Eli5: Why is it that whenever we hear about “defense spending” it’s always on offensive things like weapons? Is there not a way to make actual defense the priority instead of offense?

Question

I could be missing the point about military spending, and the five-year-old in my head asking the question does just want forcefields over every country in the end.

In: Technology

Answer 1

Turtling up just means you slow down your defeat – or at least make it a drawn out mess until your attacker runs out of money or gets bored.

The best method for stopping an attack since prehistoric times has been grabbing a big ol club and krumping whoever is harassing you. Of course if you screw up your krumping strategy you *might* spend the next twenty years throwing lives and money into a bottomless pit in a desert on the other side of the globe.

Edit: also calling it the “defense budget” instead of the “attack budget” has better PR looks.