Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower was opperbevelhebber van de geallieerde strijdkrachten in Europa tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog en de 34e President van de Verenigde Staten (1953-1961)

In zijn afscheidsrede als Amerikaanse president waarschuwde hij op 17 januari 1961 de Amerikaanse bevolking voor het volgende: 'We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country…

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. 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. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
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.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. 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.' Lees verder:
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm