How about some journalism on that 'elite cell' at Treasury waging economic war?

The Week the Dam Broke in Russia and Ended Putin's Dreams

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The Telegraph, London
Saturday, December 20, 2014

Gallows humour is back in Moscow. Asked what he would do to stop the rouble spiralling out of control, the former governor of Russia's central bank replied: "I would pick up a pistol and shoot myself."

This was the week when the country's long-festering crisis turned virulent. A last-ditch attempt to defend the exchange rate by raising interest rates to 17 percent failed within hours, yet the shock is surely enough to set off a chain of corporate failures and push banks over the edge. ...

For the last decade, an elite cell at the US Treasury has been sharpening the tools of economic war, crafting ways to bring countries to their knees without firing a shot.

The strategy relies on hegemonic control over the global banking system, buttressed by a network of allies. Iran has felt its grim effects. "It is a new kind of war, like a creeping financial insurgency, intended to constrict our enemies' financial lifeblood, unprecedented in its reach," says Juan Zarate, who once led the team. ...

... For the remainder of the commentary:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11305146/The-week-the-dam-b...