[_tppga_]

Why do you always expand arguments by making one model fit all?

I'm not trying to. He said, "military might is most often a direct extension of economic might." I resoundingly disagree. I think that theory died out in the 20th century.

The military aspirations of both Germany and Japan were unilaterally curtailed as a result of WWII. They had no choice. The course of 20th century history with respect to Russia was nothing like either of the two. I'm well aware of the differences. My intention was to demonstrate that, in this day and age, to be perceived as a power player in global politics, you don't need to have a huge military parading around.

And America. Look for China to follow suit. If you take into account historical trends, America's military budget is lower than at any point since before WWII as a percentage of GDP. It was slightly lower in the Clinton years, and yes, it's been increasing steadily since 2001, but perhaps (and I hope) it's a cyclical phenomenon. We'll see what happens if Obama is elected.

China has its own internal security issues that may or may not make it advantageous for them to have a strong military. I personally don't know what road they're going down with respect to that, so I'll say nothing further.