Spring 2012 (Issue # 66) Press for Conversion! 21

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which supplies generators “installed inthe Atarot military checkpoint in the oc-cupied West Bank.”

The Interfaith Peace Initiative’sonline report, “Companies that Profitfrom the Israeli Occupation of Pales-tinian Land,” quotes a member of a UKgroup called The Olive Project: “Dae-woo has no business selling equipmentto someone who will use it for criminalpurposes. Daewoo has [been] madeaware of the use of its equipment.”

ReferencesDaewooen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.www.hoovers.com/company/Daewoo_Engineering__Construction_Co_Ltd/rcjhjif-1-1njdap.html

Daewoo Engineering Companywww.poscoengineering.com/upload/BROCHURE/201142516128_16.pdf

“The Miserable Occupation on a MiserableMorning,” The Occupation, Nov. 21, 2005.www.occupationalhazard.org/article.php?IDD=700

Nick Dearden, “Profiting from the Occupation,”ZNet, July 10, 2006.www.zcommunications.org/profiting-from-the-occupation-by-nick-dearden

Orcal Industries and Mechanizationwww.whoprofits.org/Company%20Info.php?id=678

“Profiting from the Occupation: Corporate com-plicity in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinianpeople,” War on Want, July 2006.www.waronwant.org/attachments/Profiting%20from%20the%20Occupation.pdf

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Before the Asian Financial Cri-sis of 1998, Daewoo Groupwas South Korea’s second larg-

est conglomerate. When Daewoo’schairman masterminded an accountingfraud worth US$43.4 billion and “bor-rowed” US$10.3 billion in 1999, thecompany went bankrupt and was dis-mantled by the government.

But even after all this, DaewooEngineering & Construction (DEC) –which spun off from the Daewoo Groupin 2000 – is still one of South Korea’slargest construction firms.

Daewoo, which means “GreatUniverse,” created a fine motto to re-build its image: “Creating Better Hu-man Life.” But not everyone sees Dae-woo so positively. To some, Daewoomeans destruction and inhumanity. Forexample, in 2005, staff and volunteerswith the Israeli Committee AgainstHouse Demolitions watched as a “Dae-woo bulldozer systematically demol-ished” two Palestinian homes, leavingpiles of rubble and homeless familiesin its wake. These buildings, in the oc-cupied West Bank town of Anata, areamong the 26,000+ Palestinian homesdemolished by Israel since 1967.

Nick Dearden, with the Britishgroup War on Want, reported that he“saw Volvo, Daewoo and JCB bulldoz-ers or cranes being used, on a contrac-tual basis, in the construction of theSeparation Wall.” The group’s 2006 re-port, “Profiting from the Occupation,”said Daewoo “bulldozers are being usedby the Israeli army to destroy Palestin-ian homes, schools, orchards and olivegroves, and their machines are build-ing Israel’s illegal Separation Wall.”

The “Who Profits from the oc-cupation” database says Daewoo powergenerators are distributed by Israel’sOrcal Industries and Mechanization,

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With assets of $190 billion in2010, this German firm isthe world’s thirteenth-larg-

est car maker, and second-largest truckmanufacturer. Largely through its roleas the top truckmaker in Europe, muchof Daimler’s business is military-re-lated. The company had at leastUS$1.7 billion in contracts with thePentagon between 2000 and 2009.These sales put the company into thePentagon’s top-100 military suppliersfor the last three years of that decade.

Being a leading war industry hasnot stopped Daimler from extolling thecompany’s contributions to what it calls“world peace and prosperity in the fu-ture.” Daimler says it “respects and sup-ports compliance with internationallyaccepted human rights,” and “con-demns all forms of forced and compul-sory labour.” Even if this were true now,it certainly was not always the case.

During World War II, Daimler’spredecessor, DaimlerBenz, made en-gines for Nazi warplanes, tanks andsubs. It also produced parts for Germa-ny’s Mauser rifles. Michael Moore’swebsite, The Awful Truth, reveals thatDaimlerBenz began using

“foreign workers and Soviet andFrench POWs as forced labor inearly 1941… Many of the Sovietworkers refused to work, and en-gaged in strikes. DaimlerBenz sentthe ‘ring-leaders’ of these strikes toconcentration camps.”

Daimler used tens of thousandsof forced foreign workers, POWs, andconcentration camp inmates “to buildthe Luftwaffe [air force] and otherweapons of the Nazi war machine.”

Since WWII, the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler has beenmaking heavy-duty military trucks,such as four-wheel drive “Unimog437s” used by Israel’s military forces.

Daimler’s predecessor, Daim-ler-Chrysler (D-C), sold “Sufa [Storm]”

Press for Conversion! (Issue # 66) Spring 201222

jeeps to Israel’s military. (Chrysler isnow largely owned by Fiat. See p.33.)

Between 2000 and 2001, D-Csold US$5.3-million worth of airframestructural components for US F-16s.The US has transferred F-16s to Israel,which used them to bombard Lebanonin 2006, and Gaza in 2008-2009.

Daimler also makes enginesthrough Germany’s MTU Friedrich-shafen, which is owned jointly byDaimler and Rolls Royce. (See table“CPP Investments,” p.53.) For exam-ple, MTU engines power Israel’s:

“Merkava” main battle tanks: Is-rael used these in the Lebanon War(1982), South Lebanon conflict (1982-2000), 2nd Lebanon war (2006), 1stIntifada (1987-1993), 2nd Intifada(2000–2005) and Gaza (2008-2009).

Tatra T815 heavy, off-road trucks Dolphin class subs, which are widely

believed to carry nuclear weaponsThe “off-highway” division of

Detroit Diesel (DD) is also owned byDaimler and Rolls Royce. It makes en-gines for these Israeli military vehicles

M106: DD’s 6V53T engines powerUS-made M106 mortar carriers. Start-ing in 2003, 54 of these tracked, self-propelled artillery vehicles were trans-ferred to Israel. Although equipped withM2 Browning .50 calibre heavy ma-chine guns, the M106’s main weaponis the M30 107 mm heavy mortar.

EE-11: DD engines power these ar-moured vehicles made by Brazil’s state-owned arms company, IMBEL. Isra-el’s military received 24 of thesewheeled, amphibious vehicles in 2002.

Achzarit: These heavy, armouredtroop carriers are also powered by DDengines. They have been used by Isra-el’s military since 1988.

Daimler owns 22% of EuropeanAeronautic Defence and Space Co.(EADS), the world’s 7th largest warindustry. Eurocopter, the world’s larg-est helicopter supplier, is wholly-own-

ed by EADS. Israel’s Air Force fliesEurocopter’s AS565 “Panthers” Isra-el’s navy has its own version of theseEurocopters, called HH-65 “Dau-phins.” These were probably the air-craft that Israeli commandos used dur-ing their deadly 2010 attack on the“Mavi Marmara,” an aid ship trying todelivery aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Daimler also sells vehicles to anIsraeli company called Philcar, whichdescribes itself as “a leading providerto the Israeli Army, Police, SpecialForces and other governmental agen-

cies.” This firm says “all of ourproducts have gone into battleand are combat proven.”Philcar armours vehicles sold toit by Mercedes and Unimog(owned by Daimler AG), Inter-national Truck-brand vehicles(by Navistar), as well as Toyotaand Volvo vehicles. (See table“CPP Investments,” p.53.)

ReferencesAnnual Report 2010www.daimler.com/Projects/c2c/channel/documents/1985489_Daimler_Annual_Report_2010.pdf

Daimler AGen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_AG

Contracts to Daimler AGwww.fedspending.org/fpds/search.php

Top 100 Defense Contractors, Gov’t Exec.www.govexec.com

Integrity Codewww.daimler.com/Projects/c2c/channel/documents/1031150_Daimler_Integrity_Code_en.pdf

Sal vs BMWwww.theawfultruth.com/salbmw/

Military equipment of Israelen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_equipment_of_Israel

List of vehicles and machines powered byMTU enginesen.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vehicles_and_machines_powered_by_MTU_engines

Tatra T815en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_T815

Israel Raw Report [Ground Forces]www.deagel.com/equipment/r2c0100raw04.htm

M106 mortar carrieren.wikipedia.org/wiki/M106_mortar_carrier

M30 mortaren.wikipedia.org/wiki/M30_mortar

EE-11 Urutuwww.deagel.com/Wheeled-Armored-Fighting-Vehicles/EE-11-Urutu_a000712001.aspx

EADSen.wikipedia.org/wiki/EADS

Israeli Air Forceen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Air_Force

Martin Broek, Ali Abunimah, Carlo Tombola andWendela de Vries, “European and Americanweapons in Israeli attack on Gaza Flotilla,” June15, 2010.stopwapenhandel.org/publicaties/factsheets/israel_flotilla_attack.html

Top 100 Defense Contractors, Defense Newswww.defensenews.com

philcar.co.il Company Profilew w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / t o p i c . p h p ? u i d =162205220493231&topic=200

Manufacturing Facilitieswww.rabintex.com/manufacturing_facilities.asp

Government Contracts USA Defense Dep’twww.governmentcontractswon.com

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