The Demise of Our Free Republic

History Repeating Itself?
Part 1: The Creation and Build Up of the Military Industrial Complex
by John Waltz

For many people in America they do not have any concrete theories as to why we are at war with Iraq. America went to war with Iraq under the banner of “War on Terrorism”. President Bush did this by using connotations like we are fighting for freedom and to ensure democracy. It appears now that the Iraqi war was an attempt to expand the military might throughout the world and in essence in an effort to police the world. The question should be asked where do we draw the line between being democratic and being imperialists.
 
After September 11th we had every nation backing us but because of the war in Iraq, the world has turned on us. On September 12, 2002 discussions were held for a plan of retaliation. Included in the discussions were plans on a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. The ground work for invading Iraq had been in the works since 1992 and September 11th provided the means to implement the plan.
 
In 1992 while Dick Cheney was the Secretary of Defense ordered his subordinate Paul Wolfowitz to devise a magnificent strategy which was to ensure that America remains the one and only Superpower. This appears as though Cheney wanted to create a modern Roman empire…

We can see today this plan is playing out now in our current military affairs. It is fueled by the Bush doctrine which provides the ideology that pre-emptive strikes are necessary in order to protect the United States.
 
The clear message that was sent when we invaded Iraq was that America is a country you must obey and we are in charge. It also conveyed they message that America is willing to do as they please to secure that and will punish those who defy us.
 
Bush’s goal was to transform the Mid-East and to establish a military presence to shore up American interests. Democracy was distributed with the tip of our bayonets.
 
Unfortunately if we had heeded Dwight D. Eisenhower’s advice long ago the odds are we would not be in the position we are in now. During Eisenhower’s presidency he sent that there was too much money going into the military and there were no checks and balances to control it. If the military asked for more funds Congress would give it to them with little hesitations.
 
Eisenhower seen program after program being put into place that was clearly out of control and even as president national security was being enclosed by forces he could not control.
 
In Eisenhower’s farewell speech he is quoted as saying, “God help this country when a person who sits at this desk and does not know as much about military as I do.” (Reference)
 
Also in his farewell speech he cautioned about the “military industrial complex” and warned about it getting out of control which would endanger our democracy and liberties.
 
Today the United States spends more on defense that all discretionary parts of the federal budget combined. At the same time the Department of Veteran Affairs was under funded by $4 billion dollars in 2006 and that amount is expected to be up to $7.3 billion by the end of 2007. The American government is in the habit of blindly sending our troops to war without any consideration of the after effects thus leaving many veterans without healthcare. This is why grassroots organizations like Operation Firing for Effect are fighting to get mandatory funding for health care and services.
 
In a quote from Donald Rumsfeld shows the contempt our current Government has and their attempt to explain the military budget, “I almost think that the numbers are distracting.”
 
Many Americans are led to believe that the Department of Defense budget is to arm the troops and to defend the nation. The reality is it is really a business and a competition between corporations to make money. This is all being paid with American taxpayer’s money and is not in the best interest of the citizens.
 
The government wraps a flag around every weapon system with the idea that it is supposed to help the troops but in reality it is all about product competition and corporate profits.
 
For a Congressman accepting a proposed weapon system the benefit is that it will provide jobs in their district which in turn will secure votes.
In order to get a better idea of how this works you have to look into the inner workings at the Pentagon. The four basic steps in how a weapons system is adopted are as follows:
 
·                    Starts with a  contractor’s initiative
·                    Contractor low balls the initial estimate
·                    Contractor overestimates the benefits and downplays the adverse
·                    Once the military buys off on the idea the contractor floods money to as many in Congress as fast as possible
 
The cost to benefit ratio for a Congressman comes out good because they stand to make money from contracts. For the average American though this ratio is not good because it could mean sons or daughters getting injured or killed.
 
The top ten contractors that were involved in the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars had former U.S. officials at the top of their helms which is known as the revolving door. It is against Federal ethics law but is seldom enforced.
 
The number one recipient of contracts was KBR/Halliburton which once had Cheney as its CEO. The relevance of this is that on August 3rd, 1992 KBR/Halliburton was awarded a $9 million contract to devise a plan studying the possibilities of using contractors in war times.
 
Over the next ten years KBR/Halliburton were awarded over 700 contracts while Cheney was CEO. The strategy for KBR/Halliburton for hiring Cheney was to open new doors not only to Washington D.C. but also through out the world. Cheney’s wealth went from $1.1 million to over $60 million in five years.
 
The overall picture is not only did Cheney make money but it created a willingness to go to war. In 2000 we elected a contractor as our Vice President which is a form of legal corruption.
 
There has been a process put in place that is seamless to where corporate interest stands to benefit and is so interwoven with political forces that the financial elite and political elite have become one and the same.
 
America has become a militant nation and has created economic colonialism where we invade countries so that our corporations can make money. America is being misled into accepting wars for the sake of freedom and is actually causing us to lose our very freedoms we cherish.