The influence of Ottawa-based war profiteers shapes Canada's foreign policies, yet they hide in the shadows, a short walk from Parliament Hill. On 26 October 2007, on the eve of international peace protests, fifty people gathered to shine a literal spotlight on these merchants of death. It is Canadians – not corporations with a vested interest in selling weapons – who should decide whether Canada continues participating in the war in Afghanistan.

Indeed, the majority of Canadians want the troops to come home, yet the federal government is apparently more eager to appease the war profiteers. The war profiteers exposed by this action were: SAIC Canada, BAE Systems, L-3 Communications, and Raytheon. Each of these four merchants of death has a direct financial interest in the ongoing and indefinite occupation of Afghanistan by Canadian and other military forces. The silent march stopped in front of each of these war profiteers to read an "indictment" of their actions (included below) while shining a spotlight (and at least a dozen flashlights) on their offices. The action concluded with a round of peace songs at the doorstep of Raytheon Canada.

 

 

About the Merchants of Death

SAIC Canada (Science Applications International Corporation)
www.saic.com 60 Queen St, Suite 1516.

The Center for Public Integrity notes that the US government "accounts for 69 percent of SAIC's business".  SAIC "is reportedly the largest recipient of contracts from the National Security Agency (NSA) and one of the top five contractors to the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA)," according to CorpWatch.  In March 2007 SAIC, according to the company itself, won a contract for "virtual and constructive simulation-based battle command training to I Corps Stryker Brigades preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan."

SAIC's biggest source of income is surveillance for US spy agencies. The company had $2.8 billion (USD) worth of contracts in 2005. CorpWatch highlights that "two of SAIC's most valuable products are: TeraText and Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) data-mining programs that are used by intelligence agencies to sift the immense volumes of data they now collect by monitoring phone calls, faxes, e-mails, and other types of electronic communications." As Keith Nightingale, a former Army special ops officer, puts it "We are a stealth company... We're everywhere, but almost never seen."  (CorpWatch)

BAE Systems www.baesystems.com
85 Albert St.

This is the Canadian branch of Britain's largest arms company, the fourth largest in the world. Its largest customer is the US Department of Defence. BAE produces the Joint Strike Fighter.  In its Corporate Crimes Awards, Corporate Watch (May, 2005) awarded BAE Systems the Indiscriminate Arms Dealer Award for supplying arms to any side in a conflict. 

In July 2007, BAE won a long-range munitions contract for M777 howitzers for all units in the US Army and Marine Corps. The M777s have been field tested by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan since 2006, for the use of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. These howitzers have a range of 40km, with an accuracy of "within 10 meters" and "has already earned a name for itself in theatre in Afghanistan" according to BAE Systems.

L-3 Communications www.l-3com.com
255 Albert St, Suite 804.

L-3 Communications is the third largest military contractor in the world.  Along with Blackwater, it is at the forefront of privatizing military services.  For example, L-3 Communications has taken on military recruiting contracts for the US army, and their recruiters get a bonus for every soldier they sign up. In addition, one of its subsidiaries, Titan Corporation, employed some of the personnel who were implicated in the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in 2004. (CorpWatch) 

Raytheon Canada Ltd.
360 Albert St., Suite 1640. www.raytheon.ca

Raytheon, which means "light from the gods", is the fifth largest military contractor in the world. Maker of a wide variety of weapons systems, including at least 12 types of missiles, the company is best known for its Tomahawk cruise missile (tested in Canada). Raytheon has received over $91 billion (USD) worth of contracts in Afghanistan, from the US government alone. In Afghanistan, Raytheon has supplied a wide range of weaponry and support, including aircraft maintenance, bunker busters, missiles, sensors and radars. (corpwatch)