People around the world have consistently named the United States as the biggest obstacle to peace, but how did we get this reputation? The answer: the military-industrial complex.
Since World War II, the United States has been involved in over 248 armed conflicts around the world, 201 of which we were effectively the initiator. The U.S is responsible for the deaths of at least 30 million people, and 90% of those have been innocent women, children and bystanders. America has literally killed more people in war than Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
In his farewell address to the nation, Dwight D. Eisenhower even attempted to warn us of this disastrous path:
“A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be might, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. . . American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. . . This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . 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.”
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