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Resources for Week Three Discussion – Defense Spending and the Military-Industrial

Complex

Before participating in this week’s discussion, “Defense Spending and the Military-Industrial Complex,” review these

resources:

1. Read this chapter from the text, American Government:

a. Chapter 6 – The Executive Branch

2. Read the following article from the ProQuest (Search All) database in the Ashford University Library:

a. Ike’s speech (on the military industrial complex).

Newton, J. (2010, December 20). Ike’s speech. The New Yorker, 86(41), 42.

(This brief article shows how former President Eisenhower strongly believed in the dangers posed by the

military industrial complex which he warned of in his farewell address.)

3. Watch the following videos:

a. A More Perfect Union

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). (2013, May 7). Episode I - A more perfect union [Series episode].

Constitution USA with Peter Sagal. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-

sagal/watch/a-more-perfect-union/

b. Iron Triangles

Mypoliscilab. (2011, June 22). Video glossary: Iron triangles [Video]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtAcOjFgjU

4. Read three of the following articles:

a. The modern military-industrial complex.

Huey-Burns, C. (2011, January). The modern military-industrial complex. U.S. News & World Report, 1.

Retrieved from ProQuest (Search All) database, in the Ashford University Library.

(This short interview reviews how the military, defense contractors, and Congress work in tandem to

increase military spending.)

b. You can’t kill F-22, Georgians tell Gates.

Jonsson, P. (2009, April 8). You can’t kill F-22, Georgians tell Gates. The Christian Science Monitor, 2.

Retrieved from ProQuest (Search All) database, in the Ashford University Library.

(This brief article describes an example of the "iron triangle" in defense procurement – a manufacturer

(including its unions), the military, and Congress working together on expensive projects in the name of

"national security.”)

c. The iron triangle’s impact on the federal budget.

Marotta, G. The iron triangle’s impact on the federal budget. Vital Speeches of the Day, 51(4), 106-109.

Retrieved from Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) database, in the Ashford University Library.

(This speech describes the contributions of Congress, the bureaucracy and lobbyists to the federal deficit.)

d. Cutting the budget with a wet noodle.

Nelson, R. H. (1995). Cutting the budget with a wet noodle. Forbes. p. 146. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

(This brief article describes old proposals by House Republicans to eliminate several federal departments

which survive chiefly because they have mastered the infamous "iron triangle.")

e. Smelt the iron triangle.

(2007, January 11). Smelt the iron triangle. The Washington Times, A20. Retrieved from ProQuest

(Search All) database, in the Ashford University Library.

(This brief article critiques pork-barrel spending that supports defense industry overcapacity and bloated

Pentagon budgets, protected by the iron triangle of the military, industry, and Congress.)

f. Does removal of term limits portend revival of committee system?

Wolfensberger, D. (2009, February 17). Does removal of term limits portend revival of committee

system? Roll Call. Retrieved from ProQuest (Search All) database, in the Ashford University Library.

(This brief article discusses how the absence of term-limits on congressional committee chairs strengthens

iron triangles that make them less accountable to Congress and the voters.)