Military-Industrial Complex

According to the Military Intervention Project,

The study argues that many American interventions took place during the Cold War. Furthermore, U.S. foreign policy became more aggressive after the Cold War, even though American opponents, real or perceived, tended to deescalate theirs.

Some historians have also noted the link between U.S. foreign policy and the military-industrial complex. Its rise is traced to the early Cold War period and remains relevant to this day.

Military-Industrial Complex: Definition

A military-industrial complex is an interest group of arms manufacturers (defense contractors), government bodies, lobbyists, intelligence agencies, and other groups and individuals seeking to increase a country's military budget (defense spending) or make it central to policy-making.

Military-Industrial Complex: Cold War

During the Second World War (1939-1945), the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States were the main Allies responsible for the victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945. They shared different ideologies and had some disagreements over strategy. However, the alliance was highly successful.

Elbe Day, April 1945, when the Soviet troops met the American counterparts near Torgau, Germany. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

However, ideological and geopolitical cracks among the Allies began to show when they decided upon the postwar order. The Americans perceived the Soviet Union, which subscribed to socialism (Communism), as an ideological rival.

As a result, the U.S. decided to challenge this ideology—and the Soviet Union—all around the world. Thus was born the Truman Doctrine (1947) and the foreign policy of containment. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers after the Second World War, which is why they both had global reach.

This competition led to an extended conflict, the Cold War (1945-1991). The U.S. and the Soviet Union did not engage in a direct military confrontation, but many indirect clashes ensued, including:

Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower

The best-known early critic of the military-industrial complex was President Dwight Eisenhower, who was in office between 1953 and 1961. During the Second World War, Eisenhower was General of the Army and the first Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

A celebration of Germany’s unconditional surrender in WWII, Reims, France, May 7, 1945, featuring the senior military leadership of the Allies (Soviet Union, Britain, U.S.): Eisenhower is second from the right. Source: U.S. Army, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

During his time in office, Eisenhower presided over the Korean War and the beginning of the Vietnam War. However, he also shared a realist approach to international relations.

On January 17, 1961, President Eisenhower gave his farewell address. His experience as a soldier made him understand the horrors of war like other American politicians did not. As a result, he warned against the growth of the military-industrial complex:

Military-Industrial Complex: Elements

Historically, the military-industrial complex displayed many essential elements.

Technology

Many inventions came from the Cold War not only in military technology but also in fields like science and healthcare, including:

• AK-47 assault rifle (USSR)
• Chieftain Main Battle Tank: (Britain)
• Antibiotics
• GPS connected to satellites
• Small recording devices
• The Internet

Intelligence Agencies

The U.S. also created intelligence agencies during the Cold War, such as the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency in 1947. This occurred at the same time as the U.S. defense spending and the military-industrial complex, in general, were growing.

American historians Steven Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley described the CIA's activities as follows:

• overthrowing foreign governments
• meddling in foreign elections
• economic and political warfare
• training and funding paramilitary activities and insurgent groups

Space Race

The space race was the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States in space exploration. Science and technology are the focus of space exploration. Science and technology correlate to the arms race, including developing missiles and bombers. The Soviet Union beat the United States in many ways, including:

Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova, the first man and woman in space, Soviet Union, 1964. Source: RIA, Wikipedia Commons, RIA Novosti archive, image #628703 / Khalip / CC-BY-SA 3.0.

• Sputnik, the first artificial satellite (1957)
• Luna 2, the first manmade object to touch the Moon (1959)
• Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to successfully return from space (1960)
• Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (1961)
• Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space (1963)
• Venera 7, the first spacecraft (unmanned) to land on Venus (1970)

However, the United States landed the first-ever human mission on the Moon with its Apollo 11 project and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Nuclear Arms Race

One of the most critical aspects of the Cold War was the growth of weapons arsenals, which included nuclear weapons. The U.S. was the first to develop the atomic bomb. It was the only country to use it against Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Admiral William H.P. Blandy and his wife cut an Operation Crossroads mushroom cloud cake, Washington, D.C., 7 November 1946. Source: Library of Congress, Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

In the 21st century, these countries possess nuclear weapons:

• United States
• Russia (after the Soviet Union)
• China
• Britain
• France
• Israel
• India
• Pakistan
• North Korea

NATO

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established in 1949 by the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, and Luxembourg. Its leaders claimed to be a defensive military alliance tasked with providing collective security for Europe and countering the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union established its association, the Warsaw Pact (1955-1991), in response to NATO.

The United States has always been the most significant financial contributor to NATO. NATO supporters state that the organization provides collective security in Europe today. Its critics argue that NATO lost its purpose when the ideological rival of the U.S., the Soviet Union, was no more after 1991. Scholars and statesmen like George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, and John Mearsheimer have argued that NATO has been a destabilizing factor in international relations.

British political scientist Richard Sakwa has even questioned the existence of NATO after 1991 by highlighting the following paradox:

U.S. Military Bases

According to some estimates, the United States maintains approximately 800 military bases, installations, and other types of troop presence worldwide. All other countries combined keep only a few dozen counterparts.

During the Cold War, the United States established many military bases. However, after 1991, Russia, the legal successor of the Soviet Union, pulled back its troops in east-central Europe. In contrast, the U.S. did not, even though its declared rival, the Soviet Union, dissolved in 1991.

At present, foreign U.S. military presence includes:

• Asia: Okinawa, Japan
• Europe: Ramstein air base, Germany
• Africa: Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Horn of Africa
• South America: Eloy Alfaro International Airport, Manta, Ecuador, South America

The American position is that its vast and expensive troop presence around the world is to support its allies. Critics have pointed out that these bases serve as the muscle behind American hegemony worldwide.

U.S. Defense Budget

The United States has the largest defense budget in the world. It exceeds the combined budgets of about a dozen countries next in line, including China and Russia.

Defense Contractors

In the U.S., the largest defense contractors are weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. In Britain, it is BAE Systems.

Nuclear Weapons' Treaties and Conferences

In the context of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union grew their weapons arsenals, which included the types of weapons that could carry nuclear warheads. In light of some close calls, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the two sides periodically met to discuss a nuclear-arms reduction. The meetings focused on:

• strategic nuclear weapons (extended range)
• non-strategic nuclear weapons (short and intermediate-range)

These meetings terminated agreements, or the agreements expired. Until 2026, the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia is in effect.

Jimmy Carter (U.S.) and Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union) signed SALT II treaty in Vienna, Austria, on June 18, 1979. Source: Wikipedia Commons (public domain).

Theories

There are many theories about the growth of the American military-industrial complex:

• The military-industrial complex allows the U.S. to stay one of the top global powers by dominating others through direct (military, political) and indirect (economic, cultural) means.
• The increased government spending on military aviation, one of the historic strong points for the U.S., allowed the upgrading of civil aviation.
• The military-industrial complex is an intrinsic part of the domestic American economy, even if its lethal products are sometimes used against foreign countries.

Military-Industrial Complex: Significance

The military-industrial complex is an essential part of the American domestic economy and American enforcement of its foreign policy around the world. However, international organizations like the United Nations should play a more significant role in ensuring collective security for all rather than promoting the interests of a single country.