A piece of the Iraqi pie

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Talk about a Military-Industrial complex! :/

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0404-13.htm

Broadcast on Friday, April 4, 2003 by the The Portual News (Portugal's Weekend Newspaper in English)

US Arms Group Heads for Lisbon

Directors of one of the world’s largest armament companies are planning on meeting in Lisbon in three weeks time. The American based Carlyle Group is heavily involved in supplying arms to the Coalition forces fighting in the Iraqi war.

It also holds a majority of shares in the Seven Up company and Federal Data Corporation, supplier of air traffic control surveillance systems to the US Federal Aviation Authority. The 12 billion dollar company has recently signed contracts with United Defense Industries to equip the Turkish and Saudi Arabian armies with aviation Defense systems.

Top of the meeting’s agenda is expected to be the company’s involvement in the rebuilding of Baghdad’s infrastructure after the cessation of current hostilities. Along with several other US companies, the Carlyle Group is expected to be awarded a billion dollar contract by the US Government to help in the redevelopment of airfields and urban areas destroyed by Coalition aerial bombardments.

The Group is managed by a team of former US Government personnel including its president Frank Carlucci, former deputy director of the CIA before becoming Defense Secretary. His deputy is James Baker II, who was Secretary of State under George Bush senior. Several high profile former politicians are employed to represent the company overseas, among them John Major, former British Prime Minister, along with George Bush senior, one time CIA director before becoming US President.

The financial assets of the Saudi Binladen Corporation (SBC) are also managed by the Carlyle Group. The SBC is headed up by members of Osama bin Laden’s family, who played a principle role in helping George W. Bush win petroleum concessions from Bahrain when he was head of the Texan oil company, Harken Energy Corporation - a deal that was to make the Bush family millions of dollars. Salem, Osama bin Laden’s brother, was represented on Harken’s board of directors by his American agent, James R. Bath.

The connection between the Bush and bin Laden families can also be traced to the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in the 1990s. Members of the Anglo Pakistani bank’s board of directors included Richard Helms and William Casey, business partners of George Bush senior and former CIA agents. During their time at BCCI both Helms and Casey worked alongside fellow director, Adnan Khasshoggi, who also represented the bin Laden family’s interests in the US.

The Portugal News has been told by a reliable source that the Carlyle Group meeting in Lisbon will discuss the relationship between the Saudi Binladen Corporation (SBC) and Osama bin Laden. Many US officials claim that the SBC continues to finance his political activities, and has done so for many years. If true, this would place George Bush senior and his colleagues at the Carlyle Group in an embarrassing position. As managers of SBC’s financial investments they might well be accused of indirectly aiding and abetting the United States’ number one enemy.

© 2003 the-news.net

###

[The_Rorschach]

Ah yes. . .The Carlyle Group, a $12 billion international equity firm whose portfolio is heavy in defense and telecommunications holdings. Well, now we've discovered Bush's angle.

When is that Wartime Profiteering Council going to be appointed? Never? Right. Thought so.

[Baalzamon]

PROFITEERING!?

Are you insane?

No american company would try something that is so abviously wrong, especially during such a critical time for the nation! Shame on you for even suggesting it!

besides theres NO WAY that they would get away with it, and such prominent businessmen would know better than to take the chance that they may be caught.

not in this country buddy

[The_Rorschach]

I'll forgive you this once Baal, because I happen to like you, but being conservative doesn't make me necessarily stupid. Try and keep that in mind

Capitalism is based upon profit as both the motivation for competition (hence excellence) and success. Its a system which works remarkably well, though not perhaps as Adam Smith quite imagined. Private industry profiting off of the war is fine. Its when politicians -or buisness men like JP Morgan who got us into WW 1- engineer a war in order to improve buisnesses they own, have ties to, or are beholden to, that I object. I believe we can all agree the war in Afghanistan was avoidable, and Iraq was unnecessary. Few, here at least, will contend with that. Evidence such as this suggests Bush is running the most corrupt campaign since, well, Grant. Or maybe Taft.

[Baalzamon]

In case you didnt notice, I was being sarcastic.

And your absolutely right. Someone has to make some sort of profit during a war. When that someone is directly linked to top government officials however, and there arent a lot of(if any) competing companies who get to make opposing bids and such it becomes unethical. Otherwise HONEST business practices during wartime are just fine, and are in fact necessary.

what really pisses me off is the way that this is getting brushed under the rug. I may be willing to discuss these things on the internet, but there are a lot of people who are glued to CNN 24/7 and will never even know that this is going on.

I was Anti-War to begin with, and the wealth of misinformation and shady dealings has only strengthened my resolve. If things had been done more openly from the beginning I may have actually been convinced that this war was justified, but now I'm having trouble beleiving anything that Bush or Rummy say. :/

[ranxer]

nice baalz, but its really scary that millions of Americans are actually thinking, and responding that way. I really want to puke on rush limbaugh for example for the insanity that he is encouraging by sweeping this issue under the rug while he spouts off about how bad saddam is and how we are going to bring freedom for the iraqi people.

and ror, i've never agreed with you more!

i think this corporate duplicity/lies/profit over people/crime is the single largest problem we face.. most of everything else is spin and smokescreens for the $$ that we are supposed to think is just business.. hah.. the rest of the world knows this better than US citizens from what i can see.

[ItalianStereotype]

Originally Posted by The_Rorschach

Evidence such as this suggests Bush is running the most corrupt campaign since, well, Grant. Or maybe Taft.

i just have to correct you on a minor historical point here, ror. it was grants cabinet officials who were corrupt, not grant himself. grant was just a weak president with overly ambitious friends.

[Baalzamon]

The_Rorschach wrote:
Evidence such as this suggests Bush is running the most corrupt campaign since, well, Grant. Or maybe Taft.


i just have to correct you on a minor historical point here, ror. it was grants cabinet officials who were corrupt, not grant himself. grant was just a weak president with overly ambitious friends.

I'd have to say that I think bush himself is fairly weak, and his position on everything is directed either by rummsfeld or powell, but leaning more towards rummy lately[/quote]