I suspect Sagan understood the roots, purposes, and goals of the post-WW2 "war department" and US space programs at the time, far better than you do today. Go

I suspect Sagan understood the roots, purposes, and goals of the post-WW2 "war department" and US space programs at the time, far better than you do today. Go look up the origin of the phrase "military industrial complex" and you'll see how horrified people "in the shoes" felt about the state of the military at the time.