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In reply to the discussion: Who are we fighting in Afghanistan? [View all]Octafish
(55,745 posts)14. Speaking of money... You know who's getting RICH off the war on ISIS?

KA-CHING: The Company Getting Rich Off the ISIS War
For the Middle East, the growth of the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been a catastrophe.
For one American firm, its been a gold mine.
by Kate Brannen
The Daily Beast, 08.02.15
The war against ISIS isnt going so great, with the self-appointed terror group standing up to a year of U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
But that hasnt kept defense contractors from doing rather well amidst the fighting. Lockheed Martin has received orders for thousands of more Hellfire missiles. AM General is busy supplying Iraq with 160 American-built Humvee vehicles, while General Dynamics is selling the country millions of dollars worth of tank ammunition.
SOS International, a family-owned business whose corporate headquarters are in New York City, is one of the biggest players on the ground in Iraq, employing the most Americans in the country after the U.S. Embassy. On the companys board of advisors: former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitzconsidered to be one of the architects of the invasion of Iraqand Paul Butler, a former special assistant to Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld.
The company, which goes by SOSi, says on its website that the contracts its been awarded for work in Iraq in 2015 have a total value of more than $400 million. They include a $40 million contract to provide everything from meals to perimeter security to emergency fire and medical services at Iraqs Besmaya Compound, one of the sites where U.S. troops are training Iraqi soldiers. The Army awarded SOSi a separate $100 million contract in late June for similar services at Camp Taji. The Pentagon expects that contract to last through June 2018.
A year after U.S. airstrikes began targeting the so-called Islamic State in Iraq, there are 3,500 U.S. troops deployed there, training and advising Iraqi troops. But a number that is not discussed is the growing number of contractors required to support these operations. According to the U.S. military, there are 6,300 contractors working in Iraq today, supporting U.S. operations. Separately, the State Department is seeking janitorial services, drivers, linguists, and security contractors to work at its Iraqi facilities.
While these numbers pale in comparison to the more than 163,000 working in Iraq at the peak of the Iraq War, they are steadily growing. And with the fight against ISIS expected to take several years, it also represents a growing opportunity for defense, security, and logistics contractors, especially as work in Afghanistan begins to dry up.
It allows us to maintain the façade of no boots on the ground while at the same time growing our footprint, said Laura Dickinson, a law professor at George Washington University whose recent work has focused on regulating private military contractors.
CONTINUED...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/02/the-company-getting-rich-off-of-the-isis-war.html
For the Middle East, the growth of the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been a catastrophe.
For one American firm, its been a gold mine.
by Kate Brannen
The Daily Beast, 08.02.15
The war against ISIS isnt going so great, with the self-appointed terror group standing up to a year of U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.
But that hasnt kept defense contractors from doing rather well amidst the fighting. Lockheed Martin has received orders for thousands of more Hellfire missiles. AM General is busy supplying Iraq with 160 American-built Humvee vehicles, while General Dynamics is selling the country millions of dollars worth of tank ammunition.
SOS International, a family-owned business whose corporate headquarters are in New York City, is one of the biggest players on the ground in Iraq, employing the most Americans in the country after the U.S. Embassy. On the companys board of advisors: former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitzconsidered to be one of the architects of the invasion of Iraqand Paul Butler, a former special assistant to Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld.
The company, which goes by SOSi, says on its website that the contracts its been awarded for work in Iraq in 2015 have a total value of more than $400 million. They include a $40 million contract to provide everything from meals to perimeter security to emergency fire and medical services at Iraqs Besmaya Compound, one of the sites where U.S. troops are training Iraqi soldiers. The Army awarded SOSi a separate $100 million contract in late June for similar services at Camp Taji. The Pentagon expects that contract to last through June 2018.
A year after U.S. airstrikes began targeting the so-called Islamic State in Iraq, there are 3,500 U.S. troops deployed there, training and advising Iraqi troops. But a number that is not discussed is the growing number of contractors required to support these operations. According to the U.S. military, there are 6,300 contractors working in Iraq today, supporting U.S. operations. Separately, the State Department is seeking janitorial services, drivers, linguists, and security contractors to work at its Iraqi facilities.
While these numbers pale in comparison to the more than 163,000 working in Iraq at the peak of the Iraq War, they are steadily growing. And with the fight against ISIS expected to take several years, it also represents a growing opportunity for defense, security, and logistics contractors, especially as work in Afghanistan begins to dry up.
It allows us to maintain the façade of no boots on the ground while at the same time growing our footprint, said Laura Dickinson, a law professor at George Washington University whose recent work has focused on regulating private military contractors.
CONTINUED...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/02/the-company-getting-rich-off-of-the-isis-war.html
The reason We the People don't know who is making money off all the wars without end is We the People don't have the proper security clearance. If we did, it's possible we would put a handle on these warmongering gangsters and their traitor hirelings.
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Please provide an answer to the question posed in the OP: Who are we fighting in Afganistan. nt
ChisolmTrailDem
Jan 2016
#128
We're fighting the POPPY MANUFACTURES....WE WANT TO CONTROL THE HEROIN TRADE AS ALWAYS!
ViseGrip
Jan 2016
#126
Historical note: I think the comment to which you allude came, non from Shrub, but from
KingCharlemagne
Dec 2015
#92
You know whose side we're on in Afghanistan? The "brown people", as you beautifully put it
muriel_volestrangler
Dec 2015
#23
I wish I could forget the time Obama repeated Bush line Taliban never offered up bin laden.
Octafish
Dec 2015
#61
We have a commander in chief who knows that is not true, what a ridiculous thing to say
GummyBearz
Dec 2015
#9
Sibel Edmonds knew, so she was fired and slapped with a gag order when she tried to tell. nt
tblue37
Jan 2016
#120
Can you handle the truth? It's to OWN THE LAND. GOOGLE "Mineral wealth of Afghanistan"!!!!
WinkyDink
Dec 2015
#10
And yet there are millions of americans who think that 3000 American lives in NYC would mean
WinkyDink
Jan 2016
#130
Allowing our favored industries first dibs at a trillion dollar's worth of raw materials
arcane1
Dec 2015
#26
The US invasion of Afghanistan was justified and fully supported by many allies.
tabasco
Dec 2015
#46
Did you note that we're still wasting lives and money in Afghanistan, 15 years later?
Scuba
Dec 2015
#50
If that's the only way you can think of to apprehend criminals you're not very thoughtful.
Scuba
Dec 2015
#71
Hey if you want to defend one of the worst foreign policy blunders in American history, be my guest.
Scuba
Dec 2015
#81
In case you haven't noticed, we haven't taken them down, 15 years and a trillion dollars later.
Scuba
Dec 2015
#83
Historical note: the Taliban agreed to extradite bin Laden to a court with international
KingCharlemagne
Dec 2015
#93
So 15 years later and why are we still there? How many decades do we need to be there?
Rex
Dec 2015
#55
''Money trumps peace.'' -- appointed pretzeldent George Walker Bush, Feb. 14, 2007
Octafish
Dec 2015
#73