“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.” — President Dwight D. Eisenhower
In the 1960s and 1970s when the US actually had an enemy, though possibly one of our own making, there was a peace movement. It might well have come from left-wing professors in the universities who did not think racist America was worth defending.
In the first quarter of the 21st century, a period of many American wars of choice, there is no peace movement. In her book, Joan Roelofs asks:
“Why is there so much acceptance of and so little protest against our government’s illegal and immoral wars and other military operations? Why is there mostly silence about the death and destruction that wars and even the preparation for war inflict on people, including the troops, and on the environment? Why is there so little concern about the potential for the extinction of human and other life posed by nuclear war, now seen as an ‘option’ by the US and other militaries?”
Her answer is in her title: The Trillion Dollar Silencer. You might think that the money goes for weapons, but much of it is used to purchase universities and faculties, think tanks, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, media, contractors, and foreign governments.
The Department of Defense tentacles reach everywhere. With so many so dependent on DOD handouts, there is no one left to protest.
Roelofs’ research is exhaustive. She packs an amazing amount of detail including names and monetary amounts in 200 pages. For example, Roelofs explains how the CIA salts money around. The CIA creates dummy foundations and makes grants to them. The dummy foundations then make grants to legitimate foundations, and the foundations pass the money on to the CIA-designated groups.
President Eisenhower warned about the growing power of the military/security complex. Nothing was done about it. The power has grown so great that the Department of Defense cannot pass an audit, and several trillion dollars are unaccounted for. You might remember that whatever it was that hit the Pentagon on 9/11 managed to hit and destroy the offices housing the documents and experts who were searching for where the money had gone, thus bringing the investigation to an end.
In the final chapter Roelofs asks “what can be done?” Her suggestions lack effectiveness. Her book was written prior to the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency. My suggestion is for someone who can to get the book into DOGE hands. The Trillion Dollar Silencer traces the money flows through so many hands and places that it will save the DOGE staff much work and leave them astonished by the many non-defense uses of defense funds.
It takes character and determination to correct a bad situation. America’s predicament is that corruption is so pervasive that challenging it results in career destruction. People have mortgages, car payments, kids in school. Taking exception to corruption is a road to poverty. Perhaps Trump and Musk will be able to do something, or perhaps the Democrat judges will save the day for institutionalized grift.
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Paul Craig Roberts is a renowned author and academic, chairman of The Institute for Political Economy where this article was originally published. Dr. Roberts was previously associate editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
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