Tag: US Army
The Washington Post finally conceded in an editorial last week that the United States must “spend smarter” when it comes to defense. Instead of looking for ways to cut defense spending, however, the Post simply wants to spend differently.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s data shows that Washington spends three times as much on its military than China, the second-largest spender, Ashik Siddique reports.
The U.S. has 95% of the world’s foreign bases. It also has scores of ships sailing around the world with nuclear weapons. Then there are the 4,154 military bases in its 50 states and 114 in its territories. It allows no foreign bases on its territory. (See David Vine’s book Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World”)
The American armed forces, though they remain among the most respected institutions in the country, are set to be a casualty of polarization. The Reagan Foundation released its annual National Defense Survey last week and reported that trust and confidence in the military has declined by a staggering 22 points in recent years. The principal driver of diminished trust in the armed forces was their perceived politicization.
