[BroJoeK]

US defense spending has fallen steadily since 1945.
In round numbers, here are the peak spending levels since:

1. 1944 World War II peak ~40+% of GDP
2. 1952 Korean War peaked at 15% of GDP
3. 1968 Vietnam War peaked at 10% of GDP
4. 1986 Cold War Reagan peaked at 7% of GDP
5. 2008 War on Terror peaked at 5% of GDP
6. 2020 Trump military buildup peaked at 4% of GDP
7. Today circa 3% of GDP.

This graph goes all the way back to 1792.
Note previous wars, 1812, 1846, 1860s, 1918 and 1940s.

[gleeaikin]

Your comment #73 has very interesting graphs for relevant current events. In WW2 we were spending 40% of GDP on the military. Putin is currently spending a similar amount of Russia’s GDP on something he makes it illegal to call a WAR. No wonder Russians are getting upset with him.

Currently we are spending 3% of GDP on our military. We have asked NATO members to provide 2% to NATO. but some members are spending as much as 4%. Since our 3% is divided between both European AND Asian commitments, it would appear European NATO members are doing their share. Since we are only spending around 5% of our military budget for Ukraine, our worry warts need to understand only 0.6% of our GDP has currently been spent to help keep greedy Putin from invading and destroying an independent country. Both we and Russia agreed to protect Ukraine when they returned all their nuclear weapons back to Russia when the soviet Union split up. Putin’s behavior is exactly the same as when Hitler violated a nonaggression agreement with the Soviet Union at the beginning of WW2. Alas, leopards don’t change their spots over time.