The graphic here, or one very similar to it, is an example of a member i see shared quite a bit on social media. It is generally shared by my friends on the

Credit: Washington Post

left side of spectrum as an example of the wasteful and needless spending by Washington when no other country, by spending, can even threaten us.

Something as complex as the United States and it’s global obligations can not be summarized with a single graph. (Or even a short blog post, but I just want to illustrate the scale of the complexity not delve into it.)

Is history there has been Pax Rome, the peace that the Roman Empire brought to the world with is vast military. There has also been Pax Britannia, same thing many centuries later with the British Empire astride the world, we are now in the Pax Americana.

That enormous military budget isn’t just about defending our borders, it is much more than that.

It’s our commitment to defending the freedom of Japan, South Korea, Western Europe, and many other allies. Some have suggested it would better if those allies simply carried their own load, but that looking at it from the wrong way around. Yes, we could cut back and force those allies to spend their own treasure and blood. Doing that increases the chances of war. Right now you attack an American ally you risk war with America and that deters such conflicts. Remember small regional wars can escalate out of control into global conflicts.

The second great function of the US military is upholding international law. Pirates off the East African Coast? the U.S. Navy is there. Iraq and Iran threaten neutral shipping with a terrible war, the U.S. is there ensuring the safety of those neutral ships. Withdraw our force from around the world and you threaten global commerce. he very commerce that make you prosperous enough to have that smartphone to share that graphic.

Of course one should ignore the humanitarian mission undertaken by the US Military. Typhoons, Earthquakes, man-made disasters, the US Military is often first on the scene providing vital supplies and logistics.

None of this is cheap. and all of this is vital. Now that is not to say we don’t spend too much, or to support any particular budget proposal, but the answers and questions are far more than what can be addressed with a snarky comment while tweeting a graphic you saw on Facebook.