William Hartung, author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military Industrial-Complex and the recent Nation article "Is Lockheed Martin Shadowing You?" appeared this morning on Democracy Now! to discuss his book and the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s farewell address which he used to warn of the rise of the military-industrial complex. Of the address, Hartung says Eisenhower was "concerned not just about the size, not just about the budget but that it was going to undermine our democracy." Hartung adds, "I think that’s what Lockheed Martin is about in many ways." 

Hartung describes Lockheed Martin as a "full-service government contractor, which really is involved in every aspect" of Americans’ lives. He lists off the CIA, FBI, IRS and the Census Bureau as some of the many agencies where one can find Lockheed Martin. And he says he wrote a book on the military industrial-complex that centered around Lockheed Martin because he thinks "they’re the largest, they’re the most corrupt and they have the most political influence" in the United States.

Go here to watch the second part of Hartung’s conversation on Democracy Now!

—Kevin Gosztola