Friday, January 16, 2009

Shut up, Bush!


America liked Ike, but as it turned out the World War II hero was not so fond of the military establishment. When he spoke to the nation from the Oval Office on the evening of January 17, 1961, Eisenhower had presided over the early years of the Cold War and the growth of the US-Soviet arms race—and the defense contractors who built those arms. His worries about those companies' growing power is what made his farewell address famous. "This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience," he said. "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex …. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes." The following year, the international construction firm Brown & Root, which would win contracts with the US government during the Vietnam and Iraq wars, would be acquired by Halliburton.



Presidential Goodbyes

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