“We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
By George Wilson | We accept that war used to be fought for outcomes like treasure, resources, territory, and or “save Democracy.” Today the war-making itself is the treasure.
Ask FedEx, which has a no-bid multi-million dollar contract to fly pallet loads of bottled water from Seattle to Baghdad. Or Lockheed-Martin, which constructs incredibly complex multi-million dollar robots (Hellfire missiles)….destroyed the first time they were used. This is not von Clausewitz territory, well, somewhat it is, and the strategy makes 100 percent sense given the desired outcomes.
The collapse of the existential Soviet enemy, and the supposed upcoming “peace dividend,” put the Military Industrial Complex sector in a complete panic. For the Military Industrial Complex, with the end of the cold war, came the alarming possibility of rolling back the importance of the military, a drastic drop in defense spending for the military and corporate profits, as well as campaign financing from lobbyists.
Subsequently, a new enemy was needed to justify spending on the military. Therefore, around the end of 1990s, the new target was chosen: the Middle East and Islam. A war of civilizations was on the menu, which could likely drag on indefinitely, until something better came along. Any discussion of “strategy” and “objectives” outside of this raison d’être is just rationalization for perpetual war.
However, if you examine the totality of military actions as well as actions of U.S. allies, think of Saudi Arabia funding of extreme Islamic ideology. In addition, the unleashing of religious wars and other sectarian violence means we haven’t seen the establishment of western style democracies across the Middle East. You only see actions which fan the flames of war, extremism and desperation.
Finally, if you just look at what our military and political leaders say, it’s insanity. If you examine the money, and the control of “the earth’s energy heartland,” perhaps the actions start to make some sense in a Machiavellian way.
Follow Us