of them to Africa. Now, let me ask you a really

tough one. Does Egypt have a river?"

"The Nile."

"Right. And what can you tell me, from that map, about the

Nile River?"

"It runs through Sudan . . ."

"Which until 1956 was part of Egypt. It was granted

independence by the British, of all things, by the Brits and the

Egyptians. However, many Egyptians are still pissed off about

that, they consider that huge piece of real estate theirs. Where else

does the Nile go?"

"Well, if you include both branches of the Nile, Lake

Tanganyika, and those other smaller lakes, it covers a good share

of the continent."

"Aha. Welcome to the land of Dr. Livingston I presume. One

more question. If you get this one right, you can come back here

and sit down again. What direction does the Nile flow?"

"North."

"Bravo. So, what you're saying is that a great deal of the

African continent drains into the Nile and the Nile flows into

Egypt, right? Good. Then can we surmise that the fertile flood

plain where the

191THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN

EMPIRE

pharaohs built their pyramids contains the silt—the topsoil, the

heart and soul if you will—of a great portion of Africa? That

Cairo is built on African soil, not just because it sits on the

African continent but because it sits on soil that originates in the

lands south of it? Right you are. Come, rest yourself here again."

I took my seat and waited for him to continue. He just sat

there staring at me. I tried to choose my words carefully, aware

that this man could make or break my career. "I understand what

you're saying. Egypt may play an important role in the Arab

world, but it also has an impact on Africa." I glanced back at the

map. "It's a bridge, from both a geographic and a social

perspective. Also economically and ethnically." He continued to

stare. I had missed something. "And, of course, religion too."

"Very good." He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back

and wandered over to the map again. "Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia,

Somalia, Kenya ... these are all ancient lands, interconnected

through the threads of history, not to be taken lightly. The Greek

historian Herodotus sang their praises in the fifth century B.C.

Legend has it that the Ethiopian monarchy—today's Emperor

Haile Selassie— was founded by the son of Israel's King Solomon

and the Queen of Sheba. This entire region is an amazing place.

Not to be taken lightly." He shook his head solemnly. "No, sir,

not to be taken lightly at all." He stared at the map for another

long moment. Then he came back to me. "You know there's one

hell of a lot of oil in that region too. I'm certain of it. I've spent a

lifetime studying geology and I can tell you that during your life

Africa will become a battleground over oil." He sat down. "So go

ahead and mind the words of Mr. U-S-A-I-D, go off to Egypt and

use it as a staging ground for subjugating the Middle East. And

also, recognize what few people are talking about today ..."

"It's the staging ground for Africa too."

"And if you ever intend to have children, and want them to

live prosperous lives, you damn well better make sure that we

control

192EGYPT: CONTROLLING AFRICA

the African continent. We need the Middle East. Yes. But we

must have Africa too."

Walking out of that boardroom I felt elated. During a few

short hours I had attended a meeting with MAIN'S CEO and a

senior USAID officer and I had been singled out by George Rich.

I had never before thought about the fact that Egypt was part of

Africa as well as the Middle East or that it performed such a

significant function in geopolitics. I was certain that few

Americans were privy to this perspective. I felt like a man on a

mission, who had been initiated into an exclusive club.

I rode the elevator to the ground floor and began to walk

across t he Prudential Center toward the building that housed my

office, the Southeast Tower, 101 Huntington Avenue. Perhaps, I

thought, Rich's last comment was the key. Someday I would raise

a family. I peered through the window of an upscale clothing

store at a male mannequin wearing a pinstripe suit. I promised to

return later in the week and purchase that suit. The decision to do

so liberated me. I told myself that George Rich, the venerable

engineer, was right; we had to take control of countries with

resources our corporations wanted, for the sake of future

generations.

I bought that suit. And within weeks, I stepped onto a plane,

headed for Egypt.

193

Infidel Dog

During my times in Cairo and Alexandria, I grew increasingly

frustrated by the lack of cooperation from local officials. I had

been hired by USAID to develop economic forecasts that would

be used by the Egyptian government to procure World Bank

financing. To do my job properly I needed detailed population

statistics for specific regions of the country. Although I knew they

existed, I was told by one bureaucrat after another that the

information was not available for public consumption. I kept

pointing out that I was not the public, that I was working for

them, in the strictest confidence, and that I had to obtain those

statistics if they expected me to compile a report that would

ultimately bring billions of dollars into their country. This sort of

appeal-cum-threat had worked for me in Asia and Latin America;

however, it seemed to have no impact in Egypt.

The officials in Cairo and Alexandria who were assigned as

my counterparts, and therefore were supposed to expedite my

work, showed me around their cities. We visited spice markets

and smoky cafes where turban-wrapped men played dominoes

and puffed on bubbling hookahs, strolled along the Nile and the

Mediterranean, gawked at precious jewels and priceless

antiquities in ancient palaces, and consumed gallons of tea. But

whenever I reminded them that I was waiting for the population

statistics, they reiterated the difficul ties while soliciting my

patience. "Things take a great deal of time here," they would say.

Or "This is not like America, we are a very old country, camels

walk slowly." When I offered to bribe them—legally, of course,

by paying excessive amounts for people to work overtime,

194INFIDEL DOG

with the officials pocketing the difference—they merely shook

their heads and offered me another cup of tea.

Finally, in utter frustration, I decided to go above my counter-

parts' heads. It was a drastic step—one I had always avoided

before because of the risk of antagonizing people I relied on—but

this was a situation that had turned desperate.

I arranged a meeting with a man at the top of the government,

someone who had served in several ministries and now was a

personal adviser to President Sadat. He had a long formal name,

but I was told to simply refer to him as Dr. Asim. He had

graduated from Harvard Business School, was intimately familiar

with organizations like the World Bank and USAID, and had a

reputation for getting things done. For my part, I understood that

his assistance would not be cheap; I was prepared to bribe him

generously.

I was delivered to a modern high-rise office building and then

escorted by a burly security officer into an elevator and to the top

floor. A dour-faced, tall, thin Egyptian man in a black suit showed

us into a tiny room with a couple of couches and in perfect

British-accented English informed us that there would be a very

short wait. The security officer, who spoke no English, sat down

across from me. We waited. I read an old copy of TIME from a

pile of magazines on the table between our couches. The security

officer dozed. I read a National Geographic. We waited for nearly

two hours. Tea was never offered. There was no doubt in my

mind that Dr. Asim was serving notice of his importance—and,

judging from the lack of tea, his displeasure that I would try to

bypass the normal channels; although seething, I prepared myself

to offer an even bigger bribe.

At last, the tall, thin Egyptian reappeared. Without apologies,

he ushered me down a long corridor to a massive wooden door

that would have suited King Tut's tomb far better than this

contemporary building. He opened it. I was shocked by the

vastness of the room; it was opulent enough to please the most

egotistic pharaoh,

195THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN

EMPIRE

decorated in a combination of ancient Egyptian and modern

Park Avenue. Antique papyrus scrolls vied with Picasso vases.

Modern designer furniture rested on Persian carpets.

Dr. Asim was hunched over a colossal desk, dressed in a dark

blue suit and gold tie. His face was pudgy and soft, like a melon.

He wore wire-rimmed spectacles, the kind I associate with

Benjamin Franklin. He did not bother to look up when I walked

in. The tall, thin man bowed out. I stood near the doorway waiting

as the Dr. apparently finished some paperwork. Finally he raised

his eyes. "Sit," he said indicating a chair in front of his desk and

then returned to his work.

I felt confused and slighted. I might have transgressed, but this

was overkill. Had he forgotten that I represented a prestigious

consulting firm hired to help his country?

After what felt to me like a very long time, he straightened and

peered at me over the tops of his glasses. He seemed to measure

me as one might an insect caught scurrying across the dinner

table. Then, in an effort that appeared to summon all his energy,

he reached across his desk and held out his hand. I had to stand to

shake it.

My confusion turned to anger. I suppressed it and forced a

smile. Trying to adhere to local etiquette, I thanked him profusely

for agreeing to meet with me.

He ignored my niceties and, without the exchange of greetings

that are customary in Egypt, bluntly asked me what I wanted.

There could be no doubt that a polished diplomat was

insulting me. Openly, flagrantly. I was tempted to walk out.

Instead, I took myself back to the Engineers Club atop Boston's

Prudential Tower and then to George Rich in MAIN'S boardroom.

Suddenly I felt vindicated. My revenge for his insolence was the

knowledge that I was an EHM on assignment to exploit him and

his country. I could suffer his little victories knowing that my side

would win the Big One; this battle might be his, but the war

would be mine. I relaxed into my chair and my smile turned

genuine. "Population data."

196INFIDEL DOG

"I beg your pardon."

"I need population data." I explained my dilemma in the

briefest language. "So, you see," I ended, "unless your people

cooperate with me, your country won't get all that money your

president is requesting."

He slammed his fist down on his desk and stood up. His girth

reflected that of his office. His chair rolled back across the floor

until it bumped against the wall. "I don't give a damn about your

billions," he said, his voice surprisingly low and controlled, given

the histrionics of his actions. "Young man—for you can't be as

old as my youngest son—what gives you the right to march in

here and make demands?" He waved a spongy hand to forestall

my answer. "Let me tell you a thing or two. I've lived in your

country. I know all about your fancy cities, cars, and homes. I

know what you think of us." Placing his hands on his desk, he

leaned across it and glared at me. "Do you know how many

people at Harvard asked me if I rode a camel? At Harvard!

Amazing, your stupidity. The myopia of your country. We

Egyptians have been around thousands of years, tens of

thousands. We will be around when all of you are dust." He re-

trieved his chair and sat back down, emitting a loud sigh as he did

so, and turned his attention once again to the papers on his desk.

I sat there staring at him, forcing myself to recall those

moments in the boardroom. I also journeyed back to meetings in

Indonesia where—because I spoke their language and my hosts

did not realize it—I overheard government officials denigrating