Guest Post by Paul Craig Roberts
Washington’s attack on world soccer is following the script of Washington’s attack on the Russian-hosted Sochi Olympics. The difference is that Washington couldn’t stop the Olympics from being held in Sochi, and was limited to scaring off westerners with lies and propaganda. In the current scandal orchestrated by Washington, Washington intends to use its takeover of FIFA to renege on FIFA’s decision that Russia host the next World Cup.
This is part of Washington’s agenda of isolating Russia from the World.
This Washington-orchestrated scandal stinks to high heaven. It seems obvious that the FIFA officials have been arrested for political reasons and that the recently overwhelmingly-reelected FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, was forced to resign by Washington’s threats to indict him as well. This can happen because Washington no longer is subject to the rule of law. In Washington’s hands, law is a weapon that is used against everyone, every organization, and every country that takes a position independent of Washington.
This clears the deck for Washington and its British lapdog to take over FIFA, which henceforth will be used to reward countries that comply with Washington’s foreign policy and to punish those who pursue an independent foreign policy.
The only hope for South America, Asia, and Russia is to form their own World Cup and turn their backs on the corrupt West.
It is astonishing that Russia, Asia, and South America so much desire to be part of the corrupt and immoral Western world. Why do countries wish to be associated with evil? Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and perhaps Argentina and Brazil have learned that being in the Western orbit means putting their country under Washington’s control.
Putin, Lavrov, and China’s leaders say that being associated with the West is like being associated with the plague. Yet they still want to be associated with the West. Why do Russia and China think that their self-esteem depends on Washington’s approval?
FIFA is a Swiss-based organization. Yet the arrests of FIFA officials is based on a Washington-initiated “investigation” by the FBI. By asserting the universality of US law, Washington is asserting the authority of its police and prosecutors over sovereign countries.
Why did Switzerland, and why do other countries lay down in obedience to Washington’s assertion of the universality of its laws? Are the political leaders paid off or are they threatened with assassination or false indictments? What explains that of all countries on earth only Washington’s law is universal, acknowledged and bowed down before in other countries? Is if fear of retribution?
Possibly, but one answer is that the entire point of being a leader of a foreign country is to be made rich by kowtowing to Washington. One year out of office and Tony Blair was reported to be worth $50 million. Where did the money come from? No one wanted to listen to Blair’s speeches when he was Prime Minister. Why did Americans pay him six-figure sums to give speeches?
Putin can become rich, too. All he needs to do is to turn Russia over to Washington.
Here we are in an orchestrated soccer scandal hyped to the hilt by the presstitute media while all the real scandals go unremarked.
For example, a number of the mega-banks in the West have pleaded guilty to felony charges and only suffered fines. As Finian Cunningham has pointed out, the money laundering and price-rigging by the “banks too big to jail” dwarfs the alleged criminality at FIFA. The Securities and Exchange Commission actually issues waivers to the banks for their criminal activity. One dissenting SEC commissioner accuses her colleagues of encouraging “recividism” by the constant issue of waivers. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-22/sec-commissioner-furious-sec-has-made-mockery-recidivist-criminal-behavior-banks
Washington itself cannot be believed as not a single significant statement out of Washington’s mouth since the Clinton regime has been true; yet, Washington still parades around as the arbiter of truth.
Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. Assad did not use chemical weapons. Iran did not have a nuclear weapons program. Russia did not invade Ukraine. But Washington convinced the world that its lies were true.
It is almost a certainty that politicians up in arms over unsubstantiated charges that FIFA took bribes have themselves taken bribes. Just look at the bribes given to Congress by corporations to vote fast track for TTIP. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/27/corporations-paid-us-senators-fast-track-tpp
Can anyone name even one leader of one EU country (other perhaps than Greece at the moment) who doesn’t take bribes from Washington?
According to Udo Ulfkotte, no one can name even one British or EU newspaper that doesn’t take bribes from the CIA.
How many UN votes are determined by Washington’s threats and bribes?
Whether or not FIFA decisions are tainted by bribery, the purpose of the “investigation” is to cast doubt on the decision to hold the World Cup in Russia. The World Cup is a global spectacle and conveys prestige on the host country. Washington intends to deny this prestige to Russia. That is what the “investigation” is about.
Mr. Roberts – agree with most of this article; seems you have gotten back on track since your ridiculous article on GloBull Warming.
@Kagada (which appropriately means “a shit” in Spanish): you are not fit to wipe the soles of Mr Roberts’ shoes with your tongue. Although it WOULD constitute the best use you could ever make of that appendage.
It is so so so so damn funny that the country that cares THE LEAST about soccer is the one going into a foreign country to arrest people. Fuck FIFA, but that’s some funny shit right there.
@Stucky: It’s their punishment for daring to call it “football”!
RT: This story has generated a huge amount of interest around the world. From an economic point of view, there is also a lot at stake, isn’t there?
Lew Rockwell: Well, there certainly is, but I think the political angle is more important. We’ve had this act of imperialism. Who put the US in charge of international football? They’re able to because FIFA made a mistake of having an office in New York. Probably that is a warning to anybody else: Don’t have an office on US soil because then they can use that to take control.
Maybe the corruption charges are true, I don’t know, but again: Why is it the business of the US? I think that’s entirely because FIFA gave the World Cup in 2018 to Russia. This is just another anti-Russian move, and the US wanting to run the entire world, be in charge of every crime or alleged crime every place on the globe.
RT: But doesn’t it have a case there, because there are allegations of $150 million being misappropriated? A lot of this money apparently went through American banks, so part of it happened on American soil. So do they have the right to investigate it?
LR: They can investigate what happens on American soil, but they don’t have the right to go and arrest people in Switzerland or elsewhere. Would you say that England or Switzerland can go and arrest people in New York without the US government’s permission?
I have to tell you, there is corruption in the US too: there is corruption in US sports; there is corruption in the US government; there is corruption in every government. The problem the US has with this is not corruption, the problem it has got is with the results – Blatter wasn’t doing what he was told to do. And I guess now he has done what he was told to do. Obviously something happened to him. Maybe it was just the sponsors’ withdrawing; maybe it was the CIA. Who knows, maybe he was personally threatened or his family. This is the way governments operate there, sort of big-time mafias. We don’t know what happened. But as I said, this is not a good thing for football, not a good thing for the world. FIFA has got to change its name, it’s going to have to take out the “I” and put in an “A” for American.
RT: Do you think that major corporations, such as McDonald’s, played an important role here, forcing Sepp Blatter to resign?
LR: I guess, yes. Of course they are the ones that could be pressured by the US. Even aside the scandal thing, imagine that the US gave them their marching orders, and they took them. And I can understand why companies don’t want to be involved in something that’s potentially corrupt. Although they put on great football games. I don’t know whether they are corrupt or not. I think there is probably corruption in many different international sports associations, because there is so much money at stake. That is not a good thing – people shouldn’t be corrupt, people shouldn’t give bribes, people shouldn’t take bribes. But again, the US is using this to take control of international football; that’s what going on.
Never again will the World Cup happen in a country that the US doesn’t like. The whole world is threatened by the US, which would like to be the world government; nothing is beyond its ken; nothing is outside of its control; nothing can stand against it in the view of the US.
The FIFA charges occurred three days before FIFA was to make a ruling on whether to suspend Israel from international competition. Coincidence? I think not.