{"id":151533,"date":"2020-01-13T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=151533"},"modified":"2024-09-23T14:39:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T13:39:32","slug":"tv-pundits-praising-suleimani-assassination-neglect-to-disclose-ties-to-arms-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/01\/tv-pundits-praising-suleimani-assassination-neglect-to-disclose-ties-to-arms-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"TV Pundits Praising Suleimani Assassination Neglect to Disclose Ties to Arms Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jack Keane, Van Hipp, David Petraeus, John Negroponte, and Jeh Johnson from left to right.
Photos: Getty Images, AP<\/p><\/div>\n

6 Jan 2020 – <\/em>Since Friday [3 Jan], a loud chorus of\u00a0voices\u00a0has appeared in\u00a0the media to celebrate President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to assassinate Iranian Maj. Gen.\u00a0Qassim Suleimani, a move that has sparked renewed tension in the Middle East, a new deployment of U.S. forces, and predictions of increased military spending.<\/p>\n

Many of\u00a0the pundits who appeared\u00a0on national television or were quoted in major publications to praise the president\u2019s actions have undisclosed ties to the defense industry \u2014 the only domestic industry that stands to gain from increased violence.<\/p>\n

Jack Keane, a retired Army general, appeared on Fox News<\/a> and NPR<\/a> over the last three days to praise Trump for the strike on Suleimani.\u00a0\u201cThe president acted responsibly,\u201d Keane said during an appearance with Fox News host Lou Dobbs. \u201cIt should have happened a long time ago.\u201d Keane has worked for military companies, including General Dynamics and Blackwater, and currently serves as a partner at SCP Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in defense contractors.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RVKYceDLA2c&feature=emb_logo<\/p>\n

Van Hipp, chair of the lobbying firm American Defense International, which represents\u00a0more than two dozen defense contractors \u2014\u00a0including<\/a> Raytheon, Palantir, and General Atomics, the manufacturer of the MQ-9 Reaper drone used in the Suleimani slaying \u2014 published an opinion column on Fox News\u2019s website\u00a0<\/strong>praising<\/a> Trump and suggesting increased pressure on the Iranian government.<\/p>\n

David Petraeus, the retired general who once commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan,\u00a0was quoted by multiple outlets in support of the slaying.\u00a0\u201cThis is a very significant effort to reestablish deterrence,\u201d\u00a0he told<\/a> Foreign Policy.\u00a0On Public Radio International, Petraeus declared<\/a> that \u201cthis particular episode has been fairly impressively handled,\u201d and praised the Trump administration for moving \u201cto shore up our defenses and our offensive capabilities.\u201d He also appeared<\/a> on CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petraeus, notably, works for\u00a0Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co., the investment firm with holdings<\/a> in several<\/a> major defense contractors that is reportedly<\/a> moving to \u201cbuild up its defense portfolio at a time when military budgets are skyrocketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Negroponte, a former State Department official who now serves as vice chair<\/a>\u00a0of the defense and aerospace lobbying firm McLarty Associates,\u00a0appeared on Fox News to dispute the claim by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that the strike represented a threat of war. \u201cI think it\u2019s an act of self-defense,\u201d countered Negroponte.<\/p>\n

Jeh Johnson, former Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration, appeared<\/a> on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d to offer measured support, countering progressive critics who have claimed that the strikes lacked legal and congressional authorization.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeneral Suleimani,\u201d Johnson said, \u201cwas a lawful military objective and the president, under his constitutional authority as commander in chief, had ample domestic legal authority to take him out without an additional congressional authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson joined the board of directors of Lockheed Martin, one of the largest defense contractors in the world, in 2017. The part-time position pays him $310,000<\/a> a year in cash and stock awards, according to disclosures. None of the defense contracting ties were disclosed on air for Keane, Hipp, Negroponte, Petraeus, or Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is imperative that viewers are aware when their news commentary is coming from someone with a financial incentive tied to the topic they\u2019re commenting on, especially when so many lives hang in the balance,\u201d says\u00a0Gin Armstrong, a senior researcher with the Public Accountability Initiative, which tracks conflicts of interest. \u201cThe key question is why media outlets allow anyone with a financial interest in war \u2014 regardless of their previous military or government experience \u2014 to have access to their platforms at a critical time like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Arms Manufacturers Tell Investors That Iran Tension Fuels Business<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, stock prices<\/a> for major defense contractors soared on the expectation\u00a0of further conflict. The Trump administration has won more than $130 billion<\/a> in additional Pentagon spending, but analysts expect a renewed push for even greater levels of weapons spending.<\/p>\n

One key area for military growth in government defense spending\u00a0could be the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, a special account used to fund wartime operations. The OCO had been largely frozen in place and expected to flatline in the 2021 budget. The escalation in response to the\u00a0Suleimani killing could change that, according to\u00a0the Cowen Group, an investment bank that specializes in servicing defense contractors.<\/p>\n

The OCO account \u201cwas likely on a lower trajectory over the next several years. We doubt that\u2019s the case now,\u201d the Cowen Group\u2019s Roman Schweizer\u00a0wrote in a\u00a0memo<\/a> to investors on Friday. \u201cThe U.S. will likely increase deployments of forces to the region in coming weeks and could make additional strikes depending on Iran\u2019s response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Our Complete Coverage: Targeting Iran<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not the first time defense contractor pundits have failed to disclose their vested stake in the military policies they advocate. The Boston Globe reported on how defense contractors routinely retain\u00a0former high-level officers to serve as lobbyists, even though few bother registering or complying with ethics disclosures. Keane, for instance, was\u00a0tapped<\/a>\u00a0by the contractor AM General to pressure lawmakers to support a plan to purchase new Humvee vehicles from the company rather than refurbish older models.<\/p>\n

Former military leaders play a decisive role in shaping public opinion around military escalation. In the buildup to the Iraq War, the Pentagon maintained a secret effort to deploy former generals and other high-ranking officials on television news programs to drum up support for the invasion. The New York Times, which reported<\/a> on the communications campaign, noted that the military pundits maintained financial ties to defense contractors,\u00a0a financial stake in the war policies they sought to promote.<\/p>\n

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