The Gaza War: A Business Opportunity

The Gaza War: A Business Opportunity

            Although the Gaza war fought by the Hamas and Hezbollah is a regrettable and dreadful event, for some individuals, the war is a good opportunity for establishing a good and lucrative business. One article by Peter Spiegel and Jeffrey Fleishman published in the Tribune Newspapers reveals how investors are taking advantage of the unfortunate situation that is gradually destroying Gaza through their consent in the build-up of a tunnel which will be used to transport arms and weapons to the Hamas.

            According to Spiegel and Fleishman, the tunnel and the continued transport of weapons and arms through it is the main reason why the Hamas is still able to reciprocate the demolition and devastation of Gaza. For this reason, one of the primary strategies of Israel is to find a way to discontinue the transport of weapons and arms through the tunnel that leads directly to Rafah within the borders of Gaza and Egypt. Israel has started targeting some areas within Rafah in order to completely obliterate the tunnel to paralyze the military hardware of its opponents.

            However, for some of the inhabitants in Gaza, the tunnel is not only a source of much-needed food and medicine, but also a source of funds. Apparently, there are numerous key players who defend the continuing operations of the tunnel as a primary source of income. Smugglers grab the opportunity to transport weapons and arms to the Hamas for large fees including food and gasoline. Aside from the smugglers, rich investors also obtain fees from the operation of the tunnel. The private homes and properties that rich investors make available for rental purposes are being made entrances to the tunnel. In return these rich investors obtain a fee for every shipment that passes through their properties. This means that although the war has detrimental effects to the way of life in Gaza, threatening lives and violating peace and democracy, some people take advantage of the dynamics of war for their personal gains. Clearly, in this case, business truly finds its way through various opportunities and ventures despite the nature of the establishment of partnership.

Works Cited

Speigel, Peter & Fleishman, Jeffrey. (2009). “Tunnels Keep War in Business.” Retrieved

from Hartford Courant. 25 Jan 2009. < http://www.courant.com/travel/chi-mideast-tunnels_webjan12,0,1660608.story>.

Business Ventures in War

            Although the existence of business opportunities during times of war has been discussed in the previous summary of an article through the events in the Gaza war, there are other serious issues that surround the capitalistic view of wars. The article written by Normal Solomon shows how venture capitalism is taking advantage of the various needs of warring nations or groups in order to establish businesses that are likely to ensure large returns of investment. The situation in Gaza is only a minor issue on how individuals are able to find businesses opportunities during the war. In this particular situation, as told by Solomon, the key players are large companies and organizations who are able to fuel the fire massively during wars. However, despite the realized dangers and destructive effects of wars, these large companies and organizations still continue to practice venture capitalism under the context of war.

            For instance, during the U.S.-led war in Iraq, as the government’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, large companies have ventured into the industries of technology, power and electronics, physical security and defense, arms and weaponry, and such, in order to take strike the iron of profit-making in war while it is still hot. Since large companies and organizations know that the war will not be possible without powerful weapons and arms that will overshadow the military capabilities of the various enemies of countries or groups at war, large companies and organizations were instantly sure about the large return of investments that they will obtain in the process. High technology tools and devices utilized by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, the Marines, and such are provided by Orbit International Corporation. The company has reported an increase in its sales by $2.4 up to $17.1 million during the p of two years since the war in Iraq begun. This clearly justifies why companies and organizations choose to venture in business that fuels war, even if it means that thousands of innocent lives will be lost because of it.

Works Cited

Solomon, Norman. (2005). “War and Venture Capitalism.” Retrieved from

CommonDreams.org. 25 Jan 2009. < http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0715-13.htm>.