the real business of the War

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

A- and now with the proliferation of well diversified
investment funds, 24 hr online brokerage services
and the power to move money around with a few
clicks of the mouse, even the little guys can get in
on the profits. Last time I checked, all those corps
you listed were publicly owned. So what, beyond
asking the question, is the answer?

In a message dated 9/18/02 10:00:27 AM, millison at online-journalist.com writes:

<< "In July, the world's top defense contractors gathered in the United
Kingdom for the Farnborough International Air Show, which convenes CEOs,
generals, and heads of state every two years. At the last show $52 billion
in orders were announced. Although contractors didn't anticipate that much
this time around, they were keen to show off the latest developments in
antiterror weapons and homeland defense. Raytheon showcased its role in
missile defense and precision strike munitions. Boeing exhibited its
tried-and-true 767 tanker transport, its C-17 Globemaster, and its JDAM-all
of which have been on display in Afghanistan. TRW, Northrop Grumman,
Lockheed Martin, and Boeing all focused on new approaches to developing
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), another star weapon of the Afghan war. The
big boost in the defense budget is good news for major Pentagon
contractors, who were among the few companies to show increases in their
stock prices when the market reopened after the September 11 attacks. Among
the top gainers for the week of September 17-21, 2001, were military and
space contractors like Raytheon (+37%), L-3 Communications (+35.8%),
Alliant Techsystems (+23.5%), and Northrop Grumman (+21.2%). ....The
geopolitical reach of the defense megafirms is reinforced by millions of
dollars in campaign cash. In 2000 the top six military companies spent over
$6.5 million in contributions to candidates and political parties. In
addition to these hefty campaign donations, defense contractors spent an
astonishing $60 million on lobbying in 2000, the most recent year for which
full statistics are available."
Foreign Policy in Focus
http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol7/v7n10arms.html
Post-9/11 Economic Windfalls  for Arms Manufacturers
Volume 7, Number 10
September 2002


"Don't forget the real business of the War is buying and selling. The
murdering and the violence are self-policing, and can be entrusted to
non-professionals. The mass nature of wartime death is useful in many ways.
It serves as spectacle, as diversion from the real movements of the War. It
provides raw material to be recorded into History, so that children may be
taught History as sequences of violence, battle after battle, and be more
prepared for the adult world. Best of all, mass death's a stimulus to just
ordinary folks, little fellows, to try 'n' grab a piece of that Pie while
they're still here to gobble it up. The true war is a celebration of
markets."
Gravity's Rainbow p. 105