“Nice country there, shame if something were to happen to it!”
I imagine a few decades (or less) after such a system of the armed forces being an arm of revenue enhancement we would find that the U.S. was supplying the armed rebels/terrorists that we were using as the threat to extort more money from our “allies”.
The U.S. military as a government expenditure is completely justified on several fronts. One - it is one of the few enumerated and limited powers given to the Federal government that is a major source of expenditure. Two - it is one of the few things the Federal government actually does well. Three - the U.S. armed forces are the most well respected branch of government, and the most well respected military in the world. Four- they provide good value for the dollars spent; they create a peaceful world safe for the sale of American goods and services.
For myself I would rather continue defending Germany and Japan (and most of the rest of the world) allowing them to skimp on their own defense budgets. The world is safer when the predominance of armed might in the world is American.
We ae on the same wave length dreamer. The world really sucked for the Peons when Generals were rewarded for their conquests.