Three days before leaving office, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives a nationally televised speech. Eisenhower uses the occasion to sound a warning about the "military-industrial complex" (a phrase first used here) becoming the driving force behind the United States' domestic and foreign policy. The tone and message are somewhat surprising, coming as they do from the former Army general. "Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together," Eisenhower says.
* Transcript and audio: @
* Short summary (from ourdocuments.gov): @
* "The 'Military-Industrial Complex' Speech" (written by Kevin C. Murphy for "The American Century: A History of the United States since the 1890s"): @
* "Military-Industrial Complex, Fifty Years On" (from Council on Foreign Relations): @
* Story about recent discovery of speech materials (New Yorker magazine, December 20, 2010): @
* Links to various materials (from eisenhower.archives.gov): @
* militaryindustrialcomplex.com: @
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