"Mack Reynolds - North Africa 03 - The Best Ye Breed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

Libya.тАЭ
Paul Kosloff stared at him before saying, тАЬTheyтАЩve already got Marxist
governments there. Perhaps not totally commie, but awfully close to it.тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs what IтАЩve been building up to. The revolution weтАЩre talking
about is against the socialist-communist-anarchist, call them what you
will, governments in North Africa. It would also involve the Sudan, which
considers itself socialist, and Mauretania, also supposedly left wing. A
certain El Hassan and his followers wish to overthrow them all, not to
speak of the right-wing military dictatorships to the south.тАЭ
тАЬWhy not let him?тАЭ Paul Kosloff growled.
тАЬHis ultimate aim is to unite all of Africa north of the Congo.тАЭ
The troubleshooter pursed his lips in a silent whistle. тАЬItтАЩd be a neat
trick to pull off but I still say, why not let him? If those first countries you
named arenтАЩt commie today, they will be tomorrow.тАЭ
тАЬBecause if we do, itтАЩs one more nail in the coffin of our economy.тАЭ
 Paul Kosloff waited in silence.
The other said impatiently, тАЬI assume that you havenтАЩt read a book
published way back in the 1950s by Vance Packard, a muckraker of the
time, entitled The Waste Makers. In it, he points out that although the
population of America was but a small fraction of the worldтАЩs, the United
States economy was using up some fifty percent of the EarthтАЩs resources.
He also pointed out that ten years before the United States had been the
largest exporter of copper in the world, but was now the largest importer.
His book was ignored and all efforts were continued to raise the gross
national product year after year. One by one we lost self-sufficiency in
almost every raw material we needed for our industry.тАЭ
тАЬWhatтАЩs all this got to do with it?тАЭ Kosloff said.
тАЬWe need North AfricaтАЩs oil, her nickel, copper, iron, chromium,
phosphates. We need them badly. The area is comparatively untouched, so
far as raw materials are concerned. Practically nothing save oil has been
exploited to date. We have reached accomodation with the present
regimes in these leftist nations and purchase almost everything they
produce and have either sent in, or have made arrangements to send in,
further development teams to begin the exploitation of still more of their
resources.тАЭ
тАЬWell, why couldnтАЩt you do the same with this El Hassan?тАЭ
The other nodded, but said impatiently, тАЬBecause thatтАЩs one of the
strongest planks in his revolutionary platform. He contends that the
non-developed countries with raw materials, especially North Africa, are
being robbed by the industrialized countries such as the United States of
the Americas, Common Europe and Japan. He wishes to shove prices for
raw materials sky high.тАЭ
тАЬCan he do it?тАЭ
тАЬIf he wins his revolt, he probably can, and, if he does, so will the other
nondeveloped countries. The Arab oil cartel was an early example of what
can be done in that field. Eventually, it could mean collapse of the
economies of the developed nations.тАЭ
тАЬI see. Who is this mysterious El Hassan? I donтАЩt believe IтАЩve ever heard
of him.тАЭ
тАЬYou havenтАЩt!тАЭ The other was surprised. тАЬWhere have you been these