Carlyle GroupFrom TinWiki.orgThe Carlyle Group is a private investment firm with more than $18 billion in liquid capital, and over $44 billion in contracts all over the globe. It has a broad membership of over 350 individuals, most of them influential figures in the world of American foreign policy. Carlyle has ownership in over 500 companies and corporations worldwide, and a brief look through its investment portfolio shows that the firm does not hesitate to sieze opportunities as they come. But through the course of normal business, Carlyle focuses on industries in which its membership have prior expertise, such as aerospace, defense, automotive and transportation, consumer retail, energy and retail power, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology, business services, telecommunications, and media. With offices in Washington DC, located just between the White House and the Capitol building, and near numerous other federal departments such the FBI, it is easy to see that Carlyle plays a role in virtually anything where politics and financial matters mix. However, some say Carlyle is more than a simple investment firm; given its unique membership, its political ties, and the industries from which it profits most, the company seems to fit the bill of a military-industrial complex in more ways that one.
[edit] HistoryThe Carlyle Group was founded in 1987 by William E. Conway, Jr., the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the telecommunications giant MCI, Daniel A. D’Aniello, an executive with Marriot Corporation, and David M. Rubenstein, a former aide to President Carter. The three founders owned approximately 50% interest in the group's general partnership. The group took its name from a hotel, "The Carlyle", in the upper east side of New York City. Using its partners' financial experience and D'Aniello's Marriot ownership, the firm began building its capital by focusing on the restaurant and foodservice industries. In 1989, President Reagan's former Secretary of Defense, Frank Carlucci, joined the firm and redirected its focus to the then-downsized defense industry. Its first military acquisitions were the missile and aircraft technology from the Harsco Corporation, BDM International, the LTV Corporation, and Howmet. As the years have gone by, Carlyle's membership has continued to expand, and its interests in the military and defense industries have more than tripled. [edit] MembershipThe Carlyle Group has a combined membership of over 350 individuals, including many key political and military figures from all over the world. The more notable members are outlined below.
Among the more controversial partners were members of the bin-Laden family (relatives of Osama bin-Laden, not the man himself). In October 2001, the family sold its $2.02 million investments back to Carlyle after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. [edit] A military-industrial complex?A military-industrial complex is generally defined as a "coalition consisting of the military and industrialists who profit by manufacturing arms and selling them to the government." With Carlyle profiting from virtually all aspects of war, from the manufacturing of combat equipment to future contracts once fighting has ended, the firm has attracted negative attention from the few members of the public that are aware of its existence. Given the firm's interests in middle-eastern affairs, and the wars currently being fought there, it presents an interesting conflict of interest between current policymakers and industry. For example, current President George W. Bush is fighting a War on Terror which stands to make his father, former President George H. W. Bush (and the rest of Carlyle) enormous sums of money in contracts and investment returns. Further, with the situation in the middle east and the rest of the world escalating, the firm's middle-eastern partners are in a position to dictate policy which is directly profitable for them and the rest of the firm. It is the existence of entities such as the Carlyle Group, among several other factors, that lead many to believe America has surpassed the definition of military-industrial complex. Many wonder what this means for the future of America, and for the world. [edit] External links
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