The allocation of resources to the military is a major policy choice for the US. First, find out how much currently is spent on military programs from the Center for Defense Information an independent watchdog on US military spending at: http://www.cdi.org/index.cfm

In Washington, DC, research organizations provide information to political leaders regarding the military budget. At the following two sites find three arguments in favor of the current budget level (or increasing it) and three arguments for reducing the current spending level. Select one argument from each side as the most important reason for increasing/maintaining/reducing military spending. Then write a response to this argument, pointing out its weak points.

The Heritage Foundation is a think tank to promote conservative public policies based on a strong national defense. http://www.heritage.org/Research

Project on Defense Alternatives is a think tank to promote the broadest range of defense options that will allow significant reductions in the level of armed forces and military spending. http://www.comw.org/pda/