thomas leverett weblog

buy the war stocks

Let me be honest: I think it's all about money. Somebody is making a killing selling the likelihood of war, and that creates the likelihood of war. Raytheon stocks went up, what, twelve percent, and somebody knew that would happen, and bought low, and sold high.

It's an insult to our boys, who are on their way over there, thinking they're fighting for our freedom. But hey wait a minute; did they really think this was about freedom? In fact, what was it about, anyway? Did anyone give us a reason? I can't see that it's about nuclear capability, because it was us that broke that deal first. I also can't see that it's about "influence" in Iraq. Iraq, if you let the people decide how to run it, is going to go Shi'ite by simple majority. And Shi'ite means Iranian influence. It's that simple: when we toppled Saddam, we made a Shi'ite state. To come in later and say we want to keep telling you how to run the place, is kind of a hopeless bargain.

I actually have very little faith that it was done in good faith. Sure there's a war. We're supposed to hate Iran. I don't really hate Iran. I think they've been taken over by a bunch of misguided religious fanatics, but the same can be said for us. I have no quarrel with the Iranian people. I'm absolutely against the war.

So you have these people that are making big money from this situation. They sell a lot of bombers, and warheads, and armament, and individual soldier outfits. They make the money from the shipping of this stuff overseas where they'll use it and where it is costing us now, what, a few billion a day to have them over there? What bothers me really, is that it's done in my name. That someone would maintain that it's good for us, or that it promotes our freedom, or that Iraq is our ally so we should get Iran out of there.

I'm with Iraq, which told both of us (USA and Iran) to get out, and which should hold us to it, and just make us play out our million-dollar destruction game somewhere else.

As for the people who are making money hand over fist, I say they should go to jail, or at the very least get a job where they can make money that doesn't result in the killing of boys. Kind of like drug dealers - you can make an honest living, but the first step is to see very clearly that what you're doing is wrong. Stop it. Stop killing people. It isn't worth the money.

posted by tom @ 1:35 PM