[Mb-civic] War and Venture Capitalism

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

http://www.commondrWar and Venture 
Capitalismeams.org/views05/0715-13.htm	
Published on Friday, July 15, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

By Norman Solomon
 
During the Vietnam War, one of the peace movement's more sardonic 
slogans was: "War is good business. Invest your son."

In recent years, some eminent pundits and top government officials 
have become brazen about praising war as a good investment.

Thomas Friedman's 1999 book "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" 
summed up a key function of the USA's high-tech arsenal. "The hidden 
hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist," he wrote. 
"McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the designer 
of the U.S. Air Force F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world 
safe for Silicon Valley's technologies to flourish is called the U.S. Army, 
Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps."

On Sept. 12, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke this way as 
he defended the U.S. military occupation of Iraq: "Since the United 
States and its coalition partners have invested a great deal of political 
capital, as well as financial resources, as well as the lives of our young 
men and women -- and we have a large force there now -- we can't be 
expected to suddenly just step aside." He was voicing the terminology 
and logic of a major capitalist investor.

And so, it was fitting when the New York Times reported days ago that 
Powell will soon be (in the words of the headline) "Taking a Role in 
Venture Capitalism." The article explained that Powell is becoming a 
partner in Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a renowned Silicon Valley 
venture firm: "Mr. Powell acknowledged in an interview Tuesday that 
he has had any number of tempting job offers since leaving the State 
Department in January, but that the chance to work as a venture 
capitalist at Kleiner Perkins seemed too enticing to turn down."

Writ large, the balance-sheet outlook of venture capitalism is being 
widely applied to the current war in Iraq -- even while defenders of the 
war are apt to indignantly reject any claim that it's driven by zeal for 
massive profits. But let's take the corporate firms at their own words.

Last year, I went through the latest annual reports from some 
American firms with Pentagon contracts. Those reports acknowledged, 
as a matter of fact, the basic corporate reliance on the warfare state.

Orbit International Corp., a small business making high-tech products 
for use by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines, had increased 
its net sales by nearly $2.4 million during the previous two years, to 
about $17.1 million -- and the war future was bright. "Looking ahead," 
CEO Dennis Sunshine reported, "Orbit's Electronics and Power Unit 
Segments expect to continue to benefit from the expanding 
military/defense and homeland security marketplace." In its yearly 
report to federal regulators, Orbit International acknowledged: "We are 
heavily dependent upon military spending as a source of revenues and 
income. Accordingly, any substantial future reductions in overall 
military spending by the U.S. government could have a material 
adverse effect on our sales and earnings."

A much larger corporation, Engineered Support Systems, Inc., had 
quadrupled its net revenues between 1999 and 2003, when they 
reached $572.7 million. For the report covering 2003, the firm's top 
officers signed a statement that declared: "As we have always said, 
rapid deployment of our armed forces drives our business." The 
company's president, Jerry Potthoff, assured investors: "Our nation's 
military is deployed in over 130 countries, so our products and 
personnel are deployed, as well. As long as America remains the 
world's policeman, our products and services will help them complete 
their missions."

The gigantic Northrop Grumman firm, while noting that its revenues 
totaled $26.2 billion in 2003, boasted: "In terms of the portfolio, 
Northrop Grumman is situated in the 'sweet spot' of U.S. defense and 
national security spending."

War. How sweet it can be.

This article is adapted from Norman Solomon's new book "War Made 
Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." For 
information, go to: www.WarMadeEasy.com


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