The Warfare State

[Mark Kohut]

I found this unknown-to-me book at a used book store. 1962,
evidently an expansion of article(s) published in The Nation
and elsewhere in 1961. Fred J. Cook, also unknown to me.
Introduction by Bertrand "Mad Dog" Russell.
 
Cook starts by setting the national scene within Eisenhower's
presidency leading up to why he gave his famous "beware
of the military-industrial complex" speech as he was leaving 
office. 
 
Oversimplified, Ike cut $5 BILLION from the Air Force budget in 
peacetime 1953 and the Pentagon acted like Repubs today---
fought for their turf like there were no rules....and never forgave
America's last General President. Sabotaged, slow-walked 
everything. went public and whipped up fear....
 
a General Power brought up in a speech which screamed across
the nation's headlines, our "missile gap" with the Soviets. All fabricated.
 
Boeing, while Pynchon was there, and another company were COMPETING for their
anti-ballistic missile product and went PR(!) in all military rags and in leading 
opinion-shaping media.....
 
Three Eisenhower Secretaries of Defense had refused to authorize money for
outdated B--70s.....yet, in the end they lost....The Pentagon always wanting 
money for outdated stuff might have started here for all I know......Ike, a military
man did budgets authorizing self-protective technology at lesser expenditures..
They hated him for it....
 
Seems Pres Kennedy himself, after the historically bad timing of The Berlin Crisis
spoke of "bomb shelters ...to protect our familes" in a speech and LOTSA MONEY
was appropriated for worse than useless--which some pointed out----bomb shelters.
 
"Mad Dog" sez in his intro that he has no faith America's leaders would not fabricate
a crisis just to use its weaponry...he says he is old enough to remember "Remember the Maine"
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