Iraq: American Deaths and Corporate Greed

By Don Hazen, AlterNet. Posted September 5, 2006.

Robert Greenwald's new film and AlterNet's ongoing coverage of war profiteering document shocking truths about corruption and the war on Iraq.

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Recently, while watching Robert Greenwald's new film, "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers," I began to grasp the enormous scope and implications of the corporate takeover of the war in Iraq. I asked myself, "Why isn't this a huge issue for Americans of all political stripe?" After all, making money off war, while American soldiers are dying, strikes many people as just plain wrong.

It's all in Greenwald's film: American tax dollars paying for the enormous profits enjoyed by a gaggle of well-connected companies that have revolving doors with the military and the U.S. government. Wars waged in our name creating ballooning CEO salaries, gigantic waste, and the loss of control of the role of the military. But the viewer is unprepared for the really shocking realization -- the lives of hardworking, patriotic Americans are sacrificed, stupidly and callously, and soldiers are put in unnecessary danger all to make a buck -- many, many bucks.

Today's lead story, "The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers," by Charlie Cray (who appears in "Iraq For Sale"), is the newest installment in our ongoing coverage of war corruption. Cray writes: "From criminal mismanagement of Iraq's oil revenues to armed private security contractors operating with virtual impunity, this war has created opportunities for an appalling amount of corruption."

Sara Anderson's recent piece, "Blatantly Boasting War Profiteers," which documents profiteering business execs bragging about their windfalls to potential investors, appeared last Wednesday.

And on Thursday, staff writer Joshua Holland explores the implications of outsourcing torture, taking a close look at CACI, a corporation featured in Greenwald's film and in Cray's article. According to Susan Burke, an attorney hired by the Center for Constitutional Rights, CACI and another company Titan "engaged in a conspiracy to torture and abuse detainees, and did so to make more money. "

"Iraq for Sale" is having its San Francisco premiere on Sept. 13 at an event sponsored by AlterNet, Amnesty International, Working Assets, and Equality California. We hope to see you there. Click here here to preorder a copy of the DVD.

Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet.

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Additional screening following 9/27 Bechtel protest in SF [Report this comment] Posted by: CounterCorp on Sep 5, 2006 3:49 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] On Wednesday, Sept. 27, Global Exchange/CodePINK and other members of the Declaration of Peace coalition are holding a demonstration outside of Bechtel's San Francisco headquarters at 50 Beale Street (Embarcadero BART) from 4:00-6:00pm. After the protest, we will be holding a benefit screening of Robert Greenwald's *IRAQ FOR SALE: The War Profiteering, followed by a panel discussion, at 7:30pm at the Brava Theater on 2789 24th Street (24th Street/Mission BART). Proceeds support the 2006 CounterCorp Anti-Corporate Film Festival. For tickets and more information, visit www.countercorp.org. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] The Ruthless Profiteering Monsters!!!* [Report this comment] Posted by: lively56 on Sep 5, 2006 10:16 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I can't hardly wait to see this film. They have been keeping me updated on this project since it's inception. I wish I could be in San Francisco for the premiere, but unfortunately that's not the case. If this film doesn't open the eyes of the American people, then I don't believe anything will. Robert Greenwald needs to be commended for having the fortitude to put something that riveting together in such a short time frame. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] YOU CAN'T LEAVE OUT THE INVESTORS [Report this comment] Posted by: laime22 on Sep 5, 2006 10:33 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] We always talk about the immoral corporations as they profiteer, ruin our environment, bask in tax-dollar giveaways and betray our workers. But a crucial element is left out: the investors who make the corporations possible. Certainly we should pay attention to how our tax money is misused. But equally, we should pay attention to how investors act as enablers for the corporations. How many people really educate themselves on how their invested dollars are used? Let's face it; most people just go to the bottom line to see how much they've made on their invstments. When you look for culprits, don't forget the enablers and abetters! And, by the way, this is another venue for our class system to stratisfy and impede upward mobility. If the market system is to be the only way to move up the economic ladder, to ensure pensions and provide health care, those who have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to just get by and have no money to invest, are totally left out. I suggest that every time a sentence starts with 'corporation' it should be amended to read 'corporations and their investors. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] HO-HUM [Report this comment] Posted by: NET on Sep 5, 2006 8:42 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] TERRIBLY SORRY TO HAVE TO SAY THIS, BUT I WAS A CONTRIBUTOR TO "IRAQ FOR SALE", MY HUSBAND AND I SAW IT LAST NIGHT AT THE WORLD PREMIER, AND IT WAS SADLY AMATEURISH, ESP. IN THE FIRST HALF. THE SECOND HALF WAS BETTER BUT, REALLY, THIS IS NOT A MOVIE TO GRAB AND SHAKE PEOPLE, LIKE IT COULD HAVE BEEN. I HAD HIGH HOPES, AND I'VE SEEN OTHER ROBERT GREENWALD MOVIES......THE INTENT AND INSPIRATION WERE THERE BUT THIS WAS NOT A DOG THAT'LL HUNT. I HOPE DVD SALES ARE GOOD, BUT IT WILL ONLY BE THE CHOIR BUYING. REALLY TOO BAD. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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