Eisenhower's Famous Warning

In a Farewell Address of January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave Americans a warning about the "military-industrial complex". This famous warning bears repeating today. The question can be asked, Is there any connection between a "war on terrorism" which is said to have no definite end, and the need of armaments companies to offer ever-increasing returns to shareholders and owners? If so, what is that connection? Below I am reprinting President Eisenhower's warning. I cannot say I see the Eisenhower Presidency as one of the great administrations in U.S. history. Also, I do not happen to agree with everything in the statement (made amidst the Cold War), but Eisenhower's words about the potential collusion between politicians and the military-industrial complex are important, now more than ever.

As you read, you may say to yourself, It's a great statement but what can I do? In the future, I hope to say more about this, but for now, please consider contacting your relevant representatives in Washington and indicate to them you do not approve of the huge expenditure of money, especially on no-bid contracts. You can also contact media outlets in your area and let them know of your vital interest in this matter. You may want to quote from the Eisenhower statement below.

Here, then, without any further delay, is the Eisenhower missive.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

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.

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 Statehouse, 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.

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 must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

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By way of commenting, and has been said by others, with the end of the Cold War, the arms makers had to find a new reason to justify their existence. Almost immediately after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the break-up of the Soviet Union and before any peace dividend (remember that?), we were being told the world was full of new enemies which we must prepare for. Thus was born "pin-point bombing" which could now turn the old military into the "military of the 21st Century." The question must be asked, Do we really need the huge military of the Cold War with the fall of the Soviet Union? This is a question which has dropped out of daily discourse due to the corporate media (which has ties to the military industrial complex).

So, President Eisenhower's warning still stands. Let us heed it. Let us be on watch. Let us take the appropriate action to protect our democratic processes as Eisenhower advised.