Fifty years of the military industrial complex

Today is the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s farewell speech in which he warned, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarrented influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.” But what was the military industrial complex initially? And what has it become over time?

William Hartung delves into these questions in his new book: “Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex.” In addition to being a writer and journalist, Hartung is the director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation.