Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security — a new group led by former government officials with ties to the military contractors — is expanding into South Carolina as the organization seeks to press presidential candidates to adopt more hawkish positions.
As we reported earlier this month, APPS was launched this year to encourage candidates to embrace “American engagement” abroad on a range of issues the group presents as dangerous threats to national security. The group is led by former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Many of the people on its board work for major military and homeland security corporations.
On Wednesday, APPS announced a new chapter in South Carolina and its intent to sponsor a candidate forum next month.
Jonathan Hoffman, a former border security official in the George W. Bush administration, will serve as the executive director of the South Carolina chapter. Hoffman previously ran for Congress and worked as a consultant to the Chertoff Group, the homeland security-focused consulting firm founded by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.
The South Carolina chapter will be advised by a local board that includes former Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., now an adviser to a lobbying group representing the shoe industry and Van D. Hipp Jr., the chair of a lobbying firm that represents drone-maker General Atomics as well as General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman, Leidos and Raytheon.
The group continues to expand. On Wednesday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, former Gov. Rick Perry, R-Tex., who is mulling a presidential bid, appeared at an APPS-hosted event.
(This post is from our blog: Unofficial Sources.)
Photo: Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security founder Mike Rogers appears at a RAND Corp. event earlier this year, APPS/Facebook
A slightly OT (and somehow Matrixy) development that could be used to seriously hamper free speech, or maybe a whole lot more, in places like Gaza – or here.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/24/boeing-unveils-electromagnetic-pulse-weapon.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001
Soooo…I’m guessing their motto is “Peace Through Death”? Sounds legit.
This is a disgusting game play by the M-I complex.
This clearly demonstrates how corrupt our congress has become. These lobbyists no longer hide their intentions and influence on the congress from the public. It’s business as usual. In any other field of employment, and congressmen and women are employees of the government, this behavior would be called a bribe.
Like Lemmings to the precipice, sheep to the shearers, or cattle to the slaughterhouse, choose your cliche’, that’s all the citizenry is to THEM, the dreaded THEM. And for those who keep clinging to the hope that somehow, if we could just elect the perfect candidate, we could fix the issues, I call out bullshit. Without a unified populace calling THEM out for their bullshit, nothing will change, let me qualify that with nothing will change for the better. Thanks Lee for the article.
They are there to suckle the teats of superhawk of death Lindsay Graham.
Thank you, Lee. I am glad The Intercept will run these short pieces that build up piece by piece the picture of what influencers are doing in small ways everywhere to exercise an impact on the final limited choices that the rest of us will have the opportunity to make.