Profiteers of War
War is a dreadful abomination. An opportunity for men to prove they are capable of descending to the depths of human depravity, en masse. It presents an opportunity to re-visit our early ancestors' preoccupation with territorial advantage. For to advance one's territory and hold it fast was to guarantee survival.Nature has so endowed the human creature, like all of nature's animals, to advance the territorial imperative, and so it is that those in elevated positions of national power are able to dabble in conquest, sending the young of the land to fight for their elders' ambitions.
And it's not only advantageous to acquire greater parcels of land to extend one's sovereignty, but war has long been accepted as an exemplary way in which large corporations can restructure themselves, produce the goods and services required at such times, very specific to the activity at hand - waging war against other nations, diminishing them and strengthening the conqueror.
In the process enabling war profiteers to skim all the cream from the top of the stinking pile of conquest's end result.
It's an open secret around the world, no less than in the United States, that people of the ilk of U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney are closely associated and stand to profit greatly with huge corporate interests allied with Halliburton. Oil acquisition, Halliburton's profits, a long simmering international grudge have all conspired in the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, and in the refugee displacement of millions of Iraqis.
And there is no end in sight. Of course, this war is only one of many, but for the moment, the most visible, the rawest.
Impoverished South Asians, from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and elsewhere, are assured they can make hefty salaries driving trucks in Kuwait, accept the offer, are flown to Kuwait at the company's expense, then have their passports taken from them, and forced to drive trucks in huge convoys into Iraq. Where, crossing the Highway of Death, at 100 km/h to lessen the risk of insurgent attack, 70% of convoys do come under attack.
The untrained, frightened truckers have no rights, no access to medical treatment for wounds sustained, no insurance should they be killed to send to their grieving families; they are hostage to the war. They work, under duress and fear, for one of the hundreds of Kuwait-based trucking firms under contract to KBR, only latterly out of the orbit of Halliburton.
KBR holds an exclusive contract with the U.S. Defence Department. Earning them tens of billions, set to expand to hundreds of billions in profits in the years to come.
The U.S. does not support the situation of human rights violations through its various procurement and military agencies. But this war is heavily reliant on private contractors for supply and services and for private policing duties. There is little oversight on the manner in which contracted-out services are provided.
Iraq is an ongoing bloody war zone. The truckers are targets because they transport items vital to the war effort for the invading forces. Where there is a convoy, there are snipers, there are bombs, there are IEDs.
There's money to be made by truckers, and American truckers make money, big time, while risking their lives. The South Asian truckers from impoverished backgrounds make money to send back to their needy families, too. Americans drive steel-reinforced trucks with bulletproof glass. The sub-contracted truckers drive unprotected 8-wheelers.
KBR's American truckers receive roughly $100,000 in yearly salaries at their risky profession. In that same profession, Filipinos earn about $4,500, Indians and Sri Lankans around $3,000. Same route, same cartage, same risks. American truckers wryly refer to KBR as Kill 'em, Bag 'em and Replace 'em.
The U.S. Department of Labour's figures reveal that in the first four months of 2007, deaths at the rate of 9 civilian contractors each week became the norm. And for each American trucker killed, there were four non-Americans who met untimely deaths. "If (American drivers) can drive a big truck, we can also. If they can drive 15 hours, we can also. What is the difference?" asks one of the Filipino drivers rhetorically. "The difference is that they are white and we are Asians."
KBR's own released figures indicate that 35,000 of its 48,000 workers in Iraq are non-American. They maintain a scrupulous distance from the Middle Eastern companies to whom they sub-contract. "Outsourcing is about the shifting of responsibility", explained Peter Singer of the Brookings Institute. "It's about who does the job, but also the cost - the political cost and legal cost. I think it's a very serious threat to how we conceive of our foreign policy."
KBR's activities in providing logistical support for the U.S. military has not been without scandal. Not only the manner in which it deliberately sub-contracts and then knows nothing of human rights abuses, but in previous engagements where it has been revealed that it double-billed the army for work, and then agreed to pay a nominal $8 million to settle charges, without admitting to wrongdoing on their part.
The Pentagon has other questions about KBR's billing practises in Iraq, with unsupported charges amounting to an unaccounted for $1-billion. Yet KBR continues to be awarded contracts for ongoing logistical support to troops in Iraq. It's one of three companies in contractual awards that could be worth $150-billion over a ten-year period.
War is profitable. On the bent backs of Iraqis, and the weary American taxpayer.
Labels: Middle East, Political Realities, Troublespots, United States
posted by Pieface @ Monday, April 07, 2008
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