The Paradox of our National Security Complex

This is a chilling and well-informed book, written by an attorney, about how secrecy and security diminish liberty in the US and threaten their democratic republic. The author uses the term 'national security complex' for what Eisenhower initially called the military-industrial complex. It describes the evolution of this system, then other chapters discuss JFK's quest for peace, the controversy surrounding his assassination and the role of dissenters in uncovering government secrets. As the author points out, annual military expenditure in the US is of the order of $1 trillion, along with a significant proportion of the research budget also devoted to military projects, representing a significant diversion of labour and financial resources to maintain and even enlarge this colossal war machine. Furthermore, the US is the leading exporter of military hardware and weaponry used by governments to oppress their people and bomb their neighbours. Paradoxically, the corresponding escalation in global violence produces not only the refugee crisis we are witnessing, but also brings further insecurity in its wake. The author is surely correct in saying that the pursuit of the politics of power and empire building have led to the sacrifice of their image as a defender of liberty.

American exceptionalism seems able to overlook the barbaric track record of the CIA, which, since the 1950s, has been involved in sabotage, covert paramilitary operations, assassinations and murders, kidnapping, overthrowing of legitimate governments and dissemination of propaganda. A former director called it the department of dirty tricks, and it is based on secrecy, and almost complete lack of oversight and the notion of 'plausible deniability', for instance in false flag operations. It is nothing less than an official criminal organisation, and no overall assessment of American foreign policy should omit the CIA and associated agencies such as the NSA in its consideration of the nature of the US government. It has infiltrated the powerbase, and hawks are hugely influential in formulating government policy. It is clear from the author's analysis that JFK was pursuing a foreign policy deeply uncongenial to these people, who then orchestrated not only his assassination, but also framed the cover story of the lone assassin used as a basis for the Warren Commission. Forensically, it is clear that the six bullets came from four different locations and three different directions. The use of the term conspiracy theory is invoked to debunk other approaches, not only in this instance, but also in relation to 9/11, which the author does not cover. I refer readers to the forensic books on this topic written by theologian David Ray Griffin, also reviewed in these pages. The author quotes the slave activist Frederick Douglass as saying that 'power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will.' So one may agree with the author that the CIA must be reformed into an intelligence gathering agency as originally intended by President Truman in 1947, and that its clandestine operation should be terminated, although one cannot see this happening within the existing power structures. Such a deep reform would require a revolution of human consciousness and a commitment to implement a new vision; this can only come from the grassroots, but I regarded as a moral imperative at least to articulate such thoughts.