“During the Cold War, Europeans spent far more ... and a CIA report of 1982 estimated that total Soviet military expenditure had exceeded U.S. spending by a small margin by 1980.

The Cold War and the high levels of American defense spending provided at most an opportunity for leaders of the Soviet military-industrial complex to justify their claims to preferential treatment.

This year, for instance, the Navy is spending a billion and ... the beginning of the 1990s when the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War superpower military confrontation seemed at an end.

The United States has the smallest defense budget in nearly 100 years. If the U.S. is in a cold war, it seems to be cheaper and less urgent than the last.

There is no security threat comparable to the Soviet Union today ... in matters of war guarantees that it is useless in reining in excessive military spending. Insofar as more than sixteen years ...

The Cold War-era stockpiles were originally intended for a global conflict with the capitalist bloc. A significant portion ...

"the Soviet Union's military spending amounted to 13 percent of GDP." In 2025, Russia plans to spend 6.3% of its GDP on national defense, its highest level since the Cold War. Meanwhile ...