'American Inquisition' Fulfills Ike's Prophetic 1961 Warning

Over the course of history, the word inquisition has been restricted to refer to Spain in the Middle Ages. But if one seeks to explain the dangerous mix of religious prejudice, Christian holy war, Islamic jihad, ethnic profiling, racism, mock trials and eavesdropping by secret police, no other term comes to mind.

Not only that, like the export of the Spanish Inquisition, the American Inquisition too has been taken to the far flung corners of the earth. The torturing of victims in secret dungeons remains the same. Missing are burnings at the stake, but given the hideous wonders that white phosphorous can perform on human flesh, and in far less time, who requires such an inefficient procedure?

Although it's common knowledge, one never tires of quoting the prophetic words of President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower, spoke by him during his farewell address to his nation on January 17, 1961:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or our democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."