This failure to declare sources of funding reminds me that I've never
declared my source. I now will do so, just to enable any critics to
check out whether or not my contractual agreements have led to biases
in how I respond to the American Empire's behavior.
Since 1995, my wife and I have contracted with the Washington State
Department of Services for the Blind...and later, with both the
Department and with the University of Washington. Our first 24 years
were full time contracts. Our last full time contract was in the
annual amount of $60 thousand, out of which we paid all expenses. Our
last contract is a part time agreement for $25 thousand each year.
And, just to make the point, you might want to compare those figures
to the contracts let out to some of the people contracting in the
Industrial/Military Field.
I'd say that your tax dollars bought you more benefits from our
services than for the very expensive contracts let out by the Arms
Industry.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/7/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
TV Pundits Praising Suleimani Assassination Neglect to Disclose Ties to
Arms
Industry
By Lee Fang, The Intercept
07 January 20
Since Friday, a loud chorus of voices has appeared in the media to
celebrate
President Donald Trump's decision to assassinate Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim
Suleimani, a move that has sparked renewed tension in the Middle East, a
new
deployment of U.S. forces, and predictions of increased military spending.
Many of the pundits who appeared on national television or were quoted in
major publications to praise the president's actions have undisclosed ties
to the defense industry - the only domestic industry that stands to gain
from increased violence.
Jack Keane, a retired Army general, appeared on Fox News and NPR over the
last three days to praise Trump for the strike on Suleimani. "The president
acted responsibly," Keane said during an appearance with Fox News host Lou
Dobbs. "It should have happened a long time ago." Keane has worked for
military companies, including General Dynamics and Blackwater, and
currently
serves as a partner at SCP Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in
defense contractors.
Van Hipp, chair of the lobbying firm American Defense International, which
represents more than two dozen defense contractors - including Raytheon,
Palantir, and General Atomics, the manufacturer of the MQ-9 Reaper drone
used in the Suleimani slaying - published an opinion column on Fox News's
website praising Trump and suggesting increased pressure on the Iranian
government.
David Petraeus, the retired general who once commanded U.S. forces in Iraq
and Afghanistan, was quoted by multiple outlets in support of the slaying.
"This is a very significant effort to reestablish deterrence," he told
Foreign Policy. On Public Radio International, Petraeus declared that "this
particular episode has been fairly impressively handled," and praised the
Trump administration for moving "to shore up our defenses and our offensive
capabilities." He also appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Petraeus, notably, works for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co., the
investment
firm with holdings in several major defense contractors that is reportedly
moving to "build up its defense portfolio at a time when military budgets
are skyrocketing."
John Negroponte, a former State Department official who now serves as vice
chair of the defense and aerospace lobbying firm McLarty Associates,
appeared on Fox News to dispute the claim by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,
that the strike represented a threat of war. "I think it's an act of
self-defense," countered Negroponte.
Jeh Johnson, former Homeland Security secretary in the Obama
administration,
appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" to offer measured support, countering
progressive critics who have claimed that the strikes lacked legal and
congressional authorization.
"General Suleimani," Johnson said, "was a lawful military objective and the
president, under his constitutional authority as commander in chief, had
ample domestic legal authority to take him out without an additional
congressional authorization."
Johnson joined the board of director of Lockheed Martin, one of the largest
defense contractors in the world, in 2017. The part-time position pays him
$310,000 a year in cash and stock awards, according to disclosures. None of
the defense contracting ties were disclosed on air for Keane, Hipp,
Negroponte, Petraeus, or Johnson.
"It is imperative that viewers are aware when their news commentary is
coming from someone with a financial incentive tied to the topic they're
commenting on, especially when so many lives hang in the balance," says Gin
Armstrong, a senior researcher with the Public Accountability Initiative,
which tracks conflicts of interest. "The key question is why media outlets
allow anyone with a financial interest in war - regardless of their
previous
military or government experience - to have access to their platforms at a
critical time like this."
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, stock prices for major
defense contractors soared on the expectation of further conflict. The
Trump
administration has won more than $130 billion in additional Pentagon
spending, but analysts expect a renewed push for even greater levels of
weapons spending.
One key area for military growth in government defense spending could be
the
Overseas Contingency Operations fund, a special account used to fund
wartime
operations. The OCO had been largely frozen in place and expected to
flatline in the 2021 budget. The escalation in response to the Suleimani
killing could change that, according to the Cowen Group, an investment bank
that specializes in servicing defense contractors.
The OCO account "was likely on a lower trajectory over the next several
years. We doubt that's the case now," the Cowen Group's Roman Schweizer
wrote in a memo to investors on Friday. "The U.S. will likely increase
deployments of forces to the region in coming weeks and could make
additional strikes depending on Iran's response."
It's not the first time defense contractor pundits have failed to disclose
their vested stake in the military policies they advocate. The Boston Globe
reported on how defense contractors routinely retain former high-level
officers to serve as lobbyists, even though few bother registering or
complying with ethics disclosures. Keane, for instance, was tapped by the
contractor AM General to pressure lawmakers to support a plan to purchase
new Humvee vehicles from the company rather than refurbish older models.
Former military leaders play a decisive role in shaping public opinion
around military escalation. In the buildup to the Iraq War, the Pentagon
maintained a secret effort to deploy former generals and other high-ranking
officials on television news programs to drum up support for the invasion.
The New York Times, which reported on the communications campaign, noted
that the military pundits maintained financial ties to defense contractors,
a financial stake in the war policies they sought to promote.
e-max.it: your social media marketing partner
Email This Page
