Corporate Responsibility?

"As a company and as individuals, we hold ourselves to the highest standard of integrity and ethical behaviour... If we do any less, we put Caterpillar's name and our reputation for integrity at risk."

Caterpillar's Code of Worldwide Business Conduct, page 4

Caterpillar's military links

Caterpillar openly advertises the use of bulldozers and excavators in military conflicts such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. Its website states that its products are available to US and foreign military forces, and that the company has developed new bulldozers specifically for military purposes, including the new modified D7. The Israeli military recently ordered 25 Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers reinforced by Israeli Aircraft Industries, while the US department of Defense acquired 14 armoured Caterpillar D9R's from the Israeli Army for use in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. Caterpillar products have also been exhibited at arms fairs including Defence Systems and Equipment International in London (DSEi) and Eurosatory in Paris. The UK Ministry of Defence awarded two contracts to Caterpillar UK Ltd in 2001 and 2000, worth £20-£50 million.

Caterpillar is also the direct beneficiary of US government assistance programmes, given that Israel is the number one recipient of US military assistance and 75% of that aid must be spent on US companies. In a letter sent to US campaign group Jewish Voice for Peace in August 2003, Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens confirmed that the company's bulldozers are sold to Israel through the US Foreign Military Sales Program. As Jewish Voice for Peace notes, "Caterpillar bulldozers are not given to Israel as construction equipment, but explicitly as weapons." Or, in the words of Middle East analyst Robert Fisk, the Caterpillar bulldozer which killed Rachel Corrie "was part of the regular US aid to Israel".

More from War on Want's alternative company report on Caterkiller.

"We avoid those who violate the law or fail to comply with the sound business practices we promote."
Caterpillar's Worldwide Code of Business Conduct, page 7

Israeli Soldier on 75-hour rampage with Caterpillar D9

In a unique interview in Yediot Aharonot, Israel's most popular tabloid newspaper, on 31 May 2002, the Caterpillar D9 operator Moshe Nissim recounted his 75-hour long rampage in Jenin:

I had no mercy for anybody. I would erase anyone with the D9... When I was told to bring down a house, I took the opportunity to bring down some more houses... They were warned by loudspeaker to get out of the house before I came, but I gave no one a chance. I didn't wait. I didn't give one blow and wait for them to come out. I would just ram the house with full power, to bring it down as fast as possible.

The bulldozer unit was cited for outstanding service for its role in the operation

Thank you for doing this action. It's SO important that people like Rachel are remembered.


Peace and solidarity,

K x

Press release from 'Common Dreams' website.
MARCH 15, 2005
5:00 PM
Mahdis Keshavarz

FAMILY OF AMERICAN WOMAN KILLED BY MILITARY BULLDOZER FILES SUIT AGAINST CATERPILLAR INC.

Family of Rachel Corrie Charges Bulldozer Manufacturer Knowingly Sold Machines Used to Violate Human Rights.

NEW YORK, NY -- March 15 -- The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and partnering law firms today filed a federal lawsuit against Illinois-based Caterpillar, Inc. on behalf of the parents of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American peace activist and student who was run over and killed by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer on March 16, 2003.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western Federal District of Washington, alleges that Caterpillar, Inc. violated international and state law by providing specially designed bulldozers to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) that it knew would be used to demolish homes and endanger civilians. The Corries daughter Rachel, a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was there as a volunteer peace activist protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes when she was brutally killed. Much of the world community, including international human rights organizations and the United Nations, has consistently condemned these demolitions as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.


The Corries also filed a tort claim today in Israel against the State of Israel, the Israeli Defense Ministry and the IDF for their role in the death of their daughter. They are represented by Advocate Hussein Abu Hussein.


Rachel’s mother, Cindy Corrie, stated, “As we approach the two-year anniversary of Rachel’s killing, my family and I are still searching for justice. The brutal death of my daughter should never have happened. We believe Caterpillar and the IDF must be held accountable for their role in the attack on my daughter Rachel.”


Jennie Green, Senior Attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, stated, “International law clearly provides that corporations can be held accountable for violations of international human rights. Rachel Corrie, a young American killed abroad because Caterpillar purposefully turns a blind eye as to how their products are used, must have access to justice.”


Over the past four years, the IDF has used Caterpillar bulldozers to destroy more than 4,000 Palestinian homes, injuring, killing, or leaving homeless scores of individuals in the process. Rights groups have sent over 50,000 letters to Caterpillar, Inc. executives and CEO Jim Owens, decrying the use of Caterpillar bulldozers to carry out human rights abuses.


Plaintiffs Craig and Cindy Corrie are represented by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Ronald J. Peterson Law Clinic at Seattle University Law School, and the Public Interest Law Group PLLC in Seattle, Washington.

A downloadable pdf version of the War on Want report, 'Caterpillar the Alternative Report' is available from  http://www.caterkiller.com

 http://www.caterkiller.com/Caterpillar%20report%20final%20_11%20Feb%202005_.pdf