Acción contra la guerra en estados unidos contra Carlyle corporación
Por (((Silvia))) - Saturday, Apr. 12, 2003 at 3:43 AM

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The US antiwar movement launched a nationwide direct action initiative on Monday, April 7th. In efforts to repress the movement, police in Oakland used concussion grenades, beanbags full of metal shot and wooden bullets to disperse the peaceful demonstration while police in New York City arrested 94 people who were engaged in a legal protest.

New Yorkers, organized by the M27 Coalition, were protesting the Carlyle Group, a $14 billion private investment house with major holdings in the defense industry. Carlyle stands to profit mightily from both the war on Iraq and the post-war " reconstruction" due to its intimate contacts within the Bush Administration. A group of 19 blocked the entrance to the building, aware that they would be arrested for their actions. But nearly 100 supporters in a peaceful demonstration across the street were then surrounded by a double row of riot police who arrested all of them with no provocation and without giving an order to disperse.

Attorney Karen Moulding, an attorney with the group Glamericans for Peace, observed the arrests. "Pedestrians were able to get by without any impediment. Police gave no warnings to disperse. I've been a legal observer for many demonstrations for years and I've never seen anything like it. Police behavior seemed calculated to silence or deters peaceful demonstration. Police should be proud to protect the First Amendment right to demonstrate peacefully, rather than use scare tactics to pre-empt it."

One protestor, Jennifer Jaeger who witnessed the arrests of bystanders, said, "I noticed one man thrown to the ground and another bystander was cuffed so tightly that she started to cry. The police were brutal and its obvious their actions were meant to stifle protests."

Nonetheless, first-time, illegally arrested Miyong, reported, "The women in our cells sang camp songs, peace songs, anything we could remember the words to. We had spirit and spunk. Not one of us regretted our right to protest. None of us will stop doing what we do."

The protests were part of a National Day of Direct Action against the war. New York City activists chose Carlyle for the main action to help expose a much larger problem, the corrupting influence of powerful profit-seeking corporations on decision making in Washington. With a roster of associates that includes George Bush Sr. and former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, Carlyle has access to the innermost circles of power. Carlyle gains information from this privileged access, and uses its influence to manipulate US foreign policy and short-circuit democratic institutions, in order to profit from war.






Why target the Carlyle Group?

The people orchestrating this war are profiting hugely from it personally.

The Carlyle Group is a $14 billion private investment house with major holdings in the defense industry. The Carlyle Group stands to make huge profits from the war in Iraq. What’s troubling about this are the group’s intimate ties to the Bush Administration, and to the Defense Policy Board, the government-appointed group that advises the Pentagon.

Ex-Presidents
Sometimes called the Ex-Presidents’ Club, the Carlyle Group’s employees include George Bush, Sr., former Secretary of State (under Bush, Sr.) James Baker, and former Secretary of Defense and Deputy Director of the CIA, Frank Carlucci. Former British Prime Minister John Major heads up CG’s European operations. Even current president George W. Bush served on the board of a Carlyle company from 1990 – 1992.

Investing in War
Of the many companies that Carlyle owns or has a stake in, its most famous acquisition is United Defense, a maker of missile launchers, armored vehicles, and the cold war-era Crusader Howitzer. Despite widespread opposition from the Army saying that the Crusader’s technology was clumsy and outdated, Secretary Rumsfeld convinced the Pentagon to keep buying Crusaders at a cost of $11 billion. A few weeks after the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan, Carlyle took United Defense public in a move that earned the group $240 million. Months later the Crusader program was scrapped and United Defense was awarded a contract to build a lighter gun.

Beyond Carlyle
The war profiteering doesn’t stop with Carlyle. Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle resigned his chairmanship on March 27th amid allegations of conflict of interest. Eight of Perle’s colleagues on the board have ties to companies with significant contracts from the Pentagon, such as Boeing, TRW, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bechtel, and the Rand Corporation. Vice President Dick Cheney is still receiving $1 million a year from his former employer Halliburton, now the administration’s lead candidate for the billion dollar role of rebuilding Iraq!

Who wins?
Was the decision to attack Iraq influenced by what certain key players stand to gain? Whether the answer is yes or no, Bush insiders are making big money from this war, and the conflict of interest alone is enough to cast doubt on their actions. What country will be destroyed next in order to sustain Carlyle’s profits? Can we stand by while US soldiers, Iraqis, and other peoples are sacrificed for the gain of the ultra wealthy? Get informed. Act now to stop war.


Sources:
“ Bush Sr.’s Carlyle Group Gets Fat on War and Conflict,” Jamie Doward, The Observer UK, March 25, 2003
“ Advisors of Influence: Nine Members of the Defense Policy Board Have Ties to Defense Contractors,” Andre Verloy and Daniel Politi, special report for The Center for Public Integrity, April 3, 2003
“ The War profiteers: How Are Weapons Manufacturers Faring in the War?,” Frida Berrigan, Common Dreams, December 18, 2001
Letter from Congressman John Conyers, Jr., to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, April 1, 2003
“ Lunch with the Chairman,” Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, March 10, 2003
“ Carlyle's Way: Making a mint inside "the iron triangle" of defense, government, and industry,” Dan Briody , Red Herring, January 8, 2002
“ The ex-presidents' club,” Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger, The Guardian UK, October 31, 2001

For Carlyle, perpetual war means perpetual profits.

For more information on Carlyle see:
http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html
http://www.actagainstwar.org
http://www.dyncorp-sucks.com/carlyle.html

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