Pro-Palestine activists shut down the entrance to Lockheed Martin's headquarters demanding the company end its weapons supply to Israel, in Arlington, Virginia, on April 15, 2024.Over the weekend, Iran launched over 300 missiles at Nevatim Air Base, a base in southern Israel that houses U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets.
While privately acknowledging conflict is good for business, the defense industry and its financiers publicly claim they are simply doing America’s bidding. As Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet once, “It’s only up to us to step to what we’ve been asked to do and we’re just trying to do that in a more effective way, and that’s our role.” After all, it was the U.S.
But this “we just do what we’re told” defense doesn’t quite work given that defense contractors are actively shaping U.S. foreign policy through lobbying and campaign contributions, among other tactics. Aaron Acosta, program director at Investor Advocates for Social Justice, toldthat defense contractors “are often the ones creating demand by lobbying the U.S. government and pushing for sales of these weapons.
Please give what you can — because by supporting us with a tax-deductible donation, you’re not just preserving a source of news, you’re helping to safeguard what’s left of our democracy.This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.