Making a killing on war!

That's the tragedy of it all. Yet no one learns. THAT'S why I think the troops are VICTIMS.

information!

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3870089/Protec...

The military industrial complex, made in U.S.A.

This can not be tolerated anymore, something has to be done about our military industrial complex.

As the sordid details of these insidious transgressions continue to unfold, it should be obvious to all concerned that we need to do something NOW to rectify the disgraceful conduct that has been the 'business as usual' approach, to include the secrecy and injustice propagated by the military industrial complex under the guise of national defense and, supposedly, in the best interests of the people...

We need more transparency, accountability, and citizen envolvement in the workings of our government. Illusions of grandeur fueling the corruption and greed for more wealth, cannot any longer justify the machinations of evil men, in order to extend their excesses...

WhiteNoise, your diligence is, as usual, impeccable...

Fantastic research, great sources, WhiteNoise! Very informative; the issue itself should better in the day to day consciousness of Americans. We are the only ones that can hold our government accountable. We are the only ones that can demand stories of substance from our press. Kudos for your work.

The US is the biggest terrorism supporting nation of them all.

Good post! we can point a finger at profiteers but we should point out finger at the guys who do the actual killing. this can only be fixed by the individuals who choose to pull the trigger, the cop who beats int the skull of another man can choose not to, the soldier with the gun can choose to put it down. this is what it will take.

CNN: US weapons 'killing innocent civilians' in Gaza
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CNN_U.S._weapons_create_Gaza_civilian_0102.html

“That’s not why the US sells weapons abroad - for the killing of innocent civilians.” At least, that is the sentiment expressed by CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, who warns that America’s role in arming the Israeli military that is killing a growing number of civilians in the Gaza Strip “is becoming very problematic.”

Among the tens of billions of dollars of weapons the United States delivers to Israel annually is the GBU-39 smart bomb, which Israel has been using heavily in its aerial strikes on the Gaza Strip. They’re smart in that they hit what they’re aiming at, but what they’re aiming at is a tiny strip of land teeming with civilians and in recent days fewer and fewer actual targets.

In the past, the State Department has expressed “concerns” about Israel’s use of US-made jets and bombs in residential neighborhoods of Gaza City. But with the outgoing Bush Administration cheering on the Israeli attacks and the incoming Obama Administration avoiding like the plague having to go on record about the war, it seems unlikely that this is a realistic possibility. Still, America’s role in the killings will not go unnoticed abroad, and may have long term diplomatic consequences.

Boeing stands by defense growth plan
http://www.reuters.com/article/AerospaceandDefense08/idUSTRE4BG4MK20081217

Boeing's defense unit -- which makes F/A-18 fighter jets, C-17 cargo planes, military helicopters and a range of missile and surveillance systems -- posted $24 billion in revenue for the first nine months of this year, up 1 percent from the same period the year before.

In July, Boeing forecast defense unit revenue of $32 billion to $33 billion for this year, rising to between $33.5 billion and $34.5 billion next year, which would represent an increase of about 4.5 percent if the unit hit the mid-range of those forecasts.

"They tell us that we live in a great free republic; that our institutions are democratic; that we are a free and self-governing people. That is too much, even for a joke. ... Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder... And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles." : Eugene Victor Debs

http://www.antiwar.com/

U.S. Spending on Nuclear Weapons Exceeds $52 Billion

By Federation of American Scientists

Thus, the majority of nuclear weapons spending (55.5%) is allocated towards upgrading, operating and sustaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal. A much smaller fraction (10%) is devoted to controlling the spread of nuclear weapons and technology, the study found.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/01/nuclear_spending.html

Classic Case of Revolving Door at Defense Department

Until June 2008, William Lynn was senior VP-government operations for Raytheon, the world's fifth largest defense contractor. Despite that recent stint as a lobbyist, President-Elect Barack Obama has nominated him to become deputy defense secretary, which would put him "in charge of day-to-day Pentagon operations." The nomination requires Congressional approval. According to O'Dwyer's, "The Washington Post predicts Lynn will oversee Defense Secretary Robert Gates' program to overhaul DOD's weapons acquisition activity." Before his stint with Raytheon, Lynn was the Pentagon's comptroller and chief budget officer. He also previously worked as director of DOD's program analysis and evaluation. http://www.prwatch.org/node/8128

Let's say the US backed out of everything, then China and Russia would be making a "killing," and Israel would still be abe to "defend," itself. All of this previous posting is good, and trueish, but the fact remains, everyone makes weapons, and China is cranking them out to Islamofascists faster than we can shake a stick at them.

Study: Four Israeli companies join global top 100 arms list
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Four Israeli companies appear in a list of the top 100 arms dealers in the world, according to a report published Monday by Amnesty International. The companies are Israel Aircraft Industries, Rafael Arms Development Authority and Israel Military Industries.

The report, entitled "Arms without Borders", was launched as the United Nations opened its annual session on arms control, in the run up to a landmark vote at the UN to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty. It stresses that despite the lack of evidence that companies on the list violate international laws, the global arms trade encourages countries to violate human rights.

According to the report, two-thirds of weapons manufactured in Israel are designated for export.

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Israel is one of six countries whose countries entered the controversial list because of increases in production, sales and exports of arms, the report noted. Other rising arms markets include Singapore, Brazil, India, South Africa and South Korea. The report also emphasizes that China is likely the largest arms producer and exporter but because it was impossible to obtain data its companies do not appear on the list.

According to the report, global military spending will reach an unprecedented $1,058.9 billion by the end of the year, a sum roughly 15 times the amount spent on global humanitarian aid. This sum will break the global military spending record of $1,034 billion set in 1987, during the Cold War.

The report states that in 2005, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany together accounted for an estimated 82 percent of all arms transfers.

Amnesty produced the report in conjunction with British rights organization Oxfam and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).

America Is Completely Broke, And Here We Are Funding Fantasy Wars at the Pentagon
By Chalmers Johnson, Tomdispatch.com. Posted February 3, 2009.

Americans don't usually think of the Pentagon as a scam operation -- but it's never to late to wake up and smell the rip-off. http://www.alternet.org/workplace/124881/

Given our economic crisis, the estimated trillion dollars we spend each year on the military and its weaponry is simply unsustainable. Even if present fiscal constraints no longer existed, we would still have misspent too much of our tax revenues on too few, overly expensive, overly complex weapons systems that leave us ill-prepared to defend the country in a real military emergency. We face a double crisis at the Pentagon: we can no longer afford the pretense of being the Earth's sole superpower, and we cannot afford to perpetuate a system in which the military-industrial complex makes its fortune off inferior, poorly designed weapons.