Most of us on the left are familiar with the idea of a "military-industrial complex" by which the military and industry are inextricably linked and in which both exist due to a mutually beneficially relationship and the involvement of a sympathetic and enabling legislative branch. Less known is the fact that the term was coined by former president Dwight D. Eisenhower who was concerned about the "unwarranted influence" that the system was having on the government and society. Eisenhower's words--spoken in 1961 and aimed at the Cold War system--has for years typified how much of the left views the relationship between the military and the economy.

However, in The Complex: How the Military Invades our Everyday Lives, author and historian Nick Turse argues that the "military-industrial complex" has become far more pervasive and larger than the system described by Eisenhower. While Eisenhower raised concerns about the "large arms industry," Turse argues that the military now invades almost every facet of our daily lives. From the food we eat to the entertainment we watch, Turse outlines a far more powerful system--"the military-industrial-technological-entertainment-scientific-media-corporate complex or "the Complex" for short--that exists as "a real-life matrix" that touches every part of our lives without must of us ever realizing it.

Much of Turse's book, while focusing on a variety of different topics from the relationship between the military and telecommunications corporations to the relationship between the military and Hollywood, highlights how the Complex is a product of mutually beneficial relationships between the government and private corporations. Turse describes Department of Defense officials who go to work for weapons contractors and contractors who serve in the Department of Defense, universities that do research for the Pentagon, and technology that is developed for military applications and then sold in consumer products. Aside from the obvious examples of weapons research, Turse discusses how the military has worked with private entities including MySpace, NASCAR, and various video game companies on recruiting efforts. Similarly, the military has been heavily involved in various entertainment ventures--from multimedia websites to Hollywood films--designed to convey the idea that the military is heroic, admirable, and morally correct.

A particularly interesting portion of the book explores how the military markets itself to teenagers for the purposes of increasing enlistment. Turse outlines the military's use of MySpace and high-tech websites to appeal to teenagers. Not surprisingly, death is notably absent from the cyber-recruiting sites despite the fact that it is a reality with the United States' occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Turse also looks at how the military has used video games--particularly America's Army--to recruit youth. While the military has said that the game isn't necessarily a recruiting vehicle, Turse points out that it offers numerous ways for players to get in contact with recruiters. Similarly, he cites a 2004 study commissioned by the military that found America's Army was one of the most successful ways that the Army has to reach young people. Like other portions of the complex, the military's recruiting efforts are aided by private corporations including the companies that assisted in developing video games, public relations firms that do research on recruiting and demographics for the military, and media firms that give free promotions to the military.

Throughout The Complex, Turse raises the question of priorities as it relates tot the massive amounts of money that the United States spends on its military and related projects. While some of these are outright ridiculous--for example the thousands of dollars that the military spends on donuts and golfing--these are unfortunately some of the least insidious things that the military is doing. Turse describes the research being conducted by DARPA--an agency of the Department of Defense--into ways to "weaponize" nature by utilizing insects for military purposes or developing "systems" that would allow soldiers to function for a week without sleep. Money continues to be poured into DARPA, despite a fairly unimpressive success rate. At the same time, DARPA draws some of the most creative scientific minds and channels that energy towards death and destruction rather than research aimed at improving humanity. As a practical example, Turse points out that the amount of money spent on alternative energy research barely registers compared to the billions spent each year on military research.

Appropriately, Turse concludes with an exploration of Homeland Security. He explains that spending in this area has significantly increased and as such, it may be the area in which the Complex comes to touch most of us. Turse describes an increasingly militarized society in which surveillance is omnipresent, law enforcement agencies have an array of advanced weaponry, and where civilians are encouraged to report those whom they believe may be terrorists. This is just one of many important insights in Turse's book, a book which all on the left--and in the antiwar movement--would do well to read. While Turse says nothing about what can be done to channel energy away from the military, The Complex makes it clear that there are an almost infinite number of areas in which those opposing the military can become involved.

Nick Turse, The Complex: How the Military Invades our Everyday Lives, (Metropolitan Books, 2008).