To the Point
Barack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
In deciding what to do in Afghanistan, President Obama faces more than the question of how many troops. It's the clout of the military in a society where the civilian government is supposed to be in charge. After all, it took a former general, President Dwight Eisenhower, to coin the term "military-industrial complex." Also, a run-off election for Afghanistan, and the boy who wasn't in the balloon after all.
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenIn deciding what to do in Afghanistan, President Obama faces more than the question of how many troops. It's the clout of the military in a society where the civilian government is supposed to be in charge. After all, it took a former general, President Dwight Eisenhower, to coin the term "military-industrial complex." Also, a UN report pushes Afghan officials to call for a run-off election, and coverage of the boy who turned out not to be in the balloon. Did cable news report on a fraud or perpetrate one?
Banner image: US General Stanley McChrystal (R) arriving at the Baraki Barak Joint combat Outpost (JCOP) in Logar Province, Afghanistan on on September 21, 2009. Photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesAfghan Recount and Washington War Strategy
For the first time, the government of Afghanistan has conceded that President Hamid Karzai will have to compete in a run-off for re-election as President of the country. This after investigation by the United Nations-backed Electoral Complaints Commission gave Karzai just 47% of the original vote.
Read the story8 minBarack Obama and the Military-Industrial Complex
As he considers General McChrystal's request for more troops in Afghanistan, President Obama faces a conflict defined by the Constitution. He is the Commander in Chief, but the US military enjoys at least as much political influence as the civilian authority that is nominally in charge.
Read the story37 minThe Boy Who Was Not in the Balloon
Cable news viewers got an hour and a half of commercial-free programming yesterday while a large, UFO-shaped helium balloon floated 7000 feet above Colorado. The awful possibility was that six-year-old Falcon Heene was aboard. Mercifully, the truth turned out to be very different, but the full story has yet to be unraveled.
Read the story7 min