Dear Ndcic,
There are probably several possible answers to your interesting
question. However, I'll provide here an answer based on my research,
and I hope others would provide their insights and views as a comment.
Several industries and sectors in society profit from wars. The sector
that profits that most is the weapons industry: it would profit even
from a small-scaled war in a remote area, that is not at the centre of
attention.
"Who profits from war?
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, TRW, Northrop Grumman, to name a
few. Their profits are enormous, and they have untold access to, and
influence in, our government. Thirty-two top appointees of the Bush
administration have been executives, consultants, or major
shareholders of weapons contractors. (Source: Arms Trade Resource
Center)" (SOURCE: Columbia River Fellowship for Peace,
<http://www.columbiariverpeace.org/Article_Pages/Feature_Pages/WarTax_Feature.html>).
In the case of the War in Iraq, there are also other industries that
profit: some indicate that the energy industry is profiting (in the
United States) of the control of Iraq's resources. Others indicate
that various contractor firms profit from it. An interesting
development is "private" security firms, in fact hired gunman, who are
operated by these contractors, and of course, like in the olden days
of mercenaries, their bosses do rather well. This kind of "private
army" also exists in other conflicts around the world, for example in
Latin America.
The Center for Corporate Policy has published a list of the Top Ten
War Profiteers of 2004. It reveals that arms manufacturers/dealers and
security-related contractors are on the top of the list, with Lockheed
Martin (http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fnec&ti=100)
on top of it. There is a focus on the war in Iraq, though, not on wars
in general.
Center for Corporate Responsibility, "Top Ten War Profiteers of 2004",
<http://www.guerrillanews.com/articles/article.php?id=1029>
Further Reading
===============
Who Profits From War?
<http://home.earthlink.net/~platter/who-profits.html> - a collection
of links about individuals, companies and sectors profiting from war,
especially in Iraq.
Who Profits? Who Pays? Corporate Australia in Iraq
<http://disobedience.nomasters.org/?q=node/view/83>
Douglas Mattern, "The War Business", Published by Liberal Slant,
04/13/03, <http://www.arcuk.org/pages/war_businesshtm.htm>
Eli Pariser, "The Weapons Industry",
<http://malagigi.cddc.vt.edu/pipermail/lnc/2002-May/006348.html>
William D. Hartung, "How Much Are You Making on the War, Daddy?
A Quick and Dirty Guide to War Profiteering in the Bush Administration" (Book)
Frida Berrigan, "THE WAR PROFITEERS: HOW ARE WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS
FARING IN THE WAR?" December 17, 2001,
<http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/updates/profiteers121701.html>
CorpWatch - War Profiteers
<http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=176>
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms:
"War Profiteers", "Arms Trade Resource Center" profit war, "weapon
industry" profit war, "weapons industry" profit war, "weapons
industry" growth, "who profits" most from war, who profits most from
war, |
