SolidarityEconomy.net

by Jerry Harris, SolidarityEconomy.net

. Vets get lousy health care

The growing scandal over health care for veterans of the Iraq war needs some historical perspective. Members of the press, Congress and Pentagon all have expressed shock and awe over the horrible conditions that some vets had to live in at Walter Reed hospital and the bureaucratic mess and hassle of receiving treatment. How can America treat its heroes in such a manner, they ask? Unfortunately it’s nothing new. Viet-Nam vets got shafted with lousy health care, go back and read Ron Kovack’s well known novel “Born on the Fourth of July,” or just rent the movie. Or how about all the vets suffering from exposure to Agent Orange? For years the Veterans Administration Hospitals refused to treat them for cancer and other effects insisting there were no physical conditions caused by the deadly defoliant. It took years in court to finally force the military to pay attention and give treatment. Lets fast forward to the first war against Iraq and the Desert Storm vets. Again tens of thousands of returning vets complained about what became known as “Gulf Syndrome.” What was the reaction of the Pentagon? It was just stress and all in their head, nothing real. Again it took years and mounting political pressure to address the problem.

So what is the real lesson here? The government, the Pentagon and the war industry doesn’t give a fuck about the common solider. For all the patriotic propaganda, flag waving, chest pounding, and we love you yellow ribbons after coming off the war fighting assembly line vets are just used up bolts in the military machine. Moreover, wounded vets are costly to maintain. The capitalists who own and run the military/industrial complex would much rather be making profits on new weapons systems than spending those tax dollars on caring for vets. That is the logic of imperialism. Trick working class men and women into joining the military in the belief they are defending their country, sacrifice them in war, and meanwhile carry out the real agenda – profits, geopolitical power, and oil. When will we learn to remember?

. BAE becoming largest transnational weapons corporation

Britain’s biggest weapons producer has reached the upper tier of Pentagon contractors with their acquisition of United Defense Industries and $3.5B in US contracts. BAE will now make and overhaul the army’s Bradley fighting vehicle. BAE is also looking for strategic moves including businesses in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia and Sweden. CEO Mike Turner stated the company “may well emerge as the premier global defense and security company, rather than just the leading transatlantic weapons group.” But tugging at Mr. Turner’s shirtsleeve are investigations by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office probing into their corporate activities in Romania, Tanzania, South Africa, the Czech Republic and Chile. Of course the icing on the cake is the hotly debated bribe case against BAE in Saudi Arabia, drooped after heavy UK governmental pressure to make it go away. (J. Boxell and J. O’Doherty, “BAE chief says he is in no rush to do more US deals.” FT, 2/23/07)

. World stock market stumbles

With a drop in the Shanghi stock market of nine percent the rest of the world’s stock markets went into a tumble. More evidence that the world economy is closely bound together by economic globalization. The Chinese market has just five percent of the capitalization of the US markets, nevertheless panic spread and Wall Street saw a one day drop of 3.5 percent.

Many economists are trying to figure out why. Particularly so because the Chinese stock market is relatively insulated from cross-border capital flows, residents have few choices in sending money offshore, and foreign investors are restricted to buying about $10B in mainland shares. But when capitalists operate with a global strategy of accumulation national problems become global problems and economic boundaries disappear. This is the world transnational capitalists have been busy constructing so why the surprise? The old saying that when America sneezes the world catches a cold now applies in reverse. When any large economy sneezes everyone is heading for the hospital.