Monday, January 14, 2013

IKE: Countdown to D-Day


I just got done watching IKE: Countdown to D-Day. Tom Selleck is of course much taller than Eisenhower was, but he played the role remarkably well. The whole cast was just great. This is a war film without war. It’s all about the strategies being put into place leading up to D-Day and the invasion of Normandy. Really well done. I can’t believe I waited nine years to watch this.

And since I'm talking about Ike, the greatest president of the 20th century, I thought I’d post this video clip of his farewell address as well. This is the one where he utters the well-worn phrase he invented: "military industrial complex." Remember, this was three days before Kennedy was to take office. Many people think it was a warning against a government with too much power over the military, but it was actually a warning against a military system with so much power, even the government couldn’t control it. Would the CIA be included as part of this "military" complex? So many people are convinced that members of the CIA along with VP Johnson were behind Kennedy’s death. Did Ike see it coming 3-years earlier? I really don’t have an opinion on the subject, but it’s interesting nonetheless.