“Military-Industrial Complex” of the USA

Task 1. Read the text, translate the words, answer the questions

The military-industrial complex is a nation’s military establishment, as well as the

industries involved in the production of armaments and other military materials.
The military–industrial complex (MIC) is an informal alliance between a nation's
military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which
influences public policy.

farewell address
to be compelled
vast
conjunction
acquisition
unwarranted
persist

Just before he left office, President Dwight Eisenhower (five-star general in the U.S.
Army, had served as commander of Allied forces during World War II) delivered a farewell
address to the nation. It was January 17, 1961, and the United States had been in a Cold War
with the Soviet Union for the past dozen years. First the president reminded Americans of
that foreign threat. Then he discussed a second threat to the nation, a domestic one:
«Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry.
But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been
compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three
and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment.
Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry
is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual
-- is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government.
In the councils of government, 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. We must never let the weight
of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.»
In his farewell address to the nation, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns the
American people to keep a careful eye on what he calls the “military-industrial complex”
that has developed in the post-World War II years.

 For answering
1. How do you understand what MIC is?
2. What do you know about President Dwight D. Eisenhower?
3. What questions did President Eisenhower point out in his farewell address?
4. What "grave implications" do you think President Eisenhower worried about in a
"conjunction of an immense military establishment and large arms industry"?
5. How might a military industrial complex "endanger our liberties or our democratic
processes"?
 Task 2. Read and write a summary ( not less than 20 sentences). In your
summary should cover these questions

1. How does the military-industrial-congressional complex work?

2. According to the pie chart, how much of every dollar in taxes is spent on defense

How the complex works

Webster's Dictionary defines a "complex" as "a whole made up of interrelated parts."
The complex about which President Eisenhower warned consists of the following:
fuel rods
launching pads
1) A huge military establishment headed by the Pentagon and consisting of such
military branches as the army, navy, marines, and air force; a vast collection of weapons and
delivery vehicles; and many service personnel to store, distribute, and maintain the
establishment.
2) A nationwide collection of industrial suppliers who provide everything from fuel
rods for nuclear weapons production to launching pads and missiles to the boots worn by the
infantry.
3) The two houses of Congress, which must approve the nation's budgets and vote
money to support the military.
 Task 3. Read, study the charts, answer the questions

MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX TODAY

touchstone краеугольный камень

expenditures Расходы
the Pew Research Center Исследовательский центр Пью
Since Eisenhower delivered it in 1961, his farewell speech has come to be a
touchstone for those with concerns about unchecked military expansion, and the continuing
close ties between private military contractors, members of the military establishment and
the federal government.
The United States regularly spends far more on its military than any other country,
though its defense spending is usually a relatively small percentage of the nation’s total gross
domestic product (GDP), compared with some other countries.
According to a 2014 report by the Council of Foreign Relations, in the years after
World War II, national defense spending as a percentage of GDP ranged from a high of 15
percent in 1952 (during the Korean War) to a low of 3.7 percent in 2000. Military spending
rose sharply again the following year, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks led to the U.S.
government declaring a global war on terrorism.
Military expenditures, which are included in the spending category in the federal
budget, include a base budget for the U.S. Department of Defense as well as additional
spending on Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) and the Global War on Terror
(GWOT).
In fiscal year 2016, according to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. government spent
some $604 billion on national defense, which made up 15 percent of its total spending of
about $3.95 trillion.
By contrast, a two-year budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President
Donald Trump in February 2018 approved some $716 billion for defense spending in fiscal
year 2019, compared with $605 in non-defense domestic spending.
  answer the questions:
1. Chart 1 – Of the entire amount the planet spends on defense, what percentage of
that amount does the US spend?
2. Chart 1 – Who spends the 2nd most? How much less than the US?
3. Chart 2 – Of the top 10 largest weapons manufacturers, how many are US
companies?
4. Chart 3 – List the top 3 nuclear nations and the number of Total nuclear warheads.
5. Chart 4 – How many billions of dollars in weapons does the US sell worldwide
(and within the US)?