User:Muiseke/sandbox

I am working on expanding the Background section of this article.

Background

Main article: Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower

On January 20, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower completed his two-term presidency and was the first U.S. president to be term-limited from seeking re-election again. His presidency saw a period of considerable economic expansion, despite the dark uncertainty of the Cold War and the growing anxiety of nuclear conflict. Eisenhower balanced the national budgets three times , despite the demands for an increase in military funding and a myriad of other fiscal pressures. President Eisenhower is one of only 12 Presidents to have ever served as a General in the U.S. military. Having one of the strongest military backgrounds in the history of American Presidencies, his military history qualifies his farewell speech as a remarkable comment on the potential ethical concern of the Military Industrial Complex and its involvement in the United States economic and political affairs. The Military Industrial Complex, "...is an unofficial phrase used to signify the 'comfortable' relationship that can develop between government entities (namely defense) and the defense-minded manufacture/organizations ." Given that President Eisenhower had extensive experience and knowledge about the U.S. Military and had a profound respect for it's uses, his farewell speech has since been remembered for this iconic warning. As Eisenhower prepared to give the oval office over John F. Kennedy, it was another historic moment as the oldest American president in a century was about to hand the reins of power to the youngest elected president in history.

The speech

After being introduced to Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech, and the topics surrounding it,

we would like to add to the Wikipedia page on his speech. Such articles in class like Noam Chomsky’s, “The Most Dangerous Moment: 50 years later would have a relation to what

Eisnhower warned the American people about. The article,”The Doctrine of Armed Exceptionalism” by Hartung would also contribute an interesting perspective his his speech. The Wikipedia Page about Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech briefly discusses the issues he speaks of, but could use further enrichment.

possible sources:

Primary resources :-

Excerpts from NSC 68, A Report to the National Security Council, 1950 ,

https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/coldwar/documents/pdf/10-1.pdf

Charles J. G. Griffin 1992 New Light on Eisenhower's Farewell Address

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27550991.pdf

Secondary resources :-

Ledbetter, James 2011 Unwarranted Influence: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Military Industrial Complex

http://lib.myilibrary.com.ezproxy1.library.arizona.edu/ProductDetail.aspx?id=309623

William Hartung The Doctrine of Armed Exceptionalism  Common Dreams , Published on : Oct 2015

Notes:-

• Military industrial complex and the expanding defense establishment “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” (From the speech)
• The wikipedia page contends that the president did NOT warn against the corrupting influence if the military complex. We contend  the opposite.” Mentioned in Williams' memo (One of Dwight D speechwriters) of October 31 concerned with the "problem of militarism": ... for the first time in its history, the United States has a permanent war-based industry. . . . Not only that, but flag and general officers retiring at an early age take positions in /a/ war based industrial complex shaping its decisions and guiding the direction of its tremendous thrust. This creates a danger that what the Communists have always said about us may become true. We must be careful to ensure that the "merchants of death do not come to dictate national policy."
• “The use and abuse of Eisenhower’s Farewell Address, with its warning about the ‘military-industrial complex’”
• Contradictory Information in the Article:
• Due to potential bias and conflict of interest, information is not only missing but it is written with the intent to neutralize the power of Eisenhower’s speech against MIC. Jay Nordlinger, the source of information that is cited as the purpose of Eisenhower’s message,  is a senior editor at the National Review, which is a magazine associated with a far right bias and owned by Jack Fowler, who’s magazine leans towards if not openly supports the current military defense which is currently strongly being criticized as being a corrupt military industry. This  gives the citation an alternative motive, which is to destabilize the Eisenhower warning of an industrialized military.  It contradicts the entire purpose and theme of Eisenhower’s speech, as proved by primary documents. br
  • See the wikipedia statement below.
  • http://www.nationalreview.com/author/jay-nordlingerJay
  • Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/378938/ike-weapon-jay-nordlinger
  • = Editing Conservatism: How National Review Magazine Framed and Mobilized a Political Movement (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15205430701791030) =

• • Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article. Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9