by Rohaan Solare
April 14, 2009
from
EmergentCulture Website
Don’t forget what I discovered that
over ninety percent of all national deficits from 1921 to 1939
were caused by payments for past, present, and future wars.
–Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1961, the late President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme
Military Commander of Allied Armed Forces during World War ll - coined
the phrase - “Military Industrial Complex.”
The term was first mentioned in
his farewell address to the American people.
The entire content of his speech was nothing less than a stern warning to
the American people that a menace had taken root and was preparing to take
control of the nations destiny.
His words were not heeded and what he foretold has come to horrific
fruition. His enclosed video taped address (further down) is a segment from
the award winning documentary Why We Fight.
An article entitled “The Economic Cost of the Military Industrial Complex”
came to me by way of Bruce Gagnon who is coordinator of the Global Network
Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.
The article, complete with graphs and charts follows my brief commentary.
The article contrasts quotes from President Eisenhower’s speech with the
current state of affairs. Eisenhower was not Supreme Allied Commander of
Allied Forces because of his looks. He was a brilliant man who had developed
enough conscience to expose a menace he had unwittingly become part of.
A trend, he warned, that if left unchecked would grow into what it is today.
The success of the Military Industrial Complex
has meant the decay of society, environmental ruin, the failure of
unregulated capitalism and the literal destruction of entire nations.
“As we peer into society’s future, we — you
and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for
today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious
resources of tomorrow.
We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without
risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want
democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the
insolvent phantom of tomorrow”.
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1961 farewell address
Military expenditures represent the black hole
of the human universe.
An
astronomical black hole is a star that has
collapsed under the weight of its own gravitational power. A power so strong
that light itself cannot escape. Whatever goes into a black hole is never
seen again.
Military expenditures is the squandering of astronomical sums of money
(resources/effort) and countless human lives into the black hole of
militarized alpha male madness. The human made black hole that I speak of – is
the collapse of Economic Militarism (capitalists for war as an economic strategy) or the current financial crisis.
The militarized alpha male universe does not follow natural laws, so some of
the money that falls into the black hole of Economic Militarism does manage
to come back out and into the pockets of those who make the tools of war,
those who invest in defense contractors and then come
the vultures who
represent the true purpose of war.
In all three instances the motivation is profit. Profit from death and
destruction.
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a
group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in
the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code
that glorifies it”.
from The Law–Frederic Bastiat, French Political and
Economic scientist
“War is the continuation of policy [politics] by other means. Obviously,
war is an attempt by one country (or side, in a civil war) to impose its
will on another."
Prussian military theorist Clausewitz
(1780-1831)
Mr. Clausewitz forgot to mention the primary
motivation for war. I believe that many have heard the line that goes “to
the victor go the spoils”. Militarized alpha males do not invest military
effort unless there is some great reward.
The rewards are territorial acquisition (colonization), political influence
(‘spread democracy“.) and economic gain (no bid contracts for military
contractors and a
pro-western gov. means market access) for those best
poised to profit from the “campaign”.
The italicized words in the preceding paragraph are a form of political
speech best characterized by
George Orwell.
The adjective Orwellian refers to these
behaviors of State and The Party, especially when the Party is the
State:
-
The political manipulation of language,
by obfuscation, e.g. WAR IS PEACE. Using language to obfuscate
meaning or to reduce and eliminate ideas and their meanings that are
deemed dangerous to its authority.
-
The encouragement of “doublethink,”
whereby the population must learn to embrace inconsistent concepts
without dissent, e.g. giving up liberty for freedom. Similar terms
used, are “doublespeak“, and “newspeak“
Present day example: “The
Purpose Of War Is Peace” - Mar 13, 2008 by Jill Jackson.
“Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
acknowledged that the past five years have not been easy, but urged the
audience to remember that “the purpose of war is peace.”
President Eisenhower’s Historic Exposé of...
The Military Industrial Complex
The sole purpose of war throughout the history
of Western Civilization and up to the present moment has been to conquer
people and their resources.
There is no other reason for war. If someone can find another reason please
leave a comment and a reference.
The
War on Terror in response to
9-11 was a pretext. Iraq had no weapons of
mass destruction, nor did Iraq harbor cells of the phantom Al-Qaeda.
Plato
the Greek philosopher put it the following way:
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign
enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from
them, then he is always stirring up some war or other in order that
the people may require a leader.
Plato
According to Plato, the leader he refers to is a
war monger or our modern version of the “War President”.
"Mr. Bush said he was a “war president” and the top issue for
voters should be the use of American power in the world."
Bush sets case as 'war president'
The Economic Cost of The
Military Industrial Complex
by James Quinn
August 13, 2008
from
SeekingAlpha Website
|
James Quinn is a senior director of
strategic planning for a major university .
He can be reached at:
(215) 573-5404
quinnadvisors@comcast.net |
“Every gun that is made, every warship
launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from
those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.
This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat
of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hope of its
children.”
These must be the words of some liberal
Democratic Senator running for President in 2008. But no, these are the
words of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied
Commander during World War II, five decades ago.
The United States, the only superpower remaining on earth, currently spends
more on military than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world
combined. The U.S. accounts for 48% of the world’s total military spending.
Where did the peace dividend from winning the Cold War go?
The United States spends on its military 5.8
times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than
Iran.
The Cold War has been over for 20 years, but we are spending like
World War III is on the near term horizon. There is no country on earth that
can challenge the U.S. militarily.
So, why are we spending like we are preparing for a major conflict? The
impression on the rest of the world is that we have aggressive intentions.
The administration is posturing like Iran is a threat to our security. Iran
spends $7.2 billion annually on their military. We could make a parking lot
out of their cities in any conflict.
Does anyone really believe that they
would create a nuclear weapon and use it on Israel? Their country would be
obliterated.
Defense spending had peaked at just under $500 billion in 1988. The fall of
communist Russia did result in a decline to the $350 billion range from 1995
through 2000, and an economic boom ensued. Since 9/11 we have doubled our
spending on defense.
This seems like an overly extreme reaction to 19 terrorists attacking our
country. Bin Laden and his terrorist network numbered less than 10,000. The
initial response of invading Afghanistan, defeating the Taliban, and
cornering bin Laden in the mountains was supported by the entire world. The
success of this response was sufficient to deter any other country from
allowing terrorist organizations to operate freely within their borders.
The natural response of the United States should have been to increase
spending on border protection, upgrading the CIA, and increasing our ability
to gather intelligence. Instead, we spent billions on weapons, aircraft,
tanks, and missiles. The neo-cons, led by Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz,
saw the 9/11 attack as their opportunity to change the world. They’ve gotten
their wish.
Of course, we took our eye off of bin Laden and Afghanistan. The Taliban has
experienced a resurgence, recently freeing 800 fighters from a prison.
Bin
Laden continues to issue videotapes exhorting his followers to continue the
fight.
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell speech in January 1961 is a brilliantly
perceptive analysis of the future of our country.
“Throughout America’s adventure in free
government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster
progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and
integrity among people and among nations.
To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any
failure traceable to arrogance or our lack of comprehension or readiness
to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and
abroad.”
This last sentence describes what George Bush
has managed to do in the last 5 years.
The arrogance of believing that we
could invade a country on the other side of the world and expect to be
treated as liberators is beyond comprehension. Our reputation abroad has
been grievously damaged. The voluntary sacrifices we’ve made in the U.S.
were to receive tax cuts and multiple tax rebates, paid for by our
grandchildren. President Bush has sacrificed by not playing golf for the
last 5 years.
How noble. Not exactly the Greatest Generation, quite yet.
Did President Eisenhower envision that the U.S. would have troops stationed
in 70% of the world’s countries?
According to the Defense Department’s latest “Personnel Strengths” report,
the United States now has troops stationed in 147 countries and 10
territories. This is the greatest number of countries that the United States
has ever had troops in.
Why are we policing the world? What is the point of having 57,000 troops in
Germany and 33,000 troops in Japan? Germany and Japan each spend $40 billion
per year on their military. Can’t they defend themselves at this point? We
defeated them 60 years ago. It is time to leave.
This is a prelude to
decades of occupation in Iraq. Don’t believe the blather about withdrawal.
The military has no intention of withdrawing.
It is a shame that after 9/11, George Bush didn’t read President
Eisenhower’s farewell speech. I wonder if he has ever read the speech.
Instead he chose to follow the “wisdom” of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and
Paul Wolfowitz.
President Eisenhower’s words describe the crisis that
occurred on September 11, 2001.
“Crises there will continue to be. In meeting
them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring
temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the
miraculous solution to all current difficulties.
A huge increase in newer
elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every
ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research —
these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may
be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel."
A spectacular and costly response is what the Iraq invasion has turned out
to be. We have now spent more money on this venture than any war in history
except for World War II.
And there is no end in sight.
I live in Pennsylvania. Taxpayers in Pennsylvania have paid $20 billion for
our share of the Iraq war, so far. This amount of money would pay for
1,650,000 scholarships for University students for one year.
Does a $20 billion investment in rebuilding Iraqi bridges that we blew up
with $1 million cruise missiles make more sense than investing in our best
and brightest young people? $20 billion would provide 24,000,000 homes with
renewable electricity for one year. That is 20% of all the homes in the
United States.
After paying their utility bills this coming winter, I think I know what the
majority of Americans would choose.
Some further perspective on this out of
control spending is provided in the following chart:
President Eisenhower, as a former commanding general of Allied forces in
World War II, knew exactly what the implications of having a permanent
armaments industry were to the United States.
He was also worried about the
implications.
Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments
industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required,
make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation
of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments
industry of vast proportions.
Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged
in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more
than the net income of all United States corporations.
These words were spoken 5 decades ago, but are just as true today.
President Eisenhower, as a former commanding general of Allied forces in
World War II, knew exactly what the implications of having a permanent
armaments industry were to the United States. He was also worried about the
implications.
These words were spoken 5 decades ago, but are just as true
today.
The top five U.S. defense contractors generated almost $129 billion in
revenues and $8 billion in profits in 2006, double the revenue and profits
in 2000 when George Bush became President. The War on Terror has been a
windfall for the defense industry and their shareholders. These companies
have intertwined themselves into the fabric of our government and defense
department.
They contribute tremendous amounts of money to Congressional candidates and
have thousands of lobbyists pushing for more defense contracts. Many
politicians end up working for defense contractors (i.e. Dick Cheney) after
they leave public service. This leads to conflicts of interest negatively
impacting the American public.
It appears that the biggest winners of the War on Terror are the CEOs of the
defense contractors.
I wonder if they realized how rich they would become as
they watched the Twin Towers crumble to the ground. They have virtually
tripled their annual income, while the average American scratched out a 20%
increase over 6 years.
They have managed to generate the tremendous profits and personal wealth
while only employing 10% more employees. Boeing and Raytheon were actually
able to reduce their workforce. How productive. These contractors will do
everything in their power to retain and increase these fabulous profits.
President Eisenhower clearly understood the moral implications of a huge
armaments industry and the costs to a free society.
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms
industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic,
political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every
office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this
development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our
toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of
our society.
We have some of the brightest engineers in the country developing weapons to
kill human beings more efficiently.
There is an opportunity cost that is
being paid. These engineers could be concentrating their brilliance on
developing alternative energy solutions which could free us from our drug
dependence on the Middle East. Which effort would benefit our country more,
weapons development or energy independence?
President Eisenhower’s final words are the most chilling.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military
industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power
exists and will persist.
We did not heed his wisdom. Laurence Vance, author of What’s Wrong with the
U.S. Global Empire?, contends that our foreign policy,
is not right, it’s
unnatural, it’s very expensive, it’s against the principles of the Founding
Fathers, it fosters undesirable activity, it increases hatred of Americans,
it perverts the purpose of the military, it increases the size and scope of
the government, it makes countries dependent on the presence of the U.S.
military, and finally, because the United States is not the world’s
policeman.
War and non-stop conflict benefit the military industrial complex. It is in
their best interest for them to support candidates that favor an aggressive
foreign policy. This could lead to Defense companies using their influence
to provoke conflict throughout the world.
In conclusion, I again turn to the wisdom of Ron Paul, the only presidential
candidate speaking the truth to the American public. In a speech before
Congress several months before the Iraq invasion, his words were reminiscent
of President Eisenhower’s.
The basic moral principle underpinning a non-interventionist foreign policy
is that of rejecting the initiation of force against others. It is based on
non-violence and friendship unless attacked, self-determination, and
self-defense while avoiding confrontation, even when we disagree with the
way other countries run their affairs.
It simply means that we should mind our own business and not be influenced
by special interests that have an ax to grind or benefits to gain by
controlling our foreign policy. Manipulating our country into conflicts that
are none of our business and unrelated to national security provides no
benefits to us, while exposing us to great risks financially and militarily.
If we followed a constitutional policy of non-intervention, we would never
have to entertain the aggressive notion of preemptive war based on
speculation of what a country might do at some future date.
Political pressure by other countries to alter our foreign policy for their
benefit would never be a consideration. Commercial interests and our
citizens investing overseas could not expect our armies to follow them and
protect their profits.
If as a country we continue to allow our politicians and their military
industrial complex corporate sponsors to spend $700+ billion per year on
weapons, to the detriment of higher education, alternative energy projects,
and national infrastructure needs, we will be paying an extremely high
price.
We are in a classic guns or butter scenario. The Bush Administration has
decided to choose guns while borrowing from our grandchildren and the
Chinese to pay for the butter.
This can work for awhile, but as deficits
accumulate, the dollar plummets, and inflation rears its ugly head, our
great country will decline as other empires who overstepped their bounds
declined.
Disclosure: Author holds no positions in the stocks mentioned above.
The Result of Money Spent on Matters Other Than The...
Military Industrial
Complex
This table demonstrates results of a recent study, which found that public
dollars invested in health care, education, mass transit, or construction
for home weatherization and infrastructure create more jobs than investing
an equivalent amount in the military
(or in tax breaks).
In fact, twice as many jobs are created by equivalent spending on education
and mass transit as on the military. The research was conducted by the
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of
Massachusetts - Amherst.
For more information, contact:
What the above graph does not account for, is
the death and destruction wrought by the insanity of militarism.
That tally is:
|
Casualties in Iraq
The Human Cost of Occupation
by Margaret Griffis
American Military Casualties in Iraq
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
American Deaths |
|
|
|
Since war began (3/19/03): |
4371 |
3477 |
Since "Mission Accomplished"
(5/1/03) (the
list)
|
4232
|
3370
|
|
Since Capture of Saddam
(12/13/03): |
3908 |
3172 |
|
Since Handover (6/29/04): |
3512 |
2845 |
|
Since Obama Inauguration
(1/20/09): |
143 |
73 |
|
American Wounded |
Official |
Estimated |
|
Total Wounded: |
31,582 |
Over
100,000 |
Latest Fatality Dec. 12,
2009
|
|
American Deaths |
|
|
|
Since war began (3/19/03): |
4244 |
3411 |
Since “Mission Accomplished”
(5/1/03) (the
list)
|
4105 |
3303 |
|
Since Capture of Saddam
(12/13/03): |
3783 |
3105 |
|
Since Handover (6/29/04): |
3386 |
2779 |
|
Since Election (1/31/05): |
2806 |
2515 |
|
American Wounded |
Official |
Estimated |
|
Total Wounded: |
31,035 |
Over
100,000 |
|
