HUMANITARIAN MISSILES!

Peace is only ever achieved by refusing to compromise integrity. While we may be far from an ability to ‘turn the other cheek’ against any assault, real or imagined, violence will only ever perpetuate violence.  War is the preferred option for those with a vested interest in warfare, however tenuous. Sometimes it takes a little time to discern who benefits,  by their action,  by looking the other way or predictably financially.

The 8 Storm Shadow missiles fired by the UK on a presumed chemical facility in Syria were manufactured by BAE Systems; each cost £790,000 or $1,106,628. Sickeningly BAE saw an immediate and dramatic rise in share profits on the stock market following the bombing of Syria.

BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company. It is among the world’s largest defence companies and one of the six largest suppliers to the US, which is the largest share holder in BAE Systems. Capital Group is also the second largest shareholder in Lockheed Martin a US military arms firm supplying weapons systems, aircraft and logistical support. Unsurprisingly its shares have also rocketed following the strike.

What to do with the profits? The leaked Paradise Papers  of 2017 revealed offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, exposing the tax engineering of more than 100 multinational corporations. These included  Capital Group’s investments in the Cayman Islands and investments in  a Bermuda-registered company, both zero rated  tax havens.

  • Raytheon is the maker of the missiles used to bomb Syria. 
  • Raytheon, a major US defense contractor, is the worlds largest producer of guided missiles with annual revenues of  US $25 billion. More than 90% of Raytheons  revenues come from military contracts.
  • Raytheon enjoyed a $5 billion dollar share price increase following bombing

Raytheon was  formerly run by Dick Cheyney, ex Vice President of the US. Cheyney was also later chief executive of Haliburton a subsidiary oil services and engineering company, before resigning to run for vice president. In 2001 the independent Congressional Research Service found that  despite his denials  Dick Cheney did have a continued financial interest in Halliburton and Raytheon under federal ethics law. In  2001 Haliburton won a US government contract to provide food, housing, fuel and other logistical support for troops in the Middle East. That contract has so far been worth about $5 billion. Pentagon auditors have accused the company of overcharging for food, fuel and other services. Chillingly the Haliburton company also won a $30 million contract to neutralize any chemical or nuclear weapons found in Iraq. In 2003 Halliburton’s construction and engineering subsidiary, received  a ‘sole-source contract’ from the Pentagon (meaning it was awarded without bidding) to restore and operate Iraqi oil wells. That contract, which was classified when it was awarded just before the invasion of Iraq, could be worth as much as $7 billion. In 2003 Raytheon Co. and Halliburton were, ironically,  competing for $600 million in post war reconstruction work:

On the last day of a three day visit to the UK by His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia the UK government announced a weapons deal supplying 48 Typhoon jets to the Saudi kingdom; potentially worth some £10 billion to BAE Systems. This has caused dismay  to civil and human rights campaigners due to Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the Yemeni  conflct. Saudi Arabia is the giant of the Middle East, with both the vast majority of land and wealth of the Arabian Peninsula falling within its borders.

The Saudi economy is the largest in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia has the world’s second-largest proven petroleum reserves and the country is the largest exporter of petroleum. It has also the fifth-largest proven natural gas reservesOf 177 countries on the  human development index (a global measure of life expectancy, education, and standard of living) Yemen ranks at 168. There have been repeated calls for the UK to halt its arms sales in light of massive civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Theresa May justified the deal as  ‘helping to sustain UK employment’.

These events come as a timely reminder to choose our friends and business partners carefully to avoid being as they say ‘on the wrong side of history’.  Uncomfortable memories arise of the scandal engulfing  the previous UK PM Tony Blair concerning Britain’s then biggest arms deal with Saudi Arabia, worth £43bn. Numerous allegations arose that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribes to members of the Saudi royal family and government officials. Details of the al-Yamamah deal  investigated  by the UK Serious Fraud Office and US justice department involved alleged illicit payments by BAE to l to Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (the Saudi Ambassador to the UN  from 1983 to 2005). The Serious Fraud Office brought its investigation  to a premature close in 2006 when  then prime minister Tony Blair, intervened after the Saudis threatened to stop sharing intelligence on terrorism. Blair justified the decision saying ‘its continuation would harm UK security.’

In 2007 The Guardian revealed that BAE  had been making regular payments to Bandar via the Riggs Bank in Washington DC. The BBC‘s investigative programme Panorama alleged that BAE Systems “…paid hundreds of millions of pounds to the ex-Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.