(Okay in all fairness, both articles say essentially the same thing,
but the second one has cool graphs and charts in it so I decided to
use them both.)
So my amazing young friend, MacT© posted an article today about the
Coup/Not Coup going on in Egypt right now and she asked the very
sensible question of why are we still supporting a regime that goes
out an murders hundreds of unarmed civilians. This question, like so
many of her questions sparked a rather lively discussion and one of
the comments made by my Brother, Ben Baker, was that it was all about
the money and that if someone were to trace the reason why the US
Government does any of its policies, they would find the root cause
to be money.
Some of you will probably think that is an overly simplified view of
the situation. You will rightly point out that there are other
variables involved. However, money is a major driving force behind
the majority of our overseas relationships especially in the Middle
Eastish type area, especially where Egypt is concerned. So how much
money are we actually talking about and exactly who benefits from it?
Lessee what the numbers and names say.
Top Ten Largess Recipients of the Egyptian Bounty.
Lockheed
Martin: Amount: $259 million
DRS Technologies: Amount:
$65.7 million
L-3 Communication Ocean Systems: Amount:
$31.3 illion
Deloitte Consulting: Amount:
$28.1 million
Boeing: Amount:
$22.8 million
Raytheon: Amount:
$31.6 million
AgustaWestland: Amount:
$17.3 million US Motor Works: Amount: $14.5 million
Goodrich Corp.: Amount: $10.8 million
Columbia GroupAmount: $10.6 million
Total: 496,000,000
(That's a
rough estimate, I rounded. I hate fractions with a passion)
Now keep in
mind that doesn't include all the Aid sent to Egypt or even all of
the corporations that profit from our staying Egypt's buds. But
still ponder that number. Nearly $500 Million dollars going into the
coffers of corporations here in the US. All of that money would
simply dry up and blow away if we discontinued our relationship with
Egypt. So yes there are solid diplomatic reasons to continue
backing Egypt despite all of the death and bloodshed. However never
underestimate the power of the almighty dollar.
This is where
someone will probably accuse me of being anti-capitalism and down on
people making a profit. Nothing could be further from the truth. I
support the right for any corporation or business to make as much
money as they are able to. However, I also think that doing business
with people who have the blood of innocents on their hands will
always mean that some of that blood is going to rub off on you.
There has to come a time when look past the profit margin and see the
death and destruction. If we don't we run the risk of becoming just
like the monsters we support.
End of Rant
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