On January 17, 1961, in his farewell speech, then-US President Dwight Eisenhower (a former five-star general in the US Army) told his country’s Congress that the defense industry is vital to peacekeeping, but leaders in government must do so. guard against “unjustified gains” as “unwarranted” power has the potential to rise disastrously.[ia] and insisted[ria]”.
In coining the term “military-industrial complex,” Eisenhower referred to the broad and articulated network of individuals, groups, and institutions involved in the production of weapons and military technology, whose permanent interest is to mobilize efforts to maintain an appropriate level of security. spending. government in its segment. The president warned of the risks of tensions between public and private interests, because at many moments there would be a need to manage what would be best for the US State and what would benefit only certain economic groups.
Eisenhower was right. Wars and their lords became a persistent problem for domestic politics and US international intervention. There are countless books, articles, documentaries and reports produced on this subject in the last few decades. lobby, is considered one of the strongest in the country. It brings together members of Congress, the Department of Defense and related branches associated with counties in this industry, and large companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Since the Second World War, military spending has increased in the United States and has never stopped growing with the impact of the Cold War and then 9/11. Reports released annually by SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, show that the country remains the world’s largest responsible for such spending.
In the 2021 document, Americans emerged as the ones who invested US$778 billion in this sector even before the Ukraine War started. In second place is China by a notable margin (US$252 billion), followed by India (US$72.9 billion) and only then Russia (US$61.7 billion).
The role of the military-industrial complex just won push this week when President Joe Biden visited a Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama. It is the world’s largest arms manufacturer and one of the most important suppliers to the US government. Contracts have exceeded billions of dollars in recent years. In addition, Lockheed is often mentioned in the context of discussions about NATO’s role in the world, because one of the organizations that most promoted NATO expansion is headed by the company’s vice president, Bruce Jackson.
Biden’s visit came when much was said about the country’s need to replenish its weapons stockpile. While there, he took the opportunity to reinforce his request to the US Congress to expedite the approval of a new package of military aid to Ukraine.
It is worth remembering that Germany, which is in the process of reviewing its position on disarmament, recently announced the purchase of Lockheed F-35 jets, resulting in a 43.4% increase in the company’s share price. in just four months.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Eastern Europe, Americans have sent billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, and the Pentagon’s budget continues to grow.
The conflict, which involved a proxy war (a “proxy war, as we’ve explained earlier in this other column”) aimed at fighting a “common external enemy” in the face of the Cold War, gained bipartisan support in the United States. In one-year legislative elections, the defense industry’s bargain finds a broadly viable horizon to expand its business.
The detailed costs of this in the coming months and years are still unknown. In any case, past experience allows us to bet on: 1) diverting attention and resources to other important agendas; 2) the gradual increase in federal deficits, and; 3) In the increasingly intense inter-bureaucratic conflict in the United States.
For now, we know that the conflict in Ukraine has pacified Republicans and Democrats around the warlords.
source: Noticias
