(This is part of an ongoing series, links to which will be posted in the comments below)
The Nationalists of the “Mouvement Authenticité de la Révolution” (MAR)
Who is Mobutu Sese Seko? Just another warlord who got a lucky break? A champion of the nation willing to do what is necessary for unity and freedom? A traitor to the people who was happy to crack congolese heads until his pay got cut? A revolutionary Father-Marshal or a reactionary kleptocrat? No one can say for sure, but when the Congo war begins in 1966 it will become clear what he wishes himself to be: the great liberator, unifyer, and undisputed master of the great Congo nation. And with Japanese help he may just pull it off. But no man is born great, and even the Fuhrer does not rule alone. So let us discover how Mobutu came to be, and what his victory will mean for the Congo and Africa at large.
For the Japanese, who will become his greatest supporters and headaches, he is the African Oda Nobunaga: a martial and cruel man whose vision for unity and glory far outweighs whatever sins he may have committed. Always one for the cameras and adept at winning over an audience, Mobutu will successfully win over the Japanese public by playing the role of the justly tyrannical “Great Man”, even while he personally prefers western delicacies.
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu lived an unremarkable life before being thrust into greatness. He was only 16 when the Congo was violently transferred from Belgian to German hands, and like many rebellious students he joined in the 1949 protests against the construction of the Congo dam, stowing away from boarding school to do so. In the aftermath of the MNC repression Mobutu was assigned to the still technically Belgian controlled Force Publique as punishment. Unlike many of his fellows however Mobutu immediately took to military life, embracing the strength, discipline and martial values it provided. In part because of this he served without noticeable disobedience, and was even bribed to be an informant on clandestine communist cells within the force, ratting out a few of his “comrades”. From the point of view of the Belgians he was a model soldier. But this was an act: in truth Mobutu never ceased holding resentment for his arrogant Belgian commanders or the priests who had “educated” him. Behind their back he was a contributor to the native underground press, writing under assumed names and attacking the Belgian presence. It came as quite a shock then when in 1955, as his mandated time in the force was drawing to a close, Mobutu did not accept demobilization quietly but instead went into revolt. It is still a matter of debate about what pushed him into this. He claims that this had been the plan all along, while cynics say the impending annexation of the belgian Congo by Zentralafrika forced him into it. Some think that his double life was about to be exposed, while the more conspiratorial leftists say that he never went into rebellion at all, and that his “revolt” was ordered by the Belgians as a way to counter the APL insurgency. But whatever the case it was here that the public figure was born.
After killing several belgian officers and stealing as many weapons and valuables as they could Mobutu and his co-conspirators quickly fled east. This was not entirely unusual: the sudden annexation of the colony led to many sporadic demonstrations and revolts. But it immediately became clear that Mobutu had larger ambitions than these local disturbances. His strategy at this time was one of survival: he would only accept those who could move fast and hit hard, with his armed band always staying on the move as they fled to the east. But unlike other petty warlords he understood the importance of a political and social message for his long term survival, as well as local alliances. For this he essentially copied the platform of the now underground MNC while adhering to none of its tenants in reality: he would tell the people whatever they wanted to hear so long as it got him what he wanted. More practically he made tight alliances with local eastern notables as well as Tutsi refugees which had fled reprisals to the east. In this he was successful, forging for himself a loose alliance in the north east which permitted him to slip the noose where so many others were eventually caught.
One of his most important lieutenants in these early days was Victor Nendaka Bika, his de facto “foreign minister” and torturer who would make initial contact with those Mobutu saw the need to coerce or charm. Unlike many warlords Mobutu never gave into the temptation to rule by fear alone, instead seeking to co-opt useful men into his own organization. But he was just as happy to let loose his jackal to show the consequences of disloyalty.
These early years from 1956-1962 were defined at first by mere survival: banditry, illegal trade and bribery were the only ways to stay alive. But slowly, with plenty of self promotion to help it, Mobutu’s reputation as a survivor and a winner grew locally, and then regionally. As the remnants of failed rebels and warlords drifted into his growing camp Mobutu was able to step beyond being a bandit king and into becoming a local powerbroker. He had already made himself the allied protector of the Tutsi refugees, and soon after the APL’s protracted people's war in the north began he sought to become the patron of his own native Ngbandi people as well. Where he had the most power in the eastern fringes the pan-Africanist APL held the north, with the Ngbandi in the middle still “up for grabs” between the APL, Mobutu and the German administration. It is here that he first developed his own separate political platform: unwilling or unable to come to an agreement with either of the other two factions Mobutu began developing his own ideology of an “authentic” congolese nationalism which was opposed to both pan-african and communist radicalism, “self defeating” regionalism and demanded the full liberation of the congo from european imperialism. But most importantly to those who heard his call was for unity under Mobutu: if the African people remained divided and timid they would be slaves forever, and only a great leader like Mobutu could bring them true liberty. As one may expect, this call for subordination won him very few new friends.
The see-saw of influence in the Congo north and east is set to be radically upended in 1962, as kommissar Krogmann finally thinks he has enough stability in the west to launch a pacification campaign. In this he will be superficially successful: all anti-German factions will be forced to retreat and large swaths of land will be returned to German control. But it will not accomplish its primary objective of capturing and killing the leadership: Mobutu will once again avoid the hangman and will return when the Zentralafrika army goes marching south to the SAW. And when he does it will be with a new purpose. Much of his army was scattered or deserted by the German offensive, with many of the local allies he thought were in his hands all but begging to come to terms with the Germans after he was forced out. He had survived yes, but only by the skin of his teeth: this time he would do things differently. Taking lessons from the APL he will return in 1964 as a popular revolutionary rather than as a mere warlord with a printing press. Though still not fully developed it is here that “Joseph-Désiré” would become “Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga” or “The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake”. A new ideology of “Authentic” nationalism came with this new name, seeking to truly win over the hearts of the people as well as the loyalty of their leaders. It was a threat and a promise, as he would go about tearing down symbols of westernism in his wake and giving personal “gifts” to people or organizations which he wished to win over. He also sought to portray himself as an avenging angel, throwing “bad actors” such as denounced priests and hated collaborators against the wall.
This new ideology, disseminated through the “Manifesto of Goma” is long in emotion and short in concrete policy. As such it was quickly denounced by the intellectuals of the Pan-Africanists and Liberals as not a “real” ideology and merely a cheap populism. But it is taken deadly seriously by the newly declared Mouvement Authenticité de la Révolution: for its supporters it promises a true rebirth of the congolese people from within rather than without. The Congo would be purged of malignant western influence by remaking the congolese individual in body, mind and spirit. This was the way to true freedom and dignity, far more than mere “material conditions” or to ape their constitutions.
With his newfound identity and strategy Mobutu will of course be a prime target for Huttig’s retribution, but as is always the case too few men and not enough supplies will stop Huttig from ever putting him down for good. Plus Mobutu had found a new friend: the Japanese. In the immediate aftermath of Huttig’s takeover the Japanese will support the APL, but will quickly grow disenchanted: the naked radicalism and distrustful nature of the APL will lead to the Japanese looking for a more reliable partner, and Mobutu will aggressively angle to become just that. After having been rejected by the Americans in favor of the MNC Mobutu is the only big game left in the Congo for Japan to back, and was always a master at co-option and personal magnetism. He will charm the Japanese mission to sing his praises in Tokyo, even if there is little they can do for him at the moment. This will change when Huttig dies: taking a gamble Mobutu will strike at Stanleyville, successfully forcing the retreating garrison to leave behind most of their weapons and capturing an airport through which he will finally have solid connections with the outside world. The bad blood between him and the MNC and APL will mean that there is no choice but to fight it out as the Congo war begins in 1966, this time with Japan backing him to the hilt.
Mobutu now seeks to become a legend. Already having gained a personal mythos after having been declared dead by the Germans several times, his wartime strategy will be to force the mass mobilization of the population. Under his personal name and with the backing of Japan he will force every man who comes under his control into his army, seeking to form a tidal wave of men which will overwhelm his enemies and make up for his lack of supply. If an enemy cannot be rooted out with simple force of numbers, it will be the job of his all Ngbandi “Leopard Division” or even better of Japanese “volunteers” to root them out. The success of this strategy is heavily dependent on momentum, and will rely on Japanese backing to arm itself. But if it is successful Zentralafrika will be no more, and neither will the Congo: The Republic of Zaire will rise as the newest power in Africa under the leadership of the nation's great guide: Mobutu Sese Seko. After a partial demobilization and a reconfirming of his alliance with “internal allies” such as the Tutsi under François Rukeba and the Bakongo under Holden Roberto he will initiate a grand campaign of national revolution and self aggrandizement: Zairianization.
Asian inspired architecture of the newly built Presidential Palace. Among those celebrating the creation of Zaire will be the Japanese. All sides have poured a great deal of resources into the conflict, and the victory of Mobutu will doubtless be a strategic boon for Japanese influence on the continent. Mobutu for his part recognizes the usefulness of his new “friends”, but neither side is blinded by the propaganda: the dangers and opportunities of Nationalism are all too familiar.
As mentioned in my previous post there are several common issues which any native unifyer must account for. The first among these is The Looming Famine: in the aftermath of years of war and mismanagement the supply of food to urban areas is critically unstable. And it is in this issue that the weaknesses of Mobutu’s regime will first be seen. Mobutu’s agricultural reform centers mostly on seizing land owned by the whites and his political enemies, and then redistributing it to himself, his political allies, and occasionally to the people. As everything with the Zairean revolution the purpose is twofold: to meet the needs of the people and to entrench Mobutu's personal political power. But often the second goal far outstrips the first: many of the people who gain this land do not know how to use the land productively, or if they do, are more interested in producing cash crops than they are in food staples. This is certainly the case for the massive amounts of land brought under Mobutu’s personal ownership, which will most often continue to grow the same way as the colonial plantations they were before. This reckless reorganization and focus on exports ensure that hunger will be an early and acute crisis for Zaire. The issue will be solved slowly, as roads are repaired and the rhythm of agricultural life is no longer disrupted by war, but the people need food now and more than anything else it is cassava and rice which the people demand from their leaders.
It is by meeting this need that Japanese influence first becomes a powerful thing. Though motivated in part by genuine charity from well off Asians, the provision of food and aid is also cynically used by the Japanese state to buy the support of the people and the local power brokers away from Mobutu, and towards themselves. This aid, plus the government's own subsidies of food imports, plus the natural healing from war, will lead to the crisis fading away but leaving all sides on notice that the future of Zaire is still being made, and that the Japanese are a major player in it.
The Mutilated Independence: The inability of Mobutu to take Leopoldville during the independence war is a blow to Mobutu’s prestige, not to mention Zaire as a whole. However he is pragmatic enough and has enough friends in Japan to hash out a deal with Nigeria and Gabon: the loss of the major port will not strangle Congolese exports or imports, only make them more expensive. But for both political and economic reasons the retaking of Leopoldville and the Kabinda port remain absolutely vital to the continued reign of Mobutu. To this end Mobutu’s solution to retaking Leopoldville is direct conquest, not because he can think of no other option but because it will give him the greatest personal prestige as a great conqueror. As such along with his policy of “Zairianization” and economic consolidation he will also invest a great deal into the army.
This army will see its strength tested as Mobutu tries to expand his influence beyond the Zaireian borders. Gabon may be protected by America, but unleashing blitz style attacks on Angola and Rwanda is fair game. In Angola he will seek to set up Holden Roberto as a fellow autocratic “Authenticité” leader by supporting his meager army against the warring angolan factions in an attempted knockout blow. In Rwanda he will need to be somewhat more cautious (unless something very bad happens) but ultimately seeks to return Kigeli V to the throne on the backs of his long time exile allies. In this way he will both expand his influence as well as surround Leopoldville with friendly regimes. When the oil crisis hits Mobutu will leap at the opportunity to crush the Germans by launching an all out assault on “Festung Leopoldville”, and if successful will greatly increase his prestige, as well as rehabilitate his image in the eyes of other revolutionary leaders as a “true revolutionary”. If he fails in these wars however he will decline, and need to lean ever more heavily on Japan to prop himself up. This is somewhat awkward for Japan itself: having previously backed leftist movements as their best options they must now choose between their old allies and the new anti-leftist gambles taken by Mobutu. But despite the heartburn Zaire is simply too valuable in the african chaos for Japan to not continue supporting it, and so the rising sun shall backstab their allies in the name of pragmatism to the benefit of Mobutu. And besides, these new factions typically promess a better deal than the socialists did.
Mobutu walks a fine line in African politics: though he has denounced the APL’s brand of pan-africanism he also wishes to be seen as a great revolutionary. Surrounded as he is by pan-african or otherwise revolutionary movements it is only good sense to say you are one of them. And to many Mobutu is just that: a liberating revolutionary who both freed and united great swaths of africa from pernicious white influence. But for the wider Marxist inspired world of African liberation his clear anti-communist is difficult to accept, no matter how well he speaks the language of pan-african pride.
Lingering Regionalism: In this question Mobutu is the most radical, and his policy is what you may know him for OTL. While all revolutionaries desire to establish a united identity, and some of them will do so by autocratic centralization, Mobutu makes the establishment of a “true” Zaireian nation a core part of his rule. As established in the Manifesto of Goma Mobutu promesses a national revolution in which regionalism will be swept away by a new, authentic program of nation building which will decolonize the Congolese mind as well as their hands. In practical terms this means the creation of a totalitarian state which will regulate and make “african” all aspects of life. Western influence will be attacked via the banning of christian names and nationalizing catholic church property. A citizen dress code will be implemented as well as a “traditional” family code which will favor male-dominated polygamy and property laws. Though his own praetorian guard of the leopard division is tribally biased the army as a whole will have a new organization forbidding any unit to be more than 20% uniform in tribal origin. This campaign is carried out with special zeal against the influence of Catholicism. Seeing it as both a challenge to his own power and as a malignant foreign influence Mobutu will make a great show of putting priests on trial and instructing his followers to declare that Mubutu is like Jesus and the MAR like the church. Schools, previously run almost exclusively by religious organizations, will be nationalized and their curriculum no longer permitted to teach Christianity but instead to teach “Mobutuism”. Though he will not have the strength needed to wipe out the church entirely during the 60s or early 70s Mobutu will be able to effectively cow this institution and dare any priest to say “sacrilege”.
This campaign will provide a degree of unity, pride and self confidence to the shattered nation beyond what any other program could do, but it is all provided through the image of Mobutu as the great sun king of the new nation. Mobutu will seek to become the center of a pseudo-religious cult of personality with mass public celebrations of his figure following him wherever he goes and an entourage singing songs in his praise.
A consequence of the personalism in this campaign is than any embarrassing failures will not only reflect poorly on the nation but on Mobutu himself. As such he will often get worked up by seemingly trivial matters: if the football team should be lucky enough to participate in the world cup they will do so under the threat that if they do not perform well enough it will see retribution on them at home.
But as part of building this cult he must never let any other person, even his own children, get a moment in the spotlight. Below him is transient chaos, while above him is none: he alone is the rock on which Zaire can be built. This policy is most clearly seen in his handling of the Warlord Plague. Here Mobutu has a two sided policy: All those military figures which he believes could pose a threat to his rule will at first be executed publicly and brutally. In the opening months of his reign he will institute a mini reign of terror to make an example of many warlords and political enemies. However, once the example has been made he will move on to a policy of co-opting these same men. Often through direct bribery, or through positions of prestige and other perks, local strongmen who will accept his rule are brought into the state machine by promising the opportunity to profit in exchange for loyalty. This opportunity is often revoked without notice or reason and personal rivalry at the top is encouraged: in this way no other individual is able to form a stable powerbase. But at the same time individuals previously kicked out of power may be rehabilitated just as quickly, rising once again to wealth and prestige on the auspices of Mobutu’s favor. In this way no elite is a permanent outsider, and the best move for many will seem to be “wait and see”. This of course makes the internal administration of the nation hell, but it does keep Mobutu in undisputed power without even the glimmer of a rival.
This policy of personal co-option extends even to The Belgian Question. The Europeans remaining property will be nationalized and they will be deported, but it will not come with the punitive brutality of the pan-africanists. Mobutu has no love for the Belgians, and will not tolerate their continued dominance, but he also has no special hatred for them, seeing them mostly as political liabilities and rivals rather than ideology defining enemies: that distinction goes to the Germans. But after this show of nationalistic force the door will be left open to their return: many of the nationalized properties are redistributed to those without the knowledge, skill or desire to maintain their productivity. As such when those same Europeans are offered the chance to buy back their property or even return to the Congo Mobutu will not get in their way: so long as they avoid getting lynched along the way by Mobutu’s notoriously brutal and poorly disciplined soldiers he will let them have their piece too so long as they accept that it is by his grace alone that they keep it.
Part of this leniency is out of a calculated mercy to Europeans: Mobutu is smart enough to know that making himself solely reliant on Japan is a poor strategy, and will seek to make connections with America, Italy and Brazil. Having mercy on the Belgians and keeping the door open to cooperation with the Euros is an easy way to mollify western opinion and thus maintain his own independence on the world stage. Of course even this policy has limits: Germany and those under her will see the door slammed shut.
Which brings us neatly into the great struggle which defines the early Mobutu regime: addressing the Economic Devastation. In keeping with his Authenticité program Mobutu wishes to nationalize all previously foreign owned industry, which is the vast majority of all industry, under the one-party state. These national corporations, modeled off of the Japanese Zaibatsu and Italian corporatism, will be either controlled directly by Mobutu, by his close political allies, or (to his own displeasure) by East Asians, most often the Japanese. Mobutu’s Japanese backers are willing to prop up his regime, to allow whatever social and political organization he wishes, but they have come to the Congo for a reason. That reason is money and resources, and with Authenticité pushing for the cartelization of all money in the Congo the Japanese demand to be let in. Mobutu cannot simply dismiss them: it is Japanese credit and weapons which ensure he stays secure and on top. But he is also unwilling to simply roll over for them: he is a nationalist and a deeply ambitious man, and will not be satisfied with anything less than personal ownership of the Zaire economy. As such the 60s and early 70s will be a contest between true Mobutu loyalists and pro-Japanese opportunists for who will gain a majority share of the new nation's economic resources. Japan offers cash, guns, food, technical advisors and diplomatic support (all of which Zaire really needs) in return for shares in the national corporations and local extractions. They will also play dirty by employing bribes, intimidation tactics, organized crime and even clandestine support of anti-mobutu civil resistance to put pressure on the regime to open up more space for the Japanese. To counter this Mobutu has all the tools of the state at his disposal, as well as the mobilization of his own hard core group of supporters for intimidation or political pressure on local leaders.
“Kazi ndjo baba, ndjo mama” (work, it is my father, it is my mother), is a common phrase in Katanga which alludes to the paternalist role played by large companies such as the Union Minière, which would provide housing, education, and sometimes even wives to their workers in exchange for productive loyalty. Even after the full German takeover “company work” maintained a facade of this relationship. Japan is well positioned to take up the old Union Minière paternalism tactics, offering workers higher and more regular pay than what native organizations sometimes can, while also reinforcing a culture of dependency which Mobutu is trying to break (or bend to his own ends).
It is this contest for the hard cash and rare metals provided by the Congo which will determine the final form the Authenticité regime takes. If Mobutu is victorious and secures the lion's share of the economy for himself and a large enough share for his allies the Zairean Revolution will be complete with major bonuses to stability and political power, and even more importantly to Mobutu’s personal fortune. Though never giving public access to his personal books Mobutu will be plausibly rumored to be worth billions, with he and his family being some of the foremost african business people in the world and minor celebrities in the co-prosperity sphere. However the economy will suffer greatly from this as all economic efficiency and business skill has been sacrificed in the name of Mobutu’s personal power: though he is the undisputed master of Zaire it will be a deeply dysfunctional country economically, and if commodity prices were to fall he may need to go crawling back to the outside world to bail him out. On the other hand if Japan wins Zaire will become a neo-colonial strip, with its most lucrative industries owned in part or in full by the Japanese and the state unable to do anything about it without critically undermining its own elite support. This will make Mobutu into only a multi-millionaire rather than a billionaire, as well as undermine his public image of all powerful invincibility. With the Japanese ambassador keeping a hawkish eye on him and his party Mobutu will be left to stew in his unhappy lot knowing that if he ceases to play the part assigned to him the Japanese can always find someone else. This will also be the end of the Authentice campaign as even uneducated workers can see that their bread comes not from “Father Marshal” but from their places of work, owned by foreigners once again. But it is arguably better economically, as the extractive industries are at least run competently and its workers will be paid in full and on time more often. In all cases Zaire will be a sphere observer, but in this case it will be a part of the Japanese economic sphere as well. The later 70s and 80s will be difficult times for either end as prices crash and the cumulative effects of bad government and foreign domination come to the fore. But that is a story for another day.
Japan or Mobutu, success or failure, unity or farce, one thing remains constant: the Zairean military officers are the new nobility of the new nation. Corruption is an endemic and potentially crippling issue in Zaire, and this is seen most clearly in the military, where officers will steal wages and army units will act close to bandits in the more remote regions, creating an atmosphere of fear. But the best position is that of an Air Force officer, with prominent families often paying through the nose for their sons to be educated in Japanese military academies to earn their wings.

1 - reconstruction of damage to the WTC 7 building (south facade) 2 - photo of the damaged building WTC 7 (south facade) ... a) about destruction: On September 11, 2001, the building was damaged by falling debris from the Mall's North Tower (at 10:28 am). When the North Tower collapsed, heavy debris damaged the south side of the building and caused a fire that lasted all day (from 10:28 to the collapse at 17:20) The collapse also damaged the southwest corner between the 7th and 17th floors and the south facade between the 44th floor and the roof; other possible structural damage included a large vertical gap in the center of the south wall between the 24th and 41st floors. Damage to the water supply system as a result of the fall of the towers disrupted the internal fire extinguishing system and prevented firefighters from effectively fighting the fire. After the North Tower collapsed, several firefighters entered 7 World Trade Center to search the building. They tried to put out small fires, but the low water pressure thwarted their efforts. During the day, fires flared out of control on several floors, with flames visible from the east side of the building. In the afternoon, fires were also observed on floors 6 to 10, 13 to 14, 19 to 22 and 29 to 30. In particular, fires on floors 7 to 9 and 11 to 13 continued to burn uncontrollably in the second half of the day. day. At around 2:00 pm, firefighters noticed a bulge in the southwest corner of the 7th World Trade Center between the 10th and 13th floors, a sign that the building was unstable and could collapse. In the afternoon, firefighters also heard creaking sounds coming from the building. At around 3:30 p.m., FDNY Chief of Operations Daniel A. Nigro decided to halt rescue operations and curtail all work inside/near the building and evacuate the area for personnel safety. The fire expanded the beams of the building, causing some of them to collapse. This caused the central column of the northeast corner (pillar 79), which was particularly large, to buckle below the 13th floor. This caused the floors above him to collapse onto the fifth level transition floor. The structure also developed cracks in the façade shortly before the entire building began to collapse. (A schematic view of the development of collapse with structural failure is indicated in the same article that I indicated in the source.). The total collapse time for the building is variously listed as 5:21:10 pm EST according to FEMA, and 5:20:52 pm EST according to NIST.
Conclusions: In May 2002, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released a report on the collapse based on a preliminary investigation conducted in conjunction with the Institute of Structural Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers under the direction of Dr. W. Gene Corley, FEMA made preliminary conclusions that the collapse was not primarily caused by actual impact damage from the collapse of WTC 1 and 2, but by fires on multiple floors caused by the debris of the other two towers, which continued to burn unabated due to lack of water for sprinklers or manual firefighting. The report does not draw conclusions about the cause of the collapse and calls for further investigation. In November 2008, NIST released its final report on the causes of the collapse of 7 World Trade Center. This followed an August 21, 2008 NIST draft report that included a public comment period, and was followed in 2012 by a peer-reviewed summary in the Journal of Structural Engineering. In their investigation, NIST used ANSYS to model the events leading to collapse initiation and the LS-DYNA model to model the global response to the initiating events. whether there was structural damage from the collapse of the twin towers or transmission elements (trusses, beams and cantilevers). The lack of water to extinguish the fire was an important factor. ..............In the afternoon, the fires got out of control, causing the floor beams near column 79 to expand and push the key beam out of place, causing the floors around column 79 to collapse on floors 8 to 14. With loss of lateral support on nine floors. , column 79 buckled, pulling the east penthouse and nearby columns with it. Due to the deformation of these critical columns, the collapse then spread east to west along the core, eventually overloading the perimeter support, which caved in between the 7th and 17th floors, causing the remainder of the building above to collapse as a single unit. . The main reasons for the collapse were fires caused by office contents and lasting 7 hours, as well as the lack of water, the skyscraper collapsed from the fire. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_World_Tr… ....... (I’ll add on my own: earlier I did NOT believe in such a “usual” and natural collapse of the 7th building. Now it looks logical to me, but meanwhile, I expect a wave of doubts from active adherents of the conspiracy theories )
b) about the history of construction: The original building of the shopping center had 47 floors, with a facade of red granite. It was designed by Emery Roth & Sons. The building was 190 m high. Its trapezoidal base was 100 m long and 43 m wide. The construction of the building was managed by Tishman Realty & Construction. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on October 2, 1984. The building opened in May 1987, becoming the seventh structure of the World Trade Center. Building 7 of the World Trade Center was built over a two-story electrical substation owned by Con Edison that had been on the site since 1967. The substation had a coffered foundation designed to support the weight of the future 56,000 m² 25-story building. The final design for WTC Building 7 was much larger than originally planned for the construction of the substation.
c) about the double name of the building and tenants: In November 1988, Salomon Brothers abandoned plans to build a large new complex in Midtown's Columbus Circle and agreed to a 20-year lease on the top 19 floors of Building 7 of the World Trade Center. In 1989, the building was extensively renovated to meet the needs of Salomon Brothers. This led to an alternative name for the building, the Salomon Brothers building. "Basically, Salomon is building a building within a building - and it's an occupied building, which complicates things," the area manager for Silverstein Properties said.

How to Form an LLC (Limited Liability Company) in the USA?- Find out its Characteristics, Advantages & Disadvantages of an LLC & Procedure.
https://preview.redd.it/2u6t76919r2b1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=b88aa6aa614edd1464b138ba01660820ce8714fa

Limited Liability Company in the USA (The United States of America)

The business trend in the United States is ever-changing. Newmarket trends, modern technologies and government policies make a big contribution to the changing business trends in the USA. With the changing market environment over the years, there has been an emergence of new business structures from time to time. In this article let us talk about one of such business structures i.e. Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the USA.
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What is a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?

Limited Liability Company i.e. LLC is a type of business structure that is a combination of a Corporation and a Partnership Firm. It is a business structure for Private Companies in the USA. LLC on one hand has the flexibility and tax benefits of Partnership Firms and Sole Proprietorships and on the other has limited liability status just like the Corporations.

Characteristics and Important facts of an LLC in the USA

• The owners of an LLC are called as “Members”.
• The rights and responsibilities of the members for managing the Limited Liability Company in the USA are governed by an operating agreement.
• An LLC shall have to file a document called the Articles of Organization with the State Official, generally the Secretary of the State to get the legal status.
• The Rules & Regulations of LLCs are different from state to state.
• The members of an LLC can be any entity or individual other than banks and insurance companies.
• Limited Liability Company does not have to pay taxes on their profits directly. Instead, LLC’s profit and losses are paid through the members who ultimately report them on their Individual Tax Returns.

Advantages of Limited Liability Companies ( LLCs) in USA

• Limited Liability: The key reason business owners opt to register their businesses as Limited Liability Company is that their objective is to limit the personal liability of themselves and their partners or investors.
• Flexibility: It is a well-known fact that an LLC is a mixture of a Corporation having liability protections and a Partnership that is believed to be a simple business agreement between two or more owners and hence can choose between tax regime of various business structures such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, or C corporations.

Disadvantages of Limited Liability Companies ( LLCs) in the USA

Limited Liability Companies, apart from having some attractive features, LLCs have several disadvantages as below:

• Regulations: As per the state law of the state where the LLC has been incorporated, an LLC may have to undergo dissolution if any of the members dies or goes bankrupt.
• Taxes and Fees: Though owners of an LLC benefit by avoiding double-taxation, they are required to pay self-employment taxes. These taxes ultimately are paid twice as the owner of the LLC is both the employee and the employer.
• Suitability: A Limited Liability Company may not be a suitable business structure if the founder’s or owner’s ultimate goal is to launch a publicly-traded company.

Procedure to start an LLC in the USA / How to Start an LLC in USA?

Select a State

The first step towards starting an LLC in the United States is to select a state. It is advisable to start an LLC in a state that has no state taxes, so that one only has to manage US Federal Taxes.
Although, if the business’s objective requires you to have offices or have a physical presence in a particular state, then it would be a necessity for you to have an LLC registered in that particular state only. This avoids requiring to form an LLC as a foreign LLC and hiring registered agents in multiple states.

Reserve the Name for your LLC in USA

The next step for forming an LLC in USA shall be to reserve the name for your Limited Liability Company. For reserving a name for your LLC, you shall search your secretary of state’s business directory to ensure that the LLC name that you want for your business is original and not taken by any other LLC. Your Limited Liability Company (LLC) cannot have the same name as an already existing LLC in the state where you are filing.

Hire a Registered Agent

The third step towards LLC incorporation in USA would be to hire a Registered Agent who would be responsible for receiving and corresponding all the legal as well as tax-related documents on behalf of an LLC. Keep in mind at the time of appointing a Registered Agent that he must be a resident of the USA or a corporation authorized for carrying out any business transactions in the USA.

File Certificate of Formation with Division of Corporations of the State

The next step would be to file the certificate of Incorporation of an LLC with the Division of Corporations of the state. This Certificate can be filed either by one’s own self online or via email. Once the Certificate of Formation of an LL is filed and accepted by the USA Division of Corporations, the LLC is considered to be officially incorporated.

USA LLC Operating Agreement

LLC OA (Operating Agreement) is not mandatory for a USA Limited Liability Company, but it is advisable to have one. An Operating Agreement is considered to be a legal document that states the provisions and rules of the ownership and operating procedures of an LLC. It reduces the risk of any future conflict between the business owners.

Get an LLC EIN

EIN stands for an Employer Identification Number which is a 9 digit number given by the Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number is a Social Security Number for a business in the USA. An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is required for opening a business bank account, filing and managing Federal and State Taxes and also it is required while hiring employees.

Documents required for LLC Incorporation in USA

• Legal Name of Partners
• Percentage of partnership for each partner
• A Certified Copy of Passport
• Existing Foreign Tax Id Number (Pan Card)
• Original Voter ID Card and Driving License (Incase Certified Passport is not available)

FAQs on Limited Liability Company in the USA

What is an LLC?

Limited Liability Company i.e. LLC is a type of a business structure that is a combination of a Corporation and a Partnership Firm. It has a both flexibility of Partnership Firms and limited liability just like the Corporations.

Are Limited Liability Companies Taxed Differently Than Corporations?

Yes. While in a corporation system of “Double Taxation” prevails, i.e. to say that in Corporations first profits are taxed at the corporate level and then taxed a second time once those profits are distributed to the individual shareholders.
LLCs, on the other hand, allow the profits to be passed directly to the investors so that they are taxed only once, as part of the investors’ personal income.

How to start an LLC in the USA?

Well, it is an easy process to start an Limited Liability Company in the USA. Following are the steps for registering an LLC in the USA:

• Select a State and Reserve a name for your LLC
• Hire a Registered Agent
• File Certificate of Formation / Incorporation for LLC
• Prepare LLC Operating Agreement
• Obtain LLC EIN

In what state should I form an LLC?

Usually, a Limited Liability Company is incorporated according to the requirements of the state laws, one has to decide what state his/her LLP should be formed and organized in. However, it is often seen that Delaware is chosen because of it’s well-developed state law. Nonetheless, one should always choose a state for forming an LLC considering the factors like Fees, Filing Obligations and Complexities of the laws in the state.