In short, the multinationals corporations profit at the expense of everyone else. This was the whole purpose for launching the war---the problem was they thought they could win it quickly--they thought wrong, if they thought at all
On Aug 24, 2:00 pm, SgtUSMC <[email protected]> wrote: > You left out the oil companies. Maybe you were making a different > point but the oil companies were big winners. The biggest loser was > the American taxpayer. We'll be paying for this fiasco for a long time > just as we did for a decade after Vietnam. > > On Aug 23, 11:21 pm, studio <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > >http://www.watan.com/en/feaute/611-sherwood-ross-chicago-.html > > Who are Iraq war's winners and losers? > > by Sherwood Ross > > CHICAGO > > Thursday, 20 August 2009 06:09 > > > What follows is a brief look at some of the outfits that cashed in, > > and at the multitudes that got took. > > > “Defense Earnings Continue to Soar,” Renae Merle wrote in > > The Washington Post on July 30, 2007. “Several of Washington’s > > largest defense contractors said last week that they continue to > > benefit from a boom in spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” > > > But war, it turns out, is not only unhealthy for human beings, > > it is not uniformly good for the economy. Many sectors suffer, > > including non-defense employment, as a war can destroy more > > jobs than it creates. > > > The general public suffers, too. > > > “As President Bush tried to fight the war without increasing taxes, > > the Iraq war has displaced private investment and/or government > > expenditures, including investments in infrastructure, R&D and > > education: they are less than they would otherwise have been. > > > Stiglitz holds a Nobel Prize in economics and Bilmes is former > > assistant secretary of the US Department of Commerce. They say > > government money spent in Iraq does not stimulate the economy > > in the way that the same amounts spent at home would. > > > The war has also starved countless firms for expansion bucks. > > > “Higher borrowing costs for business since the beginning of > > the Iraq war are bleeding manufacturing investment,” Greg Palast > > wrote in Armed Madhouse. And when entrepreneurs -- who hire > > so many -- lack growth capital, job creation takes a real hit. > > > We might recall too, the millions around the world who filled > > the streets to protest President Bush’s impending attack on > > Iraq and who have quit buying US products, further reducing > > sales and employment. > > > “America’s standing in the world has never been lower,” the > > authors said, noting that in 2007, US “favorable” ratings plunged > > to 29 percent in Indonesia and nine percent in Turkey. > > “Large numbers of wealthy people in the Middle East – where the > > oil money and inequality put individual wealth in the billions – have > > shifted banking from America to elsewhere,” they said. > > > Because the Iraq war crippled that country’s oil industry, output > > fell, supplies tightened, and, according to Palast, “World prices > > leaped to reflect the shortfall." > > > What’s more, Palast pointed out, after the Iraq invasion > > the Saudis withheld more than a million barrels of oil a day from > > the market. “The one-year 121 percent post-invasion jump in the > > price of crude, from under $30 a barrel to over $60, sucked that > > $120 billion windfall to the Saudis from SUV drivers and factory > > owners in the West,” he said. > > > Count the Saudis among the big winners. > > > The oil spike subtracted 1.2 percent from the gross domestic > > product, “costing the USA just over one million jobs,” Palast > > reckoned. Stiglitz and Bilmes said the oil price spike meant > > “American families have had to spend about 5 percent more > > of their income on gasoline and heating than before.” > > > Last year, the Iraq and Afghan wars cost each American > > household $138 per month in taxes, they estimated. > > Count the Joneses among the big losers. > > > Palast wrote, “It has been a very good war for Big Oil – courtesy > > of OPEC price hikes. The five oil giants saw profits rise from > > $34 billion in 2002 to $81 billion in 2004…But this tsunami of black > > ink was nothing compared to the wave of $120 billion in profits to > > come in 2006: $15.6 billion for Conoco, $17.1 billion for Chevron > > and the Mother of All Earnings, Exxon’s $39.5 billion in 2006 on > > sales of $378 billion.” > > > Palast noted that oil firms have their own reserves whose value > > is tied to OPEC’s price targets, and “The rise in the price of oil > > after the first three years of the war boosted the value of the > > reserves of ExxonMobil oil alone by just over $666 billion. > > > “Chevron Oil, where Condoleezza Rice had served as a director, > > gained a quarter trillion dollars in value…I calculate that the top > > five oil operators saw their reserves rise in value by over > > $2.363 trillion.” > > > Who’s surprised when Forbes reports of the ten most profitable > > corporations in the world five are now oil and gas companies – > > Exxon-Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, and Petro-China. > > > “Since the Iraq War began,” Matthew Rothschild, editor of The > > Progressive wrote, “aerospace and defense industry stocks have > > more than doubled. General Dynamics did even better than that. > > Its stock has tripled.” > > > Among the big winners are top Pentagon contractors, as ranked by > > WashingtonTechnology.com as of 2008. Halliburton spun off KBR in > > 2007 and their operations are covered later. Data was selected for > > typical years 2007-09. > > > 1. Lockheed Martin > > 2. Boeing > > 3. KBR > > 4. Northrop Grumman > > 5. General Dynamics > > 6. Raytheon > > 7. SAIC > > 8. L-3 Communciations > > 9. EDS Corporation > > 10. Fluor Corporation > > > --Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Maryland, a major warplane builder, in > > 2007 alone earned profits of $3 billion on sales of nearly $42 > > billion. > > > --Boeing, of Chicago, saw its 2007 net profit shoot up 84 percent to > > $4billion, fed by “strong growth in defense earnings,” according to > > an Agence France-Presse report. > > > --Northrop Grumman, of Los Angeles, a manufacturer of bombers, > > warships and military electronics, had 2007 profits of $1.8 billion > > on sales of $32 billion. > > > --General Dynamics, of Falls Church, Virginia, had profits in 2008 of > > about $2.5 billion on sales of $29 billion. It makes tanks, combat > > vehicles, and mission-critical information systems. > > > --Raytheon, of Waltham, Massachusetts, reported about $23 billion in > > sales for 2008. It is the world’s largest missile maker and Bloomberg > > News says it is benefiting from “higher domestic defense spending and > > US arms exports.” > > > --Scientific International Applications Corp., of La Jolla, > > California, an engineering and technology supplier to the Pentagon, > > had sales of $10 billion for fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2009, and > > net > > income of $452 million. > > > --L-3, of New York City, has enjoyed sales growth of about 25 percent > > a year recently. Its total 2008 sales of $15 billion brought it > > profits > > of nearly $900 million. Its primary customer is the Defense > > Department, > > to which it supplies high tech surveillance and reconnaissance > > systems. > > > --EDS Corp., of Plano, Texas, purchased by Hewlett-Packard in May, > > 2008, had 2007 sales of nearly $20 billion. Its priority project is > > building > > the $12 billion Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, said to be the largest > > private network in the world. > > > --Fluor Corp., of Irvine, Texas, an engineering and construction firm, > > had net earnings of $720 million in 2008 on sales of $22 billion. > > > The good times continue to roll for military contractors under > > President Obama, who has increased the Pentagon’s budget by 4 percent > > to a total of about $700 billion. > > --- > > The military industrial complex is doing just fine. > > It's nice to live in a police state where so many people care about > > what you're doing, or make sure you have nothing to do. > > I'm glad that President Bush Jr. was the Commander-In-Chief of our > > armies > > without having to be the American peoples President.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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