Morning Joe brings up Eisenhower to counter Trump’s critique of Pentagon
& military-industrial complex
..
Morning Joe should try an afternoon gig - he might be awake then
A US Air Force B-52 heavy bomber strikes targets in Vietnam; President Dwight D. Eisenhower's
farewell address, in which he warned about the influence of the "military-industrial complex."
© US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS; YouTube / Historical Speeches TV
Joe Scarborough says Trump has an “insulting view of the military” for blasting “top people” at the Pentagon for wanting war, but many have spoken of the same – including Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom the MSNBC host bizarrely cited.
“I’m not saying the military’s in love with me,” President Donald Trump said in a Monday press conference, addressing recent anonymously-sourced claims that he has insulted military members in private.
“The soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t, because they want to do nothing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy,” he continued.
That's almost a quote from several of my blog-posts over the past several years. But the MIC is more than just the Pentagon, much more. They have managed to establish military weapons factories in almost every state of the Union. Consequently, Congress and the Senate both benefit from keeping the machinery of war productive, as do many wealthy oligarchs who invest in those companies.
NATO, the UK, France, and other western countries are also involved in this madness to enrich themselves at the cost of millions of lives and endless suffering. It is inhuman and will be judged harshly by God in His time.
It is Deep State, and it permeates through Washington and state capitols and controls the politics of America. If Trump is defeated in November, Deep State will be back in control, again, as it has been for decades.
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also weighed into the fray, arguing that a “permanent moratorium” on retired generals serving on the boards of defense contractors – a phenomenon known as the ‘revolving door’ – would “end the endless wars immediately.” "We would be out of Afghanistan by Wednesday."
He pointed to a series of former officials who left their posts in the Pentagon for cushy jobs in the weapons industry, where retired officers often work as lobbyists helping to grease the skids for lucrative government contracts.
Between 2008 and 2018, at least 380 high-ranking Pentagon officials were hired by top defense contractors after leaving public office, including 25 generals, 9 admirals, 43 lieutenant generals and 23 vice admirals, according to a report by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Many became lobbyists, board members, executives or consultants for firms such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.
Some netizens, as well as progressive lawmaker Ro Khanna (D-California), took up a wholly different criticism of the president, arguing that while Trump is correct about the Pentagon, he himself has been “complicit” in expanding US military budgets and feeding billions to arms dealers.
How do you think Trump got the economy moving again? By bullying several countries into buying their machinations of war.
Cognitive Dissident-I Believe 6% of What CDC Says
@farmingganja
Replying to @rabrowne75
"President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors"
Aren't there historical facts to back this up?
Ever heard of the USS Maine?
Or the Gulf of Tonkin?
How about 'weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.'
Not to mention that Johnson reversed JFK's orders to pull troops out of Viet Nam within hours of his assassination.
While the term military industrial complex was not directly used in the moment, it’s clear this is essentially what the president is referring to. Scarborough, in his own tweet reaction, seems to be unaware of this – and of the problem in general.
“This is such a deeply ignorant and insulting view of American military leadership. From Dwight Eisenhower to Colin Powell, it has been our military leaders familiar with the hell of war who have hated it the most,” he tweeted.
As some critics suggested, Scarborough should probably educate himself on the fact that Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general during World War II who would become president, actually coined the informal term that has become so popularly used by anti-war activists on both sides of the political aisle.
“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,” he said in his farewell address to the nation in 1961.
Eisenhower warned the country about corporate and personal agendas taking control of a military system being taken over by ballooning budgets and political bureaucracy. The speech is often cited today as a prophetic warning relevant to the US’ unprecedented spending and global policing when it comes to its military.
“Oh dear. MSNBC host apparently completely unfamiliar with Dwight Eisenhower's famous ‘military industrial complex’ speech. Or worse, he doesn't understand it,” the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway tweeted in reaction to Scarborough.
Scarborough blunder didn’t stop there, as he also brought up Colin Powell – an odd choice for to cite when talking about military leaders being “anti-war,” as Powell is most famous for his role in arguing for the US to invade Iraq in 2003 when he was secretary of state. The military invasion is often referred to today, even by President Trump, as an example of an unjustified and politically motivated decision, one based on the unfounded claim that the country was potentially harboring weapons of mass destruction and posed a direct threat to the US.
While Trump detractors have had reactions similar to Scarborough’s and used Trump’s latest soundbite as further proof of his alleged disdain for the military, others have celebrated the criticism.
Glenn Greenwald
@ggreenwald
Oh, yes, perish the thought that Pentagon officials are eager to sustain militarism and war for power and profit. Are you in third grade?
Google someone called “Dwight Eisenhower” and see what he said about this if you think it’s “unprecedented.” CNN is so jingoistic:
Ryan Browne
@rabrowne75
In an unprecedented public attack by a sitting US president on the leadership of the US military, President Trump has accused US military leaders of seeking to start wars to boost the profits of defense contractors.
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