From: Steven L. Robinson <srobin21@comcast.net>
Date: Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] US military aid to Colombia serves to enrich defense companies
US military aid to Colombia serves to enrich defense companies:
WikiLeaks founder
By Adriaan Alsema
Colombia Reports
Sunday, 20 March 2011
United States military aid to Colombia serves more to enrich private
defense companies than to help the Andean nation, said WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange in an interview published Sunday.
In a video-interview with Colombian weekly Semana, Assange alleged that
these interests of large corporations are more important than a desire
to help Colombia develop.
"What it's about is that there are several powerful companies and
lobbies in Washington such as Lockheed Martin, say Raytheon, Northrop
Grumman; military intelligence contractors who lobby Congress and their
contacts within the Pentagon and the CIA to engage in special programs
in Colombia with provisos written to make sure that the money actually
cycles back to the United States," the WikiLeaks founder said.
"It's about transferring money from U.S. tax payers i.e. predominantly
from middle class people back to company share holders and senior
executives; people who are already rich. For example, by appearing to
give the Colombian government aid to buy helicopters, but then attaching
provisos so that the helicopters must be of a particular type that only
a U.S. weapons manufacturer can provide. That's what's really going on
in Colombia as far as military subsidy and what the United States calls
the war on drugs is concerned," Assange added.
According to the WikiLeaks founder the publication of diplomatic cables
will show that the U.S. are using actual problems in Colombia to favor
the domestic military industry. This approach has a destabilizing effect
in Colombia and the region, Assange said.
"Of course there are real and difficult and legitimate issues in
Colombia, which are used to legitimize that. Difficult issues with the
FARC, difficult issues to do with drugs, difficult issues to do with
Colombia and Venezuela relations, which are real, but are nonetheless
seized on and inflated by these other groups for other purposes and that
is having a destabilizing effect on democratic society in Colombia,"
said the Australian.
WikiLeaks in February shared 16,000 diplomatic cables on Colombia and
Venezuela with Colombian daily El Espectador. According to Semana, the
weekly received an additional 9,000 cables.
The United States spent more than $7 billion in military aid to Colombia
since the year 2000.
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/15021-us-military-aid-to-colombia-serves-to-enrich-defense-companies-wikileaks-founder.html
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