The U.S. Government Should Increase Funding to Their Military

I disagree with Pro that our interests are suffering and that our allies should be our foremost concern. Our military should be used for American DEFENSE (not offense) and to protect trade.The U.S. spends 58% of the total military dollars paid out by the world's top 10 powers. With its unparalleled global reach, the US outspends China, the next-biggest military power, by nearly 6-to-1. It outspends the next biggest competitor, Japan, by 12-to-1 and so on. We spend more than the next 26 nations combined on the military - 25 of whom are allies [1]. Because we not only spend more but infinitely more than everybody else, we do not need to add more to the budget. Security is of paramount importance for prosperity, but to what extent is a military attack on the U.S. realistic? No other nation comes close to the resources they allocate toward their military; it would be naive to assume that any major super power would find it productive to wage an attack on one of the most influential nations in the world. Indeed, the U.S. still has more sophisticated weapons and military technology than any other nation [2, 3].This enormous burden on tax payers hurts our economic standing. The U.S. is losing financial credibility which is the real source of power and influence in a global economy. Moreover, it's taking money away from funding other/better causes such as education, combating poverty, infrastructure, medical research, etc. The money required to eradicate hunger for everyone in the world has been estimated at 30 billion dollars per year - what the world spends on the military every 8 days.The UN's entire budget is less than 2% of the world's military expenditure. It is revealing that the world can spend so much on their military, but contribute so little to the efforts of global security, international cooperation, and peace. Let it be noted that while every other facet of government is scaling back, the military is not. The Marine Corps Times said, "the Armed Services Committee's proposals on major weapon programs were left unscathed" [5].The Global Peace Index attempted to quantify the value of peace, and rank countries based on quantitative data and qualitative scores from a range of sources. The top ranking nations on the global peace index were New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Austria, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Finland, and Slovenia [6]. Most of these countries spend very little on their military. While strategic alliances are important, one repercussion of U.S. expenditure is that other countries can afford to spend a lot less on their own. Many countries have outsourced their defense to us, which is problematic and unfair for obvious reasons.Excessive military spending is used to maintain unwarranted control of the U.S. population, assert a level of political dominance, and foster the dangerous and very real Military Industrial Complex that is crippling our economy and putting citizens in danger. As long as there is profit in war and politicians have connections to war profiteers, the world will never know peace. A militaristic arms race is detrimental and only helps those who benefit from investment in war materials, such as defense contractors. Politicians support these industries because they have both direct and indirect ties to individuals and corporations who benefit from an expanding military.In terms of self-defense, the U.S. is concerned mostly with terrorism. Terrorism is typically fought as an act of guerrilla warfare. An individual strapping a bomb to themselves and blowing up a bus is not realistically made impotent by adding a million soldiers to our army, or developing better weapon technology. In fact, fighting fire with fire has been proven counterproductive, as our highest defense officials have acknowledged that our military presence in the U.S. has facilitated the recruitment of terrorists, and made us less safe [7].Terrorism should be dealt with by addressing the underlying causes, and exploring potential solutions outside of outright violence and aggression. Military invasions cannot stop small-scale terrorism attempts, and developing a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy is necessary. Suggestions include increased intelligence sharing, renditions, and specialized raids on terrorist bases, safe havens and training camps [8]. Keep in mind that our military is infamous for excessive waste, but I'll outline just one example here: the military engaged in Operation Green Sweep, a series of raids conducted by the military where they targeted people growing marijuana [9]. What a ridiculous waste of resources; marijuana is minimally harmful by virtually all standards even if it is against the law. The military should not be used to engage in frivolous activity, but specifically kept at a minimum to maximize defense in the most efficient manner. Our military resources are simply not being used efficiently and/or fairly. More explanation in the next round! SOURCES: http://tinyurl.com...