Chuck Carlson writes: Think For Yourself About Wars and Profit!
Today, the Financial Times, a respected, pay-to-read business journal that most Americans do not see, told us that the largest warplane provider in the US had turned a cool $1.37bn in profits in just one quarter. You may search for the story, “F-35 joint strike fighter cushions Lockheed profits blow”. It seems it made this money largely by selling F-35 fighter planes to our government. At the same time we are told Washington is cash strapped and about to increase the federal debt limit, so it can borrow mega billions, in large part to pay for current war expenses. But we are also told the Pentagon is throttling down on its war machine and heading toward peace. So how can this be?
FT goes on to tell us, “US military is expected to spend a total $400bn [to purchase F-35s] over the programme’s lifetime — has protected Lockheed from a slowdown or stagnation in other US military spending.” Further, “the company said it expected 2016 net sales to be ‘comparable’ with those for 2015.”
More good times for F-35 sales, we are told, but wait…I thought we were phasing out of the 25 years of wars in Iran and Afghanistan. Why do we need $3-4,000 F-35s to be paid for in future years?
For one answer, lets look back to April 24 to find an clear-cut announcement in a free publication called the Russian Times, which answers the puzzle of why the US Government is paying for more war machines when our own media does not tell us any are being given away! RT writes: “US to deliver F-35 jets to Israel to maintain military edge”. It quotes VP Joe Biden: “Next year we will deliver to Israel the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, our finest, making Israel the only country in the Middle East to have this fifth-generation aircraft.” It seems Russian Times found this announcement not in some New York daily or a White House press release, but in a pay-and-read Israeli newspaper called Haaretz, which tells its happy Israeli readers, “the deal involves Israel purchasing 14 F-35 jets for $110 million each. That is in addition to a previous agreement in 2010 that saw Israel agree to buy 19 jets. The first two planes are set to arrive in Israel in 2016, with the others making their way into the country by 2021.”
So is this not great business? American workers get to keep their jobs building F-35s which a foreign government buys and pays for. Sounds too good to be true, and it is. Nineteen F-35s at the price tag Lockheed quotes would cost over $2 billion, and it is not a secret that the USA gives Israel almost twice that amount in cash every year, most of it for “military aid”. Congress is even thinking of increasing the gift. The bottom line?
Think for yourself for just one moment: are we taxpayers not being ripped off again by our Congress when it funnels our tax dollars through Israel, and then right into the pocket of giant war machine maker, Lockheed? And this at the very moment our leaders tell us we are ramping down our foreign wars…just when Congress says it is broke and has to borrow billions to pay its bills? Ripped off again!
Do not pretend that the F-35 is a hospital plane, used for humanitarian purposes like helping a million war refugees from Israel’s nearest neighbor, Syria. No, the F-35 is said to be the most advanced killing machine in the air!
Think for yourself! -Editor CEC
links:
( Google FT) F-35 joint strike fighter cushions Lockheed profits blow
(Russia Times) https://www.rt.com/usa/252573-biden-f35-israel-military/
So much for the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This is clearly forcing US taxpayers to fund building the Jewish state of Israel. We have thrown out the wisdom of our US Constitution and replaced it with warmonger Israel’s every desire to kill in the ME. God did indeed make fools…the USA.
The single seat fighter plane my father flew in his war ,WW2 cost $25,000. At the conclusion of the same war the best high altitude army air force fighter plane cost $35,000. The weapon they have designed undoubtedly for Israel here cost 1.4 thousand times more than my father’s Grumman.
Even the atheists ,who allocate this based on a no limit for war theology should stop and pray about this. Perhaps the cost of war will be a greater deterrent than moral principle or conscience. Yet, it still require a sound mind. Does it not?
Hosea speaks : fornication has driven Israel mad. Perhaps the Lord Jesus has already judged us. The proverb of Euripides which the Romans shared is manifested : whom God wills to destroy he first makes mad.