McCain & Bush Had Close Ties to Chairman of AIG. Fed Bailout a Concession to China?

[leveymg]

AIG's former Chairman Maurice Greenberg has been compared to Citizen Kane for his political power as a major contributor to the Republican Party and for his control over a key industry. At the time of his indictment in 2005 by Eliot Spitzer on stock manipulation charges, Greenberg was in the process of attempting to takeover the New York Times.

A more apt comparison of Greenberg, until 2005 AIG's Chairman of AIG, the 18th largest company in the world, is to the late Armand Hammer, Chair of Occidental Petroleum, benefactor of the Soviet Union and the GOP in the 1970s and early 1980s. As one of his last acts as President, George H.W. Bush pardoned Hammer, who had been convicted of fraud.



Both Greenberg and Hammer were extremely successful agents of influence, and very much at or near the top of the American foreign policy establishment.

Greenberg has been a contributor to Senator John McCain, and a trusted ally of George H.W. Bush's wing of the CIA:

Who Is Maurice Greenberg, Man Behind Bid for 'NY Times'?
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003465952

NEW YORK Because of the "dual stock" status of The New York Times Co., the chances that Maurice "Hank" Greenberg -- the former AIG chairman and CEO now reported to be intent on taking over the company -- will actually succeed in his quest may be slim. Still, he is a man to be reckoned with, and who knows what ripple effects may appear.

If Greenberg ever did get in the position to run the company, the political orientation of the paper might well change. Greenberg has strong Republican connections -- friend of Henry Kissinger, once mentioned as a Reagan appointee to help run the CIA, and a funder of GOP candidates.

Federal election forms show that he gave $1000 to former Rep. Mark Foley for both his 2000 and his 2004 races. For the latter campaign, he donated $2000 to George Bush and $1000 or more to Sen. John McCain, Rep. David Dreier, Rep. Dennis Hastert, Sen. Christopher Bond and several other Republicans, as well as Democratic Sen. Christoper Dodd (who represents Connecticut, a big insurance state). Over the years he strongly favored Republicans with his donations, with a smattering of Democrats, including Rep. Charles Rangel, mixed in. Greenberg gave to both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in their races for the White House.

For the 2006 race, he funded Sen. John Kyl of Arizona in his successful re-election bid.



SNIP

And, Greenberg was, indeed, an agent of influence for a powerful foreign power, one that happens to be a primary rival of the United States.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/JI18Cb02.html

In 1962, Starr appointed Greenberg to head AIG's then failing North American operations. In a remarkable display of business prowess, Greenberg turned the unit around, a feat that encouraged Starr to name him his successor before passing away in 1968.

Starr bequeathed all his wealth to the C V Starr Foundation, one of the largest foundations in the United States, with over $3 billion in assets. Greenberg became the chairman of this foundation while also assuming the reins at AIG. Under his leadership, the company prospered while he himself became one of the kingpins of American foreign policy.

In 1977, he became a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, arguably America's most influential think-tank, and over the next three decades he would hold numerous leadership positions in the council, culminating in 1997 with the founding of the Greenberg Chair.

Today, the Greenberg Chair "is the senior person directly responsible for the substantive content and management" of the think-tank. Greenberg has also been a member of the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange; a former chairman, deputy chairman and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; a member of the US-China Business Council; the chairman of the Asia Society; and a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations to the President of the United States.

With all of these roles, plus his control over the resources of the Starr Foundation and the American International Group, Greenberg's power to shape America's foreign policy was rivaled only by Citizen Kane.

Greenberg's foreign policy views were heavily influenced by two factors. One was his experience in World War II of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. The other was the legacy of Starr's love for China. This latter factor would ultimately play an enormous role in shaping America's policy toward China for more than a quarter of a century.

In all of his actions and with all of his influence, Greenberg exercised a sanguine desire to foster reconciliation and cooperation between the United States and the People's Republic of China. The impact of this desire can be seen in the fingerprint that Greenberg has left on academic and policy institutions around the United States.

At his discretion, the Starr Foundation has funded numerous fellowships with the Asian Cultural Council, donated $300,000 to Columbia University's East Asian Library and considerably more to Berkeley's C V Starr East Asian Library. Most recently, Greenberg and the Starr Foundation each donated $25 million to Yale University to create the Maurice R Greenberg Yale-China Initiative.

Greenberg's lobbying efforts were a driving factor behind America's decision to support China's admission to the World Trade Organization, which it officially joined in November 2001. Undoubtedly, a fair amount of the credit for the creation of an American policy environment that is favorable to China is due to Greenberg and the resources that were generated by AIG.

Finally, what is AIG, the corporation, to which the Fed this morning extended $85 billion loan? Today, it is an extension of the Chinese national insurance company, that holds many billions of accumulated U.S. federal debt.

https://www1.aia.com.cn/aiaEng/Web/AboutUs/Aig.jsp



AIG companies in China —— At a glance

1919 The AIG companies were one of the very few U.S. companies to have their origins in China when their founder, C.V. Starr, formed American Asiatic Underwriters in Shanghai.
1921 C. V. Starr founded Asia Life Insurance Company, the first foreign life operation to offer products and services to the Chinese people.
1931 International Assurance Company, Ltd was established. It was renamed American International Assurance Company, Limited in 1948.
1975 AIG former Chairman & CEO, Maurice R. Greenberg, made his first visit to Beijing and has since traveled many times to China.
1980 The AIG companies opened a representative office in Beijing, the first set up in modern China by a foreign financial institution.
China America Insurance Company (CAIC) was formed as a 50-50 joint venture between AIG companies and the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC). This was the first joint venture between a foreign insurance organization and PICC.
1990 The AIG companies organized, financed and chaired a major financial services conference in Shanghai to assist then Mayor Zhu Rongji in introducing the international financial community to investment opportunities in Shanghai.
1992 The AIG companies strengthened their presence in China through a branch office of AIA in Shanghai, the first foreign-owned life and non-life insurance business to receive a license from the People's Bank of China.
1994 AIA-Shanghai and Fudan University jointly established AIA-Fudan Actuarial Center.
AIA Information Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established.
1995 The AIG companies were granted life and non-life insurance licenses for Guangzhou by the People's Bank of China.
1996 AIA signed a 30-year lease agreement on the building at 17 Zhongshan East No. 1 Road in the heart of Shanghai's famous Bund. This special building was home to C. V. Starr's original Shanghai insurance companies.
AIA-Zhongda Actuarial Center was established in Guangzhou.
1997 On approval from the People's Bank of China, AIA Shanghai General Insurance Division was re-named and established as AIU Insurance Company Shanghai Branch.

SNIP

And, if one is the Chairman of the Federal Reserve or the Republican candidate for President, one certainly does not offend such a key ally.

[sandnsea]

1. China threatened on Freddie & Fannie too

Yes, we are being pushed around by the Chinese. No question about it. And by Chinese, I mean the corporations invested in China like this Greenberg fellow.

[AlCzervik]

2. he was on Charlie Rose last night and he thinks the fed should give "Him a seat at the table"

regarding AIG, he and his Starr Corp own 12% of the stock.

[seafan]

3. Thom Hartmann today said that China is deeply tied to AIG.

Now, THIS could explain why Bush is cowboying to AIG's rescue. Lehman, not so much.


Anybody seen Poppy Bush today?