New Delhi, June 23 -- The United States, the very country whose former president and war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower first warned against the rise of a "military-industrial complex," has since become its most active architect, user and beneficiary.

This complex has matured into a diffused but dominant global operating system. Its power is not exercised through the use of combat aircraft and missiles alone, but through procurement cycles, legislative influence, job guarantees and an expanding web of strategic dependencies that now tie national security to economic continuity.

Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | The US blasts in: A forever war in Iran?

In West Asia, US strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure mark a dramatic escalation, with Amer...