| The comparisons are meaningless. For one thing, most countries, including our allies, still use conscription, which is cheaper than a professional military, especially one maintaining a US standard of living on its bases around the world. For another, no one else has our commitments: we still are the linch- pin of NATO, guard the DMZ in the Korean Peninsula, maintain a strong naval and military presence in the Pacific, and so on. We took over for the British Empire, as far as maintaining freedom of the seas goes. We have substituted ourselves for Germany and Japan in securing defense arrangements in Europe and the Pacific, because these natural regional Great Powers were so compromised after WWII. We are the primary contributor of troops to the United Nations in the hottest spots, like Bosnia. We have the main nuclear arsenal on our side of the Cold War. We also have taken the lead in developing advanced weaponry and other systems for military use, thus increasing the productivity of our personnel in carrying out their missions. Only a detailed analysis of our responsibilities in comparison to others could be remotely helpful in making a budget analysis....... |
