The Price of Friendship
An analysis of U.S. foreign policy, where economic imperatives of resource control and wealth generation drive interventions under the guise of alliances and democratic ideals.
The Evolving Playbook of Economic Control
U.S. methods of securing economic dominance have shifted from overt conquest to sophisticated covert operations and financial structuring.
19th CenturyTerritorial Acquisition & Market Access
Mid-20th CenturyCorporate Protection & Covert Coups
21st CenturyPost-Conflict Reconstruction & Resource Deals
The 20th Century Playbook: Anti-Communism as Cover
Iran, 1953
After Prime Minister Mosaddegh nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, a U.S./U.K. coup installed a friendly regime, securing Western access.
The post-coup consortium granted a 40% share of Iranian oil to American firms.
Guatemala, 1954
President Árbenz's land reforms threatened the United Fruit Company (UFCO). A CIA-backed coup protected the company's assets.
UFCO was the largest landowner, and key U.S. officials held direct financial stakes in the company.
Chile, 1973
President Allende's nationalization of the copper industry, largely U.S.-owned, triggered economic strangulation and a U.S.-backed coup.
U.S. corporations controlled 80% of Chile's vital copper production before Allende.
Case Study: The Evisceration of Ukraine
The conflict in Ukraine represents a modern application of the economic intervention playbook: instigate conflict, sell arms, and seize resources in the aftermath.
Destroyed for Reconstruction
Russia's systematic destruction of Ukraine's energy grid creates a massive, multi-billion dollar reconstruction market, representing a significant opportunity for foreign investment and control.
The Prize: Mineral Wealth
Beneath the rhetoric lies a direct interest in Ukraine's vast and valuable energy and mineral reserves, with deals proposed to give U.S. firms express access.
Estimated Value of Critical Mineral Deposits
(Source: SecDev)
The "Bust-Out" Strategy in Action
The Systemic Imperative
Interventions are not always about direct extraction. Often, they serve to protect and expand the global capitalist system from which the U.S. derives its primary wealth and power, fueling the military-industrial complex.
U.S. military spending consistently dwarfs that of other nations, peaking during major conflicts that serve geopolitical and economic aims.