Why We Fight

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience ... 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.
Dwight D Eisenhower, January 17, 1961

Why We Fight, now free at Google Video, is a major-award-winning documentary on the USA and the militarism lurking deep in its history and culture. It also examines the military-industrial complex that Dwight D Eisenhower warned his country about in his outgoing speech to the nation in 1961.

That complex now even more includes corporations, the media and think tanks, but it is still the same behemoth that Ike, a president and WWII general with great prescience, saw a-coming 46 years ago.

An interesting point made in the film is that big military contractors spread the construction of major works, such as large Air Force bombers, across as many of the 50 states as they can, thus purchasing greater leverage with a multitude of small-town communities, voters and their elected representatives. The film also reflects on how the strategies and tactics of the military-industrial complex of the world's most powerful nation have changed since Eisenhower warned his country of the danger waiting in the wings. It also looks at the Bush administration and what it's been up to, especially with the illegal and unjustified war in Iraq. A must-see.

Tagged: war, corporations, usa, google, video