Despite the many monikers that the United States of America has around the world, the title of “a military giant” has never been questioned. Our country unarguably has one of the stronger if not strongest militaries in the world. Recently, however, President Obama’s new budget details a plan that would significantly cut these armed forces to levels not seen since before World War II. This, in my opinion, is a step that should have been taken a long time ago.

The world is becoming more and more connected in terms of the global economy. Therefore, although some people seem to resent this: significant world war is less likely to occur in the 21^st century than in any previous generation. Now of course civil wars are still occurring, but these happen mostly in third-world countries or countries with oppressive governments. And half of these governments were corrupted in the first place due to imperial, war-like countries such as the United States and Great Britain.

That being said, a significant cut to our armed forces may not be the worst idea in the world. Looking at the past 12 or 13 years of “the war on terror”, the amount of money spent compared to the results just does not add up. Not to mention the thousands of families on both sides with dead loved ones. With the war in Iraq over and the war in Afghanistan nearing its end, this proposed cut comes at an opportune time.

These cuts would have some economic effects as well. As of right now, the majority of U.S. budget goes towards military and defense spending. The national debt has greatly increased, so, those in government really need to take a hard look at what is worth paying for and what’s not worth paying for when it comes to the military.

In a post 9/11 America, the idea that our country needs more security makes sense to me. What does not make sense is that to make our nation more secure we need to show our military strength overseas. In all honesty, this only threatens our national security greatly by making other nations even more anti-American, especially in the Middle East.

The notion that the U.S cannot defend itself with a smaller military is just not true. The amount of soldiers stationed in other countries is enormous. By cutting down the military, we could have more soldiers defending our own soil in case of an attack. Our country needs to stop trying to have a positive foreign influence by nothing more than soldiers and guns. America is a civilized country, and having a giant military proves nothing in terms of our strength.