Conflict-Industrial Complex
- Steven Teplitsky
- Jan 19, 2024
- 3 min read
In the farewell address of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 17, 1961, he warned “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex.” The term “military-industrial complex” (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy.
There has existed, since the inception of the United Nations, another “complex” with similar
attributes to the MIC. That is the CONFLICT-RESOLUTION INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, or
CONFLICT- INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX or CONFLICT COMPLEX. Similar to the Military-Industrial Complex which Eisenhower warned about, this term describes the relationship between nations, conflict resolution agencies, peace-keeping agencies, NGOs, militaries, food and health industries and media, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy.
(Quick note: in my research I have not come across this term, so if anyone asks, tell them you heard it here first)
For purposes of this discussion I shall use the term interchangeably between CONFLICT-
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX or CONFLICT COMPLEX. The term CONFLICT-RESOLUTION
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is an oxymoron, because as you will discover upon reading this post, this cabal has no interest in resolving conflicts, unless they can move onto a better conflict in another part of the world.
There are many public, private, official, and semi-official government agencies in this complex, as well as numerous Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) who make up the Conflict-Industrial Complex. The UN Secretariat, has over $75 billion in revenue. According to the NGOS AND CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS GLOBAL MARKET REPORT FOR 2023, “the market size will grow from $288.97 billion to $305.22 billion in 2023 and to $369.10 billion by 2027.” This is completely separate from the UN’s budget.
One does not have to be a major in Economics to understand the complexity and inter-related interests involved in spending the funds which these organizations hold. To re-examine the above figures, in 2023 over $350 billion was in the bank accounts of the UN and its Agencies and the world’s NGOs. This does not even include the Red Cross, Red Crescent, OXFAM and others.
To manage the CONFLICT-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX organizations must be run like private
corporations. They must have a CEO, COO, CIO, CTO, CFO and a host of departments run by the top echelon. In order to hire the “best and the brightest” the top levels of the organizations must be paid competitively to the private sector. The chart below shows the corporate structure of UNRWA and the other chart shows the number of employees in the UN Agencies. The UN currently has 125,000 employees. That is a huge payroll.
That is on the administrative side of the organization. Depending on what the agency or NGO is tasked to do, determines its economic ecosystem. For example, an agency involved in distributing medicine or medicinal supplies has to procure the pharmaceuticals and have a sophisticated distribution and supply chain system in place in order for the supplies to reach the end-user. Everyone in this eco-system has to be paid either for goods or goods and services.
In addition to the administration and the project management there are external organizations which are also stakeholders. These would include banks and other financial institutions, legal firms and accounting firms.
Everyone has their hand in the trough.
The whole system can be rife with corruption when so much money is involved.
For purposes of this post, let’s examine two organizations, the United Nations and one of its relief agencies, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Because the UN and its agencies are funded by the member states of the UN, the organizations have to be “relatively” transparent in their reporting.
The chart below is a page from a report titled “Personnel By Organization | United Nations – CEB”.
I chose this page because it shows that UNRWA has 179 employees. The next chart from a private organization shows the corporate structure of UNRWA. Pay close attention to the last page of the report which states that UNRWA has 30,000 employees not 179.
Hence “relatively transparent”.
Significant Roles of UNRWA
Currently, the organization has more than 30,000 staff from worldwide developing countries. The Board of Directors Office includes the Chairman and the Commissioner-General. The Advisory Committee and the USA Staff Division are two separate divisions managed by the Director Office. The Commissioner-General contains the majority of UNRWA departments, such as the Relief & Social Services, the External Relations & Communications and more. - http://www.orgcharting.com/unrwa-org-chart
The CONFLICT-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is huge. It is an industry unto itself. To put it into perspective, we think of the drug trade as inherently bad, cruel, dangerous with an enormous human death toll. The global market in drug trafficking is estimated to be between $426 billion and $652 billion.
The CONFLICT-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is a close second to the drug trade.
-To be continued
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