Influence of the Military Industrial Complex; Concern or Not?

Eisenhower farewell address was controversial for it's time making the covers of papers (1.)

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex (2.) Dwight D. Eisenhower

            

     Upon leaving the office of the presidency many of our presidents have given farewell addresses.  Most of these speeches are generally reminiscent and for the most part ignored.  The exception to this rule is the farewell address that President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave when leaving office on January 17^th 1961.  The former Supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II and then U.S president from 1953 till 1961 warned about a new possible threat to American liberties, the military industrial complex.  The military industrial complex is something that got its start during World War II and has been in place ever since.  Before World War II, when the United States had entered war, manufactures transitioned from whatever they were producing to armaments; an example of this would be an automobile producer that starts making tanks and planes.  After World War II the Cold War started and armaments were produced constantly in the United States.  Soon the production of these weapons became a large part of the American economy and the government’s budget.  Eisenhower warned upon leaving office that letting this industry become too powerful and too influential in American politics could affect our freedoms down the road.

            

     Some American’s view today’s military industrial complex as the dark, shadowy force that Eisenhower warned of, some American’s view this as paranoia predominately from the left, and even some are indifferent to the whole situation.  The question this essay attempts to ask is which of these views are true?

     

     The problem with questions such as these as with other conspiracy theories is that it is hard to tell when the line of fact and fiction has been crossed.  According to Dr. Andrew Feight of Shawnee State University:

“When a conspiracy theory becomes a conspiracy theory is when people start to try connecting the dots.  When we take the dots and start connecting them, sometimes it’s a valid connection, sometimes it isn’t (3.)”

            

     Using this approach lets analyze what is fact and what is fiction.  Defense spending in 2009 as figured by War Resisters League made up approximately 54% not including entitlement programs and 20% including these programs (4.)  The following pie charts represent both of these calculations and a link has been provided to their website for the reader to ascertain all the information this organization lists. 

Above:  This chart shows the percentage of the annual budget that goes towards Defense spending including entitlements.

Above:  The annual budget not including entitlement programs.

Now whether to consider entitlements part of the budget or not is an essay in and of itself so for simplicities sake I believe it is easier just to look at the conservative estimates for now.  My hypothesis is that if conservative estimates seem high in regards to expense towards the American tax payer than the actual cost must be far worse.

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation released a report in 2009 showing the growth in defense spending from 2000 till 2009.  In the nine years covered by this report defense spending increased by $300 billion or an increase of 39% which averages out to about $16 billion a year(5.)  The following is a chart they provided showing the results of their findings and a link to their website:

Above:  The chart above shows the increase in Defense spending over from 2000 till 2009.

These numbers were adjusted for inflation and taken from the U.S Dept. of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget, U.S Congress.  Considering that these sources would logically give a conservative to accurate estimate, I would conclude that military spending in this nation is an issue.

In conclusion, I think the military industrial complex is taking advantage of the American people and their government, but I also feel that it is not too late to correct this.  In this time of economic crisis cuts need to be made to our defense spending in a substantial way.  My biggest fear of cutting the budget of the military is that it seems that when we do cut their budget the military industrial complex suffers nowhere near the level of veterans who get their benefits cut.  Making cuts to veteran’s benefits is not right, nor is it the solution to the greater problem.  We cannot afford to cut military spending out completely but we can definitely afforded to make some cuts to our new armament expenditures.

The following is a link to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY

Works Cited

1.      Steyn, Mark. Steynian435.wordpress.com. Blog at WordPress.com, 26 Jan. 2011. Web. <http://steynian.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/steynian-435/>.

2.      Eisenhower, Dwight D. "Farwell Address to the Nation." 1961 Presidential Farwell Address. White House, Washington D.C. 17 Jan. 1961. Speech.

3.      Feight, Andrew. "Lecture on Paranoia." Class Lecture. Massie Hall, Portsmouth, Ohio. 7 July 2012. Lecture.

4.      "The Federal Pie Chart." War Resisters League. Web. 13 July 2011. <http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm>.

5.      "Growth in U.S. Defense Spending Over the Last Decade." Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Web. 13 July 2011. <http://armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/022609_fy10_topline_growth_decade/>.

6.      "YouTube - ‪Eisenhower Warns Us of the Military Industrial Complex.‏." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 13 July 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY>.

Understanding the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

Above:  Political cartoon expressing the view of many Palestinians (3)

When initially reading the title of the book, “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Ilan Pappe, the title brought fourth many questions for me; the one of the utmost importance in regards to this essay is what exactly is ethnic cleansing?  There are many different definitions for the term ethnic cleansing; one definition provided by the Merriam Webster online dictionary is the following:

“The expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity” (1)

                The situation in Palestine is close to this definition but not a perfect fit.  Palestinian’s for the majority of the Arab / Israeli Conflict have made up a majority of the population, or at the very least a slight minority.  Where this definition is correct in application is everywhere else.  Palestinians have faced expulsion, imprisonment, and death at the hands of the Israelis and although they are considered by most to make up the majority they are definitely not the dominant power.

    

                The author starts off the first chapter with a quotation of what ethnic cleansing means to him.  The definition he adheres to is as followed: 

“It is the present writer’s view that ethnic cleansing is a well-defined policy of a particular group of persons to systematically eliminate another group from a given territory on the basis of religious, ethnic or national origin.  Such a policy involves violence and is very often connected with military operations.  It is to be achieved by all possible means, from discrimination to extermination, and entails violations of human rights and international humanitarian law…” (2)

                Although this definition doesn’t seem that different than the definition listed in Merriam Webster dictionary I feel that it is essential for the writer to establish what he defines as ethnic cleansing so he will then be able to defend his view adequately.  Defining ethnic cleansing may seem like a frivolously act by some but it is necessary for several reasons.

                One of the main reasons it is relevant to list a definition of a term such as ethnic cleansing is because it reminds the reader what exactly the term entails.  I will be very honest, at the beginning of the semester when I was purchasing this book for class, when I first saw the title and saw ethnic cleansing my mind didn’t go towards the Arab / Israeli Conflict.  When I saw the term ethnic cleansing I initially thought Nazi Germany, Rwanda, Darfur, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Bosnia, Armenian’s under Ottoman rule ; but Palestine never really came to mind for me.  I think there are several reasons for this and a logical explanation to why I never considered Israeli actions towards indigenous Palestinians as ethnic cleansing.

       

                One of the major reasons for this point of view is ignorance; I am ashamed to admit it in all honesty but ignorance towards the entire situation in Palestine is a major reason I held the views I did towards the conflict.  I am a lifelong resident of the United States and other than a recent stent in listening to the BBC online I have always been exposed to American media and by default American views on situations.  The American government has been very biased in this fight since the late 1940’s.  The United States government supported the Israeli government through the Cold War and despite the end of the Cold War has continued to do so.  I am not saying that it is wrong that the United States and Israel should be allies; but when you are trying to negotiate a peace between two warring “nations,” isn’t it a better approach to treat both sides as equals and not to give one side a clear favor?  When one is trying to get two sides to agree to something it is better for the mediator to be un-biased and in regards to the Arab / Israeli Conflict the United States is definitely biased.   I was honestly unaware of the violent actions taken by the Israeli government towards the indigenous Palestinian population.  I knew that Israel was guilty of being oppressive towards the Palestinians but I never understood to what extent Israel went to oppress the Palestinians.  I attribute this ignorance towards the United States and its pro-Israeli bias; the media in this nation only gives one side of the story and I feel that if one wants to truly understand the issue, perspective needs to be critically analyzed and both sides of the story need to be evaluated and reported, not just one side of the issue.       

Now again, to establish to my readers that I am not biased as well or even Anti-American, I am going to state that all media is biased to a certain degree and that media leans to a particular societies views of moral rights and wrongs whether they realize it or not.  There are no universal moral guidelines, although some moral rules are accepted by all like views on murder, rape, theft, and other ideas; although some will argue that different societies even view what is right and wrong on these issues differently as well. 

                Regardless of a person’s cultural background, ethnic cleansing is commonly accepted as wrong in all modern developed societies.  So how could it be that a people morally opposed to ethnic cleansing can stand idly by and watch it happen?  The answer to this question I guess again falls to ignorance.  I realize I speak for myself and myself only when I say this but in the past when I heard the term ethnic cleansing I thought of murder and death.  If that is the view of ethnic cleansing that one hold s true to and is unaware of the 1948 Arab / Israeli War as well as other examples of Palestinian ethnic cleansing how can that person see the actions taken by Israel as ethnic cleansing?  The answer is that a person does not see it as ethnic cleansing at all and this I believe is why the majority of Americans do not see any fault in Israel’s actions of the past and present.   

           

                The combination of taking a course that was focused solely on the Arab / Israeli conflict and having the author define ethnic cleansing was enough to open my eyes to what ethnic cleansing really is.  I realize that this seems naive and some would view me as a “sheep” but when one is exposed to the news about the conflict that most American’s are who can fault American’s for having the views that they do?

                A counter to this argument would be that we live in a inter connected online world and that access to what is really going on is now attainable for the masses so the view that Israel is completely in the right is now indefensible.  I understand this point of view and I think that the growing of news on the internet has caused many American’s to change their views on the Arab / Israeli conflict.  For far too long we in America have taken for granted that our media is being honest; but in today’s world where news corporations like Fox News and MSNBC are broadcasting into more and more homes and ideologues like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz are becoming more and more isolated from the center a lot of Americans are taking it upon themselves to get news for themselves and not absorb the fundamentalist dribble that is force fed to them by these cooprorate media entities.  More and more Americans are tuning in, reading, and listening to news sources such as NPR, the BBC, and Al Jazeera to name a few.  I do not feel that any of these news organizations are completely biased either but they appear to have a less motivated agenda and the only agenda for media in my opinion is to educate the masses on the truth and not feed them propaganda.

                So in closing has ethnic cleansing occurred in Palestine?  The answer to that question is absolutely, yes in my opinion.  Is the book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Ilan Pappe a good read for anyone trying to understand the Arab / Israeli Conflict better?  Again in my humble opinion I would say yes as well.  If someone was to ask me where the best place to get news on the region is I don’t know if I could answer that.  When reading books and articles on the region as well as watching or listening to news the one thing I always keep an eye and ear out for is; does the source use facts and statistics or rhetoric?  Rhetoric may be inspiring but in that same regard Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot were magnificent in rhetoric and monsters in real life; do not let the rhetorical argument win the day.        

Works Cited

1.       "Ethnic - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic>.

2.       Pappé, Ilan. Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oxford: Oneworld, 2006. Print.

3.       Lat Uff 2. "Ethnic Cleansing in Palestine by ~Latuff2 on DeviantART." Latuff2 on DeviantART. Deviant Art. Web. 01 May 2011. <http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Ethnic-cleansing-in-Palestine-160496766>.

Mao Zedong and His Rise to Power

Mao at his apex of power (8)

            Mao Zedong also known as Chairman Mao or simply Mao was born on December 26, 1893 and died on September 9, 1976.  Mao was a man of many faces; he was a revolutionary, head of state, poet, political scientist, and the father of modern day China among other things.  Mao was the chief architect of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and held its top seat of power from its conception in 1949 till his death in 1976.  Mao is considered a Marxist by some but others would contend that the changes he brought to Marxist theory classify his theories as a separate branch of Marxism.  Those who feel this way consider the Communism of Mao “Maoism;” similar to Marxism but different.  Mao had different theories on revolution among other things than Marx; some of those differences will be confronted later when discussing some of Mao’s writings.

 

The focus of this essay will be how Mao rose to power in the Communist power and eventually all of China.  To understand his story one must first understand his eary years.  The common man and woman in China identified with Mao and the reason for this was because he came from them, he was one of them in their eyes.  Mao was born in Shaoshan, China the son of a poor peasant who later became a prosperous famer and grain dealer.  In Mao’s early life he bounced in between school and working on the farm; when Mao was 18 the Xinhai Revolution broke out against Qing rule in China.  Mao joined the Revolutionary Army in Hunan.  A year later the war was over and Mao left the army and eventually returned to school.  By 1921 Mao was in and out of school, moving and taking odd jobs, identified himself as a Marxist in theory and to some extent in action and was one of the members of a small group that founded the Chinese Communist Party. 

Mao in 1931 (5)

The late 1920’sas well as the 1930’s was a busy time for Mao as well as everyone else involved with the Chinese Revolution.  In 1927 Mao led the Autumn Harvest Uprising which was a rebellion that took place in Hunan and established the short lived Hunan Soviet.  The uprising was defeated by Kuomintang forces and Mao was forced to retreat to the Jinggang Mountains on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi province, where he then assembled an army of miners. This was the first armed uprising by the Communists, and it marked a significant change in their strategy. Mao and Red Army founder Zhu De went on to develop a rural based strategy that centered on guerrilla tactics, paving the way to the Long March of 1934.

The Long March was an almost mythical journey which catapulted him into fame in China.  The Long March started in southern China when Mao’s Red Army was surrounded.  Estimates of around 80,000 (1) men under Mao’s control tried to escape through enemy lines and reform in the north and in the process 8,500 men survived the Long March to the north and establish their base in Yan’an.  This event was used as inspiration for those who survived and those who would fight for Mao in the future.  The following is a poem Mao wrote about the long march:  

The Long March, October 1935

The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March,

Holding light ten thousand crags and torrents.

The Five Ridges wind like gentle ripples

And the majestic Wumeng roll by, globules of clay.

Warm the steep cliffs lapped by the waters of Golden Sand,

Cold the iron chains spanning the Tatu River.

Minshan's thousand li* of snow joyously crossed,

The three Armies march on, each face glowing. (2)

Mao at this time not only became infamous as a leader in the communist movement in China, but as a writer as well.  In 1937 Mao wrote two of his most popular essays entitled “On Contradiction” (3) and “On Practice.”(4)  These two essays are concerned with the practical strategies of a revolutionary movement and stress the importance of practical, grass-roots knowledge, obtained through experience.  In both essays he speaks of how to gain support and who is the best people to recruit for this revolution.  Mao’s theories on revolution are considered by some to be the most impressive of his theories.

Soviet Republic of China Flag Picture (6)

From 1931 to 1934, Mao helped establish the Soviet Republic of China and was elected Chairman of this small republic in the mountainous areas in Jiangxi.  Shortly after Mao’s ascension to power dissension in the ranks began occur.  Some that were in power at this time like Li Wenlin were against Mao's land policies and proposals to reform the local party branch and army leadership.  Mao reacted to this dissension by claiming his opponents were opportunists and then over time systematically suppressed them.  After the fall of the Japanese Empire in World War II the region then became an interest of the West, Russia and the United States particularly.  The Cold War was in its infancy and the battle of Communism vs. Democratic Capitalism was in full swing figuring out who would be under whose sphere of influence.  The U.S. continued to support Chiang Kai-shek, now openly against the People's Liberation Army led by Mao Zedong causing an escalation in the Civil War for control of China.  The Soviet’s on the other hand supported Mao with supplies, but not as much as the U.S. supplied their allies.  The truth of the matter is that although Russia wanted to encourage the spread of Communism, they also didn’t want China become too strong because Russia still had ambitions in the area and a strong China would keep that in check.  In 1948, the People’s Liberation Army starved out the Kuomintang forces occupying the city of Changchun in which at least 160,000 civilians are believed to have perished during the siege.   On January 21, 1949, Kuomintang forces suffered massive losses against Mao's forces. In the early morning of December 10, 1949, PLA troops laid siege to Chengdu, the last KMT-occupied city in mainland China, and Chiang Kai-shek evacuated from the mainland to Taiwan that same day.

Over the several decades Mao came into line with other Communist leaders of the time.  Controls of many different economies were brought under the control of the Chinese government.  U.S / Chinese relations improved over time and eventually in 197o’s under the tutelage of President Nixon and Sec. of State Kissinger the Chinese and the U.S started to warm up to each other and normalized relations.  At this same exact time through no coincidence the Chinese had a long contested border dispute with the Soviets which surely strained relations between Beijing and Moscow.  The very shaky ground on which modern U.S / Chinese relations were started on has continued until today even though both economies are becoming more intertwined.

Picture of Mao with Nixon in 1972 (7)

Works Cited

1.      "The Long March 1934 to 1935." History Learning Site. History Learning Site. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/long_march_1934_to_1935.htm>.

2.      "The Long March | A New Long March." Morning Sun. Long Bow Group, Inc. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.morningsun.org/living/longmarch/index.html>.

3.      Tse-tung, Mao. "ON CONTRADICTION." Marxists Internet Archive. Marxist.org. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm>.

4.      Tse-tung, Mao. "ON PRACTICE." Marxists Internet Archive. Marxist.org. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_16.htm>.

5.      "File:Mao1931.jpg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mao1931.jpg>.

6.      "File:Flag of the Chinese Soviet Republic.svg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Chinese_Soviet_Republic.svg>.

7.      "File:Nixon Mao 1972-02-29.png." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Mao_1972-02-29.png>.

8.      Dryden, Samantha. "JACKIE CHAN TO SEEK CONTROL OF ALL CHINESE PEOPLE." Scrape TV. Scrape TV, 19 Apr. 2009. Web. <http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/pages-2/Jackie-Chan-to-seek-control-of-all-Chinese-people-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your-side.html>.