Stop Being the World Charity and the World Police

by Steve G. Parsons, Ph.D.

World Charity.  The U.S. provides aid to 169 countries, 29 of which we also sanction.  Indeed, we give more than $890 million per year to Syria despite that fact that it is not only on the list of 34 sanctioned countries but is also on the State Department’s list of state-sponsored terrorists (Countries That Receive the Most Foreign Aid From the U.S. | Best Countries | U.S. News (usnews.com); and US Foreign Aid by Country 2024 (worldpopulationreview.com))

In Gaza it appears that we have armed some elements of both sides of the conflict and we will likely throw many billions of dollars at this tiny strip of land to rebuild and feed the populations long after the fighting has ended.  U.S. foreign policy of the last decades, especially in the middle east, has been to throw arms and dollars at anything that might be a problem. This despite the very real probability that such actions will pull us into a conflict.

Entangling Military Commitments.  U.S. military spending is twice that of all other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries combined.  NATO now has 32 total members.  Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO - Official text: The North Atlantic Treaty, 04-Apr.-1949 sometimes called the collective defense article) requires that “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all …”  This means that the U.S. is committed if there is an attack on Luxemburg (population 0.651 million), Iceland (population 0.382 million), or Montenegro (population 0.616).  We are committed to defend countries with a combined population half of that of Arkansas; it is unimaginable that we receive anything meaningful in return.   And indeed, in April 2024 Russia warned new NATO member Finland (population 5.56 million) that Russia would retaliate if Finland allowed nuclear weapons to be placed on Finnish soil (Russia Issues Nuclear Warning to New NATO Member (msn.com))

But NATO is not our only entangling alliance.  We are obligated to come to the defense of more than 30 other countries (The US is obligated by treaty to defend these 67 countries | We Are The Mighty).  In Thomas Jefferson’s inaugural pledge he stated: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” (March 4, 1801: First Inaugural Address | Miller Center) It seems we have strayed far from his pledge. 

U.S. Military Spending.  U.S. military spending is greater than that of the next 10 countries combined  (The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 10 Countries Combined (pgpf.org)). This does not include the costs of veterans benefits or the costs of servicing the portion of the national debt caused by military spending.  Indeed, our military spending is more than 10 times that of Russia (a country at war).

The U.S. has over 750 military bases around the world; Russia has three dozen bases and China just five (How Many US Military Bases Are There in the World? (thesoldiersproject.org)).  We have about three times as many military bases as all of the other countries on the planet combined.  Studies indicate our military presence in predominantly Muslim countries is a net creator of terrorists.  In contrast there are no foreign military bases in the U.S.  I believe it is difficult for the average American to imagine the perspective of at least segments of the Muslim populations in foreign countries where the US has military bases; they consider us intruders and infidels with no regard for Sharia law. 

Hidden Costs. U.S. veterans have diability rates 100% higher and suicide rates at least 57% higher than non-veterans. (How is the standard of living changing for veterans? (usafacts.org); and Ways Veterans Differ from the General Population (va.gov) and https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2807380). In 2022 the VA spent over $266 billion (4.3% of the total federal budget) (How does the US government support veterans? (usafacts.org)).

The $8 trillion War on Terror.  Since the cowardly attacks on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001, there have been substantially more men and women in the U.S. military killed in (war on terror) warzones than all of the U.S. citizens killed in the 9-11 attacks (Microsoft Word - Costs of War_U.S. Budgetary Costs of Post-9 11 Wars_9.1.21.docx (brown.edu)).

What about the economic costs?  In 2010, economists Adam Rose and S. Brock Blomberg surveyed economists’ estimates of the total economic impact of the 9/11 attacks: the estimates ranged between $35 billion and $109 billion. Rose and Blomberg suggested that because the overall U.S. economy is resilient, the attacks were not as economically harmful as they might have been ((PDF) Editor's Introduction to the Economic Impacts of the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks (researchgate.net)).

However, the additional economic damage has been, so to speak, self-inflicted by our 23-year war on terror.  In 2021 a Brown University study estimated that “including estimated future costs for veteran’s care, the total budgetary costs and future obligations of the post-9/11 wars is thus about $8 trillion in current dollars.” (Available at: Microsoft Word - Costs of War_U.S. Budgetary Costs of Post-9 11 Wars_9.1.21.docx (brown.edu))  Moreover, the war on terror and has led to approximately 900,000 deaths outside our borders (which fuels additional terrorism)( Microsoft Word - Costs of War_U.S. Budgetary Costs of Post-9 11 Wars_9.1.21.docx (brown.edu)).

Moreover, the war on terror has been an expensive failure. “… the War on Terror failed. … Today, the Islamic State’s rhetoric and actions align to make clear that the American (and allied) military presence is a far more powerful recruitment tool than it is a deterrent.” Step Back: Lessons for U.S. Foreign Policy from the Failed War on Terror | Cato Institute. “As a result, no one is celebrating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 more than Islamist militants around the world.” How the United States Botched Its Response to 9/11 for 20 Years (foreignpolicy.com) See also New Report Concludes Global War on Terror a Failure | Friends Committee On National Legislation (fcnl.org)

Patriot Act.  The USA Patriot Act, was passed shortly after the 9-11 attacks.  The Cato Institute states: “The law allows federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct “sneak and peak” searches, get your online purchase history, access your emails and browsing history and have your bank notify the FBI if you deposit $10,000 or more into your account — in many cases all without having to go to a judge with a probable cause‐​based warrant as the Fourth Amendment requires.” (The PATRIOT Act Has Threatened Freedom for 20 Years | Cato Institute). The Act was passed presuming personal rights needed to be suspended in order to avoid another 9-11-like attack.  However, in the first Congressional Joint Inquiry report found that there were sufficient surveillance tools available before 9-11, but that information was simply not shared between the relevant agencies (Pages from JIS Report.pdf (senate.gov)).  None-the-less, the Patriot Act still persists today, still impinging on your constitutional 4th amendment rights. 

The 2nd Amendment and Concerns About a Large Standing Army

The second amendment was largely created in response to a concern by the founding fathers about a large standing army in peacetime (Historical Background of the Second Amendment | U.S. Constitution Annotated | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu), and (Second Amendment and Militia – U.S. Constitution.net (usconstitution.net). Indeed, our bill of rights is modeled in part on the 1689 English bill of rights (English Bill of Rights ‑ Definition & Legacy | HISTORY) that included both the freedom to bear arms for self-defense, and Freedom from armies being raised during peacetimes. . Indeed, the British maintaining a standing army in the colonies was viewed as a violation of the English bill of rights and contributed to the American Revolution. (LSB11204 (congress.gov)) The U.S. constitution mentions “militia” six times, but “armies” (note plural) only once with limits of two years funding for armies. It also discusses compensating states for forts and docks - NOT foreign countries. The founding fathers would be appalled at the size of our standing army, the 750 military bases and entangling alliances around the world.

Conclusions.  As cowardly and despicable as the 9-11 attacks were, by far the greatest costs to this county were from our war on terror – not the 9-11 attacks themselves.  This is true for both the economic costs and the costs in lives. U.S. military spending ten times greater than Russia and greater than the next 10 countries combined is an unreasonable drain on our economy.  Our 750 military bases make us an easy drone attack for virtually any group around the world; this makes us more likely to be pulled into a major military conflict.  Vague rhetoric about “interests” in regions or “national security” issues is no longer sufficient to justify sending young Americans into harm’s way.  Sending goods, not soldiers, is still sound advice (Foundation for Economic Education If Goods Don't Cross Borders... - FEE).

We simply need to stop being the world policeman and the world charity.  In the long run the U.S. will be safer. Future generations and our national debt can’t stand the continuation of these levels of U.S. military spending and military commitments.