# Does the United States even need to be a military power any more? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 25, 2020, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474 "2020-09-25T05:42:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/21 "2020-09-26T19:19:57Z")
The US needs a permanent and professional military. This includes all current branches (Although I am not well informed on the Space Force). They could certainly use more widely available health care, better schools, updated infrastructure and so forth. There are many calls on the public purse. Other countries also must balance priorities and all countries do so in different ways. You could, and should, certainly discuss the size, efficacy, overpoliticization and value. ---
**Author:** ![razordance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47774/32.png) [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/22 "2020-09-26T20:47:18Z")
China won’t make war on the U.S. or our allies – they need us as customers. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/23 "2020-09-27T02:18:20Z")
Plenty of wars have happened despite economic ties. People like to cling to the belief that economic ties prevent war but it’s a feel-good notion. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/24 "2020-09-27T02:22:49Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > > [@Velocity](#): > > > > Poland or the Baltic states having nukes would be an immense deterrent to Russian aggression in the event of America majorly cutting down on its military. > > I don’t see that at all. Do you seriously think that Poland would dare using nuclear weapons against Russia? They would end up a pile of radioactive rubble. And if they can’t use them, what good are they? > > In fact the only use of nuclear weapons–the only rational use, anyway–is as a deterrent to an adversary using them. And I don’t think you need very many to make a nuclear war a disaster for both sides, not to mention the rest of the world. Didn’t Russia wait until the Ukraine had given up their nukes left over from the USSR before they invaded and caused a civil war there? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/25 "2020-09-27T02:26:59Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The US needs a permanent and professional military. This includes all current branches (Although I am not well informed on the Space Force). They could certainly use more widely available health care, better schools, updated infrastructure and so forth. There are many calls on the public purse. Other countries also must balance priorities and all countries do so in different ways. You could, and should, certainly discuss the size, efficacy, overpoliticization and value. My amateur impression is that conflict between nations in the 21st century isn’t really fought with large standing armies. Its fought with special forces units, cyberwarfare and economics (freezing assets, sanctions, debt traps, etc). We may need a professional military, but it seems like the nature of warfare is changing and what we need to prioritize needs to change. I’m personally not sure why a space military unit was created rather than a military unit devoted to IT and cyberwarfare. I’m sure each branch has their own units devoted to that, but that seems way more pertinent than fighting in space. I vaguely recall a documentary mentioning how the US had set up IT code all over Iran to basically shut the nation down if warfare broke out. A group that important should be a priority. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/26 "2020-09-27T02:30:49Z")
It probably is. Such a group would not be overanxious for publicity. I’m unaware, for example, of anyone taking public credit for Stuxnet. This does not render conventional forces obsolete, however. Again, there is a balance between priorities that may need to be readdressed periodically. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/27 "2020-09-27T03:22:16Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’m personally not sure why a space military unit was created rather than a military unit devoted to IT and cyberwarfare. Sure you do. It was because Trump loves glitter.\* - And because any talk of cyberwarfare would raise questions about why he allows Russia to interfere with our elections. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/28 "2020-09-27T14:06:25Z")
> [@razordance](#): > > Oh, SFW if those countries develop their own nuclear arsenals?! Pardon me but what is SFW? Sexual Function Of Women? Safe for Work? Sometime abbreviations are not helpful. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/29 "2020-09-27T14:07:31Z")
I’ll take “So Fucking What” for three hundred, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/30 "2020-09-27T14:21:40Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I’ll take “So Fucking What” for three hundred, Alex. Huh. Am I the only person who doesn’t know that? I have to admit, I don’t study the latest acronyms from Twitter and Facebook. How can I know what you “with-it” kids are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/31 "2020-09-27T14:41:50Z")
Sometimes you look at the sentence and just FIO. I cannot remember having seen SFW before but was able to infer. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/32 "2020-09-27T14:44:36Z")
TEWID . . . . . . . . [That’s Exactly What I Did] ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/33 "2020-09-27T14:57:32Z")
Start by assuming that anything with an “F” in it means “Fucking.” ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/34 "2020-09-27T15:02:31Z")
Why do folks use all these acronyms and initialisms anyway considering that they aren’t commonly known? Wouldn’t it be better to err on the side of people understanding what you write? Is it really fair to ask one’s readers to infer, guess, or Google terms that one writes? Isn’t that a bit like using some foreign words in your post and expecting that people can look them up if they don’t speak that language? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/35 "2020-09-27T15:12:20Z")
A few forums are tetchy about profanity (I have seen one with a nannybot that turns WTF into \*\*\*), so people can get into the habit of replacing phrases containing icky words with acronyms. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474/36 "2020-09-27T15:41:04Z")
The American navy is apparently the second largest in the world. I’m sure many are concerned by this. It will likely result in increased spending. There are opportunity costs for not spending on other areas. > **[China now has the world’s largest fleet, alarming its Pacific rival](https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/09/26/china-now-has-the-worlds-largest-fleet-alarming-its-pacific-rival)** > > America’s defence secretary announces a high-tech plan to secure parity [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-united-states-even-need-to-be-a-military-power-any-more/921474.md?page=1)