(December 7, 2013 at 8:18 am)Rigor Mortis Wrote:(December 7, 2013 at 7:50 am)Optimistic Mysanthrope Wrote: It's funny how people only want a military when they need itYour statement is rather vague. Could you be more in-depth? It sounds like you're saying the only reason I want a military is to be employed. If so, your argument is ignorant you sound ridiculous.
I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is as soon as the cold war ended, I heard calls for the military to abolished, or at the least for the military budget to be drastically reduced. Warfare has moved on quite a bit since the 11th century and it's no longer viable to train up an army when a threat presents itself. Standing armies were established for a reason. Armed forces do a damn sight more than simply defensive and offensive actions. In addition to the innumerable other roles they perform, a powerful military acts as a strong deterrent to those that would otherwise succomb to the temptation of conquest. Even if a powerful military force has been involved in no active engagements, this is far from being a sign that such a force is unnecessary - far from it. It's the surest sign there is, that it's performing the exact the role for which it is intended, to keep the nation safe.
