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2.23 MB

Extraction Summary

7
People
4
Organizations
4
Locations
2
Events
3
Relationships
5
Quotes

Document Information

Type: News article / media transcript (evidence exhibit)
File Size: 2.23 MB
Summary

This document is a printout of an article from The Australian featuring an interview with Paul Keating. The text focuses on Keating's geopolitical views, specifically criticizing the structure of the Eurozone, the expansion of NATO under Bill Clinton, and Alan Greenspan's role in the 2008 financial crisis, while praising Obama's internationalism. The document bears a 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT' stamp, indicating it was part of a document production for a US Congressional investigation.

People (7)

Name Role Context
Paul Keating Subject/Speaker
Former Australian Prime Minister giving an interview/opinion on geopolitics and economics.
Francois Mitterrand Former French President
Mentioned by Keating regarding the unification of Germany and the Eurozone.
Vladimir Putin Russian Leader
Keating claims the US created Putin by pushing Russian liberals aside via NATO expansion.
Bill Clinton Former US President
Keating points the finger at him for the 'blunder' of NATO expansion.
Alan Greenspan Former US Federal Reserve Chief
Keating holds him responsible for the 2008 financial crisis.
Barack Obama US President
Keating praises him for seeking a return to liberal internationalism.
Immanuel Kant Philosopher
Referenced by Keating regarding the 'inner command' and moral compass.

Organizations (4)

Name Type Context
NATO
Discussed regarding its 1990s expansion to the Russian border.
US Federal Reserve
Mentioned in relation to Alan Greenspan and the 2008 crisis.
The Australian
Source publication of the article (found in URL).
House Oversight Committee
Implied via the footer stamp 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT'.

Timeline (2 events)

1990s
Expansion of NATO to the Russian border
Europe/Russia
2008
Financial Crisis
Global/US
Alan Greenspan Federal Reserve

Locations (4)

Location Context
Context of Mitterrand.
Mentioned as 'German unified state'.
Discussed regarding NATO expansion and Putin.
Mentioned regarding foreign policy, Clinton, Obama, and the Fed.

Relationships (3)

Paul Keating Professional Acquaintance Alan Greenspan
"Greenspan is someone I know and like"
Paul Keating Critical Bill Clinton
Keating blames Clinton for NATO expansion issues.
Paul Keating Supportive Barack Obama
Keating praises Obama for his foreign policy approach.

Key Quotes (5)

"The problem is we have a single currency without a political union and without a fiscal union."
Source
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Quote #1
"In a sense the US has created Vladimir Putin."
Source
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Quote #2
"He points the finger at Bill Clinton."
Source
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Quote #3
"But if you are so naive to believe that institutions with a balance sheet with assets geared at 45 to one is not an accident waiting to happen then you don't deserve to be chairman of the Federal Reserve."
Source
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Quote #4
"I believe there is a poetic strand to life that doesn't exist in an economics textbook."
Source
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Quote #5

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (2,536 characters)

Keating says: "It's because president Mitterrand and the French wanted it. They weren't ready to sit beside the German unified state without some friends."
So the eurozone was flawed from the outset, a structure awaiting internal assault: "The problem is we have a single currency without a political union and without a fiscal union."
The second blunder was the 1990s expansion of NATO to the Russian border. For Keating, this was recklessness for which the world may yet pay.
"Sensible policy would have included a place for Russia in the new world order," he says. "But that didn't happen. So Russian liberals were pushed to one side by Russian nationalists. In a sense the US has created Vladimir Putin."
Who is responsible? He points the finger at Bill Clinton.
On the 2008 financial crisis, he says former US Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan must bear "a fair amount of responsibility".
"Greenspan is someone I know and like," Keating says. "But if you are so naive to believe that institutions with a balance sheet with assets geared at 45 to one is not an accident waiting to happen then you don't deserve to be chairman of the Federal Reserve."
He praises Obama for seeking a return to the "liberal internationalism" that, in Keating's view, made the US great in the post-World War II age. This is the US he loves but it is still in retreat.
Asked about the nature of leadership, Keating reveals what lies within his heart: "I believe there is a poetic strand to life that doesn't exist in an economics textbook.
"This is not to say that rationalism isn't important and good. It is. But left to itself without the guidance of higher meaning and a higher concept, rationalism can be mean and incomplete. I say if you simply live on rational policy and briefing notes you are not sufficiently informed.
"You need a higher calling or some inner system of belief - here I mention Kant and the inner command that tells you what is true, what is right, what is good. The inner command must be the divining construct in what you do.
"Music has always been a large part of what makes me tick. You listen to a great work . . . you hear the majesty of these works and your head and soul gets caught up in them. When that happens you are in for bigger things and you will strike out to be better.
"When I was listening to music I would always have the pad out to write the ideas down."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/paul-keating-explains-as-never-before/story-e6frg74x-1226173493029
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029669

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