Military Industrial Complex

World Wars I and II saw the establishment of the armaments industry as an economic powerhouse in the United States. Through each major subsequent international conflict since the world wars, the armed forces and the defense industries that supplied them have emerged as a priority in the United States’ budgetary allocation. President Dwight D. Eisenhower observed this transformation and warned the American people about the implications of the emerging construct. In January 1961, President Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the American people. It was during this speech that he coined the term military industrial complex. He used the term to describe the intimate relationship between the military establishment, the political structure, and the defense industry. Eisenhower cautioned that this relationship between an immense military ...