The phrase “military industrial complex” fell our of common use in the US after the war in Vietnam, but that doesn't mean the alliance between big defense contractors and the government halted. The U.S. has been in many armed conflicts since the WWII, which was (apparently too optimistically) called the War to End All Wars. the US has fought in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, Granada, Bosnia, Iraq, and we are currently fighting in Afghanistan. This is not counting the skirmishes in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Somalia, and the Bay of Pigs. It appears that some force has been working behind the scenes to keep America in a never-ending state of war.
US Military Spending versus Other Nations
According to Reuters, the cost of the wars to US taxpayers since 2001 has topped $1 trillion. (Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan Tops $1 Trillion, Reuters, January 14, 2010) The wars and still going on at this point and the cost continues to escalate. According to the Council on Foreign relations, the Congressional Budget Office now estimates " the costs of the Iraq war, projected out through 2017, might top $1 trillion, plus an extra $705 billion in interest payments, and says the total cost of Iraq and Afghanistan combined could reach $2.4 trillion." (Lee Hudson Teslik, "Iraq, Afghanistan and the US Economy,"Council on Foreign Relations, march 11, 2008)
US Military Spending: Differing Calculations
Determining the extent of the military industrial complex is difficult, because figures are juggled by various interested parties, but according to 2005 data from SIPRI (PDF), the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US spends more on military endeavors than any other country in the world. If war spending and allocations to the “Global War on Terror” are excluded, the U.S. military budget is still more than seven times that of its next closest competitor, China. If war spending and the Global War on Terror are included, the U.S. spends more on military endeavors than all other countries of the world combined.
War: Dwight D. Eisenhower
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, war hero and U.S. President, used the phrase "military industrial complex" in his farewell speech . Following is an excerpt from his speech.
"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."
Eisenhower warned that the power of the military industrial complex "endangers our liberties" and our democratic process. Eisenhower concluded, "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."
Eisenhower Warned the US about Military Industrial Complex
This is a somber warning. The military-industrial complex is a cyclical process between congress, the defense department, and defense contractors that originates during wars and requires frequent wars to continue. According to the Auburn University Glossary of Political Terms, the military-industrial complex forms an Iron Triangle, or a powerful, exclusive, and mutually beneficial relationship between government agencies and special business interests. As long as the relationship continues, the members of the triangle dominate public policy and unite to resist outside influence.
Military Industrial Complex an Iron Triangle
In the military-industrial Iron Triangle, taxpayers supply money, which goes through congress to the Defense Department, which in turns passes it on to corporate defense contractors. To complete the cycle, defense contractors pass on some of their profits to congressmen as campaign contributions, expecting the congressmen to help them get still more government contracts. Corporations also use some of their profits for lobbying, or advocating for their interests politically, as well as propaganda to manipulate public opinion to favor military spending.
Military Industrial Complex: Private Contractors
The scope of the military-industrial complex is difficult to define, since contracts awarded for the manufacture of weapons are not the only category of war expenses. For example, many functions formerly carried out by military personnel have been privatized, and private corporations receive billions of dollars from the government to provide such services as overseas security, prison administration, and transportation. According to the Washington Independent, quoting from the Federal Procurement Database, the Defense Department paid over $394 billion to private contractors in fiscal year 2008.
Defense Contracts to Private Companies
According to USAID Contracts, a few examples of government contracts awarded to private companies in Iraq include $2 billion to Bechtel, over $354 million to Bearing Point, and over $400 million to Louis Berger. KBR, previously a division of Halliburton, accumulated $17 billion of war revenue between 2003 and 2006. Blackwater, (now Xe) a private paramilitary security agency, received $485 million in contracts. Since being investigated by the FBI for killing 17 civilians in Iraq, Blackwater (now named Xe) has created shell companies and has continued bidding on contracts.
The amounts of money under discussion are difficult to grasp. The Iron Triangle from congress to defense department to private contractors and back to congressmen seems to have become established. Those who are benefiting are unlikely to halt the cycle, but perhaps the taxpayers, the “alert and knowledgeable citizenry" Eisenhower spoke of, "can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals.”
