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What, Exactly, Is the Military Industrial Complex?
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What, Exactly, Is the Military Industrial Complex?

In his farewell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned U.S. citizens about the "military–industrial complex". Elton Lord photo.

When President Dwight David Eisenhower left the stage as president of the United States in 1961, he warned of the military-industrial complex he was leaving behind. Sounds ominous, right? And that complex has had 60 years to harden in place since Eisenhower’s farewell address.

But what is the military-industrial complex? Is it a war-mongering machine out to kill us all at a profit? Is it a bunch of old boys networking to sell $700 hammers to the Pentagon through no-bid deals? Was Eisenhower overstating a problem that only he could see?

We spoke with Emma Salisbury, who just finished a Ph.D. thesis on the subject. As with virtually everything on Angry Planet, the truth was more complicated than you might think.

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