The context of Eisenhower's speech dealt with the close association between the military and defense contractors, one that persists to the present. Leaders in these industries and many high ranking officers of the time were aligned with Eisenhower's nemesis in the GOP: the conservatives led first by Taft and later by Goldwater. Numerous active and retired generals like Douglas MacArthur, Charles Willoughby, Edwin Walker, and Curtis LeMay had strong ties with the conservative wing of the GOP and even the "farther shores" of conspiracists such as the John Birch Society. Think about movies like Seven Days in May and Dr. Strangelove from the early 1960s, where right wing generals are the villains trying to overthrow the government or start a nuclear war with the USSR.
It is ironic that Ron Paul, whose political support draws in part from the lineal descendants of the 1960s era conspiracists and old school conservatives, such as the 9-11 Troothers, cites the old Eisenhower rhetoric originally aimed at those very people.
Post #27 & 28 has that actual section of the speech. It isn’t what a lot of people like to make it out to be.
You sir are right on the money about Ike! My family has been associated with the so-called military industrial since the 60s. The fact is, the defense industry makes things easier (and safer in many cases) for our soliders. It also saves money as it is much easier to fire an employee for a private company who is not doing the job than an incompetent Government employee.