This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," Romney predicted in a recent debate ("GOP candidates debate Afghanistan, Iran, torture," Tribune, Nov. 13).
There's no worry that Romney would propose a ground invasion, a la President George W. Bush. No, wielding the power of 1 percent capitalism, President Romney would use his business skills, honed at Bain Capital, to effect a leveraged buyout of Iran, using a modest amount of his own wealth and partnering with the Koch brothers and Goldman Sachs.
Then, following careful analysis of Iran's balance sheet, he'd sell off its nuclear assets to France and its oil resources to the highest bidder. The inevitable layoffs would push Iran's unemployment to a new high, setting the stage for a reasonably priced workforce for Iran's new service economy.
Problem solved. Romney would leverage Iran to the hilt with loans from Saudi Arabia, allowing him to withdraw massive amounts of capital for a tidy profit.
Finally, unable to service its debt payments, Iran would declare bankruptcy.
Jim Allred
Salt Lake City