An undisciplined defense

The rise in US defense spending since 1998 has no precedent in all the years since the Korean war. Whether one looks at the total DoD budget, or just that portion not attributable to today's wars, US defense spending is now stabilizing at levels significantly above Cold War peaks (adjusted for inflation) and far above the Cold War average, in real terms. The most ready explanation for the post-1998 spending surge is that it is due largely to post-9/11 military operations. In fact, however, these operations account for just 52% of the surge (and only 17% of total spending during this period). Moreover, the wars have themselves been exceptionally expensive by historical standards. Measured in 2010 dollars, the Korean conflict cost $393,000 per person/year invested; the Vietnam conflict cost $256,000; and the Iraq and Afghanistan commitments, $792,000 so far. Rather than adequately explain the post-1998 spending surge, the high cost of recent military operations only adds to the explanatory burden.