Here’s an interesting little essay by Jeff Huber on the current state of the American Military-Industrial Complex. I hope he doesn’t mind me quoting a few paragraphs to lead you in:
‘…[Machiavelli] said of war that, “a well-established republic or kingdom would never permit its subjects or citizens to employ it for their profession.” Machiavelli asserted that “as long as [the Romans] were wise and good, never permitted that their citizens should take up this practice as their profession.” It was only when Pompeii and Caesar established the institution of emperor as professional warrior that Rome’s republic began to erode. Eventually the army’s elite Praetorian Guard “became formidable to the Senate and damaging to the emperor”…’
‘In his 1961 farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned America to “guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence” by the “military-industrial complex” for the same reason Machiavelli cautioned heads of state of his day to beware of advisers who “in times of peace, desire war because they are unable to live without it.” In ’61, Eisenhower admonished that the “economic, political, even spiritual” influence of America’s new war industry was “felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government.” A decade into the new American century, militarism has woven itself into the very fiber of our society. Political careers and regional economies are wholly dependent upon it. The defense industry has transformed America into a warfare-welfare state, and it doesn’t bother making a secret of it.
‘Witness the recent uproar over Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ proposed defense budget “cutbacks” that are actually an increase. Lipstick neocon Joe Lieberman led the protest over Gates’ refusal to expand the F-22 stealth fighter purchase. At $360 million a pop, the F-22 is a Cold War albatross that was designed to go toe-to-toe with the Russkies in the skies over Europe. Now, its mission involves air-to-air combat against jumbo jets armed with box cutters; but it’s built in Joe’s state of Connecticut, so it’s of vital importance to national security.’
Read the full essay, ‘Brave New World Order’ by Jeff Huber on antiwar.com
