Log = in or=20 register to=20 commondreams.org

Friday, November 28, 2008=20

Home > Headlines

Published on = Tuesday,=20 April 8, 2008 by Inter=20 Press Service

US Lawmakers Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

by Abid Aslam

WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers have a financial interest in military = operations=20 in Iraq and Afghanistan, a review of their accounts has revealed.

Members of Congress invested nearly 196 million dollars of their own = money in=20 companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars a day from = Pentagon=20 contracts to provide goods and services to U.S. armed forces, say = nonpartisan=20 watchdog groups.

David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq, is to brief the Senate = Foreign=20 Relations and Armed Services committees on Tuesday and Wednesday. The = latest=20 findings are unlikely to have a significant impact on this week's = proceedings=20 but could stoke anti-incumbent sentiment in this year of presidential = and=20 legislative elections.

Lawmakers charged with overseeing Pentagon contractors hold stock in = those=20 very firms, as do vocal critics of the war in Iraq, says the Centre for=20 Responsive Politics (CRP).

Senator John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts who staked his = 2004=20 presidential bid in part on his opposition to the war, tops the list of=20 investors. His holdings in firms with Pentagon contracts of at least = five=20 million dollars stood at between 28.9 million dollars and 38.2 million = dollars=20 as of Dec. 31, 2006. Kerry sits on the Senate foreign relations = panel.

Members of Congress are required to report their personal finances = every year=20 but only need to state their assets in broad ranges.

Other top investors include Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, a = New Jersey=20 Republican with holdings of 12.1 million - 49.1 million dollars; Rep. = Robin=20 Hayes, a North Carolina Republican (9.2 million - 37.1 million dollars); = Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin (5.2 million - 7.6 = million=20 dollars); and Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat (2.7 million - 6.3 = million=20 dollars).

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Democrat and former governor of West = Virginia who=20 chairs the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, invested some 2.0 = million=20 dollars in Pentagon contractors, CRP says.

Other panel chiefs who invested in defence firms include Sen. Joseph=20 Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent who presides over the Senate = Homeland=20 Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman, the = California Democrat who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In all, 151 current members of Congress -- more than one-fourth of = the total=20 -- have invested between 78.7 million dollars and 195.5 million dollars = in=20 companies that received defence contracts of at least 5.0 million = dollars,=20 according to CRP.

These companies received more than 275.6 billion dollars from the = government=20 in 2006, or 755 million dollars per day, says budget watchdog group OMB=20 Watch.

The investments yielded lawmakers 15.8 million - 62 million dollars = in=20 dividend income, capital gains, royalties, and interest from 2004 = through 2006,=20 says CRP.

Not all the firms deal in arms or military equipment. Some make soft = drinks=20 or medical supplies and military contracts represent a small fraction of = their=20 revenues. Many are leaders in their industries and, as such, feature in = the=20 investment portfolios of millions of ordinary people who invest at least = a=20 portion of their savings in mutual funds, which in turn hold stocks in = up to=20 hundreds of companies.

"Giant corporations outside of the defence sector, such as Pepsico, = IBM,=20 Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson, have received defence contracts and = are all=20 popular investments for both members of Congress and the general = public," says=20 CRP.

"So common are these companies, both as personal investments and as = defence=20 contractors, it would appear difficult to build a diverse blue-chip = stock=20 portfolio without at least some of them," the group acknowledges.

If some of the stocks appear innocent, aides say legislators also = are. Some=20 did not buy the stocks in question but inherited them. Many hold them in = blind=20 trusts, so called because the investments are handled by independent = entities,=20 at least theoretically without the politicians' knowledge of how their = assets=20 are being managed.

Even so, according to CRP, owning stock in companies under contract = with the=20 Pentagon could prove "problematic for members of Congress who sit on = committees=20 that oversee defence policy and budgeting."

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees = held=20 3.0 million - 5.1 million dollars in companies specialising in weapons = and other=20 exclusively military goods and services, it added.

Critics have assailed President George W. Bush and Vice President = Richard=20 Cheney for their ties to companies seen as benefiting from the Iraq and=20 Afghanistan wars. Bush was characterised as pushing conflict in the = interest of=20 the oil fraternity whence he hailed.

Before becoming vice president, Cheney headed Halliburton, a major = player in=20 the oil services industry and the object of controversies involving = political=20 connections, government contracts, and business ethics.

Halliburton's subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root, was given=20 multi-billion-dollar contracts to provide construction, hospitality, and = other=20 services to the U.S. military following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The = contracts=20 drew fire because of Cheney's history and then-ongoing financial = relationship=20 with the firm, and because the company did not have to compete for the=20 Pentagon's business. The firm was renamed KBR Inc. after Halliburton = spun it off=20 last year.
=C2=A9 2008 Inter Press Service

105 Comments so far

Sh= ow=20 All

truthmonger April 8th, 2008 2:58 pm

They should all be tossed for conflict of interest.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

EveningLand April 8th, 2008 2:57 pm

It's time, methinks, for a bit of a reminder. What are the greatest = values to=20 our Repubs, if not the martial ones (they love war, don't they?)? That = is at=20 least what they are fond of setting forth in their endless patriotic = babble.

So, let's take a look at the martial record of our Repubs and their = various=20 pundits and pontificators (I am adding the Democrats' record for = comparison, not=20 because they are such responsive politicians).

Now, if these dirtbags are so meek on actual martial performance, = they surely=20 must be into war for the money. It's that simple.

Republicans =C3=A2=E2=82=AC=E2=80=9D These are the guys sending = people to war:

* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by = marriage.
*=20 Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy = Blunt:=20 did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did = not=20 serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not = serve.
*=20 John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* = Jeb Bush:=20 did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did = not=20 serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
* = Paul=20 Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard = Perle: did=20 not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not = serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not = serve.
* Tim=20 Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt = Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as=20 flight
instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his = six-year=20 National Guard; got assigned to Alabama so he could
campaign for = family=20 friend running for U.S. Senate;
failed to show up for required = medical=20 exam,
disappeared from duty.
* B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously = enlisted after=20 fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John = McCain:=20 Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and = Distinguished Flying=20 Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did = not=20 serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. = "Knee=20 problem," although continued in NFL for 8 years.
* Dan Quayle: = Journalism unit=20 of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* = George=20 Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John = Engler:=20 did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold=20 Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.
* Ronald Reagan: due to = poor=20 eyesight, served in a non-combat role making movies.

Pundits & Preachers:

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F = with a=20 'pilonidal cyst.')
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael = Savage: did=20 not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not = serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not = serve.
*=20 Pat Buchanan: did not serve. (Did oppose the war in Iraq)
* Bill = Kristol: did=20 not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did = not=20 serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not = serve.
*=20 Michael Medved: did not serve.
* Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
* = Ted=20 Nugent: did not serve. (He only shoots at things that don't shoot = back.)
*=20 John Wayne: did not serve.
* Gerald Mcraney: did not serve. Played a = Vietnam=20 Vet
on 3 TV shows (Simon & Simon, Major Dad, and Promise
Land) =

Democrats:

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: = Staff=20 Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC = 1969-72.
*=20 Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an = army
journalist=20 in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal = of=20 Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army = 1943-47; Medal=20 of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze = Star=20 with Combat
V, Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army = 1948-52;=20 Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star = &=20 Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: = Lt.,=20 Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, = 1971-1979;=20 Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in = WWII; Bronze=20 Star and seven campaign
ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army = 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze
Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete=20 Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star = and
Legion of=20 Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple = Heart.
*=20 Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; = Bronze
Star=20 with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze = Star.
* Pete=20 Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: = Silver=20 Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill = Clinton:=20 Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
* = Jimmy=20 Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army = 1951-1953
* John=20 Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom = Lantos:=20 Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.
* = John=20 Murtha: Marines, Vietnam, Purple Heart, Bronze Star

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

MeAlsoToo April 8th, 2008 2:48 pm

And, when exactly did Kerry actually base ANYTHING on "opposing the=20 war"?
As I recall, his chief Debate-complaint about Iraq was that = Bush=20 "didn't send enough troops to do-it-right"...[and, don't expect ANYTHING = different from McCain/Obama or our next-President (or her free-Adviser = -- still=20 brainwashed from his Rhodes/Oxford neo-Lib 'training') or her VP, Al=20 "Carbon-Tax" Gore (who never met a nuke-plant developer or Uranium-mine = owner he=20 didn't-like!)].

[As for 'Rules': The Golden Rule is: "Them what has the Gold, makes = the=20 Rules" -- Baron David Mayer de Rothschild]

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

Jeffrey=20 Courion April 8th, 2008 2:47 pm

We are such a corrupted society. There are those who make the rules = for those=20 who will follow the rules. But, those who make the rules -- make the = rules so=20 they don't have to follow the rules they make. Tah dah!

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

lillulu April 8th, 2008 2:45 pm

Attacking and occupying weak countries is big business in America. = The=20 greedy, conscienceless rich politicians, both War Party Republicans AND=20 Democrats, get richer off of unnecessary war. There's nothing the = American=20 politicians/military-industrial complex/weapons industry love more than = making=20 enemies worldwide, only 3rd world enemies, that is.

It's a shame we tax payers are so impotent against the war criminals = in this=20 so-called democracy.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

alexnosal April 8th, 2008 2:43 pm

While it is no surprise to hear that our elected representatives have = invested and profited heavily in the MIC (Military Industrial Complex), = it was=20 refreshing to see some actual numbers put out there. Naturally an = elected=20 official with such ties to the MIC should be barred from running for = political=20 office, yet in reality there electability increases as a result of the=20 association with the merchants of death.
It should also be noted that = any=20 politician quickly realizes that personally investing in the MIC will = guarantee=20 a good return in a country that that so willingly supports an over = bloated=20 military.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

MeAlsoToo April 8th, 2008 2:36 pm

What's the stock-market Symbol? [I'd go a hundred-shares -- just on=20 'Spec'!]

3-trillion into those sinkholes...'somebody' is sure making a=20 pile-o'-cash...

["What you do" is: you become damn-glad you ain't an Iraqi.
What's = that=20 Yiddish-prayer...the one that thanks G_d that the Prayee "was not born a = woman"?]

These "crimes" and 'collateral' war-dead-civilian 'counts' are = NOTHING=20 compared to what this next-Admin will bring via 'soft-power' --=20 starvation/drought/crop-disease/GMO & varied 'free-trade' = enforcements, etc.=20 BushCo will look 'positively amateurish' and Unmotivated -- come=20 2011-or-so...

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

Big_Money April 8th, 2008 2:35 pm

I'm sure that anyone in a position to do anything about this will = have some=20 well-buffed explanation about how this just proves that unfettered = free-market=20 self-regulation provides a more robust mechanism for defending our = freedoms, and=20 that to consider these so-called facts as proof of anything else is = downright=20 treasonous.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

tja1952 April 8th, 2008 2:35 pm

Too bad, we the people, are absolutely POWERLESS to do a godamn thing = about=20 it. Think voting helps? I think NOT!

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

george w. bush April 8th, 2008 2:31 pm

Suspect the worst and then it gets worser. When Borat ranted to the=20 Texasshole crowd about Bush drinking the blood of every Iraqi it seemed = like an=20 over the top spoof. Now it's probably be viewed as an essential dietary=20 supplement.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

luna April 8th, 2008 2:29 pm

why are you all so surprised by any of this?
what did you all = think would=20 happen?
So the real question is this, with all this info that we do = know now,=20 about everything..... what do WE DO!???
any clues???? I have a few, = but cant=20 put it here.......

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

un-neocon April 8th, 2008 2:24 pm

These sons-of-biches are getting rich off the blood spilled on both = sides of=20 this hideous war!! They should ALL be brought to trial for WAR CRIMES!!! = First=20 off, they should RESIGN or be IMPEACHED!!!
AND their PROFITS split = among the=20 VICTIMS both in Iraq and Afghanistan, AND OUR SOLDIERS!!!

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

sdw917 April 8th, 2008 2:20 pm

Wow! Talk about insider trading!!!!!

If we were truly a nation of laws, the SEC would investigate ... uh = ...=20 sorry, there I go thinking we have a representative government = ...

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

kelmer April 8th, 2008 2:07 pm

Hahhaha. Perfect.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

Quality Time April 8th, 2008 2:07 pm

Golly gee, what a big surprise. Too bad the media hasn't noticed or, = more=20 likely, doesn't care.

Login=20 or register=20 to post comments=20
repo= rt this=20 comment

Join the discussion:

You must be logged=20 in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here=20 to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email = address to=20 anyone.)

CommonDreams.org is an=20 Internet-based progressive news and grassroots activism organization, = founded in=20 1997.
We are a nonprofit, progressive, independent and nonpartisan=20 organization.

About = Us | Donate=20 | Contact = Us | Sign-Up=20 | Archives

To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common=20 good.

US Lawmakers Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

105 Comments so far

Comment viewing options

Join the discussion: