Moreover, Rome had to fight a good many of those wars because of the confiscatory taxation necessary to keep Rome itself in clover. The wars also cost more money because they had to pay more for mercenaries than they once had for Romans to fight them. Romans had become worthless dependents unwilling to fight for the Empire. Sound familiar?
Same thing happened to USSR. They tried to compete militarily with USA on star wars. Result? Demise of USSR.
That's a common meme. It's wrong too. They already had a missile defense system before we did and before the ABM Treaty was concluded, with the SS-300 system becoming operational in 1978. Moreover (and demonstrating the lack of information in your thinking) it was their new 600 ship blue water navy that drained the coffers more than missile defense did.
You are not catching on to my main point. You are typical of posters who pick on tidnits and miss the main point. Heard of getting lost in the forest looking at trees?
The main point, in simple English, is that when a country or individual spends more than they can afford, bankruptcy is straight ahead. It matters not if it is spent on welfare, military adventures, or healthcare.
Every dollar US spends on any foreign military expenditures adds directly to the deficit. It is really not complicated. We are running Billions & Trillions of dollar deficits every year and the loan principal keeps going up. Which means more interest to be paid every year.
It is exactly same as an individual who is spending faster than his ability to pay loans.
Spending on Medicare & Medicaid & Social Security (currently spending more Billions than taking in taxes) is harder to stop than foreign military spending. Why do we have hundreds of military bases all over the world on borrowed money?