Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex. I think about these words often.

00:00:00.160 | - In 1946, Eisenhower said,

00:00:02.960 | "I hate war, as only a soldier who has lived at Cannes,

00:00:07.160 | only as one who has seen its brutality,

00:00:10.280 | its futility, its stupidity.

00:00:13.240 | Possibly my hatred of war blinds me

00:00:16.680 | so that I cannot comprehend the arguments they adduce.

00:00:19.200 | But, in my opinion, there's no such thing

00:00:21.680 | as a preventative war.

00:00:23.040 | Although the suggestion is repeatedly made,

00:00:25.320 | none has yet explained how war prevents war.

00:00:29.480 | Worse than this, no one has been able

00:00:31.360 | to explain away the fact that war

00:00:34.040 | creates the conditions that beget war."

00:00:36.920 | And finally, an excerpt from Eisenhower's farewell address

00:00:41.800 | in 1961 on the military industrial complex.

00:00:45.440 | "A vital element in keeping the peace

00:00:48.000 | is our military establishment.

00:00:50.320 | Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action,

00:00:53.480 | so that no potential aggressor may be tempted

00:00:55.520 | to risk his own destruction."

00:00:57.960 | American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required,

00:01:01.600 | make swords as well.

00:01:02.520 | But now, we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense.

00:01:07.080 | We have been compelled to create a permanent armament's industry of vast proportions.

00:01:11.960 | "This conjunction of an immense military establishment in a large arms industry is new in the American experience.

00:01:19.560 | Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications.

00:01:23.560 | In the councils of government, we must guard against an acquisition of unwarranted influence,

00:01:28.920 | whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.

00:01:33.560 | the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

00:01:44.120 | Thank you for watching this clip.

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