--- title: Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective description: Military stakeholders, including the press, are responsible for a pervasive sense of fear canonical: https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-28T22:00:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:29.963Z article:section: Politics og:title: Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective og:description: Military stakeholders, including the press, are responsible for a pervasive sense of fear og:url: https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef866196d75c6796/6987775e06f2c1e23b3331b0/afd-131120-080.jpg?branch=production&width=690&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 690 og:image:height: 388 og:image:alt: AFD-131120-080 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective twitter:description: Military stakeholders, including the press, are responsible for a pervasive sense of fear twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef866196d75c6796/6987775e06f2c1e23b3331b0/afd-131120-080.jpg?branch=production&width=690&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Dec 28, 2014 10:00 PM UTC  The U.S. Air Force's "boneyard" of surplus warplanes at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The U.S. Air Force's "boneyard" of surplus warplanes at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. US Air Force by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Dec 28, 2014 10:00 PM UTC New Year’s is a time for resolutions. But resolving requires introspection, something—despite reams of studies, reports and commissions—the U.S. national-security complex seems incapable of doing. Too often, that’s because partisanship comes into play. As a rule, Republicans want a muscular national-security strategy, with the robust and more costly military that requires. Democrats tend to want the opposite. Those in charge routinely confirm the status quo as if on auto-pilot. Given that this debate has teeter-tottered since the end of the Cold War, a quarter-century ago, without resolution, perhaps it’s time to ask a different question: is the U.S. military spending its money on the right stuff? For the sake of argument, let’s pretend spending something around 4% of the nation’s gross domestic product makes sense (the CIA [pegs](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2034rank.html) it at 4.35% for 2012; many calculations exclude costs like nuclear warheads and veterans). We can debate the top line another day. ### See the U.S. Military's Last Days of Combat in Afghanistan  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment waits for a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after an advising mission at the Afghan National Army headquarters for the 203rd Corps in the Paktia province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from 3rd Cavalry Regiment flag a car to stop to be screened for explosives near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A crew member climbs into a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter before it takes off following a mission to take Brigadier General Christopher Bentley to inspect an Afghan National police installation in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 16, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment is watched as he fires a squad automatic weapon during a training mission near forward operating base Gamberi, in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 15, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers in Dragon Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment watch rounds explode downrange during a mortar exercise near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 26, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment uses the optic on his rifle to observe Afghans in the distance, near forward operating base Gamberi, in the Laghman province of Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment interact with men selected to be biometrically screened near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Humvees for the Afghan National Army are lined up waiting for repair parts at the Afghan National Army headquarters for the 203rd Corps in the Paktia province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Brigadier General Christopher Bentley (2nd R) and U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment take part in a Christmas Eve celebration on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment relaxes in his quarters after taking part in a mortar exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers play volleyball at forward operating base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment wait in line to get food during a Christmas day lunch at forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 25, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment greet their Afghan police counterparts during an advising mission near Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment fire a 120mm mortar during an exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment listen to a translation of an advising meeting at an Afghan National Army base near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 13, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment sits in an MRAP vehicle as he prepares for an early morning mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A mortar flies out of a tube during a mortar exercise for U.S. soldiers in Dragon Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 26, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  Lieutenant Charles McDonald prepares a platoon of U.S. soldiers from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment before an early morning mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment watch "Die Hard" projected onto an outdoor wall as part of Christmas Day celebrations on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 25, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment take part in an artillery exercise on forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from Grim Company of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment walk down the street near an Afghan police checkpoint during a mission near Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 19, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment walks through an Afghan police station near Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment prepare for a mission at Forward Operating Base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 20, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment load into a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for an advising mission to an Afghan National Army base at forward operating base Fenty in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters  A U.S. soldier from D Troop of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment carries a backpack to a shipping container during preparations for leaving Afghanistan at forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan on Dec. 28, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters Yet when we contrast our wars with our weapons, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect. The U.S. Navy is [spending](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/49818-shipbuilding.pdf) $20 billion annually on blue-water warships and submarines, and counting on receiving one-third more than Congress has traditionally spent on vessels to maintain the fleet over the next 30 years. Blue-sky jet fighter-bombers are [slated](https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2013/44766) to cost more than $1 trillion to buy and operate, in part because flying them will [cost](http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-778) nearly double the price of those it is replacing. Nuclear weapons are [projected](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/140107%5Ftrillion%5Fdollar%5Fnuclear%5Ftriad.pdf) to cost $1 trillion over the coming 30 years. What’s stunning about the scale of these figures is how sharply they contrast with the lack of armor U.S. troops faced in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also don’t square with the U.S. government’s inability to accomplish what it set out to do in either nation, despite spending $3 trillion or more (the meter is still running) there. “From a strategic perspective, to say nothing of the human cost, most of these dollars might as well have been burned,” James Fallows [writes](http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/12/the-tragedy-of-the-american-military/383516/) in the latest issue of _The Atlantic_. “…Citizens notice when crime is going up, or school quality is going down, or the water is unsafe to drink, or when other public functions are not working as they should,” he adds. “Not enough citizens are made to notice when things go wrong, or right, with the military.” The nation, Fallows notes, is spending 50% more on its military now than it did during the Cold War, after adjusting for inflation. The warped investments the nation is now making in its armed forces are fueled, in part, by a pervasive sense of foreboding that the U.S. is about to be attacked, overrun and conquered. “Last year Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before a Senate committee that the world is \`more dangerous than it has ever been,'” professor Steven Pinker of Harvard and Andrew Mack of Canada’s Simon Fraser University [noted](//www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/foreigners/2014/12/the%5Fworld%5Fis%5Fnot%5Ffalling%5Fapart%5Fthe%5Ftrend%5Flines%5Freveal%5Fan%5Fincreasingly%5Fpeaceful.single.html) on Slate this weekend. “Why is the world always \`more dangerous than it has ever been’—even as a greater and greater majority of humanity lives in peace and dies of old age?” It’s actually pretty simple, they answered: --- > “” --- The Pentagon’s big-ticket arms are designed for a World War III, where the U.S. would battle—perhaps to the death, this time around—China, or Russia. If that is a real threat requiring commensurate investment, fine. But history indicates otherwise. So why are we still building a 20th Century, industrial-scale military force to wage it? Something to ponder as you contemplate your own New Year’s irresolution. _Read next:_ [_The Growing Republican Divide on Criminal Justice Reform_](http://time.com/3648638/republicans-police-reform/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/"},"headline":"Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective","datePublished":"2014-12-28T22:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:29.963Z","description":"Military stakeholders, including the press, are responsible for a pervasive sense of fear","url":"https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/","keywords":["Military","National Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef866196d75c6796/6987775e06f2c1e23b3331b0/afd-131120-080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef866196d75c6796/6987775e06f2c1e23b3331b0/afd-131120-080.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AFD-131120-080","caption":"The U.S. Air Force's \"boneyard\" of surplus warplanes at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.","creditText":"US Air Force","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/military/","name":"Military"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3648073/pentagon-challenges-perspective/","name":"Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective"}}]}] ```