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Since the days of Elihu Root, over a century ago, US public policy makers directing the use of military and domestically sanctioned violence have often come to their jobs from corporate America and served the agenda of corporate America in the process. The traffic through this revolving door is heavy in the Biden Administration and continues to serve corporate agendas.
Biden's Secretary of Defense, Commanding General Lloyd Austin, became civilian head of the Pentagon from the Board Room of Raytheon, one of the nation's largest military suppliers, where he had investments and compensation worth $2.7 million. More importantly, he has been a partner of a private equity investment firm, that specialize in almost all parts of the war and violence industry including war industry contractors, aerospace, and space systems corporations. It is known as Pine Island Capital Partners, LLC.
Pine Island Partners, LLC is a strategic partner of WestExec Advisors, LLC. Founded by Biden's Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, WestExec provides experienced DC political advisors to Facebook, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Sotheby’s, Gilead Sciences, Blackstone, Lazard, Royal Bank of Canada, Boeing, and many other undisclosed corporate clients.
President Biden filled the top levels of his administration with 23 associates from WestExec Advisors, LLC. Besides Blinken, they include WestExec co-founder Michelle Flournoy, who was considered for Secretary of Defense, but ended up as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and has been a board member of Booz Allen Hamilton, a major nuclear weapons firm; Averil Haines, Director of National Intelligence; David Cohen, Deputy Director CIA; and also Biden's original Press Secretary, Jen Psaki. Other positions filled by principals or senior advisors of WestExec Advisors, LLC include the National Security Director of USAID, the Deputy Attorney General, the National Cyber Director, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
West Exec Advisor LLC's motto is “WestExec Advisors brings the Situation Room to the Board Room.” In reality, WestExec Advisors bring the Board Room to the Situation Room.
The war industry does not spend as much money on campaign contributions or lobbying as other economic sectors because they can control public policy through their corporate executives who transform into major public policy makers. Law professor, Kathleen Clark, quoted in The Intercept, says that government ethics laws, written decades ago, are not equipped to handle a situation in which a single firm supplies 23 senior officials. “Yes, they’re employed by the government, I’ll grant you
that. But are they actually working for the American people or not? Where does their loyalty lie?” asked Clark. “The private sector can in essence co-opt the public sector.” That is the problem. Corporate-imbued public policy makers are unlikely to pursue policies that curtail or constrain corporate objectives around decisions on when and how government-sanctioned violence will be utilized.
In Truthout, Jonathan King and Richard Krushnic point out that, “to justify spending the enormous amount of taxpayer dollars on weapons contracts, the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) contractors require major foreign ‘enemies.’ It’s quite irrelevant who they are — Russia, China, Iran, North Korea can all be claimed as imminent dangers, and work equally well to argue that more weapons are needed, and more tax dollars must be invested in the Pentagon to maintain ‘national security.’ The ‘war on terror’ was adequate to maintain Pentagon spending after 9/11. However, to justify enormously expensive new nuclear weapons, ‘terrorists’ aren’t a strong enough card to play. So, the MIC now pivots back to old Cold War propaganda, claiming that the US is endangered on all sides.”
We must end the revolving door between corporate America and our top federal policy makers if we are ever going to disarm violence and establish peace.
Biden's Secretary of Defense, Commanding General Lloyd Austin, became civilian head of the Pentagon from the Board Room of Raytheon, one of the nation's largest military suppliers, where he had investments and compensation worth $2.7 million. More importantly, he has been a partner of a private equity investment firm, that specialize in almost all parts of the war and violence industry including war industry contractors, aerospace, and space systems corporations. It is known as Pine Island Capital Partners, LLC.
Pine Island Partners, LLC is a strategic partner of WestExec Advisors, LLC. Founded by Biden's Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, WestExec provides experienced DC political advisors to Facebook, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Sotheby’s, Gilead Sciences, Blackstone, Lazard, Royal Bank of Canada, Boeing, and many other undisclosed corporate clients.
President Biden filled the top levels of his administration with 23 associates from WestExec Advisors, LLC. Besides Blinken, they include WestExec co-founder Michelle Flournoy, who was considered for Secretary of Defense, but ended up as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and has been a board member of Booz Allen Hamilton, a major nuclear weapons firm; Averil Haines, Director of National Intelligence; David Cohen, Deputy Director CIA; and also Biden's original Press Secretary, Jen Psaki. Other positions filled by principals or senior advisors of WestExec Advisors, LLC include the National Security Director of USAID, the Deputy Attorney General, the National Cyber Director, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
West Exec Advisor LLC's motto is “WestExec Advisors brings the Situation Room to the Board Room.” In reality, WestExec Advisors bring the Board Room to the Situation Room.
The war industry does not spend as much money on campaign contributions or lobbying as other economic sectors because they can control public policy through their corporate executives who transform into major public policy makers. Law professor, Kathleen Clark, quoted in The Intercept, says that government ethics laws, written decades ago, are not equipped to handle a situation in which a single firm supplies 23 senior officials. “Yes, they’re employed by the government, I’ll grant you
that. But are they actually working for the American people or not? Where does their loyalty lie?” asked Clark. “The private sector can in essence co-opt the public sector.” That is the problem. Corporate-imbued public policy makers are unlikely to pursue policies that curtail or constrain corporate objectives around decisions on when and how government-sanctioned violence will be utilized.
In Truthout, Jonathan King and Richard Krushnic point out that, “to justify spending the enormous amount of taxpayer dollars on weapons contracts, the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) contractors require major foreign ‘enemies.’ It’s quite irrelevant who they are — Russia, China, Iran, North Korea can all be claimed as imminent dangers, and work equally well to argue that more weapons are needed, and more tax dollars must be invested in the Pentagon to maintain ‘national security.’ The ‘war on terror’ was adequate to maintain Pentagon spending after 9/11. However, to justify enormously expensive new nuclear weapons, ‘terrorists’ aren’t a strong enough card to play. So, the MIC now pivots back to old Cold War propaganda, claiming that the US is endangered on all sides.”
We must end the revolving door between corporate America and our top federal policy makers if we are ever going to disarm violence and establish peace.
Diplomacy
From Jack Matlock, former US Ambassador to Russia, excerpted from Today’s Crisis Over Ukraine:
What President Putin is demanding, an end to NATO expansion and creation of a security structure in Europe that insures Russia’s security along with that of others, is eminently reasonable. He is not demanding the exit of any NATO member and he is threatening none. By any pragmatic, common sense standard it is in the interest of the United States to promote peace, not conflict. To try to detach Ukraine from Russian influence is a fool’s errand, and a dangerous one.
From John Kiriakow former US diplomat & CIA Agent:
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko once said. “I prefer 10 years of negotiations to one day of war.” He was right. Diplomacy is hard work. Diplomacy is the only legitimate response to the world’s problems.
What President Putin is demanding, an end to NATO expansion and creation of a security structure in Europe that insures Russia’s security along with that of others, is eminently reasonable. He is not demanding the exit of any NATO member and he is threatening none. By any pragmatic, common sense standard it is in the interest of the United States to promote peace, not conflict. To try to detach Ukraine from Russian influence is a fool’s errand, and a dangerous one.
From John Kiriakow former US diplomat & CIA Agent:
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko once said. “I prefer 10 years of negotiations to one day of war.” He was right. Diplomacy is hard work. Diplomacy is the only legitimate response to the world’s problems.
