According to author William Hartung, author of Prophets of War, Lockheed Martin is perhaps the leading source of corruption in the defense complex. In an interview on C-Span with Pierre Sprey, father of the A-10 and F-16 aircraft, Lockheed Martin's role in starting wars, bribery, spying on Americans, and even failure to deliver benefits to wounded vets is exposed.
[Added: Vets74 tells us that Colonel John Boyd played a role senior to that of Sprey in the development of the F-16. A fuller description of Sprey and Boyd is presented by Bill Moyers at www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01302009/profile.html
In a must-see interview on C-Span, Pierre Sprey (father of the A-10 and F-16 aircraft) interviews William Hartung on Hartung's book about Lockheed Martin, Prophets of War. Hartung lays out how the defense industry has corrupted Washington and other governments, and is now reaching into spying on Americans and other dubious enterprises. Sprey adds comments about how Lockheed Martin helped to start the Cold War and Korean War, and is currently stoking tensions with Russia in a bid to increase sales of defense hardware.
In the run-up to World Lockheed Martin violated the Neutrality Act, selling (ineffectual) bombers to Britain, as well as offering to sell to Germany and Japan. In the modern era, they were a force behind the Project for a New American Century and the invasion of Iraq.
This show can be seen on Sunday at 9PM Eastern, as well as in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday and Monday.
(crossposted from Mercury Rising; See Bill Moyers for more on Pierre Sprey and Colonel John Boyd here)