Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton supported the Iraq War in 2002 as a means of protecting America’s “national security.” In 2011, Clinton pitched the war-torn and turbulent country as a “business opportunity” for Wall Street and Big Oil.
“It’s time for the United States to start thinking of Iraq as a business opportunity,” she said in a speech nine years ago.
An email released on Wednesday by the State Department included the 2011 Clinton quote and mentioned JPMorgan Chase and ExxonMobil, two of the most vicious and crooked corporations on the planet. The government chose JPMorgan to run an import-export bank, and ExxonMobil signed a deal to redevelop oil fields.
Clinton’s past support of the Iraq War and later pitching it as a “business opportunity” will likely fuel her opponents’ campaign, as well as Republican attacks against her. Although she said supporting the war was a mistake, it just further confirms that the war was waged and fought over false pretenses.
“People say we’re not fighting for oil,” said then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. in 2007. “Of course we are. They talk about America’s national interest. What the hell do you think they’re talking about? We’re not there for figs.”
Former General John Abizaid said, “of course it’s about oil, it’s very much about oil — and we can’t deny that.”
Clinton has recently been selling herself as a progressive bit-by-bit, but parts of her hawkish and pro-corporate past continue to reveal themselves.
For more on this story, visit International Business Times “Campaign 2016: Hillary Clinton Pitched Iraq As ‘A Business Opportunity’ For US Corporations.”
