The term "Military-Industrial Complex" first got wide recognition in a 1961 speech by President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he left office. He warned, "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."

Wars continue because the military/industrial complex NEEDS war to thrive. While profits soar for the armaments and pharmaceutical industries, the American middle-class continues to decline. Politics favors the existing power structure.

There are now almost 200,000 private "contractors" deployed by the US government in Iraq. This means that US military forces in Iraq are now outsized by a coalition of corporations whose actions go largely unmonitored. In essence, the US has created a shadow army that can be used to wage wars which are extremely profitable for a few unaccountable companies.

To run for national office requires many millions of dollars, the raising of which puts the president and our elected representatives at the beck and call of the few moneyed interests that finance their campaigns. Never before in US history has the elite had such control over the government.

There's a term for this: Oligarchy, power vested in a dominant class or clique; government by a few. Most historians agree that Oligarchy is the prequel to serious decline.

These warnings are not new. I am not alone in sounding the alarm. But, who is listening? And who will act?

Return to the TOP