>Julio asks:
>
>>Didn't the share of revenues from international transactions increase
>>substantially for U.S. firms in the 1990s -- particularly for U.S.
>>firms other than oil companies, military contractors, or companies
>>that deal with Israel? Isn't this the bulk of U.S. capital? As the
>>interest of U.S. capital -- other than the listed "special interests"
>>-- in global business increases, wouldn't they benefit from a modicum
>>of lasting stability and order in the Middle East -- particularly as
>>the possession of WMD in the region gets to be more likely by the day?
>==============================
>Yes, they would benefit; as you know, capitalists as individuals and as a
>class are the first to understand the relationship between stability and
>profits.
Don't forget the argument of Nitzan & Bichler in The Global Political Economy of Israel: oil companies *like* tensions in the Middle East, because they raise prices and therefore profits.
Doug