A Very Different Military-Industrial Complex

This is an idea that I have been toying around with.

Eisenhover warned of the military-industrial complex and it made sence to worry about it. So say someone realise the dangers earlier, say at the end of World War 2. He suggest that the US shouldn't make that much weapons on their own but rather buy from European sourses. It would have two benefits. 1) Avoiding a military-industrial complex in the US with the ability to gain influence by the amount of people they hire for example. 2) Buying European weapons would be a way to subsidise their allies economies. I think it would require a initial invesment but the US could afford it.

Discuss
 
This is an idea that I have been toying around with.

Eisenhover warned of the military-industrial complex and it made sence to worry about it. So say someone realise the dangers earlier, say at the end of World War 2. He suggest that the US shouldn't make that much weapons on their own but rather buy from European sourses. It would have two benefits. 1) Avoiding a military-industrial complex in the US with the ability to gain influence by the amount of people they hire for example. 2) Buying European weapons would be a way to subsidise their allies economies. I think it would require a initial invesment but the US could afford it.

Discuss

Berra

I think the main problem would be that a buy foreign policy would be politically difficult, if not impossible. Countries normally favour home produced goods, both because that supports local industries, jobs and economics and because dependence on foreign military items is especially frowned upon. With its tradition of isolationism the US is probably more vulnerable that most to such feeling but I doubt if any nations would be willing to do what you suggest on any large scale. Furthermore, having just won the war the politicians advocating this would be vulnerable to the question of why are you suggesting buying weapons from the powers that lost the war - or needed US assistance and hence by implication inferior. [Not saying they necessarily actually are but could easily be represented that way].

Steve
 
...and what happens when military analysts point out that all the Soviets would have to do to annihilate the US's military production capability is to turn Europe into a warzone and attack shipping in the Atlantic, such as by some hypothetical invasion?
 
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