Military Industrial Tragedy

At the end of his term in the Oval Office, president Eisenhower gave this famous farewell speech on January 17th 1961, in which he warned future governments to guard against unwarranted influence by what he dubbed "the military-industrial complex."

_{source: Wikipedia}

It's so easy to criticize the world's largest military force for all its warmongering and it's pro-military propaganda. It becomes even easier each time we hear about another American plan to invade a country to "spread liberty and democracy" or to "fight terrorism or the countries that 'harbor' them", as each of these invasions are a reliable source for outrage. I do this myself frequently, with the nuance that my criticism isn't aimed at America, but at the plutocracy that make big bucks through a central banking system that finances both sides in each armed conflict, and a military-industrial complex that's in turn tied into the politico-media complex that propagandizes military life every chance they get.

But there's always multiple sides to any issue and we must be prepared to face them all. It's not that easy for America and Americans to just stop all the wars. Eisenhower starts his segment about the military-industrial complex by saying that America was "compelled" to start manufacturing their own war-machines in response to their involvement in both World Wars. You see, America was largely unscathed afterwards while all of Europe and large parts of the Soviet Union were destroyed. From this emerged several international alliances and programs to help rebuild Europe, as well as Americas assuming the role of the guardian of the free world that was payed for by those wars.

_{Eisenhower Farewell Address (Best Quality) - 'Military Industrial Complex' WARNING}

Now, whatever we may think about these individual points, you know I sure have my opinions about them, the reality is that there's a reason, real or perceived, natural or manufactured, for the American arms and spy industry to exist in the way it exists. I've linked Eisenhower's complete 1961 farewell address above for your viewing pleasure. In leading up to his famous warning he describes the global threat of his time, the communists and communism, in much the same way terrorists and terrorism are described now; dangerous people from far away that hold a dangerous ideology which threatens to destroy the Western Judeo-Christian Values we've fought so hard for... The always present threat from afar has become background-noise, much like in the world described in Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four; it's become "normal" that U.S. military forces are fighting somewhere in the world, so the the danger never reaches our shores. This insight makes it easy to understand the significance of the attacks of September 11th 2001; this was the first time America was attacked on its own soil and this shock reverberates throughout the globe to this day. The bastion of freedom had been breached, and so the culture wars began...

It's obvious that the military-industrial complex is incentivized to keep these perpetual wars ongoing and that it's not the American people, but the industrial giants that bought their government who benefit greatly from keeping alive the fear for intangible threats like "terrorism," "Islam," "communism" and other unwanted ideologies. And we know all that. So what then makes it so difficult for America to elect a government that shrinks the budget for the Department Of Defense? Why are even the most leftist government representatives unable to put up any significant fight against this war-industry? Well, jobs for the people is the reason. The military-industrial complex is one of Americas largest employers. In todays final video this is touched upon; the war-industry is responsible for jobs in all individual states. For the leadership of those states to deny the industry-giants their billions of dollars of free money, it would mean becoming responsible for the loss of many jobs, and that's not a great message to campaign on.

Pushing aside the reasons for its existence, the Military-industrial complex does exist and it employs a lot of Americans. It's easy for me and anyone else to rightly criticize their many wrong-doings, but it's not so easy to find a way out of this mess without hurting people that don't deserve it; we must take care that dismantling the military-industrial complex doesn't become a military-industrial tragedy for the American people. Remember that the owners of the industries and banks that are responsible aren't all American and that they ultimately owe no allegiance to any country or people.

_{SHOCK: CNN Host Directly Calls Out Military Industrial Compex}

In closing: Eisenhower wasn't the only or first one to see this coming. I recommend all to read War Is A Racket by Major General Smedley Butler, a veteran of the Great War:

"How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle? Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few -- the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill."

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