That Hallowed Bottom Line

Trey Smith

US weapons manufacturers who sell drone aircraft to the US government are concerned that their pilot-less surveillance and attack planes sales have plateaued and now, with the help of lobbyists and industry-friendly members of Congress, are hoping that they can remove export restrictions that will allow them to sell theses weapons to foreign governments eager for the remote technology.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, companies like Northrup Gruman and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., are eager to tap a growing foreign appetite for high-tech drones, and claim they are facing competition in the world market by countries such as Israel and China.

"Export restrictions are hurting this industry in America without making us any safer," Wesley G. Bush, Northrop's chief executive, said at a defense conference this year.
~ from Weapons Builders Bank on Proliferation of Drones via Common Dreams ~

Just so we're clear, Mr. Bush is not suggesting that Northrup's selling of drone technology to other nations will make the US safe either. No, he's merely saying that, while the technology his firm peddles will make us less safe and less secure, he should be able to make money off of it, nonetheless!

Anytime I see an ad or hear a report about how patriotic American corporations supposedly are, articles like this one remind me that it's a big pile of crap. For the most part, these megacorporations -- particularly weapons manufacturers -- don't care who the buyer is -- all they care about is having a buyer. If someone is willing to pay the price, that's all that matters.

Sure, that product or weapon may be used against the US in the future, but that's not their concern. As long as they can generate a handsome profit, most of these bozos unapologetically would sell an atomic bomb to the devil himself and not lose a second of sleep over it!

Why should they? Capitalism is an amoral system.