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Military-Congressional-Industrial Complex
Making Money on Terrorism
by WILLIAM D. HARTUNG
This article appeared in the February 23, 2004 edition of The Nation.
February 5, 2004
We all know that Halliburton is raking in billions from the Bush Administration's occupation and rebuilding of Iraq. But in the long run, the biggest beneficiaries of the Administration's "war on terror" may be the "destroyers," not the rebuilders. The nation's "Big Three" weapons makers--Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman--are cashing in on the Bush policies of regime change abroad and surveillance at home. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was on target when he suggested that rather than "leave no child behind," the slogan Bush stole from the Children's Defense Fund, his Administration's true motto appears to be "leave no defense contractor behind."
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Eisenhower's Legacy
You’ve probably hear of the Military-Industrial complex, but a little known fact is that when Eisenhower, who made the phrase popular, originally wrote his famous speech he included an import, third element: Congress, calling it the Military-Congressional-Industrial complex. The outgoing president was pressured into removing the congressional element from the final draft of his speech, but we at the Peace Economy Project feel that this body is equally responsible for the superfluous spending that is used in the name of “Defense.” If you are not familiar with Eisenhower’s speech, please watch the video below, filmed nearly 60 years ago, which forewarns of the situation we find ourselves in today.