the real business of the War

[none none]

awesome.

>From: Doug Millison <millison at online-journalist.com>
>To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>Subject: the real business of the War
>Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 07:59:15 -0700
>
>"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




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