In the Jan/Feb of TheAtlantic magazine, I read three great columns, one of which was the Tyranny of Defense Inc. After reading this timely article, I shared it with a few of my family and friends. Ken Cox who has an interesting military experience shared his views in response. An excerpt: “As stated in “The Tyranny of Defense”, the never ending cry, that we are in crisis and grave danger from this or that, has brought us to this point in our history. We are simply broken, economically and morally. Our ignorance and fear have allowed us to play right into the hands of Osama Bin Laden.” (Read his full response following my preface.)
In the Tyranny of Defense, Andrew Bacevich quotes President Dwight Eisenhower, in his warning of the buildup of a Corporate Military Complex: “Every gun that is made,” Eisenhower told his listeners, “every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Any nation that pours its treasure into the purchase of armaments is spending more than mere money. “It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”
Bacevich: “Yet in Cold War Washington, Eisenhower’s was a voice crying in the wilderness. As much as they liked Ike, Americans had no intention of choosing between guns and butter: they wanted both. Military Keynesianism—the belief that the production of guns could underwrite an endless supply of butter—was enjoying its heyday.”
In the Tyranny of Defense, Andrew Bacevich quotes President Dwight Eisenhower, in his warning of the buildup of a Corporate Military Complex: “Every gun that is made,” Eisenhower told his listeners, “every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Any nation that pours its treasure into the purchase of armaments is spending more than mere money. “It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”
Bacevich: “Yet in Cold War Washington, Eisenhower’s was a voice crying in the wilderness. As much as they liked Ike, Americans had no intention of choosing between guns and butter: they wanted both. Military Keynesianism—the belief that the production of guns could underwrite an endless supply of butter—was enjoying its heyday.”
Henceforth, in this foreboding era we grapple (Or we should!) with a balance between reasoned, justifiable defense and extravagant-Keynesian defense. E.g., as reported by The Institute for Southern Studies: “The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt's military compared to about $250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain's Telegraph reports.” For this bighearted military support, the “corporate complex” of the U. S. of A. gets generous military contracts to supply Egypt’s military. We can’t unequivocally say all this is bad, but collectively, our own military and those many countries we give financial-military aid, is this the butter we want returned to our country as an equivalency in jobs and security for our nations and the world?
Inshallah! (if God wills) Egyptians will have freedom! In the Qur'an 13:11: “Verily God will not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.” Boy, have the Islamist taken control “for change” themselves? May it be an orderly transfer ensured by the Egyptian military for a secular democracy!
Subsequent to the original mailing of The Tyranny of Defense and after receiving a fiction-email-rumor which wrongfully stated President Obama’s appointee denounced a 13% pay raise for service persons --- I shared these items with three cousins, either of direct/indirect connection with military experience, which included Kenneth Cox. (You just about always know how these politically-motivated eRumors go! From TruthorFiction: Cindy Williams worked with the Clinton Administration during 1994 to 1997. In 2010 this eRumor returned with claims that Williams was assistant director in the Congressional Budget Office. The office was filled by David E. Mosher at the time of circulation. Her opinions about the military pay raises were published in the Washington Post (not the Washington Times) on January 12 of 2000. The article dealt with to what extent there was a gap in the wages of military personnel compared with civilians)
Read The Tyranny of Defense Inc. on online.
Inshallah! (if God wills) Egyptians will have freedom! In the Qur'an 13:11: “Verily God will not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.” Boy, have the Islamist taken control “for change” themselves? May it be an orderly transfer ensured by the Egyptian military for a secular democracy!
Subsequent to the original mailing of The Tyranny of Defense and after receiving a fiction-email-rumor which wrongfully stated President Obama’s appointee denounced a 13% pay raise for service persons --- I shared these items with three cousins, either of direct/indirect connection with military experience, which included Kenneth Cox. (You just about always know how these politically-motivated eRumors go! From TruthorFiction: Cindy Williams worked with the Clinton Administration during 1994 to 1997. In 2010 this eRumor returned with claims that Williams was assistant director in the Congressional Budget Office. The office was filled by David E. Mosher at the time of circulation. Her opinions about the military pay raises were published in the Washington Post (not the Washington Times) on January 12 of 2000. The article dealt with to what extent there was a gap in the wages of military personnel compared with civilians)
Read The Tyranny of Defense Inc. on online.
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Thus begins Ken’s writing, with some provocative comments and questions.
Cornell,
Hi. Hope you guys are doing well. Thanks for sending this to me........a few comments to follow. I hate to write, but sometimes it seems necessary. A few times in my life when I did take time to write, it helped make decisions that were necessary to make. At this time in my life, I am too old to take any action as I did in the past.....who know where this will go.......but after writing and keeping a, sort of, diary of what was going on in Southeast Asia when I was there........in the middle of the massive bombing campaign of Linebacker II during the bombing of North Vietnam over Dec 72-Jan 73.....I went to the personnel office at Takhli AFB and resigned my Regular Air Force Commission. It was clear to me that the United States was waging an immoral war.....and one that we were losing as well......killing more of them and more of us....and for what purpose?? Was it as the Eagles said in one of their songs......"we satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds in the name of destiny and in the name of God".........what has changed since then?? Probably very little. We were already well down this path of self destruction. Where do we really get the idea that it is our destiny to rule the world?? And do we really think that this is God’s wish for us?...... Our country really is in a mess. And for one who has always been extremely optimistic, it hurts me to say that I think we have gone too far to solve our problems. The future does look rather bleak. Have we been in a war since WWII that has really had a purpose other than to make money for the military industrial corporate complex?? Notice I added “corporate” to that phrase. I saw Ike’s daughter on television last year and she said that “corporate” was taken out of Ike’s speech for fear of upsetting the corporate folks…….. And is there any way to reign this spending in?? While adjusting and creating a fair and appropriate tax code??
Well, let me jump around a little……..I totally agree that we do not pay our soldiers in the trenches enough….theirs is the ultimate sacrifice. All through this country of ours, we are asking too much from the few while many contribute very little……taxes as well. However I want to look at our volunteer military. The military industrial corporate complex was very smart to do away with the draft. With the all voluntary military, the “complex” can keep sending these young men and women overseas, taking advantage of them, to fight our questionable battles without the apathetic citizenry protesting. For instance, the only person that I personally know that has gone to Iraq and Afghanistan is my nephew and he wanted to go. All the while, the higher echelon of the officer corps retires and moves into the “complex” and board rooms of the corporations perpetuating the growth of war. Within the last few weeks, there were several retired generals who left corporate jobs as “mentors” to the “complex” rather than to provide their annual salaries.
As stated in “The Tyranny of Defense”, the never ending cry, that we are in crisis and grave danger from this or that, has brought us to this point in our history. We are simply broken, economically and morally. Our ignorance and fear have allowed us to play right into the hands of Osama Bin Laden. He did not have the military means to defeat us; but he has the intelligence to bait our political leaders who are in bed with the “complex” to wage unnecessary wars which we can neither afford nor win. We will eventually collapse, maybe sooner than later, by continuing these wars. I love the bumper sticker that says something to the effect of: It will be a great day when we have enough money for education and the military will have a bake sale for a bomber. We do not even educate our people so that our citizenry is knowledgeable enough to ride herd on our government and the “complex”. Now, speaking out of the other side of my mouth…….I do believe that we need a strong defense…..to defend our country…..but not to maintain a standing army in every country in the world that we have ever visited or had reason to deploy…….can we never bring any of these troops home?? WWII did help us get out of the Great Depression. But it was a temporary gift! The continuation of the massive buildup of the “complex” and massive war machine worldwide……and since 911……the massive buildup of the security-state apparatus…..all these things have left us bankrupt. As stated in “The Tyranny of Defense”, our military, security/intelligence and homeland security amounts to over 800 billion a year. China’s is in the neighborhood of 80 billion a year. Not only can we not win these wars, but we cannot afford these wars. Where is the public citizenry outcry?? What wars have we fought without paying for them as we go with bonds and taxes? Our government and our “complex” is spending money foolishly and cutting taxes…….making the rich more wealthy, ultimately on the backs of the middle class and poor. There is no doubt that the “complex” has stolen the heart, sole, and prosperity from the American people and is in the process of destroying the American Dream for many of our citizens. They are heartless and simply do not care about the American people. That is why Obama won the 2008 election. The people saw in him hope that our great country could provide education and health care for our citizens, that we could reinvest in our infrastructure, that we could end the unnecessary wars, that we could create a fair tax structure, and that we could begin to create an energy program……..that we could really be a great country. Yet, once elected we see that the “complex” is bigger than even our president. His hands are largely tied, I believe, and our empire of war and debt lumber on with no hope of cessation. No wonder people in the Arab world look upon us and our hypocrisy with such disdain. So do I.
And quite frankly, with the turmoil in Egypt……maybe the best way to fight is in the social media rather than with guns and bombs. How long before we have such here in our streets? Our leaders are not doing a good job. How we make them work for us is beyond me at this time. Anyway, enough rambling and enough questions……without solutions…….it’s bed time……….and thanks for including me. The Tyranny of Defense is fabulous.
Thanks,
Ken
Thus begins Ken’s writing, with some provocative comments and questions.
Cornell,
Hi. Hope you guys are doing well. Thanks for sending this to me........a few comments to follow. I hate to write, but sometimes it seems necessary. A few times in my life when I did take time to write, it helped make decisions that were necessary to make. At this time in my life, I am too old to take any action as I did in the past.....who know where this will go.......but after writing and keeping a, sort of, diary of what was going on in Southeast Asia when I was there........in the middle of the massive bombing campaign of Linebacker II during the bombing of North Vietnam over Dec 72-Jan 73.....I went to the personnel office at Takhli AFB and resigned my Regular Air Force Commission. It was clear to me that the United States was waging an immoral war.....and one that we were losing as well......killing more of them and more of us....and for what purpose?? Was it as the Eagles said in one of their songs......"we satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds in the name of destiny and in the name of God".........what has changed since then?? Probably very little. We were already well down this path of self destruction. Where do we really get the idea that it is our destiny to rule the world?? And do we really think that this is God’s wish for us?...... Our country really is in a mess. And for one who has always been extremely optimistic, it hurts me to say that I think we have gone too far to solve our problems. The future does look rather bleak. Have we been in a war since WWII that has really had a purpose other than to make money for the military industrial corporate complex?? Notice I added “corporate” to that phrase. I saw Ike’s daughter on television last year and she said that “corporate” was taken out of Ike’s speech for fear of upsetting the corporate folks…….. And is there any way to reign this spending in?? While adjusting and creating a fair and appropriate tax code??
Well, let me jump around a little……..I totally agree that we do not pay our soldiers in the trenches enough….theirs is the ultimate sacrifice. All through this country of ours, we are asking too much from the few while many contribute very little……taxes as well. However I want to look at our volunteer military. The military industrial corporate complex was very smart to do away with the draft. With the all voluntary military, the “complex” can keep sending these young men and women overseas, taking advantage of them, to fight our questionable battles without the apathetic citizenry protesting. For instance, the only person that I personally know that has gone to Iraq and Afghanistan is my nephew and he wanted to go. All the while, the higher echelon of the officer corps retires and moves into the “complex” and board rooms of the corporations perpetuating the growth of war. Within the last few weeks, there were several retired generals who left corporate jobs as “mentors” to the “complex” rather than to provide their annual salaries.
As stated in “The Tyranny of Defense”, the never ending cry, that we are in crisis and grave danger from this or that, has brought us to this point in our history. We are simply broken, economically and morally. Our ignorance and fear have allowed us to play right into the hands of Osama Bin Laden. He did not have the military means to defeat us; but he has the intelligence to bait our political leaders who are in bed with the “complex” to wage unnecessary wars which we can neither afford nor win. We will eventually collapse, maybe sooner than later, by continuing these wars. I love the bumper sticker that says something to the effect of: It will be a great day when we have enough money for education and the military will have a bake sale for a bomber. We do not even educate our people so that our citizenry is knowledgeable enough to ride herd on our government and the “complex”. Now, speaking out of the other side of my mouth…….I do believe that we need a strong defense…..to defend our country…..but not to maintain a standing army in every country in the world that we have ever visited or had reason to deploy…….can we never bring any of these troops home?? WWII did help us get out of the Great Depression. But it was a temporary gift! The continuation of the massive buildup of the “complex” and massive war machine worldwide……and since 911……the massive buildup of the security-state apparatus…..all these things have left us bankrupt. As stated in “The Tyranny of Defense”, our military, security/intelligence and homeland security amounts to over 800 billion a year. China’s is in the neighborhood of 80 billion a year. Not only can we not win these wars, but we cannot afford these wars. Where is the public citizenry outcry?? What wars have we fought without paying for them as we go with bonds and taxes? Our government and our “complex” is spending money foolishly and cutting taxes…….making the rich more wealthy, ultimately on the backs of the middle class and poor. There is no doubt that the “complex” has stolen the heart, sole, and prosperity from the American people and is in the process of destroying the American Dream for many of our citizens. They are heartless and simply do not care about the American people. That is why Obama won the 2008 election. The people saw in him hope that our great country could provide education and health care for our citizens, that we could reinvest in our infrastructure, that we could end the unnecessary wars, that we could create a fair tax structure, and that we could begin to create an energy program……..that we could really be a great country. Yet, once elected we see that the “complex” is bigger than even our president. His hands are largely tied, I believe, and our empire of war and debt lumber on with no hope of cessation. No wonder people in the Arab world look upon us and our hypocrisy with such disdain. So do I.
And quite frankly, with the turmoil in Egypt……maybe the best way to fight is in the social media rather than with guns and bombs. How long before we have such here in our streets? Our leaders are not doing a good job. How we make them work for us is beyond me at this time. Anyway, enough rambling and enough questions……without solutions…….it’s bed time……….and thanks for including me. The Tyranny of Defense is fabulous.
Thanks,
Ken
