Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The Business of War




We are now moving into the 10th year of the ill-defined, no-end-in-sight "war on terror."

Never forget that War is a Racket....a very lucrative and profitable one at that as well.

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

This is why we fight..

Here is an abbreviated run down of the top 10 corporations making out like bandits in the Iraq war...don't forget, all the numbers in red are basically paid for with U.S. tax dollars:

Halliburton: Halliburton’s KBR, Inc. division bilked government agencies to the tune of $17.2 billion in Iraq war-related revenue from 2003-2006 alone.

Veritas Capital Fund/DynCorp: At first blush, a private equity fund (and not, say, Exxon-Mobil) being the number 2 profiteer in the Iraq war might sound strange. However, the cleverly run fund has raked in $1.44 billion through its DynCorp subsidiary.

The Washington Group International: [6] has parlayed its expertise the repair, restore, and maintenance of high-output oil fields into $931 million in Iraq-related revenue from 2003-2006.

Environmental Chemical: The privately held Burlingame, California company has stockpiled $878 million by the end of fiscal 2006 for munitions disposal, calling upon its “decade of experience planning and conducting UXO removal, investigation, and certification activities.”

Aegis: UK company with a Pentagon contract to coordinate all of Iraq’s private security operations [10]. The Pentagon contract is good for $430 million.

International American Products: Running electrical wiring in hostile war zones is dicey business, but International American Products [12] has stuck their neck out and collected a cool $759 million in just 3 years for its efforts.

Erinys: In the space of just 16 months, Erinys successfully trained, equipped, and mobilized an all-Iraqi guard force of nearly 20,000 to protect the nation’s oil pipeline from terrorist attack or sabotage. They scored $136 million for its effort.

Fluor: Scored a monster $1.1 billion contract  in 2004 to build, service, and manage water/sewage systems in Iraq.

Perini: Controlled by financier Richard Blum, is one of the more controversial companies to have scored big-time Iraq war money. That’s because Blum’s wife, Senator Dianne Feinstein, appears to have used her seat on the Military Construction Appropriations sub-comittee to steer the $650 million environmental cleanup deal in his favor.

URS Corporation: Long known as one of the nation’s major defense contractors, San Francisco-based URS has collected $792 million in environmental cleanup fees in Iraq war zones. As with Perini, both Blum and Feinstein have come under intense scrutiny to answer questions about the apparent conflict of interest inherent in Feinstein helping to secure such an exorbitant government contract for her investment banker husband.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was right.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a totally simplistic view of what we're doing and why. The so-called military-industrial complex, hobgoblin of the Left, is a PUNY factor in the American economy and American politics.

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=i

Note that defense is at the BOTTOM of the list, utterly dominated by the health care, education, and government bureaucrat lobbying contributions. Yet the Left never whines about those, only about defense. Why?

Yeah, defense companies make money. What do you expect? Do we not live in a money-based economy now, or something? I might also observe that the defense sector is one of the few remaining places where a white male can make decent money - unlike the aforementioned health care, education, and government bureaucrat sectors - something that ought to be of interest to you from a Men's Rights perspective.

Keoni Galt said...

This is a totally simplistic view of what we're doing and why.

So what than, Anon, are we really doing in Iraq and Afghanistan?

I'm far from a "loony leftist" anti-war peacenik.

But I believe war should be the last resort, and fought decisively and as efficiently and quickly as possible.

Win at all costs, as quickly as possible.

But to carry out war like that, is nowhere near as profitable to the military - industrial complex as our decades long "nation-building" and "democracy exporting" exercises we are now engaged in.

Oh, and I agree with you to some extent - the M-I complex is nowhere near as profligate as the entitlement sector.

That doesn't mean the M-I complex that seeks to profit off of perpetual, never-ending imperial wars on foreign shores should be given a pass.

Anonymous said...

What we are really doing is attempting to break the Russian stranglehold on northern Gulf oil. Iraq was, and Iran is, a Russian client state. Invading Iraq and Afghanstan is intended to put Iran under pressure. It's not working, and probably we'll give it up soon.

As for profit, what you have to understand is the big weapons makers don't like war. Why? Because in times of war we spend money on people (troops in the field), which is not profitable for them, and not on procurement of big ticket items, which are profitable for them. The MIC would prefer the country to prepare endlessly for war but never actually fight.

Deansdale said...

"Russian stranglehold on northern Gulf oil"
WTF
Newsflash: the cold war is over. Arabs sell their oil to whoever they want to. Russians don't hold any real power in Iraq, Iran or whatever.

Weapon makers don't like war? Gimme a break. For somebody who manufactures bombs and missiles a war is probably the only time to make huge profits. And even if you specialize in "big ticket items", a war will mean more orders for you in the long run. If we'd put an end to all wars, weaponmakers would all go bust.

Also, what you linked to previously was _lobbying_ spending which is not the same as government spending. And even at lobbying it was "defense aerospace" only which is but a fraction of all war-related spending.

"Yeah, defense companies make money. What do you expect? Do we not live in a money-based economy now, or something?"
Are you trying to be ironical or something? The point is that they make money by KILLING PEOPLE in unnecessary wars - US and arab soldiers alike, plus all the civilians. And it's all paid for by the taxpayer who would never approve of any war which he finds unjustified so the current wars are based on deceptions. What part of it you don't understand?

"the defense sector is one of the few remaining places where a white male can make decent money"
It's your only valid point, but no matter how f*cked up the situation is for white males in the US it doesn't justify going oversees on killing sprees. Restore order in your OWN country for f*ck's sake. Vote for politicians who'll stop the affirmative action madness, or if that doesn't work, revolt - and leave other countries out of it.

Thomas George said...

In the so called manosphere these facts get attacked because they are too busy hating women to see who is really in power and what they are really doing. At my church all of the men who refuse to become true Christian male leaders are all Neocon Republican chickenhawks who are all for sending more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan but they won't volunteer themselves. These men are so bad that they want to send women to these wars. I have been accused of being a communist too when I try and point out how anti-Christian and against the will of God these wars are.

Corporations profiting off these wars are run by people who should be ashamed of themselves. Anyone who defends this by saying, "the defense sector is one of the few remaining places where a white male can make decent money" should be ashamed of themselves too. Corporations aren't self running entities. They have a CEO, a board of directors, and executives in control. These people are criminally responsible for the death in the Middle East. The workers at those corporations also share responsibility. Pro-Male/Anti-Feminist Tech, that Illuminati official, works in the defense sector. It's on his blog. He has blood on his hands but he doesn't care since he is an anti-Christian occultist of the Illuminati.

*** ******** said...

corpwatch.org has some well researched information on this topic. it's even more amazing that haliburton was doing this in vietnam, the same company would become haliburton helped elect key officials and the president who then awarded them contracts during the vietnam war.

*** ******** said...

yeah, healthcare and education as such are much later expenditures...but it exists outside of what we actually need. those are outgrowths of necessary spending, granted, much larger than necessary....but the fact that Private companies are profiting from war is absurd. especially to the extent that the war is privatized now.

Anonymous said...

“Newsflash: the cold war is over. Arabs sell their oil to whoever they want to. Russians don't hold any real power in Iraq, Iran or whatever.”

Newsflash: Russia still hates us and does everything it can to undermine us. Arabs (and Persians) sell their oil, BUT the Russian objective in building a pro-Russian coalition within OPEC is to ensure that world oil prices are set in Moscow. Russia had real power in Iraq before we overthrew Saddam, and they have real power in Iran right now.

“For somebody who manufactures bombs and missiles a war is probably the only time to make huge profit.”

Wrong. In wartime the government spends money on operations, not procurement. Procurement of big-ticket items has essentially been on hold since 2001.

“even if you specialize in "big ticket items", a war will mean more orders for you in the long run.”

No, because these items are not invariably replaced after the war.

“If we'd put an end to all wars, weaponmakers would all go bust.”

Yeah and if a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass hopping. Live in the real world, not libertarian fantasyland.

“what you linked to previously was _lobbying_ spending which is not the same as government spending.”

It is readily demonstrable that the Feds spend a shitload more on the items for which more lobbying dollars are spent than on defense. Come on, do you really want to argue that lobbying does no good? That big pharma and the teachers union doesn't get anything for its money? You're out of your mind if you think the lobbies that spend a shitload more than the defense industry don't get corresponding bang for their buck.

“The point is that they make money by KILLING PEOPLE in unnecessary wars”

There is nothing immoral about national defense. It is a legitimate and necessary function of government. There is nothing immoral about killing the nation's enemies, either (my own view is "faster, please!"). Last but not least, neither war we're currently in is unjust or unnecessary. They could certainly have been fought more effectively, but that's different.

“it's all paid for by the taxpayer who would never approve of any war which he finds unjustified so the current wars are based on deceptions.“

The taxpayers did approve of both wars, and both wars were – and are – justified. Neither war is based on “deception”.

“What part of it you don't understand?”

I understand that you live in a Leftist fairyland.

“it doesn't justify going oversees on killing sprees”

Both wars are ENTIRELY just.

“Restore order in your OWN country for f*ck's sake.”

The existence of problems at home does not eliminate the need for national defense.

“I have been accused of being a communist too when I try and point out how anti-Christian and against the will of God these wars are.”

Oh, puhleeze! You're not a communist, you're a blockhead. How the hell are we supposed to determine “the will of God”, anyway?

“Corporations profiting off these wars are run by people who should be ashamed of themselves.”

As I said, national defense is a legitimate and necessary function of government, and those in the defense industry have nothing to be ashamed of – not least because they have no voice at all in deciding what wars are fought, or how, where, or when they are fought. The politicians decide that, and defense industry supplies the tools in accordance with political direction and funding.

“Anyone who defends this by saying, "the defense sector is one of the few remaining places where a white male can make decent money" should be ashamed of themselves too.”

Why should I be ashamed of the truth?

Anonymous said...

“Pro-Male/Anti-Feminist Tech, that Illuminati official, works in the defense sector. It's on his blog. He has blood on his hands but he doesn't care since he is an anti-Christian occultist of the Illuminati.”

LOL, thanks for discrediting yourself with such idiocy.

“healthcare and education as such are much later expenditures...but it exists outside of what we actually need. those are outgrowths of necessary spending, granted, much larger than necessary....but the fact that Private companies are profiting from war is absurd. especially to the extent that the war is privatized no”

Healthcare and education are NOT necessary spending – certainly not at the Federal level.

Private companies EXIST to make profit, you imbecile. And I am here to tell you that the defense sector would be even more dysfunctional if private companies weren't involved.

War is not “privatized”. Military contractors do what the government tells them to do. Yes, they get paid, but uniformed soldiers also get paid.