‘Merchants of Death’ Could Make a Lot of Money Off a War in Ukraine

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/179831/merchants-death-could-make-lot-money-war-ukraine


Two of the first four Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jets, from Lockheed Martin, arrive at the Krzesiny airport in western Poland in 2006. (Reuters/Peter Andrews)

If you’re wondering why some US politicians are so hot for war in the Ukraine, think “merchants of death.” At the height of the antiwar movement, that was nasty label some of us applied to Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other major manufacturers of high-tech war-fighting equipment—planes, tanks, missiles, whatever does the job. When the drums of war are sounding in some distant land, these the weapons makers naturally smell sales opportunities.

Trouble in Ukraine has aroused the same ambitions and hawkish politicians have picked up the ball and are running with it. They are demanding that the US government send military stuff to Kiev to hold off threatening Russians (our favorite bad guys). The hawks are portraying President Obama as a wimp who’s insufficiently bellicose. But the president is so far playing a cool hand. He has been getting us out of two wars. He’s pretty sure the people don’t want another one.

In fact, neutral historians may someday conclude that it was the United States who stirred up the trouble in the Ukraine, inadvertently if not intentionally, and that US arms makers played an important supporting role. When the Cold War ended in 1991, these companies saw a promising new market opening for their stuff—the newly liberated Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe. Let’s expand NATO! The manufacturers lobbied policy makers in Washington and courted governments of post-Soviet nations as potential customers.

Bill Clinton decided to do it, cheered on by the arms merchants. Why is nobody talking about that? Because It might sound unpatriotic. And the media love bang-bang, even if the cause is stupid.


***there's Right. there's Wrong. and then there is Money.

[WinkyDink]

1. A case of "NS, S."

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Remember how they pushed for a Syria invasion?

One of the few times in these decades of country invasions that the death merchants did not get the big sales, tho they did manage to keep selling assorted and sundry weapons.
Over all, the Middle East has been a place of high profits for arms dealers.

[xchrom]

3. +1

[malaise]

6. They are now addicted to

war profits.

[Purveyor]

4. kick. Thanks for posting. +1 eom

[KG]

5. war profitering and oil. otherwise nobody would care. like Chechnya

[arely staircase]

7. a war in Ukrain would be over so fast there wouldn't be time for anyone to make money.

Russia can invade and subjugate as much or as little as they want whenever they want. BWe could statt selling them weapons non stop until the cows cqme home and they'd still be no match for their conquerers.