IN JANUARY 1961, Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address after
serving two terms as U.S. president; the five-star general chose to warn
Americans of this specific threat to democracy: “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.” That warning was issued prior to the decadelong
escalation of the Vietnam War, three more decades of Cold War mania, and
the post-9/11 era, all of which radically expanded that unelected
faction’s power even further.
