1

THE TRUMPET WEEKLY THE TRUMPET WEEKLY

A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 1 3
Iran opens new uranium mines and upgrader 2
Netherlands: Next economy to crack? 4
Thatcher right about nearly everything 5
Does America feel like it is in a depression? 10
Your kids dont actually belong to you! 11
BY BRAD MACDONALD
see GOLD page 12
J
Us1 wui it appeared the news cycle had moved on from
Cyprus, the island nation came splashing back yester-
day with news from the European Commission: Nicosia
will be made to sell around three quarters, or oo million
(Uss,.: million), of its excess gold reserves. (Excess? Who
has too much gold:)
Whats the big deal? ask some. When a person or nation
is in a nancial pinch, assets have to be liquidated.
True. But with Cyprus its not that simple. From the out-
set of this crisis, Cyprus has not been in control of its own
destiny. Sure, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was
in on most, though apparently not all, of the discussions.
Cypruss parliament voted on this and that, and ultimately
agreed to the bailout agreement. But it was all smoke
and mirrors. In the end, Cyprus was compelled to agree
to a ruinous bailout package created and prescribed by
Germany in consort with the European Commission (EC),
the European Central Bank (icn) and the International
Monetary Fund (imv). Now we learn from the troika that as
part of the bailout agreement, Cyprus will have to sell the
majority of its gold.
Te important point to note is that this decision was ef-
fectively made by Germany and its icn/EC/imv allies, .u
o1 CvvvUs.
Germany Snatches Gold From Cyprus
APRIL 13, 2013
2
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
MIDDLE EAST
The U.S. Struggles for
Inuence in Iraq
STRATFOR | April 10
A
vUniiciziu eort by Iraqi of-
cials to intercept Iranian planes
bound for Damascus appears to be an
act by Baghdad and Tehran to ease
U.S. pressure on the government of
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Iraqs alleged plane interceptions
actually reveal a much tighter rela-
tionship between Baghdad and Tehran
as the Syrian conict continues to
widen ethnic and sectarian ssures in
the region.
Te United States has been press-
ing Baghdad to stop allowing Ira-
nian aircraf to pass through Iraqi
airspace en route to Syria. Afer the
Iraqi government pledged to do more
random searches to intercept weapons
heading for Syria by land and air, Iraqi
ocials claimed that they forced two
Iranian cargo planes to land this week
at Baghdad International Airport.
Te Iranian cargo plane intercepted
April8 was allegedly carrying human-
itarian supplies. Iraqi ocials did not
elaborate on the contents of the plane
intercepted April .
Tough Iran is now expressing
outrage at the supposed interceptions,
the Iraqi government was likely closely
coordinating with Iranian authorities.
Conveniently, the interceptions that
Baghdad has publicized so far reveal
only humanitarian supplies destined
for Syria. However, it is an open secret
that Iran has been funneling weapons
and ghters in civilian aircraf primar-
ily through Iraq to reinforce the regime
of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Te al-Maliki government is not
simply doing its Iranian allies a
favor in allowing Iraqi territory to
be used for this purpose. Te Shiite
government in Baghdad is care-
fully manipulating the Sunni political
situation in Iraq to prevent the return
of a Sunni nationalist insurgency
that could threaten the Shias hold on
Baghdad. Te more the Syrian conict
intensies, the more reason Baghdad
has to align itself more closely with
its sectarian allies in Iran and Syria to
keep the Sunni rebellion contained.
Al-Maliki also understands that the
United States has a strategic interest in
maintaining a foothold in Baghdad to
balance against Iran, and he can exploit
that interest to try to secure economic
and military aid from Washington.
But even the assets the United States
currently has in Iraq and increased
aid from Washington cannot compete
eectively with Irans extensive politi-
cal, intelligence, security, religious and
business relationships in Iraq.
Iran Opens New
Uranium Mines
THE TELEGRAPH | April 9
T
ui coU1vv opened the Saghand :
and : uranium mines in the central
city of Yazd and the Shahid Rezaeine-
jad yellow cake factory, capable of
M
iuuii E.s1 expert Matthew Levitt told iici1 in
an exclusive interview that the recent conviction of
a Hezbollah member in Cyprus on terrorism charges is
extremely important because the trial outed and exposed
Hezbollah. Levitt explained that because the trial was pub-
lic and included details on Hezbollahs activities through-
out Europe, it will pressure Europe to designate Hezbollah
as a terrorist organization.
Tat designation would allow European countries to
proactively monitor Hezbollah, rather than waiting to
respond to a Hezbollah attack, which would be a minute
too late, said Levitt.
Dr. Matthew Levitt served as a counterterrorism intelli-
gence analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation before
becoming deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and
analysis at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
According to Levitt, during the trial in Cyprus, Hos-
sam Taleb Yaccoub admitted conducting surveillance of
civilians in the country for Hezbollah, although he denied
any terrorist activities. Before he went to Cyprus, he said
he was sent by Hezbollah as a courier to Turkey, France
and the Netherlands, demonstrating the global reach of
the group. He also said, I belong to Hezbollah, I was just
carrying out surveillance on the Jews, we do this all over
the world.
Levitt said the European footprint in this case is huge
and that because its ndings are public, it will put extreme
pressure on the EU to expand its eorts against Hezbollah.
Europe, unlike the United States and other countries,
has not designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Tis
allows the group to operate oces and openly conduct
fundraising and other operations in European states.
Levitt noted that the trial, combined with increasing
criminal activity by Hezbollah, involvement in Syria, and
actions to destabilize Lebanon puts Hezbollah in the
crosshairs.
Levitt explained that Iran and Hezbollah have a strate-
gic partnership, and that Iran has tasked Hezbollah with
targeting Israeli tourists worldwide. Tis, said Levitt, is not
necessarily in Lebanese interests, but is because of the rela-
tionship with Iran. Te fact that Iran is a strategic partner
of Hezbollah trumps its other interests, says Levitt.
Hezbollah has capabilities that span the globe, according
to Levitt, and has a presence on almost every continent.
Cyprus Outs Hezbollah, Pressures EU
LIGNET | April 5
APRIL 13, 2013
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THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
producing oo tonnes of yellow cake
annually, to mark Irans National
Nuclear Technology Day, ocial news
agency iv. said.
Te two mines in the city of Sa-
ghand in central Iran operate :,:,o feet
underground, and are within ,, miles
of the yellowcake production facility
in the city of Ardakan, in Yazd prov-
ince, state television said.
Yellowcake is the impure state of
uranium oxide later used in enrich-
ment facilities.
Te announcements, on the occa-
sion of Irans national Atomic Energy
Technology day, come shortly afer
talks between Iran and six world
powers on Tehrans nuclear ambitions
failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Iran enriches uranium to both ,.,
and :o percent levels in its Natanz and
Fordo enrichment facilities. Uranium
puried at high levels can be used in a
nuclear weapon.
Leaving Corruptistan
SPIEGEL ONLINE | April 6
G
ivi 1u.1 friendship between
Hamid Karzai and the Americans
has long been a thing of the past, the
negotiations are dogged. For weeks
now, the Afghan president has been
haggling with the United States over
its troop withdrawal.
Karzai is putting the Americans on
notice that, this time, it is the Afghans
who are calling the shots.
For example, Karzai recently
ordered elite U.S. soldiers to pull out
as quickly as possible from Wardak
Province, an important gateway for
insurgents headed toward Kabul. Te
soldiers have been accused of abusing
villagers, but the accusation has yet to
be substantiated.
Just how poisoned relations have
become can be seen particularly
clearly in the way Afghans reacted to
an order handed down by General
James Mattis . In January, Mattis
placed Kam Air, a private airline, on
the blacklist of companies no longer
allowed to receive contracts from the
U.S. military. Te Americans suspect
Kam Air of having smuggled bulk
quantities of narcotics to Central Asia
on passenger ights.
In an unusually harshly formulated
ocial communiqu to U.S. Ambas-
sador James Cunningham, Afghans
Foreign Ministry demanded that all
documents related to the Kam Air
case be made available to the Afghan
government immediately. President
Karzais oce has even threatened
to le a compensation/damages suit
against the U.S. military if no concrete
proof of the allegations is supplied.
Te Afghans fervent reaction is
hard to comprehend, especially given
the fact that Kam Air is a completely
private company in which the state
has no nancial stake.
Afghanistan produces 8o percent
of all the opium consumed worldwide,
and most of those in power prot
from its trade. Nevertheless, not a
single one of the top-level drug barons
with ties to Karzais network has yet to
be convicted.
Is that what a successful mission
looks like: Of course, quips one
Western diplomat. We declare victory,
and then we leave.
TW
I N B R I E F
n Dividing the Middle East
Dubais police chief lashed out at the
Muslim Brotherhood (MB) last week,
shedding more light on the growing
friction between Shiite and Sunni
Muslims in the region. Te MB is
banned in the United Arab Emirates
(U.i), and is seen with a great deal
of suspicion by many of the Sunni-
ruled Gulf states. A string of arrests
in the U.i has done nothing to heal
the divide. Ninety-four members of
the protest group al Islah have been
arrested on charges of attempting to
overthrow the government. Te al
Islah movement is suspected by U.i
ocials to be funded by the MB in
Egypt, supporting the belief that the
Brotherhood has a broader plan for
the region. Mr. Khalfan shares the
concern of many Sunni leaders who
see that Iran has beneted from each
toppled government so far. Although
Egypt is overwhelmingly Sunni, it
essentially fell to Iran in :o:: when the
MB took control. Now the Gulf states
are working to try to prevent that
from happening with other nations. In
December :o::, the Gulf Cooperation
Council released a statement attacking
the continuing Iranian interference
in the aairs of the Gulf Cooperation
Councils states. Since the U.S. is
washing its hands of the Middle East
and focusing more on eastern Asia,
watch for the Gulf states to look more
and more toward Europe for backing.
EUROPE
Greeces War Claims
Against Germany
THE TELEGRAPH | April 9
P
vimiiv A1ois Samaras held a
special meeting with the foreign
minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and
other key ocials this morning to
limit the diplomatic damage from the
8o-page report.
Te documentstamped Aporito,
or secretwas drafed by a panel
of experts appointed by the Greek
nance ministry and delivered to of-
cials last month.
Te alleged claim against Germany
reaches a grand total of :o: billion
(Uss::: billion), including :o8 bil-
lion (s:: billion) for rebuilding the
countrys infrastructure afer the Nazi
occupation from :: to :. Tis is
8o percent of Greek cuv.
Te report was rst leaked to the
Greek newspaper To Vima over the
weekend in a story titled What Ger-
many Owes Us.
Te panel concluded that Ath-
ens has legitimate grounds to press
claims. Greece never received any
APRIL 13, 2013
4
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
compensation, either for the loans it
was forced to provide to Germany or
for the damages it suered during the
war, it said.
Te newspaper said the issue has
detonated like a bomb at a critical
juncture when Greece is under intense
pressure from creditors. Te govern-
ment should publish all the ndings
and determine its position on this
sensitive issue, it said.
Tere has long been a vociferous
lobby calling for war reparations
from Germany, with the so-called
National Council calling for as
much ,oo billion (so,.8 billion) to
cover stolen art work and the loss of
,o percent of economic output over
almost four years.
Greece has already enjoyed con-
siderable debt relief, though at the
expense of private pension funds,
insurers, and banks, rather than at the
expense [of] the German state or other
eurozone countries.
Netherlands, the Next
Chip to Fall?
Mike Shedlock, BULLION MANAGEMENT
GROUP | April 10
T
ui Ni1uivi.us, Berlins most
important ally in pushing for
greater budgetary discipline in Europe,
has fallen into an economic crisis
itself, with huge debts and a burst real
estate bubble.
Te Netherlands is facing the kind
of real estate crisis as the U.S. and
Spain did. Dutch banks have pumped
billions in loans into the private and
commercial real estate market since
the :os, without ensuring that bor-
rowers had sucient collateral.
Private homebuyers could eas-
ily nd banks to nance more than
:oopercent of a propertys price.
Instead of paying o the loans, bor-
rowers put some of the money into an
investment fund, hoping for a prot.
Te money was to be used to pay o the
loan, at least in part. But it quickly be-
came customary to expect the value of a
given property to increase substantially.
No nation in the eurozone is as
deeply indebted as the Netherlands,
where banks have a total of about
o,obillion (s8,:.: billion) in mort-
gage loans on their books.
Consumer debt amounts to about
:,o percent of available income. By
comparison, in :o:: even the Spaniards
only reached a debt ratio of ::,percent.
Te Netherlands is still one of the
most competitive countries in the EU,
but the bursting real estate bubble
threatens to take down the entire
C
o1vovivsv w.s but a stimulus
for her to stick even more strongly
to her moral and political convic-
tions.Margaret Tatchercame from a
family that was embedded in the old
traditions and the heritage that once
made BritainGreatBritain.
In the latter half of the :oth cen-
tury, the rise of Margaret Tatcher in
the political ranks of the Conservatives in Britain primed
her for her role as a three-term prime minister.
Between the time of her election in :, and her forced
resignation from the oce of prime minister in :o,
Mrs. Tatchers economic policies transformed the British
economy from its :,os state of listless drifing to one of
the strongest of global economies.
.1oSecretary General Anders Fog Rasmussen summed
up Mrs. Tatchers leadership of Britain in the following
terms: Baroness Tatcher was an extraordinary politi-
cian who was a staunch defender of freedom, a powerful
advocate of.1oand the transatlantic bond. She strongly
supported.1ovalues and principles, believed in a strong
defense and played a leading role in ending the Cold War.
Troughout her tenure as British prime minister, Margaret
Tatcher stood on principle and showed great courage, vi-
sion and leadership (.1opress release, April 8).
In August :8:, Herbert Armstrong met Mrs. Tatcher
at :o Downing Street, the prime ministerial residence. Teir
parting comments to each other following a half-hour
meeting were reiterated by Mr. Armstrong in an address to
his supporters in Pasadena, California, on Nov.:,,:8:.
Commenting on that meeting, Mr. Armstrong went on
to reiterate, As we were leaving, she said, Well, theres one
thing. Our two countries, the United States and Britain,
must absolutely continue to hang together. And I said, If
they dont hang together, theyll probably hang separately.
Sometime afer Britain had signed up to the Maastricht
Treaty that was to chart the course to dominance by Ger-
many in Europe, Mrs. Tatcher gave a very clear explana-
tion of her reaction.
At a meeting with Francois Mitterrand, George H.W.
Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in :,, Mrs. Tatcher de-
clared: I was opposed to German unication from early
on for the obvious reasons. To unifyGermanywould make
her the dominant nation in the European community. Tey
are powerful, and they are ecient.
Tatcher then said, All this is atly contrary to all my ide-
als. Some people say you have to anchor Germany to Europe
to stop these features from coming out again. Well, you have
not anchored Germany to Europe, but Europe to a newly
dominant Germany. Tat is why I call it a German Europe.
Te Iron Lady was right.
With her dies the nal slice of real, courageous British
political leadership. Tat quality of Britishness will not
returnever!Your Bible says so. In fact, it is destined to be
replaced by a far better qualitythe perfect character of
the very One who gave Britain its greatness from the begin-
ninghaving no connection with earthly politics.
Follow Ron Fraser: Twitter
Margaret ThatcherExit the Iron Lady
RON FRASER
Related: Germanys Conquest of the Balkans
APRIL 13, 2013
5
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
economy. Unemployment is rising,
consumption is down and growth has
come to a standstill. Despite tough
austerity measures, this year the
government will violate the EU decit
criterion, which forbids new borrow-
ing of more than , percent of cuv.
Its a heavy burden, especially for
Dutch Finance Minister Dijsselbloem,
who is also the new head of the Euro
Group, and is now both a watchdog
for the monetary union and a crisis
candidate.
France, Germany:
Tense Allies
STRATFOR | April 5
T
wo vici1 events attest to the
growing political tension between
Germany and France. On April,
French Finance Minister Pierre
Moscovici said France would need
more time to cut its decit. Ten on
April ,, French President Franois
Hollande received Peer Steinbrck, a
member of Germanys main opposi-
tion Social Democratic Party and a
candidate for chancellor. Some consid-
er the invitation an aront to current
German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Hollandes leadership status in
Europe has weakened as Merkels
has strengthened. In this context, he
is trying to use the German election
campaign and ties to the Social Dem-
ocratic Party to weaken Berlins push
for austerity. France and Germany will
likely reach an agreement on Frances
decit; Paris and Berlin want to pre-
serve their alliance, and Berlin does
not want to see Paris build a wider
opposition base. However, considering
the popularity of Merkels approach to
the European crisis within Germany
and skepticism towards bailouts, fun-
damental tensions will remain.
While Steinbrck used his meeting
with Hollande to promote international
support for his candidacy, his strategy
is not without risks. Polls show that
most Germans support Merkels tough
stance on scal discipline in the euro-
zone. Steinbrck knows that capitulat-
ing to French demands will not endear
him to German voters. An important
reason for Merkels popularity is the
countrys approval of her crisis man-
agement, which calls for structural
reforms and austerity in peripheral
countries and opposes Germanys con-
tinued nancing of bailouts.
[A]fer the elections in Septem-
ber, the German government likely
will continue to clash with Paris; the
European Unions shortcomings are
structural, so dierences between Ber-
lin and Paris will remain regardless of
political leadership.
An Institution Where
Facts Are Secondary
THE TELEGRAPH | April 8
T
ui HUc.vi. prime minister has
poured scorn on the European par-
liament describing it as place where
I
1 is still terribly hard for those who opposed her to admit
it, but Margaret Tatcher was right about most things.
She was right that Britains trade unions had become
much too powerful. She was right that nationalized indus-
tries had to be privatized. She was right that ination has
monetary causes.
She was also mostly right about foreign policy. She was
right to drive the forces of Argentinas junta out of the
Falklands and she was right to exhort a wobbly George
H.W. Bush to mete out the same treatment to Saddam Hus-
seins forces in Kuwait.
Above all, however, Tatcher was right about Europe.
She was right to push Europe in the direction of real free
trade by backing and signing the Single European Act of
:8o. Yet she was equally right to oppose the idea of a single
European currency.
Consistently, Tatchers skeptics took the side of those,
such as Nigel Lawson, Georey Howe and John Major, who
favored shadowing the Deutschmark and then pegging
the sterling-mark exchange rate.
Having been dragged kicking and screaming into the
ivm in October :o, Tatcher denounced the Delors plan
for a federal Europe with a deant No! No! No!one no
apiece for the European parliament, government and sen-
ate he envisaged. Just weeks later, deserted by her cabinet
colleagues, she was forced to resign.
It has long been conventional wisdom that Tatcher was
wrong about one thing above all. She was wrong, so the
argument goes, to oppose German reunication. Indeed,
most recent accounts of the events of :8-:o portray
her as a kind of female Basil Fawlty, stuck in some kind of
Second World War time-warp.
Yet future historians may look back on negative reaction
to German reunication with more sympathy than most
commentators felt at the time. In an internal memorandum,
written on Feb. :, :o, Tatcher oered a shrewd commen-
tary on West Germanys position that reunication would
pose no strategic threat if it was accompanied by increased
European integration. Te problems will not be overcome
by strengthening the E[uropean] C[ommunity], she wrote.
Germanys ambitions would then become the dominant
and active factor.
Tere are rather a large number of people in southern
Europe todayand perhaps also in Pariswho would ac-
knowledge that here, too, Tatcher was right. Only last year
the Italian prime minister complained of being treated as if
Italy was in a semicolonial relationship with Germany.
Margaret Thatcher: Right About Nearly Everything
FINANCIAL TIMES | April 8
Related: Germany and the Holy Roman Empire
APRIL 13, 2013
6
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
F
ivs1 1uiv purloin the savings and bank deposits in
Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working
funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small
rms hanging on by their ngertips.
Ten they seize three quarters of the countrys gold
reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself
from imU at a later date.
Te people of Cyprus rst learned about this from a
Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup
meeting on Friday. Tis seemed to catch the central
bank by surprise. Ocials said they knew nothing about it.
So who in fact made this decision:
Cypriots are learning what it means to be a member of a
monetary union when things go badly wrong.
It is an interesting question why Cyprus has been treated
more harshly than Greece, given that the eurozone itself
set o the downward spiral by imposing de facto losses of
,, percent on Greek sovereign debt held by Cypriot banks.
And, furthermore, given that these banks were pressured
into buying many of those Greek bonds in the rst place by
the EU authorities, when it suited the Eurogroup.
You could say that this is condign punishment for the
failure of Cyprus to deliver on its side of the bargain on the
:oo Annan Plan to reunite the island, divided by the At-
tila Line since the Turkish invasion in :,.
Greek Cypriots gained admission to the EU on the basis
of a gentlemans agreement, then resiled from the accord.
President Tassos Papadopoulis later deployed the resources
of the state to secure a No in the referendum on the
Greek side of the island. No wonder the EU is disgusted.
But there again, Greece behaved just as badly. It
threatened to block Polish accession to the EU unless a
still-divided Cyprus was admitted, much to the fury of
Berlin.
Te workhouse treatment of Cyprus is nevertheless
remarkable. Te creditor powers walked away from their
fresh pledges for an imU banking union by whipping up
largely bogus allegations of Russian money-laundering in
Nicosia. A Council of Europe by a British prosecutor has
failed to validate the claims.
Te EU authorities have gone to great lengths to insist
that Cyprus is a special case, but I fail to see what is spe-
cial about it. Tere is far more Russian moneylaundered
or otherwisein the Netherlands. Te banking centers
of Ireland and Malta are just as large as a share of cuv.
Luxembourgs banking center is at least four times more
leveraged to the economy.
It should be clear by now that the solemn pledges of imU
leaders are expendable. Tey change their mind whenever
its suits them, and whenever the internal politics of their
own countries demands.
Cyprus may not be a template but it is clearly a warn-
ing to any other imU country that needs help from now
on. Te creditor powers will go to extraordinary lengths to
avoid sharing the costs.
We now learn that one of those lengths is to seize gold
reserves. So what will happen as Portugals economy slides
deeper into its contractionary vortex, and its decits remain
stubbornly stuck near o percent of cuv despite the scal
cuts, and its public debt hits :: percent of cuv this year:
Portugal holds ,8: tonnes of gold, the :th largest hold-
ing in the world, and more than either Britain or Spain.
So will the troika order Portugal to hand over these
reserves if the country requires a second bailout, as deemed
likely by a great number of analysts in the city:
EMU Plot for Cypruss Gold
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, TELEGRAPH | April 11
liberal, lef wing and Green mivs bel-
low at each other with bulging veins
and as an institution where facts are
secondary.
Hungarians think debate is based
on a sober, matter-of-fact, the-other-
person-may-be-right logic, but the Eu-
ropean Parliament is not a European
place, [Viktor] Orban said, during a
radio interview. Facts are secondary.
Mr. Orbans disparaging remarks
on the European parliament come a
week before the institution debates the
state of democracy in Hungary. Te
central European country has faced
severe criticism from the EU and
other European bodies over a series
of contentious laws and changes to
the constitution, which, critics claim,
undermine democracy.
In response, the Hungarian
government has mounted an un-
abashed defense, accusing the EU of
meddling in the aairs of a sovereign
state, and lambasting critics over
their apparent ignorance of Hungar-
ian aairs.
Partner Nation Russia
GERMAN FOREIGN POLICY | April 8
T
ui Givm. chancellor and the
Russian president attended yester-
days opening of the annual Hannover
Industry Trade Fair. Tis year, Russia
was the fairs chosen partner nation,
a move to help promote German-
Russian economic relations.
Te German Committee on Eastern
European Economic Relations an-
nounced a German-Russian economic
summit to be held today. Since the
svu/Green coalition government
encouraged the economic coopera-
tion :o years ago, the trade volume has
grown from :,.: billion (s:.8 bil-
lion) in :8 to more than 8o billion
(s:o., billion) in :o::to Germanys
advantage.
Germany is ensuring its access to
energy resources from Russias huge
deposits, while also tapping into the
lucrative market for the German
export-oriented industry. Te Ger-
man industry needs this market, since
its sales to the southern eurozone
are tapering o, due to the economic
crisis. Berlin is also seeking to boost
this cooperation because of Chinas
growing inuence in Russia.
Moscow and Beijing are not only
planning to expand their bilateral
APRIL 13, 2013
7
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
economic relations, they are also
increasing their political and mili-
tary cooperationat the expense of
Western hegemony, as seen from the
German perspective.
TW
I N B R I E F
n Bungled bailout costs Cyprus
billions
Te total amount of money needed to
save Cyprus has increased by around
o billion (Uss,.8 billion), since the
rst bailout agreement was announced
on March :o. A leaked European
Commission document, dated April ,
shows that the total cost of the bailout
will now be :, billion (s,o billion).
Back in March, the total bailout was
:, billion. Europe will still contribute
only :o billion (s:,billion), but Cy-
pruss portion has more than doubled,
from , billion to :, billion. Tats the
equivalent of about a third of Cypruss
entire annual economic output. Tese
kind of gures mean that Cyprus will
probably need another bailout, or at
least an extension on the current pro-
gram. It will keep Cyprus subservient
to Germany for years to come.
n Former German chancellor:
I acted like a dictator
Former German Chancellor Helmut
Kohl admitted that most in Germany
did not want the euro, and that he acted
like a dictator. He made the remarks
in an interview in :oo: conducted by
journalist Jens Peter Paul for his doc-
trate thesis, which was published several
years later and recently been picked up
by the media. Kohls motivation, he
said, was to avoid war in Europe. Na-
tions with a common currency never
went to war against each other, he said.
A common currency is more than the
money you pay with. Kohl chose not
to step down in : and let Wolfgang
Schuble succeed him as chancellor, as
he felt Schuble lacked the experience to
persuade the country. Tis is yet further
proof that the euro and the EU is an
anti-democratic project.
n Portugal could be pushed into
another bailout
Portugals supreme court blocked sev-
eral key parts of the countrys austerity
budget on April ,, further complicat-
ing the countrys eorts to meet its ob-
ligations under its bailout package. Te
court ruled that the governments cuts
to public sector workers pay and pen-
sions, as well as unemployment and
sickness benets, were illegal because
they were a violation of the principle
of equality and the principle of fair
distribution of the public burden. Te
ruling makes it incredibly dicult for
Portugal to get its spending under con-
trol. A couple of days later, Portuguese
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho
called the nations economic situa-
tion a national emergency. A leaked
document published by the Financial
Times showed that the timetable for
when Portugal has to pay back its loans
will probably have to be extended by
seven years. Te Financial Times wrote
that although the document doesnt
address it directly, it makes clear that
Portugal will have a very hard time
avoiding a second bailout.
n Jack Lew tries to convince
Europe to become like America
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
traveled to Europe on April , to visit
with high-prole European Union
nancial leaders in an attempt to
convince them to cut back on austerity
measures and instead focus on growth
policies. Mr.Lew faces an uphill battle
in convincing his EU counterparts.
He met with Mario Draghi, president
of the European Central Bank, Jos
Manuel Barroso, president of the
European Commission, Herman Van
Rompuy, president of the European
Council and German Finance Minis-
ter Wolfgang Schuble. Lack of growth
in the eurozone is aecting the
American economy, and Lew wants to
turn it around. Standing in the way of
Mr. Lews growth policy, which could
be better described as a borrow-and-
print-more-money-to-spend policy,
are several of Europes most powerful
policymakers. Germany has shown
little willingness to ease the burdens
placed on austerity-enslaved nations
such as Greece and Cyprus. Te
truth is that the current euro crisis is
beingused to drive European integra-
tion. Tis is a crisis that EU leaders
will not let go to waste. It is allowing
them to break taboos to drive forward
on the path to a unied European
government. Tere is no need for Ger-
many to change its economic policies.
Chinas Expanding
Drone Program
STRATFOR | April 9
C
ui. is rapidly expanding its re-
search into and production, deploy-
ments and sales of unmanned aerial
vehicles . Te primary role of this
growing program is to help Beijing
control and monitor disputed territo-
ries in the Asia-Pacic region.
Beijing has decided to prioritize its
drone program for security and eco-
nomic reasons. In the security sphere,
these machines are very useful for
patrolling the East and South China
seas, allowing Beijing to maintain a
presence in the disputed waters, and
play a role in Chinas anti-access/area
denial strategy.
China is developing multiple types
of drones, ranging from high-altitude,
long-endurance designs like the U.S.
Global Hawk to small, hand-launched
designs similar to the U.S. Raven.
Te United States and Israel are
currently the leaders in this technol-
ogy. While Chinas drones are not as
advanced, tested or capable of the
same ranges, they do allow Beijing to
monitor its borders and waters more
eectively due to extended loiter time.
Tey also help China deter coun-
tries from intervening in the area by
helping detect and target potential
ASIA
APRIL 13, 2013
8
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
violators of the area they are trying to
deny. Tis is at the heart of the anti-
access/area denial strategy and Chinas
motivation for devoting resources
to the program.Beijing has plans to
build :: coastal drone bases by :o:, to
increase its ability to survey the region
for possible intrusions or threats.
TW
I N B R I E F
n North Koreas strategy of
unpredictability
A new evaluation of North Koreas nu-
clear capability published on Tursday
by the Pentagons intelligence branch
determined for the rst time, with
moderate condence that Pyongyang
can build nuclear weapons compact
enough to be delivered by a ballistic
missile. Also on Tursday, North Korea
spouted o a fresh bout of war rhetoric,
claiming that it has powerful striking
means on standby. Analysts believe
it implied another missile launch, and
probably of a rocket capable of reach-
ing the American territory of Guam.
In recent months, North Korea has
conducted a rocket launch, carried
out an underground nuclear test and
threatened a preemptive nuclear strike
on the United States and South Korea.
Although many in the West are quick
to deride North Korea, Pyongyangs
seemingly erratic threats are not irra-
tional, and the news of its nuclear abili-
ties is signicant. Wielding the weapon
of unpredictability, North Korean lead-
ers are able to rally their population,
and they will likely be able to obtain
concessions from the international
community. So far, the U.S. response to
the intensifying belligerence has been
surprisingly strong. But until China
the only nation with real leverage over
the Northreins Pyongyang in, North
Korean leaders will likely continue to
wield the weapon of unpredictability
to rally the people, to obtain more aid
and to divert the Wests attention away
from stealthier enemies.
n Moscow fuming over
U.S.-Georgia military drill
Around ,,o U.S. Marines and sev-
eral hundred Georgian Army troops
participated in a month-long military
drill in the former Soviet republic that
ended last week. According to reports,
the exercisecode-named Agile
Spirit :o:,infuriated Russia, Geor-
gias neighbor to the north. Tese
annual events, which our American
partners explain as preparation for
the Afghan operations, cause con-
cern, said Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
In :oo8, Moscow launched a separatist
movement in Russo-friendly regions
in Georgia, which triggered an all-out
war between the Georgian army and
the Moscow-backed separatists. Russia
ended up invading Georgia and wrest-
ing the region of South Ossetia from
its control, a move which Trumpet
editor in chief Gerald Flurry said
marked the beginning of a danger-
ous new era in history. Regarding the
military drill last month, Lukashevich
said Georgia is refusing to come to
terms with new political realitiesa
clear reference to Russias :oo8 inva-
sion and conquest. Te U.S. values its
alliance with Georgia, not only due to
Russias alarming :oo8 invasion, but
also because U.S. and .1o troops are
scheduled to leave Afghanistan within
a year, and are struggling to retain
inuence in that resource-rich nation.
World powers view Georgia as a key
staging locale and transport hub for
any future operations in Afghanistan,
so they are vying for inuence in the
former Soviet republic. Moscows dis-
pleasure at the U.S.-Georgia military
drills provides evidence that the dan-
gers of the new era are intensifying.
Russia will increasingly assert itself in
Georgia, the Caucasus and elsewhere
in the former Soviet Union region as
it continues its quest to resurrect the
Russian sphere of inuence.
AFRICA/LATIN AMERICA
Peace Between
Ethiopia and Eritrea?
THINK AFRICA PRESS | April 10
I
1 u.s been over a decade since talks
regarding the demarcation of Eritrea-
Ethiopia border stalled, and relations
between the two long-standing nemeses
deteriorated into an eective cold war.
Both sides continue to undermine
each others stability, from allegedly
supporting armed opposition groups to
waging a proxy war in Somalia.
At the heart of this crisis is the
ruling by the Boundary Commis-
sion which was established under the
Algiers Agreement, a peace treaty
marking the end of two years of hos-
tilities. Te Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission was tasked with dening
the contested border, and both sides
agreed to accept its decision. However,
having initially welcomed the ruling
in April :oo:, Ethiopia reversed its
position a few months later, displeased
that Badme, the ashpoint of the war,
had been awarded to Eritrea. Eritrea
refused to agree to a new commission
and negotiations came to a standstill.
Tensions remained high and relations
remained sour.
Recently, there seem to have been
improved prospects for peaceful
resolution. Te death in August :o::
of Ethiopias long-time leader Meles
Zenawiwhose personal rivalry with
Eritreas president Isaias Afewerki
stoked hostilitieshas raised hopes of
a return to the negotiating table. Afer
taking oce, Meless successor, Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,
expressed a willingness to travel to
Eritrea to talk with Afewerki without
preconditions.
Several other issues could also
push both parties to end the low-level
conict. Afer the Algiers Agreement,
both governments sought to settle
unnished scores. In the protracted
cold war, however, there was a clear
winner and loser. Ethiopia managed
to seize the status of regional hege-
mon, leave Eritrea diplomatically
APRIL 13, 2013
9
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
isolated, win the support of major
powers such as the U.S., and get UN
sanctions imposed on Eritrea. Eritrea,
meanwhile, suered economically,
lost the upper hand in the legal border
battle, and came to be seen as a pariah
state, accused of sponsoring regional
instability and terrorism. Te regime
in Asmara is now in a struggle for its
own survival. Its military capability
is checked, external pressure remains
high, its economic situation is dire,
and there appears to be simmer-
ing domestic dissent as exhibited by
several high-level defections and an
army mutiny on January ::.
Tis could suggest that Eritrea is
more likely to agree to talks
TW
I N B R I E F
n Mexican drug cartels move into
Colombia
Te decline and fall of Colombias
drug gangsonce the undisputed
masters of the illicit drug tradehas
allowed Mexican cartels to move
into the area and gain access to large
supplies of cheap Colombian cocaine.
In order to bypass the Mexican cartels
and regain some of their lost prots,
the remaining fragments on the Co-
lombian cartels are starting to export
more to Europe. Despite this move,
however, the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico
is swifly becoming the dominant
criminal force in Central America.
Until the people of the United States
get their drug addiction problems un-
der control, death and crime will reign
throughout the vast area from the
Panama Canal to the Arctic Ocean.
A
s v.v1 of its longstanding policy of building ties with
developing countries, China is on course to buy three
million hectares of the Amazon rainforest from Ecuador to
help it secure access to mineral wealth worldwide.
Te relationship between China and Ecuador has been
cozy since China began pumping money into Ecuador
through nancing infrastructure projects and oil rener-
ies in return for mineral resources. Te large amount of
money that Ecuador owes China, combined with the rap-
idly deteriorating relationship between Ecuador and other
foreign oil investors, is forcing the South American country
to welcome investment from the Asian giant.
China has invested heavily in oil to expand its political
and economic might, and to secure access to its growing
demand for natural resources. China is nancing Ecua-
dors oil reneries and transportation projects in return
for oil shipments, with around 8o percent of Ecuadors oil
exports currently going to China. It is providing ,o percent
of the funding for a new s::.: billion oil renery, Reneria
del Pacico, which is expected to process ,oo,ooo barrels
of oil per day.
Ecuador is interested in securing more Chinese invest-
ment in its oil industry and would welcome a winning
Chinese bid on its auction of :, oil blocks in the Amazon
rainforest containing an estimated :oo million barrels of oil.
Ecuadors government is counting on China to invest
in oil from the Amazon because of its worsening relation-
ship with U.S. oil investors and its indebtedness to China.
China, in its continuing attempt to seize mineral resources
worldwide to accommodate its growing demand at home,
is almost certain to take Ecuador up on the oer. Despite
international outcry over the environmental damages,
China will go ahead and begin its oil extracting expedition
in the Amazon forest.
Chinas Amazon Rainforest Energy Grab
LIGNET | April 10
ANGLO-AMERICA
Targeted Killing
Denes War on Terror
NEW YORK TIMES | April 7
W
ui SUi.im. Abu Ghaith, a
son-in-law of Osama bin Laden,
was taken into American custody at
an airport stopover in Jordan last
month, he joined one of the most
select groups of the Obama era: high-
level terrorist suspects who have been
located by the American counterter-
rorism juggernaut, and who have not
been killed.
John O. Brennan, now ci. director,
said last year the preference was to use
lethal force only when capture was not
feasible.
Mr. Abu Ghaiths casehe awaits a
federal criminal trial in New Yorkis
a rare illustration of what Obama ad-
ministration ocials have ofen said is
their strong preference for capturing
terrorists rather than killing them.
I have heard it suggested that the
Obama administration somehow pre-
fers killing al Qaeda members rather
than capturing them, said John O.
Brennan, in a speech last year when
he was the presidents counterterror-
ism adviser; he is now the ci. director.
Nothing could be further from the
truth.
Despite Mr. Brennans protesta-
tions, an overwhelming reliance on
killing terrorism suspects, which
began in the administration of George
W. Bush, has dened the Obama years.
Since Mr. Obama took oce, the ci.
and military have killed about ,,ooo
people in counterterrorist strikes in
Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, mostly
using drones. Only a handful have
been caught and brought to this
APRIL 13, 2013
10
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
country; an unknown number have
been imprisoned by other countries
with intelligence and other support
from the United States.
Tis policy on targeted killing,
according to experts on counterter-
rorism inside and outside the govern-
ment, is shaped by several factors: the
availability of a weapon that does not
risk American casualties; the resis-
tance of the authorities in Pakistan
and Yemen to even brief incursions
by American troops; and the decreas-
ing urgency of interrogation at a time
when the terrorist threat has dimin-
ished and the United States has deep
intelligence on its enemies.
Tough no ocial will publicly
acknowledge it, the bottom line is
clear: killing is more convenient than
capture for both the United States
and the foreign countries where the
strikes occur.
Te drone strikes have become
unpopular abroad; in a Pew Research
Center poll last year, just :, percent
of Pakistanis supported them against
leaders of extremist groups. And do-
mestic critics have attacked from two
dierent directions: Some Republi-
cans in Congress accuse Mr. Obama
of adopting a de facto kill prefer-
ence because he shut down the ci.s
overseas prisons and does not want to
send more detainees to Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. Human rights advocates
argue that some drone strikes have
amounted to extrajudicial killings,
the execution without trial of people
suspected of being militants whose
identities American ocials ofen do
not know and who sometimes pose
little threat to the United States.
Only in the drone era has killing
terrorism suspects become routine. In
the :8os and :os, counterterror-
ism ocers captured several suspects
overseas and brought them back to the
United States for trial.
Americas Continuing
Economic Depression
MARKET ORACLE | April 2
T
uis is not what economic recovery
looks like. Tis is, however, what an
economic depression looks like:
First, the American workforce is far
smaller than it was before the :oo8
economic collapse, even though the
number of Americans of working
age has increased by several millions.
Second, the people who are lucky
enough to be gainfully employed
are earning less.
Tird, with far fewer people em-
ployed, those who are employed
earning less, and the long-term
unemployed and underemployed
depleting their savings, the number
of Americans living in poverty
continues to grow.
Fourth, with the employed earning
less, millions of unemployed and
underemployed depleting their sav-
ings, and interest rates at record lows,
Americans are saving less and less.
Finally, the number of Americans
dependent on the government for
basic survival has grown by the
tens of millions.
Only two words adequately de-
scribe this ve-year period of eroding
lifestyle in the United States: economic
depression.
A
Us1v.ii.s .oUcimi1 that
it is abandoning the U.S. dollar for
trade with China is the latest broad-
side in the global currency war. Start-
ing April :o, Australia and China will
no longer use the U.S. dollar for trade
between the two nations.
Tis is a signicant announcement
and key development for China as it continues its cam-
paign to internationalize the yuan and chip away at the
dollars role as the worlds reserve currency.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the an-
nouncement during an ocial visit to Shanghai on Mon-
day. She noted that China is now Australias biggest trading
partner and that the direct currency trading would be a
huge advantage for Australia.
She called the currency accord a strategic step forward
for Australia as we add to our economic engagement with
China.
According to usnc bank, more than o percent of small
and medium-size Australian businesses that trade with
China plan to oer quotes for goods and services in yuan.
For China, this is a big accomplishment as it works
toward its goal of having about a third of its foreign trade
settled in yuan by :o:,.
But for the U.S. dollar, it is another hit in a string of hits
to its dominance as the global reserve currency.
On March :o, China and Brazil agreed to cut out the
U.S. dollar for approximately half of their trade. Some
s,obillion worth of commerce per year will now be con-
ducted in yuan and reals. Americas other major ally in
the Pacic announced last year that it would be curtail-
ing its use of the dollar too. In June, Japan and China
began cutting out the dollar in bilateral trade. Similar
dollar exclusion deals have been announced by Russia
and China, Russia and Iran, India and Iran, and India
and Japan.
As more nations challenge the dollars position as
reserve currency it will greatly impact living standards in
America. Interest rates will skyrocket. Te government
may be forced to resort to full-scale money printing to
nance its debt. Credit and loan costs will rise, potentially
collapsing Americas consumer economy. Ination will
destroy the value of peoples savings. And higher levels of
unemployment will become a way of life.
By jumping ship and swimming to China, Australia
may think it will mitigate the worst of the looming dollar
war. But eking out strategic partnerships with China comes
with a whole set of other risks that are just as deadly.
Follow Robert Morley: Twitter
Australia to Abandon the U.S. Dollar
ROBERT MORLEY
APRIL 13, 2013
11
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
Air Force Jets a
Casualty of Cuts
CNN | April 10
T
ui U.S. Air Force began ground-
ing a third of its ghter jet eet on
Tuesday because of forced spending
cuts, one of the most prominent con-
sequences so far of government-wide
austerity that began in March.
Dozens of units in the United
States, Europe and the Pacic ulti-
mately will stand down, according to
a statement from Gen. Mike Hostage,
the commander of the Air Forces Air
Combat Command.
Te move involving jets assigned to
ghter, bomber, airborne warning and
other squads aims to ensure that re-
maining units can maintain sucient
readiness through the remainder of the
scal year, which ends September ,o.
Units will stand down on a rotating
basis so our limited resources can be
focused on fullling critical missions,
Hostage said.
Te current situation means were
accepting the risk that combat air
power may not be ready to respond
immediately to new contingencies as
they occur, he said.
Units that stop ying will shif their
emphasis to ground training. Tey
will use ight simulators to the extent
possible within existing contracts, and
conduct academic training to main-
tain basic skills and knowledge of
their aircraf.
Your Kids Dont Belong
to You
YAHOO | April 8
G
ii Bicx opened his radio show
Monday in a state of near disbelief
over an msnc promo where anchor
Melissa Harris-Perry calmly explains
how your children dont really belong
to youthey belong to the collective.
Its almost a parody of reality,
Beck said of the clip. It is so far be-
yond what we have ever thought as a
nation, its remarkable .
For those who havent seen the
advertisement, Harris-Perry says: We
have never invested as much in public
education as we should have because
weve always had kind of a private
notion of children.Your kid is yours
and totally your responsibility.We
havent had a very collective notion of
these are our children. So part of it is
we have to break through our kind of
private idea that kids belong to their
parents or kids belong to their fami-
lies and recognize that kids belong to
whole communities.
Beck explained , I think
that theres a good :o to ,o percent of
America, maybe even higher now, Im
not sure, [that] will gladly have the
State take that over so they dont have
to worry about it. Yet another one of
your responsibilities taken from you
Im sorry. Another one of your respon-
sibilities that you will gladly hand over
because you dont know what to do.
And so they will do it for you: Dont
worry! Well raise your kids. Well
train your kids. Well educate your kids
because its working out so well.
Related: Parents! Take Charge of Your
Childs Incredible Potential
W
i .ii know what successful people look like. Tey
are the ones who do whatever it takes, the ones with
the sharp elbows, the ones who know how to take what
is theirs. But there is a dierent, better path to success,
argues Adam Grant, in Give and Take. Grant, a professor
of management at Wharton, shares research which sug-
gest that some of the most successful peoplenot just in
business, but in many realmsare in fact classic givers,
people who genuinely try to help those around them. How
could this be: He took questions from Mind Matters editor
Gareth Cook.
Cook: How do you think that Americans tend to think
about the personality of successful people, and what rst
led you to suspect that this may be wrong:
Grant: Many of us assume that to achieve success, its
necessary to get at least as much from other people as we
contribute to them. If were too generous, others will take
advantage of us, and well end up running out of time
and energy to work toward our own goals. Most of us
assume that people achieve success and then start giving
back. But what if the opposite is true: Could it be that giv-
ing rst actually leads people to succeed later:
Cook: And then where did you go with this question:
What research suggested to you that it might be true:
Grant: In one of my own studies, hundreds of sales-
people completed a questionnaire on their commitment to
helping coworkers and customers, and I tracked their sales
revenue over the course of a year. I found that the most pro-
ductive salespeople were the giversthose who reported
the strongest concern for beneting others from the very
beginning of their jobs. Tey earned the trust of their cus-
tomers and the support of their coworkers. Similar patterns
emerged in a number of other elds, and before long, I had
many data points showing that the most successful people
in a wide range of jobs are those who focus on contributing
to others. Te givers ofen outperform the matchersthose
who seek an equal balance of giving and gettingas well as
the takers, who aim to get more than they give.
The Secret to Success Is Giving, Not Taking
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | April 9
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
APRIL 13, 2013
12
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY
When a nation no longer has
control over its national assets, can it
still be considered a sovereign state:
Also, consider the tremendous power
at Berlins disposal if it possesses the
leverage to compel another nation to
sell a core national asset. Moreover, we
learned yesterday that Germany not only has the power to
crush a nations sovereignty, it also has the motive!
More people need to be alarmed by this. Europes
nancial crisis began in :oo8, and since then a number of
eurozone states have had to go to Germany and the EU for
money. Berlin has generally responded by demanding some
fairly stringent austerity measures in return for bailout
money. Yet, although it has demanded austerity, Berlin has
not asked or compelled a single eurozone country in need
of a bailout (like Greece, Ireland, Portugal) to sell part or
all of its gold reserves.
Until now.
We should note that Wednesday evening the Central
Bank of Cyprus (cnc) denied the report that Cyprus will
sell some of its gold. Te announcement of the gold sale,
however, came from the European Commission, which,
together with the imv and the icn, and under Germanys
direction, is actually responsible for drawing up Cypruss
bailout. Also, the media and analysts paid little attention to
the cncs denial and continue to report that this is happen-
ing. I wonder if the Central Bank of Cyprus simply hasnt
been told that its selling its gold:
To raise the desired oo million, Cyprus will have to sell
around :o.,o tons of gold (at the current price). Te nation
owns about :,. tons of gold, according to the World Gold
Council. So it will have to depart with about ,., percent,
i.viv 1uvii qU.v1ivs, of its total reserve. Again, Cyprus
didnt decide to sell, it was told by the German-led troika
that it must sell if it wants bailout money.
Who will it sell the gold to: Its almost certain the buyers
will be the European Central Bank and the International
Monetary Fund. Afer all, theyre the ones, with Germanys
sanction, bailing out Cyprus. Te imv and icn possess
about :,8: tons and ,o: tons of gold respectively. Germany
has ,,,: tons, and is the worlds second-largest holder of
gold. Together, this amounts to o,,o, tons of gold. Tat
equals about 8: percent of Americas total gold supply.
Note: Tat gure uois o1 include the gold reserves of
other European countries. And if Cyprus is a precedent,
then some of this gold could also start to make its way to
Brussels and Frankfurt. I think this could be a turning
point, said Jonathan Spall, director of precious metals at
Barclays Capital. Central bank stocks of gold which had
looked to be ring-fenced in the bailout process coUiu ow
siimiciv comi i1o vi.v.
What if Germany and the icn make a play for gold
owned by other ailing European economies:
Italy is the fourth-largest holder of goldits central
bank holds :,,: tons. France has the fh-largest stockpile
in the world with :,,, tons. Te Netherlands has o:: tons.
Portugal has about ,8, tons. Spains holdings stand at :8:.o
tons. Austria has :8o tons. Belgium ::, tons. Greece has
about ::: tons. All totaled, the stockpile of gold if col-
lected from oiv the European nations mentioned above,
including the icnbut not including the imv (as that gold
technically belongs to all imv members)would come to
roughly :o,o, tons.
Tat exceeds Americas stockpile by :,,o., tons!
Tats more than enough to bolster a centralized scal
authority and underpin a newly revived European cur-
rency.
Nearly all these eurozone nations are experiencing
extreme nancial diculty and will inevitably require
further assistance. Meanwhile, Germany and many others
in Europe recognize the need for greater scal consolida-
tion and centralization. Is it inconceivable that Germany,
as part of an eort to augment a central European scal
authority and restore condence in the euro, might compel
the likes of Spain, France, Italy, Portugal or Greece, just as
it has done with Cyprus, to sell some or all of their gold to
the icn: True, it wouldnt be a simple or clean task (were
talking about abdicating national sovereignty), but extreme
crises like Europe is enduring demand extreme measures
like were seeing in Cyprus.
When we step back and look at it, there are hints that
Germany and the icn might be pursuing some sort of
larger strategy that includes consolidating gold.
In January, Germany suddenly announced that it was
repatriating its gold from France and the United States.
In February, it was discovered that buried within
Greeces bailout package is a stipulation that allows the EU
to seize Greeces gold reserves.
Prominent German politicians in recent years have
openly discussed the need for Italy and Spain to sell gold to
pay o debt.
Now Cyprus is being compelled to sell most of its gold
to the icn and imv.
Is this mere coincidence, or is there something else go-
ing on here: Is it possible that Cyprus is merely the rst of
multiple European nations that will be made to send gold
to a central European authority, one led by Germany: We
will know in time. What we .ivi.uv know, however, is
that Berlins power and inuence in Europe, especially on
issues of nance, is unparallelled and unchecked. Were
seeing Germany get tougher and tougher with the rest
of Europe, especially with southern European countries.
Financially, the Continent has been subjugated and, as
Charles Moore recently wrote, lies prostrate before the
German imperium. Te same is happening politically with
each passing month.
Consider all this in the context of Germanys undeniable
history of political and nancial imperialism, and you get
an eery sense that dark forces are at work in Europe. You
need to stay tuned to the Trumpet. If you havent read it
already, read Germanys Gold Hoard.
We dont have all the details, but its clear something is
afootand Germanys play for Cypruss gold might just be
the beginning. Follow Brad Macdonald: Twitter
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COVER: GMUTLU/ISTOCKPHOTO
BRAD MACDONALD