US defense is precariously stuck on 9/11

WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Days after hijacked planes attacked the United States 25 years ago, Congress passed a $40 billion emergency spending package to fund recovery and an initial military response. One legislator, Democrat Dave Obey, caught a glimpse into the future: the law, he said, merely represented “a down payment” in a “nasty struggle.” It would indeed turn out to be a tiny upfront price for a quarter-century drain, and counting, on the country's coffers.

President Donald Trump is using taxpayer money to fund a costly war in Iran that has reached crisis levels. Top military brass delivered a dire assessment to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in recent weeks: extended conflict is unsustainable due to severe munitions shortages and overstretched troop deployments. Worse, an obsession with complex gadgetry keeps U.S. strategy stuck in a Cold War past.

Before September 11, 2001, the United States was collecting peace dividends. The annual military budget was about $280 billion, or about $550 billion in today's dollars, amid a broad shutdown of overseas bases following the collapse of the Soviet Union. By last year, the tally exceeded $900 billion, more than twice as much as China after adjusting for labor costs and purchasing power. Before any new war-related increases, defense makes up half of all discretionary spending in an annual budget with a $2.1 trillion deficit. Any fiscal policy that tackles costs seriously will be up against this unsustainable growth.