Who Profit$ from the Iraq War?

* In 1991, the Rendon Group PR firm won a $200 million contract to
promote the invasion of Iraq.

* In 1992, Dick Cheney hired Halliburton to do a feasibility study
of military outsourcing.

• In 1995, Cheney became Halliburton's CEO, serving until 2000.

• Halliburton paid $302 million in taxes in 1998, and got $85
  

* Halliburton has been granted billions of dollars' worth of no-bid
government contracts.

* 50% of the CIA's functions have been outsourced to private
contractors.

* There are 180,000 private contractors in Iraq today--outnumbering
U.S. military forces.

* 50,000 of these private contractors provide "security
services"--they are guns for hire.

* $100 billion a year in taxpayer money goes to military security
companies like Blackwater.

* There is no accountability mechanism under U.S. law for private
military contractors.

* The U.S.-led provisional government gave private contractors
immunity from Iraqi law in 2004.

* More than 60 military personnel have been prosecuted for Iraqi
civilian deaths, but not a single private contractor.

• An Army private makes $37,000 a year.

• A private security contractor makes $33,000 a month--nearly
  

Yes, it's all true, and Fr. G. Simon Harak, S.J., director of the Center
for Peacemaking at Marquette University, will provide the sources on
request.

His presentation is not just meticulously researched. It's scary stuff.
U.S. corporations, he says, no longer make a profit from war--they make
war for profit.

If you missed his talk, it's available as a PowerPoint. Please contact
WNPJ member, Sue Ruggles in Milwaukee for details on how to obtain a copy.

Sue Ruggles
AFT Local 212