Foreign policy

'If you think the State Department runs American foreign policy, think again': Meet America's war machine

The United States emerged as a superpower in the years of the Cold War, beginning in the late 1940s, with a vast structure of sophisticated military forces, thousands of nuclear weapons, and a worldwide network of military bases.

An American empire was constructed, far stronger and more extensive than any of the great empires of history.

Because of the competition with the Soviet Union, few questioned the necessity of a substantial military budget.

It was inherent in America’s role as a leader of the so-called Free World. But the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and elemental logic would seem to dictate a substantial change in military posture.

For at least the last three decades—ever since Ronald Reagan became president in 1981—and on many occasions before that, American foreign policy has had a distinct militaristic flavor that is well described by historian and former military officer Andrew Bacevich...