The Military Industrial Complex Discussion

Got this feedback today from a reader: I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.Politicians make no difference. We have bought into the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). If you would like to read how this happens please see: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703 Through a combination of public apathy and threats by the MIC we have let the SYSTEM get too large. It is now a SYSTEMIC problem and the SY STEM is out of control. Government and industry are merging and that is very dangerous. There is no conspiracy. The SYSTEM has gotten so big that those who make it up and run it day to day in industry and government simply are perpetuating their existance.The politicians rely on them for details and recommendations because they cannot possibly grasp the nuances of the environment and the BIG SYSTEM. So, the system has to go bust and then be re-scaled, fixed and re-designed to run efficiently and prudently, just like any other big machine that runs poorly or becomes obsolete or dangerous.This situation will right itself through trauma. I see a government ENRON on the horizon, with an associated house cleaning.The next president will come and go along with his appointees and politicos. The event to watch is the collapse of the MIC. He also linked his blog. I took a look at it, and there are some good ideas and information there. My response: Hey, thanks for the comments on my Blog - props on your blog also. I agree with your assessment of the MIC (Eisienhower-esque, I assume) - however, I still believe that the public apathy that you reference is actively generated. The "conspiracy" factor is perhaps not the right way to look at it, but the leadership does conciously take advantage of a system that already works in their favor. By the way, I also think that government and industry are already merged, and have been inexorably linked for some time. Reference the philosophy of Bakunin for more info. Do you think that the MIC will collapse of its own accord? I wonder if it may not require active intervention on the part of the populace. I hope to get some feedback from him.