Iraq is [was] the most privatized war in history.
Forty cents out of every dollar that congress spent in Iraq went to private contractors [$275,000,000 Daily].
The private troops come from Military Contracting Corporations whose sole concern is profit. Not lives lost, not efficient use of resources, not anything other than Money.
The success of these companies depends entirely on the financing they receive from the United States Government.
In Falluja, 4 Blackwater agents were killed. Blackwater used this “event” to meet with high profile congressman who held important positions in congressional committees. Blackwater was soon able to acquire contracts and prevent investigations.
These war profiteering corporations have directors who worked at the highest levels of the Pentagon and CIA. It is the equivalent of insider trading… it is insider trading.
No Bid Contract.
J.P. London the CEO of CACI had an income of $22,249,453 in 2004. CACI is in the field of Information Technology and was a major player in torturing people at Abu Ghraib. It is easier for the government to contract out torture than to conduct it themselves. Information Technology now includes tying male prisoners’ genitals together with rope [like a chain gang] and then pushing them around.
Contractors don’t go to prison for torturing. or Killing.
They get sent home and get hired by a different contractor the next week.
The military’s retention rate is low because ex-military can make $100,000 working for a for-profit corporation, or they can take measly benefits from Uncle Sam.
The private contractors are not better at these jobs than military personnel. In fact, military personnel train these private contractors.
TITAN, another information technology company, provides linguists [translators] in Iraq. They hired anyone who could speak both English and Aye-rab (any “brown tongue”). There were no tests, just a 1 minute phone call. No training, no managers, no supervision, no evaluation, no system at all. Their contract with the government was for $2,000,000,000. Their “interpretors” were the source of a lot of our “intelligence information.”
Gene Ray was the CEO of TITAN corporation in 2004 and 2005, during which his income was $47,212,415.
The profits these war mongers make are just as heinous as their value of life. They are trading lives for monetary profit.
These corporations send non-combatants into combat zones unprepared and ill equipped, because it would cut into profits to provide safe transport for their employees. The families that lost members consider that Negligent Homicide.
They are operating in a war-zone without accountability.
Ben Carter was a Water Purification Specialist for KBR/Halliburton. He testified in front of congress.
The water was contaminated with dozens of diseases including malaria, typhus, giardia, and cryptosporidium. Halliburton wanted to save money [surprise], so they didn’t use chlorine in their water purification process.
63 out of 67 of Halliburton’s water treatment plants were not dispensing clean or safe water.
The food situation for our troops wasn’t so great either.
Troops had to wait hours for food.
KBR, an engineering and construction company formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, did not have a 24 hour feeding schedule in order to [surprise] increase profits.
All the troops were eating at the same place, at the same time, every day.
The terrorists aren’t that stupid. Even though I think Al-Qaeda is just a pawn in this Orwellian tragedy.
The “lunch-line” was attacked more than once before KBR was forced to extend their service hours.
An easy way to make profit is to overcharge. Halliburton did not miss any opportunities; $45 for a 6-pack of soda.
Laundry was an issue. Halliburton charged $99 to do a single bag of laundry. They didn’t even do a good job. One soldier started washing his own clothes in a sink. Troops were ordered by officers to wash their laundry with Halliburton.
HALLIBURTON CHARGED THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT $99 FOR EACH LOAD OF LAUNDRY IT DID, and the government paid it.
They operate on a Cost Plus policy. Cost Plus pricing refers to an arrangement where the government will cover the cost of all purchases, products, and services Plus another amount to represent profit…
The more money they spend the more profit they get. If they buy and “install” a $1,000 laptop, they add 10% for their own profit. They bill the American government $1,100 for that same laptop. They could add 50%, and the government would still pay it.
The orientation for KBR was at a resort that had 3 pools, marble floors, mahogany woodwork, and you could “rent” wave runners [and get paid by the hour to enjoy it… Cost Plus]. Don’t forget the 5 star meals and the Egyptian bed linens.
At the same time, military troops were living in tents that gave them respiratory sickness while sleeping in cots that Bear Grylls wouldn’t be comfortable in.
Of course, Halliburton cronies had to drive around in style (even though they did not need to drive anywhere for work purposes). They had dozens of Ford and Chevy vehicles. They got these vehicles on leases. The terms of a lease for one such vehicle was $7,000 per month on a 3 year lease. That comes out to $252,000. At any dealership, a top of the line Hummer goes for $80,000. The government does not even own the piece of shit after the 3 years are up!
Halliburton ordered the wrong equipment, and blew it up.
You order the wrong equipment on PURPOSE, because the manufacturer paid you to do it. Then you burn it, destroy it, and disappear it. Then you order what you really need. While Making a Profit at Every Step.
They have brand new 18 Wheelers, but they don’t buy oil filters or tires. When a $75,000 truck gets a flat tire, they blow it up… because now they can get a new one.
It makes sense for these companies to be so wasteful because the amount of money they spend correlates directly to how much profit they receive. Cost Plus.
It is a legal way of stealing.
Pentagon auditors found Haliburton to have overcharged the government $1,400,000,000 (gross underestimate). Try getting half of that money back.
Who is protecting Haliburton? Their board of directors has contacts in the military, the state department… and don’t forget Cheney is the ex-Criminal Executive Opportunist.
All Criminals in my eyes. I don’t care if the “law” says what these corporations do is “legal.”
Capitalism has turned into a license to steal, and the government decides who can steal how much from whom.
Iraq is about greed. Not oil, not strategic military positioning, not political ideology, not freedom.
All war is about greed and ego.
The price of Haliburton stock was $9.79 in 2003, in 2006 it was $41.98. Cheney probably owns stock in Halliburton to this day, he definitely owned stock when he put his hand on the bible and was sworn into the vice presidency.
David Lesar is the CEO of Haliburton and had an income of $42,637,920 in 2004.
Of, for, and by the corporations.
All in front of the Iraqi people.
How are you going to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people when we are stealing from our own?
There do not need to be two sides to start a war. All you need is an abstract-nebulous enemy, and you can go around the Middle East starting wars until your pocketbook is bulging.
The reason we are at war [and looking to get into other wars] is because Halliburton [and other similar companies] have paid our congressmen and senators.
If you are asking how to stop Haliburton, it has to be through *sigh* Laws. Congress makes laws. You vote for your congressman. 80% of people don’t know who their congressman is. Maybe that is why Haliburton gets away with whatever you want to call this.
It is all based on getting elected. Politicians just want to be elected so they can either rub elbows, or make themselves feel better for trying to change a corrupt system by playing the game. In order to get elected they need money to run television commercials. The masses get all of their information from the propaganda panel.
I got most of this information from this documentary by Robert Greenwald:
FULL DOCUMENTARY IN GOOD STREAMING QUALITY. There are interviews with both the prisoners who had been tortured and the employees who did the torturing.
Robert Greenwald makes a lot of good documentaries, videos, and news stories, also streaming and in good quality.
Propagating Memes 