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Hillary Clinton Pitched Iraq As 'A Business Opportunity' For US Corporations
Campaign 2016: Hillary Clinton Pitched Iraq As 'A Business Opportunity' For US Corporations
By David Sirota, Andrew Perez
When then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton voted to authorize the war against Iraq in 2002, she justified her support of the invasion as a way to protect America’s national security. But less than a decade later, as secretary of state, Clinton promoted the war-torn country as a place where American corporations could make big money.
“It's time for the United States to start thinking of Iraq as a business opportunity," she said in a 2011 speech.
The quote was included in an email released by the State Department on Wednesday that specifically mentioned JPMorgan and Exxon Mobil. JPMorgan was selected by the U.S. government to run a key import-export bank in Iraq and in 2013 announced plans to expand its operations in the country. Exxon Mobil signed a deal to redevelop Iraqi oil fields. JPMorgan has collectively paid the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation at least $450,000 for speeches, and Exxon Mobil has donated over $1 million to the family’s foundation....
<snip>
In the aftermath of the Iraq War, the Bush administration pushed to privatize wide swaths of the Iraqi economy. Many prominent political voices charged that the conflict was not about national security or a humanitarian mission against a dictator but was instead an attempt to use military force to open up Iraq’s closed economy to foreign corporations -- including oil giants like Exxon Mobil.
In 2007, for example, then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said: “People say we're not fighting for oil. Of course we are. They talk about America's national interest. What the hell do you think they're talking about? We're not there for figs.” That same year, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." Former General General John Abizaid said of the war: ‘‘Of course it’s about oil, it’s very much about oil -- and we can’t really deny that.”
In the email that referred to Clinton’s portrayal of Iraq as a business opportunity...
http://www.ibtimes.com/campaign-2016-hillary-clinton-pitched-iraq-business-opportunity-us-corporations-2121999
By David Sirota, Andrew Perez
When then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton voted to authorize the war against Iraq in 2002, she justified her support of the invasion as a way to protect America’s national security. But less than a decade later, as secretary of state, Clinton promoted the war-torn country as a place where American corporations could make big money.
“It's time for the United States to start thinking of Iraq as a business opportunity," she said in a 2011 speech.
The quote was included in an email released by the State Department on Wednesday that specifically mentioned JPMorgan and Exxon Mobil. JPMorgan was selected by the U.S. government to run a key import-export bank in Iraq and in 2013 announced plans to expand its operations in the country. Exxon Mobil signed a deal to redevelop Iraqi oil fields. JPMorgan has collectively paid the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation at least $450,000 for speeches, and Exxon Mobil has donated over $1 million to the family’s foundation....
<snip>
In the aftermath of the Iraq War, the Bush administration pushed to privatize wide swaths of the Iraqi economy. Many prominent political voices charged that the conflict was not about national security or a humanitarian mission against a dictator but was instead an attempt to use military force to open up Iraq’s closed economy to foreign corporations -- including oil giants like Exxon Mobil.
In 2007, for example, then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said: “People say we're not fighting for oil. Of course we are. They talk about America's national interest. What the hell do you think they're talking about? We're not there for figs.” That same year, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." Former General General John Abizaid said of the war: ‘‘Of course it’s about oil, it’s very much about oil -- and we can’t really deny that.”
In the email that referred to Clinton’s portrayal of Iraq as a business opportunity...
I was moved to post this more by Sec. Clinton's vote to go to war than by her actions as SoS. While the duty to represent corporations was part of her portfolio, the vote to go to war was completely and totally an expression of her personal values. The information in this article gives reason to think there was a very cynical and opportunistic element to her decision.
23 replies
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for the amoral and greedy. 
increase markedly due to the war in Iraq. Cemeteries have sold many more plots. The Grim Reaper can barely keep up with all the business he's been getting. Now ISIS, a result of the Iraq War, is providing even more business opportunities for the profit motivated.
And let's not forget defense contractors, the oil industry, construction contractors in Iraq, and other death and destruction related businesses. Oh, yeah! I forgot Blackwater, or whatever it calls itself now.
War -> Torture -> Death -> Mutilation -> Destruction -> Dispossession -> Eternal War
= TON$ OF PROFIT!!!
THE SYSTEM WORKS!!!
DLC's PNAC Document - Hillary Clinton On America's Strategy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251495072
