Yes, the priorities are clearly topsy-turvy. The PRC has been loudly boasting about their asymmetric warfare opportunities against our fleet and nation, that we can't cover all bets, or at least in time to respond to the surprises they intend to spring on us. So far, we in fact have. We prevented the Russians/Soviets from doing anything because we did plug the holes which were more real than apparent. The reason they weren't so apparent, and characters like Vladiator (see anhile ignorance brayed above) :-) obtusely only see defense budget waste
is because we were successfully able to deter the ultimate showdown. Successful deterrence is misread by the ignorant as lack of the reality of the threat. This comprehensional weakness is natural to liberals. They lack historical depth of knowledge, and usually willfully so. Along the way and part and parcel of the deterrence process was a whole series of scrapes and near-things and hushed-up incidents wherein the Russians learned that we in fact were ready for those contingencies. Our submarine fleet is a case in point. Constantly in 'their face' so to speak when the Russian subs tried to sneak into positions off our coasts.
These kinds of and the overwhelming number of these historical facts usually don't dent the liberals miscomprehensions, and the implication for this unteachability is clear, as my dad used to say, 'ignorance is curable, but stupid is forever.'