Iraq War

08-25-07

I just finished watching a broadcast of a documentary entitled Iraq for Sale, by Robert Greenwald. Some of you may have already seen it.

I highly recommend this production; though I was utterly exhausted and stressed as it aired, in fact standing up as I was about to leave my living room and go up to bed, I could not move, and in fact I ultimately sat back down on the couch to continue watching--the film, especially its latter half, is absolutely riveting.

The documentary chronicles and reveals the crimes of Halliburton and several other contracting firms of note such as Titan and CACI, that supply services and materials to the United States government in the Iraq war effort. The firms operate in Iraq; that's where the services and materials are utilized. The only problem is, these firms are abjectly corrupt and incompetent, as is the process by which they come to their--usually no-bid--U.S. government contracts. For example the documentary chronicles a long rapsheet of overcharges to the U.S. government by these private contractors, such as a price of $99 to wash one load of laundry for our military personnel!

Worse yet, the film documents the story of four men working for these contractors as truck drivers in Iraq, who were ambushed by insurgents on a day when it was common knowledge that attacks along their travel route would likely be planned. In other words, it is strongly contended, the contracting firms essentially allowed the men to be killed to ensure the trucks got through, the deliveries were made--and the huge profits were collected.

But lest we be misled by the false possibility that the companies were motivated by patriotism in ensuring the deliveries were made, the documentary also chronicles one or more other truck caravans, flatbed trucks in this case, that were also ordered to make their usual stops-even though the trucks were absolutely empty. Video footage clearly shows multiple trucks with completely empty flatbeds traversing a roadway.

The film also details how the overwhelming majority of clean-water pumping stations provided by Halliburton actually dispensed unchlorinated, dirty water--used daily by our marines and related personnel to take showers. A water contamination expert formerly employed by Halliburton openly weeps in the film as he describes this travesty.

Clothing washed in washing machines provide by these contractors resulted in laundry that, far from clean and fresh, was always noticeably "grimy," according to one soldier interviewed onscreen. The soldier further stated that he and his comrades were forbidden from washing their own clothing in a sink, a practice they had adopted through necessity.

This riveting Greenwald production explicitly illustrates the corruption of capitalism as it intersects with the war industry. Yes, that's what I said--the war industry. Because there is a large dimension of war that obviously is an industry. Moreover, the film graphically documents and illustrates the patently incestuous relationship between government and this industry, with persons of high military rank or other stature moving back and forth between high military or U.S. government defense department service, and similar high-level contracting positions in that industry. And lest we forget, the current Vice-President of the United States, Dick Cheney, is the former CEO of Halliburton!

Advocates of Cooperative Socialism and others from almost every political quarter have been asking for several years now whether it's a coincidence that the Vice-President has been cheerleading this war from almost the beginning. Does anyone have, or know of, any authoritative information that addresses this important question?

As if we should really have to point this out: the sad fact of the matter is that our health, safety, and welfare is not the focus of the economic planning and operation of the capitalist ruling class--profit is their compulsive focus, as much as possible, as fast as possible. Nor does the status of a human being as an American serviceman change that equation--any presumption that these private military contractor corporations would take extra care and make extra effort to assist our military and related personnel and oversee their welfare, in Iraq for example, would be sadly mistaken. No, the unfortunate reality--that we can change, working together--is that even our courageous brothers and sisters in the military, serving their country faithfully as they understand that task, are prey for the predatory capitalist animal; fodder for the crazed and morally malfunctioning capitalist shredding machine.

Additionally, I note that, as Cooperative Socialists already know, the practice of government-industry incest is widespread in every industry under capitalism. This is no surprise to those of us who already understand who actually runs the U.S. government, and just about every other capitalist government on the planet.

Mr. Greenwald, the maker of this film, does not conclude his production with commentary. Were he to, however, it's unclear whether he'd draw the obvious conclusion that the immoral spectacle he just finished documenting with such effectiveness is yet one more--of a multitude--of examples of the interminable and irreconcilable corruption of capitalism, speaking volumes about the urgent need to replace it.

We, however, cannot indulge in such an omission. BOMA asserts confidently that capitalism is in obvious and dire need of replacement with the new and better Cooperative System, the latter characterized by morality and logic in both its economic operations and personal value systems. A Cooperative System that would not be corrupt in any area, including the military, and indeed would not foster the global competition to acquire resources in the first place, as capitalism routinely does, that has historically resulted in war.

Please visit the web site for the film, www.IraqForSale.org. But above all, please see this film. It actually covers several more issues than the ones described here, including how incompetent and ill-supervised private military personnel caused the Abu Ghraib debacle that was so disgraceful to the United States, and painful to innocent detainees and their families.

Together, we are strong; apart, we are weak: afterward, please seriously consider a membership in BOMA, to bring us that much closer to a world without such crimes and immoralities.