This is the Military Industrial Complex

In President Eisenhower's famous Farewell Address, he warned the nation of the dangers of the Military Industrial Complex. The MIC describes the economic dependency on war, the vast weapons & defense budgets, and the interests of those that stand to profit from military action. Ike told the nation: "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. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. 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." Truer words were never spoken by a Republican!

Fast forward to the modern era & our current war in Iraq for a clear example of what Ike was concerned about. Here we have a war that was not instigated by the native citizenry or our own population, that is unpopular with both groups, that has undefined goals & undisclosed civilian casualties, YET continues to generate profits for the only thriving sector of the U.S. economy - The Defense Industry.

In fact, they ain't even trying to hide the bullshit! According to an audit (conducted by the defense department's inspector general) of the $8 billion paid to American & Iraqi contractors between 2001 and 2006, nearly every payment made failed to comply with U.S. laws intended to prevent fraud. The BBC News article about the enormous mismanagement of funds says that the audit uncovered a $11 million payment to a U.S. company that did not even include any information about the goods or services that were provided!

This is what war means to those wealthy demigods on Capitol Hill. People die in combat, social services are cut back at home, the nation of Iraq is thrown into chaos, untold numbers of innocent civilians are slaughtered / raped / robbed / assaulted, and our boys at the Pentagon can't even keep accurate records of where our tax dollars are going! There's a Memorial Day thought for you! "This Memorial Day, the United States government would like to thank all you poor souls killed in combat for helping to line the pockets of the Military Industrial Complex! God Bless You."

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