BF2S Forums War Is a Racket

The world's largest arms exporters are France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They are also four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China just doesn't report).

You know it's out of control when Canada and Norway are getting in on the action.

"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11? "

not to earn money for the government but to make money for the contractors which are the government friends.

Dilbert_X wrote:

Oh, wait...government employees don't get bonuses. All of our salaries are publicly posted. Try again.

I said IN the government, not employees OF the govt.

Please explain the difference. Everyone who is IN government is an employee OF the government.

Dilbert_X wrote:

dude mentioned oil.... lets stick to that one

Easy, before OKS the oil price was what, $30/barrel, after OKS ~$80/barrel, now the pressure is being ratcheted up on Iran $100/barrel.
The cost of production is unchanged, the remainder is profit.

US taxpayer pays for the war, US corporations and the Saudis make the profit.

How much did it cost to get the two Bushes elected and did the donors recoup their investment yet?

I'm guessing OKS = Operation Kill Saddam? Very cute.

The only companies that have actually profited directly from the war are those that are providing services to the troops, the Iraqi government, the US State Dept/Embassy, and the builders. They are the only ones whose business has increased specifically because of OIF. I suppose you could throw in the people who make the uparmor kits for HMMWVs and the MRAP, too. They likely wouldn't have gotten the business they did without OIF.

Oil prices going through the roof has little to do with Iraq, as the amount of Iraqi crude available on the open market was never much to begin with...certainly not enough to cause this increase in price. Increasing consumption without a commensurate increase in production is what is causing the prices, primarily in India and China. It's called supply and demand, not vast international conspiracies run by the Bush family or their supporters.

War is a racket.  A lot of politicians (from parties across the board) benefit from a war-time economy.  Many politicians join the ranks of the lobbyists after their terms are up.  One of the most lucrative industries to lobby for is the defense industry.  That is why you see the likes of James Baker III, GHWB, Fidel Ramos, John Major, Shinawatra (can't remember his first name, former president of Thailand), etc. on the board of directors for defense contractors.  Not only is War a racket, but politics are as well.