Monday, June 29, 2009

War Revenues

It is incredibly sad how peoples lives are used and taken, all so that a few others can heavily increase their net worth. War has forever been a part of the history of mankind and empires have sprung up all throughout. From Ancient Greeks to the very recent British Empire, the world superpowers of their time. Each empire occupied several other nations throughout the world, using them for their own benefit. The British Empire used India and Africa for their resources, and their people for manual labor. Occupying of other nations was something each superpower/empire has done.

Currently, the United States of America is at war (as they have been nearly the entire 20th Century and have carried into this, the 21st Century) or in conflictual discussion with nearly the entire middle East, all except their allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. I would include Israel in there but since they are a member of the European Union and United Nations, sort of makes them more European. Regardless, there are countries that America is currently at war against, and there are both American Soldiers and Innocent Iraqi/Palestinian/Afghan Children, Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousins, and Friends dying.

Here are several things about the current Iraqi and Afghanistan wars that I would like to point out, especially since companies like Halliburton (former VP Dick Cheney's company, who retired to be VP with $18 in stock options, and is still withdrawing compensation of up to or more than a million dollars per year) are profiting from deaths. Not only was Halliburton awarded the most amount of Iraqi-rebuilding contracts (totaling over $130 billion), they have also been placed as the overseeing organization over oil production. A Kuwaiti company was given the approximated $750 million (originally $500 million) contract to build the new US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. In Afghanistan, former U.S. military veterans, since having returned from the way overseas, have claimed that while they were stationed in Iraq, the U.S. would NOT allow them to enter into the area there intelligence claimed Osama bin Laden was hiding. For months, this went on, and then finally they were able to proceed into that area with the search. Other former U.S. Veterans who have returned home have described the War as being a complete disaster, a mistake. One said that upon their arrival in Iraq as "a bunch of pit bulls loose on a cage full of rabbits." Many have returned, requesting the unjust war end and their friends and family may return home safely.

One major problem with the war itself is that it is no longer being fought, in majority, by Military Soldiers and Personal but by Contracted Individuals, paid for their service: Killing. These are men, walking the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying Automatic Weapons, dressed in civilian clothing, blue jeans and casual t-shirts. Until 2008 these mercenaries received $85 million dollars. In 2009, alone, there is $100 million in contracts. That is a lot of taxpayer money being spent.

There are reasons why people defend themselves, but the biggest factor is survival. It is a human instinct to want to survive and live, rather than die. When things are constantly taken from us against our will, we can become angered, but when our life become threatened we either shrivel in fear or stand up and face it, attempting to overcome and survive. If America was invaded and there were soldiers and armed foreign soldiers walking around, exclaiming that everyone had to abide by their rules, telling them their beliefs were false, that there government was corrupt, everything they knew was more or less a fantasy.. I am pretty positive most Americans will stand up. It appears to me that the most corrupt governments are the ones controlling their wealth and are able to be wealthy while billions rest, unable to afford proper nutrition.

There are so many facts and so much history to greed, but back to the war at hand, Iraq and America have had a long history together. From Saddam's regime receiving nuclear weapon technology, to America giving Iraq's neighbor Kuwait technology to drill on an angle (which they did, extracting oil from Iraq, which is obviously stealing, not to mention drilling on an angle itself is against OPEC procedure) which resulted in America attempting to invade Iraq with no support from anyone (Yes ,after Iraq invaded Kuwait because they wouldn't stop their oil production from Iraq, take my bread and see what happens), to the most recent invasion and now occupation.

This time, America has total control over the oil production and the Iraqi "democratic" government. Saddam is out of power, most of his family massacred by the American military. One thing I find interesting is that there are people now serving in the Iraqi Government that were once prisoner's detained during his reign. There are members of Kurdish independence parties, seeking an independent Kurdish state, now apart of the Iraqi government. They are going to be monitoring Sunni participation in upcoming elections. A lot of interesting things going on over in the middle east, all of which can be verified by the bottom links. All the while, people are dying, and others, like Dick Cheney, are making millions off it. Funny enough, in the 1990s, Cheney made some nice comments towards the past few years.


Truth Leaks Out in Iraq War-Related Contract Abuse Case


Inside the world of war profiteers

Casualties of Conscience

Halliburton Makes a Killing on Iraq War

U.S. War Heroes of the Iraq War
War Resisters from within the Militar


Inside the world of war profiteers

Iraq War - The rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza

IRAQ: Big Oil Ready for Big Gamble in Iraq

Mercenaries Made At Least $85 BILLION From Iraq War

US Troops in Iraq talk about Halliburton & KBR

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-colbert-report/full-episodes/#clip180818

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