Was There a Financial War against The United States?

The global economic crisis was the result of an unsuccessful attempt to Russia and China to start a financial war against the United States. Such an idea is voiced by the former head of the American Ministry of Finance Henry Paulson, in his new book “On the Brink” ( “On the Verge”), published in a wide sale.

In August – September 2008, reports The New York Post, referring to the material of the book, Russia’s leaders offered to the Chinese authorities to start selling off bonds the largest U.S. mortgage agencies – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Thus, according to Paulson, they aim was to strike at the weakest point of the U.S. economy, is at the peak of the mortgage crisis.

“I heard about this during the Olympics in Beijing. Immediately after returning home, I reported everything to the president. True, the Russian venture failed because China refused to sell bonds in the future significantly helped the U.S. during the crisis”, – quote book Paulson journalists. According to the former minister, in the summer – in autumn 2008 against the backdrop of military conflict over South Ossetia and the apparent U.S. support for the Georgian side, Russia tried to expand the economic war against the United States. Huge fiscal costs incurred by U.S. authorities to rescue mortgage companies, were to lead to the collapse of the entire financial system.

Another newspaper – Spanish El Mundo – believes that the Chinese authorities themselves do not wish to quarrel with the United States, Paulson gave information on the proposal of Russia. “Russia failed attempt to identify the strategic weakness of the United States caused by the fact that this country is borrowing abroad to finance its economic growth,” – sums up the newspaper.

Another “revelation” of the American ex-minister is the assertion that the investment bank Lehman Brothers, with whom the fall of the U.S. mortgage crisis began to be global, could be saved from liquidation. But this, according to Paulson, prevented the British government and British Finance Minister Alistair Darling, 13 September 2008 did not gave permission bank Barclays to buy Lehman Brothers.

Returning to “Russia’s role in the events surrounding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and supposedly existed in her intent to bring down the American financial system, we can not exclude that in August 2008, the first such judgments on some levels actually sounded. The economic position of Russia at that time were quite strong. Moreover, many in the higher echelons of power at that moment still lingers that the country can be an island of stability in a sea of impending crisis.

However, most likely, they were merely private opinions one way or another, have come down to Paulson. In the same way that the intention of zadruzhit with China against the United States was the official position of Russia, there are big doubts. Russia’s experts (including officials) were aware of the Chinese economy highly dependent on the United States and the reluctance of China – for the sake of fleeting role as a world leader – to play against the interests of its main partner.

Moreover, already at that stage it was obvious that a sharp weakening of the U.S. economy would deal a powerful blow to the economic situation of Russia through the world commodity markets. In short, if Russia’s government really wanted to be in such a way to punish the U.S. for its support for Georgia, they inevitably would jeopardize their own economy and their own political positions. The probability of this, understandably, is close to zero.

Moreover, it is well known that all promised Paulson on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac due to “sabotage” by Russia and China, took place without their participation. Tens of billions of dollars of American taxpayers went to the rescue of mortgage giants, and, in particular, and on the initiative of the Minister. In connection with what the impression that, going into the conspiracy argument, Henry Paulson is trying to justify its own numerous mistakes made by him and his subordinates in the autumn of 2008. This is confirmed by the reduced version of which he himself with the British who refused to rescue Lehman Brothers. Recall that at the moment the situation in most of Britain took shape not better than in the United States. For this reason, the decision Alistair Darling refused to rescue LB fully explained by concern about the financial system of their own country.

Thus, the desire to blame Henry Paulson, in his book to the actual beginning of the crisis some third force is, rather, an attempt to “disguise” their own mistakes and omissions. Yes, and besides hearing about spending funds from the famous “Paulson Plan” is still not finished.