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That US military spending has never fallen below 3% of GDP. The two times it got close, we jumped right back towards 4%.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locat...

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I agree that the US military is huge and expensive, but that doesn't address 'military need,' which is a question of which missions are worth funding and what the requirements are for each.

If your goals are just coastal defense and prevention of invasion from Canada and Mexico, then that's significantly easier. Those aren't the US goals and haven't been for a long time. And it seems to be overwhelmingly the case that any potential defense partner for the US (aligned interests, not judged to be themselves a threat) can successfully pass off military spending to the US.

I agree completely. I think I am making more of a point about the "tail wagging the dog" in the US military strategy you mention.

We have created economic dependencies on our vast military spending. At a fundamental level, the $1 trillion spent on defense ends up in the hands of US service members and defense contractors. They spend that money back in the US economy.

When viewed from that (cynical?) perspective, it isn't surprising that the military's spending and scope grow year after year.

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