How the Bush Administration Steals from the U.S. People (and the World)
“There’s no longer any countervailing power in Washington. Business is in complete control of the machinery of government.”
— Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor
The Thieves in Action — And the Proof
Stolen: Money, Social Services, Jobs — and Lives
American taxpayers fuel the war profits of a secretive, well-connected elite. This “government of thieves” operates a revolving door: war for business, business for war. Under George W. Bush military spending exploded — not simply to defend the nation but to fund an invasion of Iraq and a pipeline of profits for big defense contractors and their shareholders. At the same time, these same elites benefited from generous tax cuts.
The result? Education, healthcare, social welfare and other vital programs are cut. Jobs are lost. Many ordinary citizens are persuaded to vote for Bush with appeals to patriotism and religion — even as his administration failed to capture Osama bin Laden while protecting the Saudi elite whose oil dollars have bankrolled fundamentalism.
Hurricane Katrina revealed this theft starkly. National Guard units and funds that should have secured New Orleans were instead sent to Iraq. FEMA’s Bush-appointed, campaign-donor director proved incompetent and had to be sacked. Thousands paid the price.
Bush’s ties to wealthy Arab oil interests were so deep that in 2006 he supported handing control of U.S. ports to an Arab-owned company — threatening a veto against opposition — before his own party forced him to retreat. Having stoked fear and anti-Arab hysteria, he failed to see why Americans objected when “big-money” Arabs were exempted.
Stolen: The Lives and Limbs of America’s Young
By September 2006 more than 2,600 U.S. soldiers had died and over 19,000 were wounded in Iraq, with no end in sight. The occupation increasingly resembled a Vietnam-style quagmire. It is the poor who serve and suffer, while the well-connected profit.
Bush once joked that his personal “base” was “the haves and the have mores.” For those outside that circle, rising unemployment and economic insecurity become tools to funnel more desperate young people into military service.
And Here’s the Proof: The New Elite with Their Hands in the Till
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group manages billions in assets and has profited enormously from the “war on terror.” Headed by former Reagan Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci (Donald Rumsfeld’s Princeton roommate), Carlyle’s roster includes former world leaders as highly paid “consultants” — including George H. W. Bush himself. He has earned six-figure fees per appearance and sits on Carlyle’s Asia Advisory Board. James Baker, Bush family confidant and 2000 Florida recount point man, is also a senior counselor.
Carlyle’s investments in United Defense (armored vehicles), USIS (security vetting), EG\&G (weapons testing), Vought Aircraft, Composite Structures and other defense contractors yielded vast returns thanks to Bush-era wars. The Bin Laden family and other Saudi royals invested heavily; on 9/11, Carlyle’s investor conference hosted Osama’s half-brother in Washington.
Other family connections: George W. Bush held a board seat at Carlyle subsidiary Caterair in 1990; Uncle William “Bucky” Bush sat on the board of military contractor ESSI and sold stock options for nearly half a million dollars in 2005, aided by no-bid Iraq contracts.
James Baker now represents Saudi royals against 9/11 victims’ lawsuits; Bush appointed Baker’s former law partner ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The pattern is unmistakable.
Dick Cheney and Halliburton
As Defense Secretary under Bush Sr., Cheney pushed privatization of military logistics, steering early contracts to Halliburton. As Halliburton CEO (1995–2000), his compensation exceeded \$26 million; his stock holdings were worth tens of millions. After becoming Vice President, Halliburton’s no-bid Iraq oil and logistics contracts exploded. The company even helped write the specs for contracts it won without competition.
Cheney’s family benefited too: daughter Elizabeth appointed a senior State Department official; her husband Philip Perry named Homeland Security general counsel after lobbying for Lockheed Martin.
Donald Rumsfeld
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld’s career demonstrates the same revolving door. As Reagan’s Middle East envoy he courted Saddam and discussed oil pipelines; later he sat on corporate boards (Gulfstream Aerospace, ABB) and made millions. ABB sold nuclear reactors to North Korea while Rumsfeld was on its board. Bechtel — another Bush-connected firm — pursued the Iraq pipeline project in the 1980s and won secretive Iraq “reconstruction” contracts worth over \$1 billion post-2003.
Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Other Pentagon Insiders
- Paul Wolfowitz: Key Iraq war architect; former consultant to Northrop Grumman; later rewarded with the World Bank presidency.
- Richard Perle: Defense Policy Board member and outspoken hawk; repeatedly caught leveraging his post for personal gain, including soliciting \$100 million for his firm Trireme Partners (investing in homeland security businesses). Boeing even invested \$20 million with Trireme.
- A 2003 study found 9 of 30 Defense Policy Board members had major arms-industry ties; those firms won \$76+ billion in contracts in a single year.
John Ashcroft and the Surveillance Bonanza
Bush’s Attorney General expanded domestic spying and secrecy. After leaving office, Ashcroft founded the Ashcroft Group to lobby for surveillance contractors like ChoicePoint and LTU Technologies. Homeland Security has become a multibillion-dollar feeding trough: from 9 contractors in 1999 to over 33,000 by 2006; \$130+ billion allocated. Ninety DHS officials quickly spun through the revolving door into lobbying.
Lockheed Martin & the Bush Arms Gravy Train
Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest weapons maker, has deep Bush ties:
- Bruce Jackson (Lockheed VP) chaired Bush’s 2000 campaign foreign policy committee and sat on PNAC’s board.
- Peter Teets (former Lockheed COO) became Undersecretary of the Air Force.
- Lynne Cheney sat on Lockheed’s board (1994–2001).
- Multiple ex-Lockheed execs placed in key administration posts.
Lockheed’s CEO pay quadrupled during early Bush years; profits soared. Other war-profiteer corporations include Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Honeywell and United Technologies.
Team Bush: The War Profiteers’ Government
Senators Joseph Lieberman and Frank Lautenberg warned in 2003 that billions for Iraq “reconstruction” were being awarded through secretive, unaccountable processes. By 2005, Lockheed’s profits jumped 41%; Boeing’s military sales topped \$15 billion; Northrop Grumman’s earnings rose over 45%.
Bush’s own appointees often come directly from these firms:
- Gordon England (Deputy Defense Secretary) — former Lockheed/General Dynamics exec.
- Michael Wynne (Air Force Secretary nominee) — tied to Air Force procurement scandals.
- Donald Winter (Navy Secretary nominee) — Northrop Grumman exec.
Meanwhile whistleblowers like Bunnatine Greenhouse, who exposed Halliburton no-bid abuses, were demoted or fired.
A Final Word
Many corporate owners of U.S. media downplay or bury this information. The web and independent publishing remain essential “last bastions” of inconvenient truths. The hope is that a more responsible America will emerge — one that reins in the military-corporate elite that has usurped government.
“Only an aware and committed citizenry can hope to stop them.”