Military Industrial Complex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Military industrial Complex - Essay ExampleThe Military Industrial Complex is more than just a weapons add system. It is a unique partnership that continues to exert substantial power and influence, has sustained Americas arms superiority, and reshaped the American decorate as well as its economy.The beginnings of the expansion of the MIC can be attributed to Captain A.T. Mahan and his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 (Liu 2). The book, published in 1890, was a serial of lectures that Mahan had given at the Naval War College. Mahans book initiated the beginnings of an expanded civilian shipbuilding business to supply the Navy with warships. Subsequent to the universeation of Mahans book, the first US battleship was built in 1893. Under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909, an advocate of Mahans theories, American civilian shipbuilders built 129 battleships under his administration (Liu 10). This major military buildup is largely viewed as the beginning of the MIC.World War II and its reliance upon the MIC had a profound effect on America both demographically and economically. During World War II, the segment of Defense spent in excess of $70 billion on civilian aerospace and defense contracts of which most were directed into California and the Southwest (The Rise of the Sunbelt). This increase spending in the region gave rise to the areas massive migration and sowed the seeds of the decline in the Rustbelt. With the reliance on new technology, the military depends on civilian contractors for inquiry and production. The thermonuclear buildup of the Cold War was an example of the MIC at work. It has been estimated that during the Cold War, the MIC employed 1 out of 3 research scientists and engineers in the US and spent 60% of the research and development dollars available (Cypher 37). This spending in the civilian sector by the Pentagon forms the backbone of the modern MIC and fuels the powerful influence it hol ds and creates the anxiety that it generates.The MIC is often viewed as a partnership that was formed during the Cold War in an effort to maintain ...peacetime defense spending to wartime levels (Bruntin). The fear through the Cold War and Vietnam was that this self-interested group would promote their own agenda at the publics expense. Reports of corruption, bribery, and fraud have served to maintain this image in the minds of many Americans (Bruntin). As the Cold War wound down the public anticipated a peace dividend that never arrived. The MIC has been subsequently put to use against new international enemies and the war on terror. The MIC is a cooperative effort among the military, industry, and the government. Sometimes called the iron triangle, the alliance between these groups is a necessary factor in Americas arm superiority. The military has the motivation to keep an ongoing civilian supply of weapons research and development, even in periods of peace. The contractors hav e a need to continue to receive tax dollars to maintain their revenue stream. Politicians have an interest in maintaining a strong military, and contract dollars are fought for as politicians seek to