The Earth is not dying, it is being murdered, and the people murdering it have names and addresses.

Current members of the board of directors of General Dynamics are: Nicholas Chabraja, James Crown, Lester Crown, William Fricks, Charles Goodman, Jay L. Johnson, George Joulwan, Paul Kaminski, John Keane, Lester Lyles, Carl Mundy, and Robert Walmsley.

Senator Leahy: Against the war, but for the war profiteers?

The following statements can be found on Senator Leahy’s webpage….

I have been outspoken about the exaggerated and misleading statements of the Administration that led to military action in Iraq….

…The initial invasion in 2003 and the subsequent insurgency have destroyed the lives of many thousands of people…Still thousands more have been permanently disabled from grievous injuries.

…Since coming to the Senate, I have worked to help innocent, civilian victims of war. In 1989, I created a special fund now called the "Leahy War Victims Fund," which is administered by USAID to provide relief to civilians who have been disabled as a result of civil strife and warfare, including victims of landmines. In 2003, I authored a provision in the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act that authorized the use of Iraq relief and reconstruction funds to aid Iraqi civilians who suffered losses as a result of military operations there. The provision, similar to one I sponsored for Afghan civilians, has resulted in millions of dollars to assist communities and families who suffered losses as a result of U.S. bombs that missed their targets. (emphasis added)

How does this philosophy square with the following announcement in April 2007?….

From Patrick Leahy's website http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200704/041007.html

Leahy Announces $149 M. Army Contract Installment
For Burlington’s General Dynamics

BURLINGTON (Tuesday, April 10) – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced Tuesday that General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products of Burlington will receive a $149 million installment for a contract awarded to the firm in April 2005. The contract, which has a total possible value of $900 million, is for the production of the Hydra-70 rocket. To date, the five-year contract has brought over $500 million to the firm, which maintains its high-level design, engineering, and product support center in Burlington.

The Hydra-70 rocket, which has seen extensive use in Afghanistan and Iraq, is a flexible and effective weapon that can be deployed from both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It has become the world’s most widely used helicopter-launched weapon system. The Army intended to scale back production of the rocket system in 2003, but Congress, led by Leahy’s efforts, was instrumental in reversing the decision (emphasis added), based on its continuing usefulness and proven track record. As a result, funds for fiscal years 2005 through 2009, including the contract awarded to General Dynamics, will be allocated to continuing the system.

General Dynamics’ Burlington facility will oversee and manage the project. A sister facility in Arkansas will share production responsibilities.

“The smart, hardworking Vermonters at General Dynamics’ Burlington facility have once again been chosen by the Army to provide these highly effective rockets,” said Leahy. “Our air men and women depend on the usefulness and precision of this important tool on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Army continues to recognize the dependability of the rockets produced at the Burlington plant.”

Leahy is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and of its Defense Subcommittee, which handles the Senate’s work in writing the annual Defense Department budget bill, which includes the Army’s budget.

General Dynamics and weapons testing in Jericho Vermont

Burlington-based General Dynamics Armament Systems also operates the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont for system development, qualification, and testing of armament and ammunition (See map). Between 1969-73 over 20,000 anti-tank rounds containing 4,500 kg (10,000 lb.) of depleted uranium (DU) was discharged at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Vermont. Afterwards, 4 inches of contaminated topsoil at the range was scrapped and shipped to the low level radioactive waste dump at Barnwell, South Carolina. -- Citation: G. Bukowski, D. A. Lopez, and F. M. McGehee III: Uranium Battlefields Home & Abroad: Depleted Uranium Use by the US Department of Defense; Rural Alliance for Military Accountability, Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment, Citizen Alert, (March 1993).

While this soil scraping removed some of the depleted uranium it should be noted that DU rounds are designed to penetrate steel plating and other armor. It is quite likely that many of the depleted uranium rounds penetrated into the ground much further than 4 inches.

“Over time, fine DU dust particles deposited on the ground will be absorbed into the soil, while bigger DU fragments remain intact on the ground and start to corrode. In most cases, no more than 10% of the penetrators hit their intended target. DU penetrators that do not hit a target or hit 'soft' targets (non-armored vehicles) do not generate significant dust. Most munitions that impact on soft ground, such as clay or sand, penetrate intact into the ground (down to a few meters depending on the type of soil)” emphasis added citation: International Atomic Energy Agency, 2007

Some links about Ethan Allen Firing Range

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/camp-ethan-allen.htm

http://www.mil.state.vt.us/content/natural_resources.html

link for national "Merchants of Death" campaign against weapons manufacturers:

http://www.warresisters.org/MoD_coordinators.htm

Map of General Dynamics facilities in Vermont (click on image to see full size)

Money Spent by General Dynamics to Influence Decisions and Secure Future Federal Contracts 1997 through 2004
YEAR	TOTAL Campaign Contributions	INDIVIDUAL Contributions	PAC Contributions	SOFT MONEY** Contributions	LOBBYING Expenditures	CONTRACT AWARDS (from U.S. Gov't)
2004	$701,625	$48,625	$653,000	$0	NCA	NCA
2003*	-	-	-	-	$5,408,472	$8,235,429,902
2002	$1,678,474	$104,157	$1,028,250	$546,067	$5,250,933	$7,264,308,000
2001*	-	-	-	-	$5,248,009	$5,332,411,000
2000	$1,398,292	$99,994	$828,461	$469,837	$4,684,226	$4,213,848,000
1999*	-	-	-	-	$4,365,465	$4,747,711,000
1998	$945,428	$77,575	$591,850	$276,003	$3,908,417	$3,738,896,000
1997*	-	-	-	-	$4,388,353	$2,137,406,000
TOTALS	$4,723,819	$330,351	$3,101,561	$1,291,907	$33,253,875	$35,670,009,902

*Campaign contributions are reported in two-year cycles.
** In 2002, McCain-Feingold (the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) banned soft money contributions. The United States Supreme Court upheld the soft money ban in 2003.
NCA means Not Currently Available.

Senior Government Officials Turned Current & Former Company Executives for General Dynamics 1997 through 2004

Lt. General David K. Heebner, U.S. Army (Ret.), Former Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

Phebe N. Novakovic, Former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense

Rear Admiral Kendell Pease, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Navy

Lt. Colonel William O. Schmieder, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Former Senior Officer in Department of the Air Force, Former Senior Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense

Rear Admiral John F. "Dugan" Shipway, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Director of Strategic Systems Programs - U.S. Navy, Former Commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Former Deputy Commander for Submarines at Navy Sea Systems Command

Senior Government Officials Turned Current & Former Board Directors for General Dynamics 1997 through 2004

Lt. General Julius W. Becton, Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.), Former Commander of the U.S. Army Operational Test & Evaluation Agency

Frank C. Carlucci, Former Secretary of Defense

Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Member of the Defense Policy Board, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Admiral Jay L. Johnson, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Chief of Naval Operations

General George A. Joulwan, U.S. Army (Ret.), Former Member of the Defense Science Board, Former Supreme Allied Commander - Europe, Former Special Assistant to the President, Former Commander-in-Chief - European Command

Paul G. Kaminski, Member of the Defense Science Board, Former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology

General John M. "Jack" Keane, U.S. Army (Ret.), Former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, Former Deputy Commander-in-Chief - Atlantic Command

General Lester L. Lyles, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Former Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command

Carl E. Mundy, Jr., Former Commandant-U.S. Marine Corps, Former Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

General Gordon R. Sullivan, U.S. Army (Ret.), Former U.S. Army Chief of Staff

Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Former Chief of Naval Operations, Former Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Senior Government Officials Turned Current & Former Registered Company Lobbyists for General Dynamics 1997 through 2004

Former Rep. Jack Edwards (R-AL) (Ervin Technical Associates)

Former Rep. Joseph M. McDade (R-PA) (Ervin Technical Associates)

Former Rep. Martin A. Russo (D-IL) (Cassidy & Associates)

Firms Registered to Lobby for General Dynamics 1997 through 2004
Baker C. Consulting Bergson & Co. Boland & Madigan Cambridge International Inc. Cassidy & Associates Conaway Group Ervin Technical Associates Gallagher Group Mayer, Brown et al. Magliocchetti Assoc, Paul Maurer, William W.	McBee Strategic Consulting McDermott, O'Neill & Associates Mehl, Griffin & Bartek Miller & Associates, Denny Mock & McSwain Consulting Bob Moss Associates Paw & Associates PE McManus Associates PMA Group Potomac Advocates PRASAM	Rhoads Maguire Group Rhoads, Weber, Shandwick Government Relations Robison International RV Davis & Associates Skadden, Arps et al. Sneed, Robert D. Stinson, John M. Walton, John C. Weaver, Paul A. Wight, Bill Winston & Strawn

POGO's list of the top 20 government contractors for FY 2002 was compiled by Government Executive magazine (Vol. 35, No. 12, August 2003, p. 24). The dollars for total, individual, political action committee, and soft money contributions, as of December 1, 2003, were provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. Lobbying expenditures were compiled by POGO from information obtained from Political Money Line and the Center for Responsive Politics. Contract award dollars from FY 1997 through FY 2002 were compiled by Government Executive magazine. In February 2004, DOD listed its top 100 contractors in FY 2003 and we provided those DOD contract award figures for completeness.

For more information about the revolving door between the government and federal contractors and about campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures, please see POGO's report "The Politics of Contracting." For more detailed information regarding misconduct by the government's top contractors, see POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database and POGO's report Federal Contractor Misconduct: Failures of the Suspension and Debarment System.