The Military-Industrial Complex Revisited

January 17th, 2011 will mark the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s famous farewell address in which he warned against the perils of the military-industrial complex. Today the New America Foundation, a Ploughshares grantee, hosted a panel discussion on this topic to mark the release of William D. Hartung’s book entitled Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex.

Hartung is the Director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation. He was joined on the panel by Gordon Adams of the Stimson Center, David Berteau of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight.

In 1961 Eisenhower spoke of “unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, of the military industrial complex,” and by 1966 the military budget exceeded $300 billion. Hartung’s book recounts the story of one major recipient of these Defense Department dollars, Lockheed Martin. Showing a history of powerful influence over US policy, Hartung provides a clear picture of the military-industrial complex at work.

As the fiscal year 2011 budget request for the Defense Department stands at over $708 billion, Eisenhower’s message clearly remains relevant in our time.