commondreams | This is how it works.
The US has been providing Egypt with nearly $2 billion a year in "aid"
since 1979. Most of this is military aid. That "aid" is then used to
buy weapons from American corporations. So in reality most of US
foreign aid becomes more welfare programs for the military industrial
complex.
Because of current civil war conditions in Egypt the Obama team is
having to hold off on providing more aid to that embattled nation. A
recent Pew Research Center poll found that 51% of respondents said it's
better to cut off military assistance to Egypt, while 26% backed
continued aid.
The "aid" now on temporary hold would include: F-16 fighter jets from
Lockheed Martin; M1A1 tanks from General Dynamics; and Apache attack
helicopters made by Boeing Co.
CBS News reported on August 20: "The billion dollars in aid
Congress approved for Egypt does not go directly to Cairo, it goes to
places such as Archbald, Pennsylvania. The General Dynamics factory
there makes parts for the M1A1 tank. General Dynamics is filling an
order for 125 tank kits for the Egyptian Army. One-hundred-thirty
people work at the Archbald facility."
You can imagine the workers at the Archbald facility want this "aid"
to continue. Archbald Mayor Ed Fairbrother says the jobs are "extremely
important" to the community. "They are some of the best jobs we have in
the community," he says. "Those are the kinds of jobs that sustain
communities and families."
There are 44 companies in Pennsylvania involved in production of the
M1A1. The interesting thing is that Egypt does not need the tanks and
many of the "kits" are still in crates after being delivered to their
military.
American communities have become addicted to war spending and
military production. As most traditional manufacturing industry has
moved overseas seeking cheaper labor the best jobs in most parts of the
nation are building weapons. It's thus no coincidence that the #1
industrial export product of our nation is weapons. And what is our
global marketing strategy for that product line? Hello Syria!
