The phrase was thought to have been "war-based" industrial complex before becoming "military" in later drafts of Eisenhower's speech, a claim passed on only by oral history. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-12-10-eisenhower-ad...

Geoffrey Perret, in his biography of Eisenhower, claims that, in one draft of the speech, the phrase was "military–industrial–congressional complex", indicating the essential role that the United States Congress plays in the propagation of the military industry, but the word "congressional" was dropped from the final version to appease the then-currently elected officials. http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/guest-post-james-...

James Ledbetter calls this a "stubborn misconception" not supported by any evidence; likewise a claim by Douglas Brinkley that it was originally "military–industrial–scientific complex". http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2001/6/...

Additionally, Henry Giroux claims that it was originally "military–industrial–academic complex". http://www.paradigmpublishers.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?prod...