The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

Empires come and go. The United States with ruinous wars, a bloated Pentagon budget and an economy that spews red ink may have a short imperial shelf life. Recall the words of President Eisenhower in his 1961 Farewell Address. He warned of the “conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry…. The total influence, economic, political, even spiritual, is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government….we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications….we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”