Friday, July 17, 2009
Neal Blue
Not satisfied with just one uranium mine in his corporate empire, billionaire and arms merchant James Neal Blue has now purchased an adjoining mine in Australia used to supply radioactive material for civilian nuclear reactors in the United States. The addition of the Four Mile mine, which is next door to the Beverly mine, to Blue’s General Atomics holdings has shown a little light on the reclusive arms supplier, whose dealings in Washington have spanned three decades and supplied many an American conflict.
Back in the 1980s, Blue was an “enthusiastic supporter” of the U.S.-backed effort to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, where Blue was once a part owner of a cocoa and banana plantation, along with the family of former dictator Anastasio Somoza. Blue’s company helped build the Predator unmanned aircraft that is now widely popular with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq. General Atomics reportedly has $700 million in defense contracts with the Pentagon.
Blue’s company also has been generous towards members of Congress. Between 2000 and 2005 it was the biggest corporate sponsor of travel for lawmakers, their families and staff, and Blue has contributed thousands of dollars to both Democratic and Republican campaigns.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Uranium Mine Linked to US Arms Dealer (by Ben Cubby, The Age)
Secretive Arms Tycoon Behind New Uranium Mine (by Ben Cubby, The Sydney Morning Herald)
Campaign Contributions by James Neal Blue (Huffington Post)
Top Gun of Travel (by Steve Henn and Robert Brodsky, Center for Public Integrity)
General Atomics: Color It Blue (by Matt Potter, San Diego Weekly Reader)
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