Why are All the War Jobs Being Outsourced?

After the thoughtless campaign in Iraq, the deaths of over 4,000 brave US troops, and countless Iraqi civilians and militants, there was some hope that the reconstruction effort might attract employment to the US economy. After all, we made the mess, so we should help clean up, right? A reconstruction effort is underway, but very few of those contracts to rebuild Iraq have fallen to US contractors, and very few have resulted in new employment opportunities for American citizens.

At a time when the American economy is patchy at best, the fact that jobs continue to be outsourced by the American government as a cost saving device, rather than helping the US economy, is yet another tragedy for the millions of unemployed Americans feeling the pinch in the current economic climate. So who’s to blame?

Controversial writer and gospel singer Bob Miller is in no doubt as to who the main culprits are, and as a fervent opponent of the Bush/Cheney administration, he sees this as the latest in a long line of catastrophic mistakes and betrayals by the powers that be.

“I believe it is important for our youth to know that when these Nixon through Bush Republicans talk about being conservative, they are talking about others being conservative.”

"Can we also risk having to cope with [Bush’s] uncontrollable ego? The leadership of this father and son team can be critiqued using a term that epitomizes their presidencies: Collateral Damage. Clearly, America's integrity and economy fall into this category when they clash with the prosperity of Bush and his accomplices."

Whether or not you agree with Miller’s strong viewpoints, there is at least some undeniable truth in his words – jobs from the Iraq war are not filtering through to American citizens. Perhaps that’s because it’s more cost effective to outsource jobs for the government.  Perhaps NAFTA’s to blame. Or perhaps it’s even another dastardly deed by one of the worst US presidents in living memory.  But whatever the real reasons, the Iraq war has certainly not done the US economy any favors.

After collapses in the housing market and the mortgage sector, and the onset of a global credit crunch, the US economy has had to remain resilient to keep its head above the water. Recession is looming large, and unemployment figures are steadily rising. Sounds like a less than perfect time to be outsourcing jobs to foreign contractors, particularly given the potential value of some of these agreements. 

Of course, there are cost savings on outsourcing to cheaper providers which will help balance the books after the disastrous economic, social and moral decision to wage war unjustly against Iraq. But the impact this is having and will continue to have on American employment as the economy struggles on makes it yet another key mistake for the Bush administration and one further insult in the fiasco known as the Iraq campaign.