Who is Mark Esper?

In the United States, war is big business. The Department of Defense, led by Secretary Mark Esper since 2019, has a budget of $738 billion this year. And while many of those dollars pay for those who serve in the armed forces and the maintenance of a nuclear arsenal, a significant portion of that budget will go to the military-industrial complex, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned Americans about in his farewell address in 1961, and which, prior to his appointment, Secretary Esper represented in Washington as a lobbyist. With the question of war in the air after the United States--in a targeted drone strike on Iraqi soil approved by President Donald Trump--assassinated the second most powerful man in Iran, Qasem Soleimani, who stands to profit? On this episode of Who Is, Sean Morrow dives deep into Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and the military-industrial complex.    Kate Brannen, Editorial Director of Just Security Jack Detsch, Pentagon Correspondent of Al-Monitor Aaron Mehta, Deputy Editor and Senior Pentagon Correspondent of Defense News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices