The Military Industrial Complex Part 2: War, Corporate Profits and Petrodollar Recycling

The Military Industrial Complex generates big profits for its corporations. Interestingly, it can do so not only with war, but also during peacetime.

This video will first discuss how the U.S. expanded its power after the Second World War, creating what government planners called the “Grand Area”. The power of the Military Industrial Complex formed the basis of this expansion.

Next the Iraq War is discussed to show how the Military Industrial Complex can use war to generate profits for its corporations, which not only includes weapon manufacturers and energy companies, but also construction firms and big financial institutions.

Then the process of petrodollar recycling is examined to show how during peacetime the Military Industrial Complex helps to make sure that the large profits made by the Arab governments in the Middle East also benefits U.S. corporations. Through several mechanisms the money the Middle Eastern governments make by selling oil is recycled into the U.S. economy, and into the hands of powerful U.S. corporations.


References

For a good description of the Council of Foreign Relations and its role in post-war planning, see:
Shoup, L. H. & Minter, W. Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations & United States Foreign Policy.
Chomsky, N. Deterring Democracy.
Kennan, G. PPS/23, february 24 1948.

For the “function” of the Third World in the Grand Area, see
Schaller, M. THe American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of The Cold War in Asia. See p. 78, 83, 88, 160.
Shoup, L. H. & Minter, W. Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations & United States Foreign Policy.
Miller, A. D. Search for Security: Saudi Arabian Oil and American Foreign Policy, 1939-1949. See p. 144 for attitudes towards Arabian oil.
Borden, W.S. The Pacific Alliance. See p.4, 19.

For U.S. military bases, see:
Vine, D. Base Nation.

For George Bush’s statements about Iraq, see
The Declaration of Principles for Friendship and Cooperation:
https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archiv...
H.R.2929 - 110th Congress (2007-2008) (see the title of this document).
https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-c...

For U.S. profits and the Iraq War
Kramer, A. E. U.S. Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals. The New York Times. June 30, 2008.
Kramer, A. E. U.S. Companies Get Slice of Iraq's Oil Pie. New York Times, June 14, 2011.
For benefits to large corporations, see for instance the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Top 100 Contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan.

For more information on petrodollar recycling, see
Bromley, S. American Hegemony and World Oil.
Curtis, M. The Great Deception: Anglo-American Power and World Order. See p. 118.
Engdahl, F. W. A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order. See chapter 10: Europe, Japan and a Response to the Oil Shock.
Nitzan, J., Bichler, S. Bringing capital accumulation back in: the Weapondollar-Petrodollar Coalition-military contractors, oil companies and Middle East 'energy conflicts'.
Gokay, B. Two pillars of US global hegemony: Middle Eastern oil and the petrodollar.
Perkins, J. Confessions of an Economic Hitman. See chapter 15: ‘The Saudi Arabian Money-laundering Affair.

For the Jubail project see Bechtel’s website: http://www.bechtel.com/projects/jubai...

Credits to images

Iraq Map
Mwizerwa Saligoma, on Flickr.com. Creative Commons.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/1040322...

Maps with RStudio using ggplot, rgeos and rgdal package


Video made using Animiz Animation Maker
http://animiz.com/download

and

OpenShot Video Editor
https://www.openshot.org/

and

Free Sound Recorder
http://www.freesoundrecorder.net/


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