234/YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!
institutions. Need we recall the way in which, during the 1980s,
American officials organised the Savings and Loans bail-out to the
tune of some S 200 billion doled out by the federal government? Does
IMF head Michel Camdessus, from France, recall the S20 billion bail
out of Credit Lyonnais? In Asia, however, financial institutions in the
same position are being forced into bankruptcy - at which point
banks from the wealthy industrialised countries will be able to snap
them up for a song.
ARMS SALES
The official line of the IMF is that Asian countries engulfed in the
crisis have to undertake drastic cuts in state budgets, especially in the
area of arms spending. As is often the case, reality is very different
from the IMF's hypocritical posturing. South Korea and the four
'dragons' are the main customers of American arms dealers. In the
14 January 1998 edition of the International Herald Tribune, Steven
Lee Myers of the New York Times writes about how US Secretary of
Defense William Cohen 'is seeking ways to maintain the military
orders' placed by the countries in crisis. In January 1998, close on the
heels of Michel Camdessus and US Treasury representative (and
former World Bank head) Larry Summers - making their tour of
Asian countries subjected to IMF austerity conditions - was another
delegation following exactly the same itinerary. It was led by William
Cohen, accompanied by Todd Crawford from the US Treasury. South
Korea wants to cancel its order for AWAC planes, and Thailand
wants to cancel its order for eight F/A 18 fighter jets. The US,
however, wants Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia to
maintain their orders, and has offered a special source of financing to
this end.
CONTRADICTORY REACTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
A Warning from Henry Kissinger
In early January 1998, the former US Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger threw a spanner in the works of the US delegation led by
Larry Summers just as it was about to begin its diplomatic rounds in
Asia. In a piece in the 12 January 1998 edition of the International