Dear Editor
Fifty years ago this week, on Jan. 17, 1961, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the American people about the growing power of "the military-industrial complex."
He lived in a different time from ours, but the debate over our government's plan to purchase a fleet of F-35 stealth fighters shows his message is still relevant, even for Canadians today.
As Eisenhower might have predicted, the forces allied in favour of the F-35 program are defence firms and the military. In fact, it is sometimes hard to tell them apart, since many of the CEOs and their lobbyists are retired high-ranking military officers.
But the stealth fighters' tremendous cost, at least $16 billion, is Canada's most expensive purchase in history, coming at a time when the federal budget has never been higher. How many valued social programs will have to be cut to reduce the deficit and pay for the stealth fighters? Is that what Canadians want?
Eisenhower feared the military-industrial complex's influence would undermine democracy, but added that "an alert and knowledgeable citizenry" could check its unwarranted influence. Some things never change.
Steven Staples
Rideau Institute
Ottawa
