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Who are the war profiteers?
Let's take a look at some of the men in Washington who are most gun ho
about war ...
Dick Cheney: Few politicians can match Dick Cheney's enthusiasm for war
-- or his record of wanton destruction. As George H.W. Bush's Secretary
of Defense, he presided over wars against Panama and Iraq, and then as
Vice President under George W. Bush, he led the war drives against
Afghanistan and Iraq.
Between wars, Dick has turned his attention from destruction to
construction -- that is post-war reconstruction. In 1995, he was named
CEO of Halliburton, the world's largest oil services company and a major
military contractor. After the first Gulf War, Halliburton was hired to
help rebuild the Kuwaiti oil industry. Then after the second Gulf War,
the company was back to clean up the mess again -- for a healthy fee.
[100]
You've gotta hand it to Dick. He's got an innovative business strategy
-- first bomb it, then clean it up, then bomb it again, then clean it up
again!
Halliburton is raking in hundreds of millions of dollars for feeding and
housing U.S. troops in Iraq and it got the biggest post-war
reconstruction prize -- a secret no-bid contract to rebuild Iraqi oil
facilities that will likely be worth billions. [101]
It's nice to have friends in Washington!
As Halliburton's CEO, Cheney was rewarded handsomely, pocketing millions
in salary and stock options every year. He ended up as Halliburton's
largest individual stockholder, with a $45 million stake. [102]
Dick Cheney: I earned every penny of it.
Cheney got draft deferments five times to avoid fighting in Vietnam. But
he's eager to send others to fight and die, and then reap the benefits.
He's served on the boards of several huge war contractors, and his wife
-- Lynne -- joined the board of Lockheed Martin. After Cheney returned
to the White House in 2001, Lockheed got the biggest plum in Pentagon
history -- a contract worth hundreds of billions to make the next
generation of fighter jets.
Lynne and Dick Cheney: We're just doing our patriotic duty! [103]
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