Prophets of War : Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex

When President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous warning about the dangers of the military-industrial complex, he never would have dreamed that a single company could accumulate the kind of power and influence that is now wielded by Lockheed Martin. As a full-service weapons maker, this behemoth received over $29 billion per year in Pentagon contracts, or roughly one out of every ten dollars the Department of Defense doles out to private contractors. Prophets of War recounts the fascinating and often-frightening history of America's largest military contractor as well as its unique role in the formation of foreign policy. --The company has produced spy satellites; helped the Pentagon collect personal data on U.S. citizens; provided interrogators for employment at Gußntanamo Bay; manufactured our highest-tech aircraft; and more. It has also been embroiled in numerous scandals, from bribing officials in the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan in exchange for the purchase of Lockheed airplanes in the 1970's to the provision of $600 toilet covers and $7,000 coffee makers to the Pentagon in the 1980's. -- William D. Hartung's enthralling exposT chronicles the growth of Lockheed Martin into one of the most influential corporations in the world, and examines the pivotal role the company has had in America's metastasizing military-industrial complex. Hartung asks: How has one company become the recipient of such a large portion of America's tax dollars through contracts with the Pentagon, NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the NSA, and even the U.S. Census and the IRS? Hartung's meticulous, hard-hitting history follows Lockheed Martin's meteoric growth and unravels how this arms industry giant has helped shape U.S. foreign policy for decades. --Book Jacket. Read more... Abstract: A hard-hitting expos of the worlds largest and richest military contractor Read more... Muckraking author William Hartung delves into the military-industrial complex with a corporate profile of its largest, most successful beneficiary, Lockheed Martin. Lockheed has survived bankruptcy and lean financial times, and Hartung contends that it has thrived in part through questionable business practices, milking taxpayers of billions and abetting Pentagon malfeasance. Hartung weaves a tale of the interface of armaments and politics, and says alleged Pentagon incompetence benefited both Lockheed and individual states with pork-barrel military projects. This complex, well-told story states that Lockheed eventually garnered $25 billion annually in defense contracts and now plays an outsized role in affecting US foreign policy. getAbstract recommends this book as important background reading about the corporate-military complex, the shadowy processes that may affect policy and in the economic history of the US defense industry Enthralling and explosive, Prophets of War is an exposé of America's largest military contractor, Lockheed Martin. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous warning about the dangers of the military industrial complex, he never would have dreamed that a company could accumulate the kind of power and influence now wielded by this behemoth company. As a full-service weapons maker, Lockheed Martin receives over $25 billion per year in Pentagon contracts. From aircraft and munitions, to the abysmal Star Wars missile defense program, to the spy satellites that the NSA has used to monitor Americans' phone calls without their knowledge, Lockheed Martin's reaches into all areas of US defense and American life. William Hartung's meticulously researched history follows the company's meteoric growth and explains how this arms industry giant has shaped US foreign policy for decades. An Exposé Of Forefront Military Contractor Lockheed Martin Discusses Its Power And Influence While Tracing The Company's Billion-dollar Growth And Presence In Every Aspect Of American Life. The Rise And Fall Of The Raptor -- From Loughead To Lockheed -- From War To Cold War -- The C-5a Scandal -- Bailout-too Big To Fail? -- Bribery -- Reagan To The Rescue -- Saint Augustine's Laws -- The Advocate -- Global Domination. William D. Hartung. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. ALSO BY WILLIAM D. HARTUNG Title Page Dedication Chapter 1 - THE RISE AND FALL OF THE RAPTOR Chapter 2 - FROM LOUGHEAD TO LOCKHEED Chapter 3 - FROM WAR TO COLD WAR Chapter 4 - THE C-5A SCANDAL Chapter 5 - BAILOUT Too Big to Fail? Chapter 6 - BRIBERY Chapter 7 - REAGAN TO THE RESCUE Chapter 8 - SAINT AUGUSTINE’S LAWS Chapter 9 - THE ADVOCATE Chapter 10 - GLOBAL DOMINATION Acknowledgements Notes Index Copyright Page Prophets of War A hard-hitting expos of the worlds largest and richest military contractor Full description