An eye-opening 1936 US Congressional Report here on the influence of what President Eisenhower later called 'the military-industrial complex', both American and European, in fomenting global wars and civil strife to promote armaments sales.
It would seem that US Congressmen had more moral sense and greater bottle in those days; it is difficult to imagine such a report coming from the Congress now.
The whole report is compelling reading. These are just a few highlights:
"The statement of a Federal Laboratories salesman that 'the unsettled condition in South America has been a great thing for me' is the key, and also, 'We are certainly in one hell of a business where a fellow has to wish for trouble to make a living.'
"The Committee finds, under the head of sales methods of the munitions companies, that almost without exception, the American munitions companies investigated have at times resorted to such unusual approaches, questionable favors and commissions, and methods of 'doing the needful' as to constitute, in effect, a form of bribery of foreign governmental officials or of their close friends in order to secure business...
"The committee finds such practices on the part of any munitions company, domestic or foreign, to be highly unethical, a discredit to American business, and an unavoidable reflection upon those American governmental agencies which have unwittingly aided in the transactions so contaminated...
"The committee finds, further, that not only are such transactions highly unethical, but that they carry within themselves the seeds of disturbance to the peace and stability of those nations in which they take place...
"The committee finds, further, that the intense competition among European and American munitions companies with the attendant bribery of governmental officials tends to create a corrupt officialdom, and thereby weaken the remaining democracies of the world at their head...
"It will remain for commissions with full powers in the large European nations to report on the provocative activities of their companies, particularly to investigate the statements made in the French Chamber of Deputies, that Skoda in Czechoslovakia, a subsidiary of Schneider-Creusot, financed the Hitler movement to power, which, more than any one other event, can be credited with causing the present huge rearmament race in Europe, so profitable to the European steel, airplane, and munitions companies...
It would seem that US Congressmen had more moral sense and greater bottle in those days; it is difficult to imagine such a report coming from the Congress now.
The whole report is compelling reading. These are just a few highlights:
"The statement of a Federal Laboratories salesman that 'the unsettled condition in South America has been a great thing for me' is the key, and also, 'We are certainly in one hell of a business where a fellow has to wish for trouble to make a living.'
"The Committee finds, under the head of sales methods of the munitions companies, that almost without exception, the American munitions companies investigated have at times resorted to such unusual approaches, questionable favors and commissions, and methods of 'doing the needful' as to constitute, in effect, a form of bribery of foreign governmental officials or of their close friends in order to secure business...
"The committee finds such practices on the part of any munitions company, domestic or foreign, to be highly unethical, a discredit to American business, and an unavoidable reflection upon those American governmental agencies which have unwittingly aided in the transactions so contaminated...
"The committee finds, further, that not only are such transactions highly unethical, but that they carry within themselves the seeds of disturbance to the peace and stability of those nations in which they take place...
"The committee finds, further, that the intense competition among European and American munitions companies with the attendant bribery of governmental officials tends to create a corrupt officialdom, and thereby weaken the remaining democracies of the world at their head...
"It will remain for commissions with full powers in the large European nations to report on the provocative activities of their companies, particularly to investigate the statements made in the French Chamber of Deputies, that Skoda in Czechoslovakia, a subsidiary of Schneider-Creusot, financed the Hitler movement to power, which, more than any one other event, can be credited with causing the present huge rearmament race in Europe, so profitable to the European steel, airplane, and munitions companies...
6 comments:
Anticant says:
"It would seem that US Congressmen had more moral sense and greater bottle in those days; it is difficult to imagine such a report coming from the Congress now."
Nowadays lack of morals is counterbalanced with greater wallets.
"Greater wallets" but morally bankrupt...and I've just found out that George W. attempted to appoint Henry Kissinger as Head of the 9/11 Commission...
I could treat such things with amused contempt, if it wasn't so morally repulsive...
Richard, we have to recognise that we are currently being ruled by criminal lunatics and psychopaths. This is what makes useful discussion so difficult.
If the asylum has been taken over by "criminal lunatics and psychopaths", then perhaps it's about time 'we, the people' did something about regaining control...or are we too late ?
That is the $64,000,000 question! What do you think? What do you suggest?
Well, we can make a small start by boycotting American goods ad services, can't we ?
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