Profit for the military and oil companies is a by-product of the war, yes, but I don't actually think that the president is sitting in the Oval Office thinking up ways of being evil. It is a democratic system, and people do have the power, it's just that not enough people vote, and many that do vote for the guy they'd like to drink beer with and not the one who might have the best ideas. That's Americans for you. They give their trust in the way that a dog or a child gives it's master/parent trust; it's blind.