Every year at this time, we see the same kind of headlines: “U.S. biggest military spender in the world.” They're are all based on the release of the global military spending database, an annual report compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

每年的这个时候，我们都能看到同一类头条：“美国是世界上最大的军事开支国”。这些都是基于全球军事开支数据库发布的，该年度报告由斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所（SIPRI）汇总编辑。

What the headlines usually miss is that U.S. defense spending is going down while global military spending is going up. The fact that the U.S. spends more on defense than any other individual nation dramatically misses the point.

这些头条经常会遗漏一点：美国国防开支正在下降，而全球军费开支正在上涨。美国国防开支比任何其他国家更大这一事实根本不得要领。


Third, a big part of why the U.S. maintains a large military is because we have learned that major conflict in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia can be devastating to our economy.

其次，美国军事预算在过去五年中已被削减了25%。这导致美国军队在战争中胜出的能力大幅下降。十五年的冲突和数年的紧张预算已经付出惨痛的代价，且被预算削减进一步恶化。最高军事领导人已经告诉国会，正如空军副参谋长最近提及，“由于连续作战，人员削减，舰队老化，资金不到位，（军力）目前已接近历史低谷。”

Randal
"First, we live in a world of growing threats against U.S. vital interests. "
Only if "US vital interests" include things like who forms the government in longstanding Russian allies like Ukraine and Syria, who gets to control military traffic an industrial activity in the seas next to China and on the other side of the world from the US, and exactly how super-dominant an already militarily dominant particular US ally is going to be made in the Middle East, by US subsidies and military interventions.

“首先，我们生活在一个美国切身利益受到日益增长的威胁的世界。”
如果你所说的“美国切身利益”包括了谁当任俄罗斯长期盟友乌克兰和叙利亚政府的领导人，谁在（远离美国万里的）中国附近海域控制那里的军事交通和工业活动，以及如果在美国的资助和军事干预下在中东建立拥有军事主宰力量的美国盟友的话，那么“美国的切身利益”确实受到了威胁。

wawoo
Mostly correct, "longstanding Russian allies..." being more than a stretch.

（回LS），大部分都对，不过“俄罗斯长期盟友...”这句话有些言过其实。

Benny
How and why.
Because only the US is 'entitled' to allies,heh?

这是为什么？
因为只有美国有资格拥有盟友，是吗？

brindisi
Global stability is a vital national interest for a status quo power. That means preventing larger nations from bullying other nations like Russia is doing in Eastern Europe and China in the pacific.

全球稳定对于一个现状强权来说就是一个重要的国家利益。那意味着阻止其他更大的国家欺凌别国，如俄罗斯在东欧和中国在太平洋的所为。

You look at the map of NATO bases that Russian apologists keep trotting out like it's some how NATO causing tensions. I see the singular failure of Russian foreign policy that so many see them as a threat.

俄罗斯辩护者所提供的北约基地地图让人觉得是北约在找麻烦。俄罗斯的外交政策是个巨大的失败，所以有那么多国家视俄罗斯为威胁。

astutemind
"Global stability is a vital national interest for a status quo power." That statement can be considered true.

“全球稳定对于一个维持现状的势力是一个巨大的益处”这个声明可以视为正确的。

"That means preventing larger nations from bullying other nations like
Russia is doing in Eastern Europe and China in the pacific."

“那意味着阻止其他更大的国家欺凌别国，如俄罗斯在东欧和中国在太平洋的所为。”

That's where your post became intellectually dishonest. Notice how you didn't say like the US did to Iraq or how the US is trying to do with Iran. It's a nice trick though. You start off with a mostly true statement followed with [insert a self serving statement that fits my hypocritical agenda here].

这就是你的主张在智力上不诚实的地方。注意到你不怎么提到如美国对伊拉克所为和试图对伊朗所为。尽管这是一个好把戏。你以一个正确的声明开头却紧跟着插入一个为自己服务的符合我的伪善议程的证据。

brindisi
We're spending less as a share of gdp than we have in 70 years. We're spending 16% of the federal budget, 3.3% of GDP. It's been a cataclysm in the military.
We have the smallest army since WWII, the oldest and smallest airforce in it's history and the smallest navy since WWI.
Obama has destroyed the US military to his ever lasting shame.

比起过去的70年，我们国防开支所占的GDP比重已经下降了。现在我们花的是联邦预算的16%，占GDP的3.3%。这对于军队来说真是一场大灾变。我们现在的陆军规模是二战以来最小的，空军是建军以来最小最老的，海军是一战以来规模最小的。

Upstate831
The Republicans forced the sequester and Bush squandered resources in the middle east for a decade...Oh well don't let reality get in the way of hating Obama.

共和党人非要搞什么削减国防预算，小布什又在中东乱局挥霍无数物资……你们就接着看不到事实怪奥巴马吧。

brindisi
How do you figure? Even now the 2 year budget deal was only possible because the Republicans caved. If Obama sent up a budget today increasing military spending, it would pass by wide margins in both chambers on a bipartisan vote. It's only his Veto that is preventing it.
Watch some hearings on cspan. House armed services/Senate armed services/Senate foreign relations. Any of them. Congress is more panicked about these cuts than the pentagon.[-

你咋知道的？就算是现在，两年预算也是由于共和党人同意才通过的。如果奥巴马现在提交一份增加国防开支的预算，它肯定会以相当的票数在议院和两党投票中通过的。是奥巴马的反对票葬送了它。
去c-span网站上多看看一些听证会视频吧。众议院海陆空三军、参议院海陆空三军、参议院外交关系。这些关键词都行。对于削减国防，国会比五角大楼还惊慌。

Chirpoevec
Why only Russia and China? That's a good news for whole Planet, USA included.

为啥只对中国和俄罗斯是好消息？对于全球都是好消息，包括美国自己。