Junto Boys

IKE'S FAREWELL ADDRESS

Dude the born-again conspiracy theorist has been studying the UFO problem, which leads into a study of not only physics and the paranormal, but also has made me take a fresh look at the Cold War and the official history of the 20th century. What I have discovered is that some major changes in our country were effected by the defeat of Nazism. The Manhattan Project was the first instance of our government instituting a "black budget" by funneling funds into a project without direct Congressional oversight.

The crown jewel of WWII for the US, USSR, and UK was not the land acquired, but rather the intellectual capital, namely the military technology and by extension, the German scientists. Truman's National Security Act of 1947 created an incredibly powerful intelligence community. One of the CIA's first functions was "Operation Paperclip" which repatriated Nazi scientists to America. These scientists, lead by the esteemed Wernher Von Braun and Hermann Oberth, were the minds behind rocketry and jet propulsion. They were scientists first and foremost and happily moved on to America upon the collapse of the Reich, so that they could have fresh funding from a newly empowered regime. It was the fruits of Operation Paperclip that put Americans on the moon 25 years later.

So, beginning in the late forties, America's National Security State gained increasing power, and it could be fairly argued that the CIA became the true government for all intents and purposes. If this sounds like conspricay, then I invite you to listen to the farewell address of President Eisnehower in 1961. Ike held the highest elected office in the USA during the fifties, which coincided with the exponential empowerment of the military-industrial complex, which increasingly functioned "in the dark" without congressional interference or presidential oversight.

Excerpt from Eisenhower's farewell address:

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or, indeed, by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

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 alone more than the net income of all United States corporations.

Now 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.

Now the really good stuff:

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.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central, it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present -- and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex before public policy becomes captive of a scientific-technological elite - wow, these are strong words from the General! It is interesting to note that Ike's successor, JFK made a valient attempt to win back the country for the people. More conspiratorial ramblings in the next post...