THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX vs. HORSES & BAYONETS

We've had 50 years since the farewell address of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who saw war-mongers and weapon makers alike push reckless social and international policies that self-benefitted.  A strong national defense, even if it pushes this nation into bankruptcy, only benefits the weapon-makers, not us as a nation or our defense.  We have one of the largest armed forces on earth.  We spend more per capita than any other country on our armies and navies.  We don't need a president to push for building up armed forces in peacetime for no apparent purpose (Romney).  We don't need a president that conducts and expands illegal anti-sovereignty drone wars on perceived enemies with no accountability for the damage it does to our foreign relations or to the collective psyche of other nations (Obama).  The arms dealers don't care about any of that either, you realize. -WYBC

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http://mashable.com/2012/10/22/horses-and-bayonets-debate/#

FROM MASHABLE 10/23/2012 Re: 3rd Presidential Debate

>>Horses and bayonets. Yes, you heard that correctly during Monday’s night third and final presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. And, no, you didn’t fall into a time machine and end up in the year 1900. When squabbling about the size of the U.S. military force, the president delivered a one liner that sent Twitter into a wisecracking frenzy.

The exchange went a little something like this:

“You mention the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets,” Obama said. “We have these things called aircraft carriers and planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”<<

FROM THE FAREWELL ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER  01/17/1961

>>"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...

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."<<