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Tag(s): War For Oil; War Profiteers - Ing
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March 20, 2007 at 01:55:47

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Headlined on 3/20/07:
War Profiteering, Past and Present

by Carol Hamilton Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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On St. Patrick's Day, some of my friends and I watched a DVD of the film "Iraq for Sale," with its disturbing accounts of profiteering on the part of Halliburton and Blackwater. We saw how Halliburton charged U.S. soldiers exorbitant prices for Middle-Eastern Coca Colas as well as $100 to wash every bag of laundry (submission of which was compulsory, even though the laundry came back even dirtier). We saw graphs depicting the tremendous increase in the value of Halliburton stock since the beginning of the war.

During the course of our spirited discussion, I remembered reading about a case of war profiteering during the American Revolution.

In October of 1778 the editor of the New York Journal received a letter from someone offering to write a series of editorials exposing corruption in high places.

The letter began: "There are abuses in the State which demand an immediate remedy. Important political characters must be brought upon the stage and animadverted [harshly criticized] with freedom. The opinion I have of the independence of your spirit convinces me that you will be a faithful guardian of liberty of the press."

He would not, the writer declared, ever impugn the dignity of government, but neither would he respect his superiors: "I shall not conceive myself bound to use any extraordinary ceremony with the characters of corrupt individuals, however exalted their stations."

The writer was a 23-year-old colonel in the Continental Army named Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804). The target of his outrage was Samuel Chase (1741-1811) , who represented Maryland in the Continental Congress. Chase had learned of a secret plan to purchase flour for the French navy, crucial allies of the Americans. He spread the word to his associates: buy up the flour and we can sell it at a profit.

Colonel Hamilton, Washington's most valued aide-de-camp, had written too many letters begging for supplies from the Continental Congress to tolerate such bad behavior. He attacked Chase as a member of a "criminal class" who, "taking advantage of the times, have carried the spirit of monopoly and extortion to an excess, which scarcely admits of a parallel ... The exorbitant price of every article, and the depreciation of our currency, are evils, derived essentially from this source."

"When avarice takes the lead in a state," Hamilton declared, "it is commonly a forerunner of its fall. How shocking it is to discover among ourselves, even at this early period, the strongest symptoms of this fatal disease!"

Probably as a result of Hamilton's articles, Chase lost his seat in the Continental Congress for two years.

Bill Maher likes to say that Dick Cheney used to run the White House out of Halliburton; now he runs Halliburton out of the White House.

Samuel Chase's unpatriotic machinations in respect to flour are dwarfed by the crimes of an administration that puts the interests of oil companies above those of the American people. If only someone prominent would attack them as sharply as Hamilton attacked Chase in the final paragraph of his final essay:

"It is a mark of compassion, to which you are not entitled, to advise you by a timely and voluntary retreat, to avoid the ignominy of a formal dismissal. Your career has held out as long as you could have hoped. It is time that you should cease to personate the fictitious character you have assumed, and appear what you really are--lay aside the mask of patriotism, and assert your character among the honorable tribe of speculators."

Carol V. Hamilton has a Ph.D. in English from Berkeley and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. She also writes for History News Network (hnn.us) and CommonDreams.org.

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5 comments

Doug Brooks is originally from Indiana and has a BA in History from Indiana University, an MA in History from Baylor University, with additional doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. He has worked as a high school teacher in Zimbabwe, at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Institute of International Education (IIE), the International Management Development Institute in Pittsburgh and was an academic fellow at ...

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DBrooksDoug Brooks is originally from Indiana and has a BA in History from Indiana University, an MA in History from Baylor University, with additional doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. He has worked as a high school teacher in Zimbabwe, at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Institute of International Education (IIE), the International Management Development Institute in Pittsburgh and was an academic fellow at ...

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Don't trust Greenwald

Howdy!

Interesting article, but do be careful that we don't take a one-sided flick like "Iraq for Sale" at face value - it leaves a few minor details out. For example, the great 'war profiteer' KBR earns all of 1% (with a possible 2% bonus) on the military support work that it does - and that the LOGCAP contract was competitively bid in 2001. Or that this is the best supported, supplied military operation in history. KBR may not be the greatest company in the world, but it certainly ain't the worst and like it or not the job it has done in Iraq and Afghanistan has been an amazing bargain for the military. Hamilton's issues with a rogue individual a couple of hundred years ago were a bit different, methinks.

There were 80,000 contractors supporting the military in Vietnam at one point - this is nothing new. We have contractors supporting UN operations in Haiti, Sierra Leone and the DR Congo. The Africa Union operation in Darfur uses contracted helicopters, sleeps at contracted bases and eats contracted food. Problems pop up in all contracts, but considering the critical role these companies play in supporting international policies, it makes more sense to solve those issues then ignore their value. Partisan bludgeons such as ‘Iraq for Sale’ do more to hide the truth than reveal it. (Full disclosure: I appear in the movie for about 2 seconds, carefully edited from a 40 minute interview). – Doug Brooks

by DBrooks (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 6:07:49 AM

Carol V. Hamilton has a Ph.D. in English from Berkeley and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. She also writes for History News Network (hnn.us) and CommonDreams.org.
Carol V. HamiltonCarol V. Hamilton has a Ph.D. in English from Berkeley and teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. She also writes for History News Network (hnn.us) and CommonDreams.org.

Thanks, but

Thanks for the comment. My father was a Hoosier.

You write, "Problems pop up in all contracts, but considering the critical role these companies play in supporting international policies..." I'm suggesting (or rather repeating a wide-spread perception) something more sinister in this piece--that the war profiteers are in the White House. Thus, they certainly play a "critical role," but sadly not merely in "supporting" international policies. I should add that I don't support these particular international policies.

There is more to be said about the history of war profiteering. During World War I, many Americans suspected large industries of engaging in this nefarious practice. The anarchist Peter Kropotkin alienated many of his friends when he came out in favor of a war against Germany. Others on the left argued that the war would involve "workers killing workers," all to the benefit of what we now call "defense contractors."

by Carol V. Hamilton (15 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 28 comments) on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 4:55:56 PM

Rosa Schmidt is an American married to an Iranian, hence the second last name, Azadi. She's a long-time peace activist with a background in anthropology, education, and public health. She's also one of the people who walked away from the falling Twin Towers on 9/11 and returned to help with the recovery effort. Out of this experience of destruction, death, and horror came a deeper commitment to human life everywhere and specifically to non-violence. Retired and sp...

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Rosa Schmidt AzadiRosa Schmidt is an American married to an Iranian, hence the second last name, Azadi. She's a long-time peace activist with a background in anthropology, education, and public health. She's also one of the people who walked away from the falling Twin Towers on 9/11 and returned to help with the recovery effort. Out of this experience of destruction, death, and horror came a deeper commitment to human life everywhere and specifically to non-violence. Retired and sp...

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If only...

Loved the script you (?) wrote for Bush and Cheney. If only they would read it to us all on TV. Or on YouTube. Hmmm, that's a thought....

by Rosa Schmidt Azadi (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 49 comments) on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 3:58:55 PM

thanks

Thanks, I didn't write it, but it seemed so relevant; that passage was Alexander Hamilton on Chase again, his final paragraph of the three essays.

by Carol V. Hamilton (15 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 28 comments) on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 4:45:19 PM

Mark A. Goldman is an activist, author, financial planner and recent unsuccessful Candidate for Congress.
Mark A. GoldmanMark A. Goldman is an activist, author, financial planner and recent unsuccessful Candidate for Congress.

Profiteering

I think far worse than the crimes against the American people, are the crimes that have been committed against the Iriaqi people. This article summarizes quite well, when you include the link that in contained within it, what we have done to the people during our grab for their oil: http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0319-24.htm

If there were still such a thing as International Law, which has essentially been destroyed almost single handedly by the Bush Administration, it would require of Bush as occupier of what was once a sovereign nation, to be fiduciary and guardian of all Iraqi assets including their oil. One can only hide in shame at how Bush & Co. has betrayed that trust and responsibility. Instead of protecting Iraqi assets for the people of Iraq, he has allowed or caused their destruction, claimed that profits from their oil be used to repair that destruction, and essentially converted a great portion of their oil away from the people of Iraq and into the hands of American oil companies. Such theft and treason is unprecidented in America history.

by Mark A. Goldman (81 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 243 comments) on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 6:26:53 PM