US Military among the Power Elite

US Military among the Power Elite

M. Asadi


Those who think that Mills exaggerated by placing the Military elite among the Power Elite (this includes Domhoff and most Marxists), need to reexamine i) The Military Metaphysic, in which everything post WW2 has been seen in military terms which gives prominence to military men and their institution and ii) the interchangeability among the military/economic and political elites.

Further, they also need to note that the political and economic elites have the military as their fall back which deeply incorporates the military in political affairs, revealed by the recent threat to Congressmen regarding imposition of Martial Law by the Bush Administration:

"In so far as the structural clue to the power elite today lies in the enlarged and military state, that clue becomes evident in the military ascendancy. The warlords have gained decisive Political relevance, and the military structure of America is now in considerable part a political structure..." (C. Wright Mills,The Power Elite (1956))

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman of California told Congress that
individual members of the House were threatened with martial law within a week if they did not pass the bailout bill:

“The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and sustaining a panic atmosphere. Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday that the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points the first day and a couple of thousand on the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no.”

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnbNm6hoBXc ]

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"Congress passed a controversial bill which grants the President the right to commandeer Federal or even state National Guard Troops and use them inside the United States. This bill, entitled the John Warner Defense Appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (H.R. 5122.ENR), contains a provision, (Section 1076) which allows the President to:

“...employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to...

1. restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States..., where the President determines that,...domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order;
2. suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy...”

Senator Patrick Leahy and others have condemned Section 1076 because it effectively nullifies the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C. 331-335) and gives the President the legal ability to define under what conditions martial law may be declared."

[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Posse_Comitat us_Act]

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P.S Acknowledgment to HP sahib for informing us about Brad Sherman and the assault on the Posse Comitatus Act. Thank you kindly and have a nice day.
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comments:---


Posted by HP :---

The concept of power elite is kind of murky. It is like saying some shadow government in the US. (Dick Cheney did try to have a shadow government after 9/11 but that is a different matter)

The ruling classes too undergo changes as the economic conditions change. So if after ww2 military did become a part of the elite, it may not remain elite, if the other economic groups become powerful and begin to change the power equation.
At one time manufacturing sector was supreme and now we see that they are begging for money but no one listens to them. Finance sector which had fallen out of favor after the 1930s became so powerful after the 70s that the WH and the congress jumped to help it out.

The tech sector could possibly replace the Manufacturing in terms of clout and economic supremacy. So we really can’t say that the military is a permanent part of the power elite in the US. Military was pretty much sidelined after the Vietnam War but kept alive by the Cold war. Now after the defeat in Iraq and expected defeat in Afghanistan- the military will have a reduced role to play in leading the state.

The concept of power elite is not dynamic enough to capture the changing relations between the competing groups for influence.

Kulharee is an idiot!