Creating Jobs

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Largest Employer in the World

If we can hire contractors to rebuild Iraq, why can't we do that in the United States? 

Also, the largest employer in the World is the United States Department of Defense with about 3.2 million (plus contractors!). What would be wrong with going into the murder capitol of the United States, and defending American lives? And if we need the "foreign invader" angle, then let's go find all the heroin and cocaine dealers in Oakland, CA and Newark, NJ and put them out of business, because those drugs are provided by "foreign invaders". While we are at it, we can search the mountains of California for marijuana growers employed by the Mexican cartels. We have enough troops to make American MUCH safer here at home for all of us.

And if American were ever invaded, wouldn't a better power grid and broadband internet help us coordinate our defense? Let's put troops to work on things that would both defend our country in case of attack, and at the same time strengthen the infrastructure. 

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JP Morgan is One Reason we are still in Afghanistan

It has long been argued that wars are fought for economic reasons. World War 2 brought about the rise of the “Swiss Bank Account” where money seized in war could be hidden from others. While there can be numerous reasons for going to war, money tends to be a central focus in all wars. The public discourse might be more about “stopping evil doers” or “defeating terrorists”, it is always important to follow the money trail, and understand who is benefiting.

In the case of Afghanistan, this is a country with an enormous wealth of resources including gold, copper, lead, zinc, rare earth elements and iron ore. It appears that a big part of the US strategy in Afghanistan is to “get the economy going”. A large part of Afghanistan’s GDP right now comes from foreign aid and the drug trade. Lots of heroine comes from Afghanistan!

After arranging for investors from around the World to take part, JP Morgan is now arranging contracts for gold and other minerals. General Petraeus said “Wonderful!” as he learned of the arrangement. There are reports of JP Morgan execs working with the Pentagon, flying around on blackhawk helicopters to identify mine sites and start making arrangements for mining contracts.

It appears the level of effort going into getting mining operations started has intensified in the last few years. A google search for JP Morgan Afghanistan might be a good place to start further study. There is also a more extensive article in the May 23, 2011 issue of Fortune magazine.

Discussion Questions:
1. Would mining contracts help move the Afghanistan economy forward?
2. Since the US are the invaders, is it our responsibility to facilitate business contracts?

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Combined Tactical Systems Teargas used by Egyptian Police

As I was watching the story unfold in Egypt, a reporter on the ground from CNN (Engel) mentioned the teargas used by Egyptian police on protesters was from Combined Tactical Systems, which is based in Jamestown, PA in the United States. As people question the role of the United States in their plight, do things like this have an influence on the view of Egyptians on the United States?

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Role of Military Contractors in the Iraq War (Part 2)

Role of Military Contractors in the Iraq War

Not long after the U.S. led an invasion into Iraq, huge companies were on their tails hungry to get a piece of the Iraq pie. These large companies with their huge government contracts then were left with the task of staffing a civilian force ready to go stand on the front lines in the most hostile land on earth. Over 50,000 civilian contractors have worked in Iraq doing jobs from operating a movie projector, to driving a fuel truck through the streets of Baghdad. Some did it for money; some did it for adventure, but no matter what reason they had for going, they all had one goal once they got there; to take care of the soldiers that counted on them to bring basic services, such as food, water, and base life support. Many came, did their job, and made it back home safely. Others paid the ultimate price for their efforts, and died on the front line of combat.

All of these contractors faced very real threats, the same as the soldiers. Every base in Iraq was prone to constant mortar and rocket propelled grenade attacks. Truck drivers had the unenviable task of driving through the streets of Iraq, where Insurgents would place Improvised explosion devices along the road waiting specifically for these civilian convoys to come rolling through. Civilian contractors are prohibited from carrying weapons in theater, which makes them extremely enticing targets for anyone looking to disrupt the theater operations.

Most civilian casualties were suffered by the Theater Transportation Mission division. They were responsible for running all cargo that was shipped into Iraq to all parts of the country.  Some routes were short just running from one large base to the smaller outlying bases, while other routes forced drivers to drive the full length of the country from Kuwait to the Northern provinces. Some loads were flatbeds full of supplies, or food, while other drivers were forced to drive ticking time bombs, carrying fuel trucks full of jet fuel. These drivers were often victims of horrifying situations, due to being easy targets by insurgents. One rocket propelled grenade through the tank of the trucks could cause a devastating and in most cases deadly explosion. At

Camp Anaconda which is the main hub for the Theater Transportation Mission you can see the destruction and the real threats these drivers had to face. There is a graveyard of destroyed over the road trucks and trailers. At least 100 vehicles are laid to rest here, and by seeing it makes you realize the true danger these drivers face. 

On April 8, 2004 the worst attack on a civilian convoy took place just north of Baghdad which took the lives of 8 brave drivers. It was an orchestrated ambush set up on the entrance to a bridge. Rocket propelled grenades first hit the lead and tail trucks, and then opened fire on everything else in between. One driver survived the attack but was taken prisoner by the insurgents. He defied certain death by escaping from his prison, and was ironically saved by his fellow employees who were driving through on a convoy not far from where his captors held him prisoner.

Every camp in Iraq has a memorial for those contractors who have paid the ultimate price for their service. Unfortunately these memorials grow larger, as the months pass, and the bravery of these contractors is often overlooked. They face very real threats, and put their lives on the line everyday to do the job that they were sent to do. No matter the initial reason for coming to work in Iraq, the civilian contractors face many of the same dangers as the soldiers face in the war zone. Many have come to work, many went back home to their families, and many died in the fields of Iraq.

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