A LITTLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST MAYBE? OR WHY WE'RE STILL MIRED IN IRAQ

Bipartisan

Most Americans think the occupation of Iraq should have ended and many are frustrated that Congress hasn't done enough to rein in Bush. Soon they will vote more hundreds of billions of our taxes to maintain the occupation. Many people think there is probably a powerful enough connection between Bush, his family, their retainers and cronies and some of the defense contractors to make this a very profitable venture for the Regime, even if it is coming out rather catastrophically for the country, not to mention the American families who are losing loved ones. But what about Congress? Yesterday the Associated Press reported that 151 members of Congress hold investments worth $78.7 million to $195.5 million in companies that receive defence contracts worth at least $5 million. These investments earned them anywhere between $15.8 million and $62 million between 2004 and 2006. More Republicans than Democrats have investments in these companies but the Democrats have more money invested in them.

Members of the U.S. Congress have as much as $196 million (U.S.) collectively invested in companies doing business with the U.S. defence department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war, according to a new study by a non-partisan research group.

The review of legislators' 2006 financial disclosure statements, by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending. Several members earning money from these contractors have plum committee or leadership assignments, including Democratic Senator John Kerry, independent Senator Joseph Lieberman and House Republican whip Roy Blunt.

Dianne Feinstein's husband is a long time war profiteer and she has always greased the way for the family business. It's part of the reason I can proudly say that I have never voted for her in one election, not for San Francisco Board of Supervisors, not for Mayor and not for Senate. I usually bite the bullet and go for the lesser of two evils, but in Feinstein's case... not a chance.

I don't know if Russ Feingold (D-WI) owns any stocks in Military-Industrial complex companies, but if he does, he sure doesn't let it stand in the way of doing the right thing. This evening he issued a strong statement taking his own party leaders to task for backing Bush Regime policies in Iraq.

“I am deeply disappointed with the letter sent by Democratic leaders to the President regarding Iraq. Rather than calling on the President to redeploy our troops from Iraq, it endorses a plan put forward by General Petraeus that could entail leaving tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely. This would be dangerous for our troops, further the perception that we are occupying Iraq, provoke instability in the country and the region, and keep us from focusing on the global al Qaeda threat. 
 
“Contrary to what the letter suggests, we should not be waiting around for a ‘political accommodation which will allow us to reduce U.S. troop levels substantially.’ We must redeploy our troops to break the paralysis that now grips U.S. strategy in the region.”