The scope of operations of the company. They've engaged in things like helping to reform the justice system in Liberia, lending people to help write the Afghan constitution, hiring interrogators for Guantanamo. Every time I turn around, Lockheed Martin is doing some kind of activity that I hadn't associated them with.
What will surprise readers?
The arc of the company. The fact that they started out as a couple of brothers in a garage. They grew to be the biggest weapons contractor in history. And through that history, they seem to be involved in many of the most difficult—and, in some cases, corrupt—practices of the industry.
What would Eisenhower say about the military-industrial complex today?
He'd be amazed that you have a company like Lockheed Martin. Military spending is twice what it was under Eisenhower. I don't know if we've made enough progress in terms of the public understanding of it. He talked about how you need an alert, knowledgeable citizenry to sort of keep this arms establishment in its place.
- See which members of Congress get the most money from the defense industry.
- See five lessons from Ike's "military-industrial complex" speech and JFK's inaugural address.
- See the month's best political cartoons.
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Colin of NJ 2:18PM June 18, 2012
Pierre of CA 2:12PM January 27, 2011
scoobydoo of MA 7:47PM January 26, 2011