Clinton’s TIES To Military-Industrial Complex Are As Serious A Concern As Her Ties To Wall Street

[Segami]

There’s been considerable concern, for good reason, about Hillary Clinton’s Wall Street ties, but I don’t think this is the biggest problem to be concerned about should she be elected. I am even more worried about her neoconservative foreign policy views, and being a lackey for the military-industrial complex. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, described the problem, starting with discussion of John F. Kennedy. Perhaps Ted Kennedy even thought of the vast differences between Clinton and his brother when endorsing Obama over Clinton in 2008. Sachs wrote that, in her speech before the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton “doubled down on the existing, failed U.S. approach in the Middle East, the one she pursued as Secretary of State.”

~snip~

Clinton’s speech shows that she and her advisors are good loyalists of the military-industrial-intelligence complex. Her speech included an impressive number of tactical elements: who should do the bombing and who should be the foot soldiers. Yet all of this tactical precision is nothing more than business as usual. Would Clinton ever have the courage and vision to push back against the U.S. security establishment, as did JFK, and thereby restore global diplomacy and reverse the upward spiral of war and terror?

Just as the CIA contributed to the downward slide to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and just as many of JFK’s security chiefs urged war rather than negotiation during that crisis, so too today’s Middle East terrorism, wars, and refugee crises have been stoked by misguided CIA-led interventions. Starting in 1979, the CIA began to build the modern Sunni jihadist movement, then known as the Mujahedeen, to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The CIA recruited young Sunni Muslim men to fight the Soviet infidel, and the CIA provided training, arms, and financing. Yet soon enough, this US-created jihadist army turned on the US, a classic and typical case of blowback.

cont'

~snip~

An election between Clinton and any of the likely Republican candidates would offer no real choice. Clinton’s plan to handle ISIS is unlikely to work. We can only hope that Clinton can be defeated for the Democratic nomination. Sachs ended by contrasting Clinton’s views with those of Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders:

"...O’Malley and Sanders wisely and correctly support an America that works with other countries and with the UN Security Council to build peace in the Middle East rather than an America that continues to indulge in endless and failed CIA adventures of regime change and war. While Clinton arrogantly demands that other countries such as Russia and Iran fall squarely behind the U.S., O’Malley and Sanders recognize that it is through compromise in the UN Security Council that we can defeat ISIS and find lasting solutions in the Middle East.

Whether Clinton could ever break free of the military-industrial complex remains to be seen. If she does become president, our very survival will depend on her capacity to learn..."

O’Malley and Sanders did criticize Clinton’s foreign policy views in the second Democratic debate, but it is clear that Bernie’s heart is in attaching her Wall Street ties. I wish he would pay as much attention to her ties to the military-industrial complex and her overly hawkish foreign policy views. It could be hard running against those who pander to fear, but it is important to do if we are to avoid perpetual warfare under either Clinton or a Republican president. As the most popular Senator in America, Sanders might be able to pull this off. Iowa has long been a strong state for anti-war movements, and the Democratic primary voters should respond to this issue.


cont'

http://themoderatevoice.com/210965/clintons-ties-to-military-industrial-complex-are-as-serious-a-concern-as-her-ties-to-wall-street/

[daleanime]

1. Now her fondness for military responses.....

makes more sense. Horrible sense.

[kristopher]

18. U.S. working to keep up with surging weapons demand: Pentagon

U.S. working to keep up with surging weapons demand: Pentagon
By Reuters Media on Nov 25, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government is working hard to ensure quicker processing of U.S. foreign arms sales, which surged 36 percent to $46.6 billion in fiscal 2015 and look set to remain strong in coming years, a top Pentagon official said.

"Projections are still strong," Vice Admiral Joe Rixey, who heads the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

He said the agency was trying to sort out the impact of a much stronger-than-expected fourth quarter as it finalized its forecast for arms sales in fiscal 2016, which began Oct. 1.

The fight against Islamic State militants and other armed conflicts around the globe were fueling demand for U.S. missile defense equipment, helicopters and munitions, Rixey said, a shift from 10 years ago when the focus was on fighter jets.

"It's worldwide. The demand signal is coming in Europe, in the Pacific and in Centcom," he said, referring to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East and Afghanistan.

U.S. companies ...

http://www.jamestownsun.com/news/nation-and-world/3890604-us-working-keep-surging-weapons-demand-pentagon

[99th_Monkey]

2. Not to mention Hillary's ties to the Private Prison Industry

Guess Who Else Is Fundraising for Clinton: Private Prison Lobbyists
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/24/guess-who-else-fundraising-clinton-private-prison-lobbyists

Until she got called on it, then things changed:
Clinton To Cut Ties With Private Prison Industry
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/23/3715544/clinton-private-prisons/

[pnwmom]

14. She's called for an end to the privatization of prisons, but nothing she does

is ever enough, in the eyes of her detractors.

And, despite what you second link says, she long ago announced her Criminal Justice platform. It's been up on her website for months. And it includes a call for the end of private prisons.

[99th_Monkey]

15. Yes, like with many issues (TPP, Keystone, CU, Iraq War vote, et. al) Hillary 'evolved'

Yes, we know, Hillary suddenly 'saw the light', but not until Bernie blazed the trail, and voters
turned out by the 10s of thousands saying "hell yah!".

None of this evolving has gone un-noticed .. and not just by her 'detractors'.

[pnwmom]

17. Most people change positions over the years, including Bernie.

His positions on gun control continue to evolve.

[BeanMusical]

24. Your post is... interesting.

[beam me up scottie]

33. Isn't it?

She once called him a "tool for the NRA" if that gives you any indication of how detached from reality that is.

Bernie has always been pro-gun control but the lies and smears keep coming.

[Doctor_J]

23. she stopped taking their money four weeks ago

You can't honestly believe that, can you?

[AtomicKitten]

3. Hillary Clinton Helped Sell Weapons To Hostile Nations To Enrich Defense Funders

Hillary Clinton Helped Sell Weapons To Hostile Nations To Enrich Defense Funders
http://trofire.com/2015/05/28/hillary-clinton-sold-weapons-to-hostile-nations-to-enrich-defense-funders/

While Republicans have been distracted by phony scandals surrounding Hillary Clinton (like Benghazi), they missed one of the dirtiest scandals ever to emerge involving the former First Lady and current front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 2016. A damning new report from the International Business Times explains how Hillary Clinton used her position as Secretary of State to create a pay-to-play atmosphere for world leaders seeking military equipment and defense contractors looking to make a few extra billions.

Here is what the IBT report uncovered:

* The value of these sales to these countries were double the value of those approved by the Bush administration over the same period of time.

* Total sales topped $151 billion countries that gave to the Clinton Foundation. A 143% increase for those countries over what they got during the Bush years.

* Here is an example of how the pay to play scam worked: Saudi Arabia wanted F-15 fighter jets, which they received after making a $900,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton personally approved that deal. This happened after Hillary complained about the country continuing to ignore the money that was flowing from Saudi Arabia to terrorist organizations. In short, she knew that the country was funding terrorists who were fighting American soldiers, and still was willing to sell them heavy artillery because they gave her group money.

* These countries that were receiving sweetheart deals from Clinton were violating human rights left and right, and that’s according to information that the State Department had. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait – all of these countries had been singled out by the State Department for things like corruption, violation of civil liberties, and violently retaliating against political opponents. But Hillary looked past all of these atrocities when she gave them massive weaponry.

* Algeria had been singled out as allowing “arbitrary killing” in the country and for having what they called widespread corruption. But after a half million dollar donation to the Clinton Foundation, they received a 70% increase in military weapon imports that included toxicological agents, biological agents, chemical agents. During her time at the State Department, Hillary approved $2.7 billion to the country of Algeria, which is almost triple what the Bush administration had sold to them in their last few years in office. Algeria had been put on watch by Hillary’s State Department for abuses such as human trafficking, their practicing of “disappearing” political and social dissidents, and for allowing violent criminals to kidnap, rape, and terrorize citizens in areas of the country without actively trying to stop them.

But when you’re giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Secretary of State’s charity, those egregious human rights abuses can be swept under the rug to make room for your new shipment of chemical weapons. Legally, these countries are not allowed to make political donations to U.S. politicians if they are seeking arms deals from the government, but there is no law that prevents them from making charitable donations. And that’s how they were legally able to bribe Hillary Clinton. National security experts even came forward at the time and said that these donations represented a very serious conflict of interest. Their warnings went unheeded. But the real winner in all of this was the defense industry.

At the same time that Clinton was approving massive arms deals to hostile countries, Bill Clinton was making the rounds on the speaking circuit being paid as much as $625,000 for each event. These events were sponsored by companies like Boeing, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin. At one event, MSNBC hosts Mika Brzeninski and Joe Scarborough served as the emcees of the event while their employer – General Electric – reaped huge benefits from Hillary’s deals with these countries.

Another great example is when Goldman Sachs paid Bill $200,000 to speak at an event at the same time that they owned a part of defense contractor Hawker Beechcraft, who received a $675 million deal less than two months after Bill’s speech. This story expertly defines who Hillary Clinton really is, and who she looks after when in a position of power. America cannot afford another defense industry hack as president – we’re still picking up the pieces from W’s destruction.

[Segami]

5. Oh yea....

Mike Papantonio breaks it down......

[AtomicKitten]

6. Oy!!!

it's blatant quid pro quo

[fbc]

8. She should be in jail for this.

quid pro quo bribery

This arms dealing is Reaganesque stuff.

[AtomicKitten]

13. I don't want her anywhere near the levers of government.

She's a corrupt neoliberal hawk and the Clinton Foundation a high level slush fund.

[BeanMusical]

25. Is W in Jail? Is Dick in Jail?

Why would that person should be when they're above the law?

[sorechasm]

19. Republicans haven't missed any Clinton scandal. They're just waiting for her to win the nomination

Then hang all of these 'Pay to Play' (and support of Human Rights abusers) scandals around her neck to watch her sink and lose the GE.

How about we not wait? So far only Harper's and the International Business Times have reported these sinkers in the Press. Is the rest of the Media holding out to meet the GOP demands?

Among the reasons why Obama won 2008 was because the Lehman Brothers collapse (and economic crisis) happened 'ahead-of-schedule'. Wall Street knew it was coming but intended it to occur after a Republican won the GE.

Why can't this exposure also happen 'ahead-of-schedule'?

[AtomicKitten]

36. I have no doubt if elected she'd be under constant investigation.

Because that's how the GOP rolls and because the Clintons have always accommodated that proclivity with their dodgy behavior.

[sorechasm]

37. Clintons as Victims is so 1999

Aren't we supposed to stop digging when we find ourselves in a hole?

If the Clintons were truly compassionate for the 99%, I find it difficult to believe they would partner with so many of the entities that cause so much suffering (and collect $$$$ to boot). On top of which they expect all Dems to get on board and support their behavior.

Some of these charges may be bogus. All of them, I doubt it. If they are so innocent of all these charges why can't they truly brush them off the way that PBO has done countless times. Five jokes a year at the Press Club Dinner, and PBO brushed off a hundred bogus GOP scandals. The Clintons seem to make the most out of each one because it helps them to play the victim.

Is Clinton-as-Victim card their only path to victory?

[AtomicKitten]

43. They use the blind allegiance to them as a shield.

Last edited Fri Nov 27, 2015, 07:55 PM - Edit history (1)

I know better than most because when I first started posting here in 2005 I was an ardent Clinton fan, as obnoxious as any today. I believed their version of things and didn't bother to exert the tiniest bit of due diligence in seeking out facts. But I got an education here at DU. I starting reading links provided and did my own research, and I was stunned to realize I had been blindly following the herd.

I know the Clintons now, their records. I know how they operate. I am appalled by their quest to become Masters of the Universe. They have lined their pockets (the arms sales was the piece de resistance) along the way making themselves very, very rich. The Clinton Foundation is a money-laundering operation that allows them to keep their cronies on salary and to live their lives large and in 5-star comfort.

They have control of politician endorsements because the Clintons have demonstrated what happens to those that dare cross them. In 2012 Bill Clinton campaigned only for those that supported Hillary in 2008, urging them to reject Obama (for example, Alison Grimes rejected Obama per BClinton's advice and ended up getting less votes than Obama in Kentucky), going as far as campaigning for the primary opponents of those that had the audacity to support Obama or stay neutral.

So, yes, they are looking to the herd to continue doing them a solid by defending every goddamn thing they do and shouting down any attempt to present the facts. Hillary plays the gender and race cards regularly and is queuing up the victim card in case things get messy, which they always do.

[sorechasm]

45. Wow! At least the GOP is blatant about their loyalties and perceived enemies.

The Clinton's Vindication against fellow democrats for voicing critical concerns was shameful in the 90's. In 2015, it's suicidal because the levers of power in the YouTube era are easily exposed. The Clinton's are exposing the Democratic Party and the nation to another disastrous campaign, all for their personal gain (and our loss).

Thanks AtomicKitten for this very informative thread!

[AtomicKitten]

46. Cheers.

[AzDar]

4. She's compromised... through and through.

[MisterP]

7. neocon, neocon, does whatever a neocon does

[billhicks76]

9. Shsssshhhhhh

They don't like it when you debate or state facts. It's considered a personal attack. I was hidden for simply pointing out the obvious fact that Hillary aligned her foreign policy decisions with the neocons and likened her to our own Tony Blair. They use censorship as their #1 tool. Great strategy folks.

[beam me up scottie]

10. Why discuss issues when we can compare celebrity endorsements?

Or who does or doesn't have the right to invoke MLK.

I think you have the wrong forum, this one is only for juvenile food fights about non-issues.

K & R anyway, good op.

[SoapBox]

11. No Clintons in or near the White House.

Never...ever...again.

[Betty Karlson]

12. K&R. The list of reasons to vote for anyone but Clinton

(in the primaries) keeps growing every day.

[Fawke Em]

16. This should be obvious.

[Scuba]

20. Hillary is disqualified for many reasons, this being one of the most important.

[sorechasm]

21. Absolutely!

Apparently she was referring to the amount of money she made as SOS from the MIC when she stated that an HRC Presidential foreign policy would match PBO's.

Only I'm sure the Pay-to-play will be much, much worse.

[Doctor_J]

22. well she considers Iraq an investment opportunity

So, duh.

[BeanMusical]

26. Kicked and Recced.

[Thinkingabout]

27. If Clinton's ties are a serious concern to the military complex

Then Sanders ties is a serious concern to military complex, he continues to vote for the F-35 program though it is far over the original budget and still they are making major changes to the F-35. Experts say it would lose in a dog fight, it is supposed to be a fighter jet. The helmets cost $400,000 apiece. He keeps voting for defense contracts and came out in the past week saying defense spending needs to be cut, which way is he going next week.

[AlbertCat]

30. He keeps voting for defense contracts and came out in the past week saying defense spending needs to

Yes yes.... many unsavory things are inserted into bills that have essentials in them...

Sanders is not perfect (nor has claimed to be) and also knows some things must be compromised on...like a real politician (something he has been accused of being clueless about)

Still, nothing compared to Clinton.

You vote for the BEST candidate, not the perfect one.

Which is why many will hold their nose and vote for Clinton if she should win the primary.

[beam me up scottie]

34. "You vote for the BEST candidate, not the perfect one."

Well said!

They always try to use the Pee Wee Herman defense whenever someone brings up Hillary's ties to the MIC and her endless saber rattling.

[ejbr]

39. No worries

He's "just a blogger". We know from the Harper's piece that they don't speak the truth; just opinions.

[gordyfl]

28. The Cost of War - ISIS

I saw this video today. It's from FaceBook. ISIS and the cost of war. It's 12 minutes, but I thought it well worth it...


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1109286879117550&id=142868065759441&_rdr

[cantbeserious]

29. Thank You For Sharing These Truths

eom

[Progressive dog]

31. Sachs has called Krugman "a crude keynesian",

so we shouldn't be surprised by his attacks on Hillary.

[delrem]

32. 100% war profiteering. It's a good business. n/t

[Live and Learn]

35. +1000 nt

[FlatBaroque]

38. Enough already!!

I do NOT need any more reasons to never vote for Hillary Clinton.

[reddread]

40. but, but buh buh but GUNS!!!

sweetest misdirect EVER.
as pro-violent intervention and as anti-democratic/self-determination for foreign nations as it gets.
someday, we are going to pay the full price for these crimes against soveriegn nations.
Lets start asserting responsibility and recrimination for these horrorific misdeeds.
Some folks have considerable responsibility, mirroring their involvement, complicity and clear understanding of the
outcomes. These were not mistakes on their part. Nor were they failures.
It is up to us to correct those at fault.
a fairly long list.
dont wait for them to do it.

[FlatBaroque]

41. 100% agree n/t

[Uncle Joe]

42. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Segami.

[Awknid]

44. K & R