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Is there any injustice taking place around the world? Iraq ring a bell? if so, how much injustice? Any war crimes? Who is to blame? What can we, the youths do about it? This is the place to dissect the truth, and rant on about politics.
#6982
Several people, activists and non-activists alike, have always posed me the question, "Why do you think America is doing this (in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Guantanamo etc?) "Why is Israel doing this?"

Its a worthwhile question that I have been pondering over as well.

War costs a lot of money ... and lives. I mention lives late because I feel the war-mongers are only interested in the former.

Therefore I assume that money is the force that drives any corrup and oppressive regime/person.

Remember Farenheit 9/11?

Well here is some more food for thought...an article I got of a radio site:-

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Dick Cheney: War Profiteer

Saturday December 10 , 2005

The following article is by Tom Turnipseed an Attorney, Writer and Political Activist in Columbia.

Questions persist about Vice-President Cheney’s role in the ongoing investigation and scandal swirling about the White House. His Chief of Staff and confidante Lewis “Scooter” Libby has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. Let’s take a look at some personal incentives for Cheney’s selling war to the U.S.

Cheney has pursued a political and corporate career to make himself very rich and powerful. He is the personification of a war profit seeker who slid through the revolving door connecting the U.S public and private sectors of the defense establishment on two occasions in a career that has served his relentless quest for power and profits.

Dick Cheney commissioned a study for the U.S. Department of Defense by Brown and Root Services,a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton. The study recommended that private firms like Halliburton should take over logistical support programs for U.S. military operations around the world. Just two years after he was American Secretary of Defense, Cheney stepped through the revolving door linking the U.S Department of Defense with defense contractors and became CEO of Halliburton. Halliburton was the principal beneficiary of Cheney’s privatization efforts for U.S military’s logistical support and Cheney was paid 44 million dollars for five year's work with them before he slipped back through the revolving door of war profiteering to become Vice-President of the United States. When asked about the money he received from Halliburton, Cheney said. "I tell you that the U.S government had absolutely nothing to do with it."

The Bush administration has dished out lucrative reconstruction contracts in Iraq to favored U.S. based corporations including Halliburton and denied contracts to many Iraqi and foreign based companies. On December 11, 2003 Bush said, “The taxpayers understand why it makes sense for countries that risk lives to participate in the contracts in Iraq, It's very simple. Our people risk their lives, friendly coalition folks risk their lives, and therefore the contracting is going to reflect that.” Bush’s statement is a stunning admission of how much corrupt corporations control American foreign policy. Under Cheney’s leadership Halliburton out did Enron in using offshore subsidiaries as tax shelters to hide profits to bilk U.S taxpayers. This would be illegal if done directly by Halliburton.

At last count Halliburton had 58 offshore subsidiaries in Caribbean tax havens. With Cheney at the helm Halliburton’s tax payments to the U.S. went from 302 million dollars in 1998 to zero in 1999, when they also received a refund of 85 million dollars from the Internal Revenue Service.

Halliburton has been more closely associated with the invasion of Iraq than any other corporation. Before the Iraq War began, it was 19th on the U.S. Army's list of top contractors and zoomed to number 1 in 2003. In 2003 Halliburton made 4.2 billion dollars from the U.S. government. Cheney stated, "I have severed all my ties with the company and gotten rid of all my financial interest.”

The Congressional Research Service has concluded that holding stock options while in elective office does constitute a “financial interest” whether or not the holder of the options donates the proceeds to charities, and deferred compensation is also a financial interest.

Calling on Cheney to sever his financial ties to Halliburton, Lautenberg points out that the company has already raked in more than 10 billion dollars for work in Iraq, and was handed some of the first Katrina contracts. The company has been criticized by auditors for its handling of no-bid contacts in Iraq, and there have been numerous allegations of over charging for services. Auditors found the firm marked up meal prices for troops and inflated gas prices in a deal with a Kuwaiti supplier. The company also built the American prison at Guantanamo Bay. Lautenberg said, "It is unseemly for the Vice President to continue to benefit from this company at the same time his Administration funnels billions of dollars to it.”

Dick Cheney’s war profiteering requires redress and justice.
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