Has There Been A Thread On The Whole Equatorial Guinea/CIA Overthrow Thing?

more here: http://www.malabo.com/

Here's the economic overview of Equatorial Guinea from the CIA website, looks like they were due for a toppling:

The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent
years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates.
Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the
neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth
(the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid
programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and
mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government
has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and
IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members.
Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will
remain strong in 2003, led by oil.

In light of the Madrid bombings our attentions are elsewhere.

Yes, that's understandable. It is a truly horrific thing. I've been listening to the radio reports all morning.

this does seem to be terribly underreported in the US.

NPR is giving it some play. One of the mercenaries who was captured said they were being paid by the U.S. & Great Britain & Spain to overthrow the government. The U.S. has denied any involvement.

There's an interesting piece in this month's Harper's about Equitorial Guinea's hiring of a DC lobbying firm and what it expects to receive in return. Needless to say, oil located outside the Middle East is highly prized.

A source tells me that the mercenaries are going to be extradited to EG. This is obviously very very bad news for them. i.e. big show trial, a few token people being let off, and then probably a bunch of executions.

Maybe our embassy - which is in one of dictator-for-life Obiang's cousin's villas - could, you know, say something. Or pause to look up from his fucking honey crumpets.

Or maybe somebody could walk over to Riggs Bank in D.C., which has hundreds of millions of dollars of Obiang's (read: actually Equatorial Guinea's) wealth in it, paid in directly by US oil companies, and you know, say a word or two.

But that's ancient history, right? Water under the bridge. Just like these executions will be. Any minute Stuart will come along and tell us that it's a good thing we're reducing our dependency on Middle-Eastern oil.

It's very very good, sir. We must always be mindful of the fact.