Pentagon reliance on private contractors creates an incentive for war, Lawrence Wilkerson told several New Hampshire audiences on a recent speaking tour.  Wilkerson, a retired US Army Colonel who served as Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said the military-industrial-complex has become "the principal influence on national security and ultimately on foreign policy decision-making." 

“If it’s going to change, it’s going to require you,” Wilkerson said.  “It’s going to require the American people getting sick and tired of their republic getting stolen by the few, by the wealthy few, by the plutocracy.“

In 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans that the rise of “a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions" posed a grave threat to American democracy.  Fifty-four years later, the warning still rings true.  As William Hartung explained on a recent New Hampshire speaking tour, corporations that earn billions from contracts to sell weapons to the Pentagon keep the profits flowing with campaign donations, lobbyists, a lucrative revolving door for military officers and civilian government officials, and even major gifts to the charities favored by the spouses of key members of Congress.  Eisenhower's call for an "alert and knowledgable citizenry" has as much urgency as ever.  

Why do we need you to get involved in the frenzy of presidential politics? Here are three reasons to get out and ask a question the next time you hear a candidate is coming to town.