by Loren Adams - April 5, 2009
“Cui Bono” is a legal term from Latin which, when
translated, means: “Utility, advantage, or self-interest considered as the
determinant of value or motivation”; or in simpler words, “Who benefits?” Solving
that one basic query determines the prime suspect in most cases.
In a criminal investigation several key questions must be
asked to arrive at “Whodunit,” chief among them “Cui Bono.” Recall the
Watergate Investigation when Senator Howard Baker (R – TN) pointedly
asked, “WHAT did he know and WHEN did he know it?” History asserts these were
the questions that led to Nixon’s eventual resignation. On the other hand, the
query “Who benefits” pinpoints the war profiteer, the unethical politician, and
the unscrupulous consultant. Behavior determined on self-serving, unethical
motive leads to crime. In fact, it’s the root.
In battlefields of the American Civil War (War Between the
States), several hundred Union infantrymen die unnecessarily due to malfunctioning
rifles. Their heads lie in bloody pools after rifles misfire. Hundreds of
cannons also are defective, stealing innocent lives as proof. Do the
manufacturers know their products are unsafe? Sure. But, as norm throughout
history, war profiteers concern themselves with the bottom line only. So, the
SOP shortcut to profit is their course of action, ethics be damned. Who
benefits from the death of thousands of young soldiers? Cui Bono?
Dupont sells a highly toxic defoliate to the U.S. Department
of Defense for use in Vietnam to clear jungles and expose Vietcong. The
chemical is code-named “Agent Orange.” Dupont knows the product unsafe
beforehand, that AO will lead to premature deaths, cancers, DNA damage, and
birth defects for generations in the offspring of the contaminated. Regardless,
Dupont proceeds with the deal worth billions. Thousands die, and millions more
are affected ad infinitum. Who benefits from those thousands of deaths, tumors,
skin diseases, cancers and generations of defective children? Cui Bono?
The tradition continues as war profiteers of the 21st Century receive their fame courtesy of George W. Bush who grants no-bid
cost-plus contracts to crony corporations based on their political allegiance
and prior affiliation with Dick Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton. Halliburton
not only “loses” $9B in Iraq without a trace (wink-wink), but moves its
corporate headquarters to Dubai, UAE in 2007 to escape pending federal
investigations launched by the newly elected Democratic Congress (Jan. 2007). The
Dubai move serves Halliburton the dual role of evading burdensome federal taxes
and thumbing its nose at Congress. Corporate heads are transferred to UAE; only
a shell remains in Houston. Why is not much said of this in main media? Cui
Bono?
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/dubai.html
Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of
Halliburton, is handed a no-bid cost-plus contract by Bush’s Defense Department
to feed, water and clothe our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. KBR takes
extreme shortcuts to pad the bottom line, such as serving polluted Middle
Eastern river water (laden with human body parts) and lethal showers with
short-circuited wiring, electrocuting dozens. KBR food is also substandard and
poisonous; nevertheless the subsidiary charges the U.S. Government $28 per
plastic plate. The Republican Congress brushes off any investigations since
Halliburton, KBR, Bechtel, et al, are “friends” of Republicans, thus KBR gets
away with murder. Cui Bono?
http://www.spinwatch.org.uk/-news-by-category-mainmenu-9/162-war-on-terror/3004-when-soldiers-shoot-a-war
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CBS_KBR_knew_dangers_of_toxic_1223.html
The body armor scandal also takes its toll on thousands of
American lives, but who’s counting? Cui Bono?
Some may attempt to discredit with the disparaging
classification “conspiracy theorists” upon those daring souls willing to
connect the dots. But the overwhelming weight of circumstantial evidence
demands more than congressional hearings granting blanket immunity to crooks
and cronies. America has been seduced by the Dark Side; it’s been raped and
robbed. The resulting Depression is a near certainty. Therefore, justice is not
a choice but a necessity.
Who profited by not exposing the Bush family’s 30-year connections
to the Bin Ladens?
What defense contractors profited by the selection of Bush
the 43rd?
Why wasn’t the inner-machinations of the Carlyle Group ever
brought to public light?
Who profited from 9/11?
Who profited after the Twin Towers collapsed?
Who profited by flying the Bin Ladens and Saudi royals out
of the U.S. after 9/11 without interrogation?
Who profited from the Iraq misadventure?
Who profited from deregulation?
Who profited from the sub-prime scandal?
Who profited from the financial system meltdown?
Who are profiting from the $2 trillion bailout?
Cui bono? America demands to know. (Or at least it is hoped
so, given the mountain of evidence and impending Depression.) 