Defense Secretary Gates talked about this in a recent speech, and Barney Frank has proposed cutting a trillion dollars out of military spending in the next few years. This article makes some comparisons that are shocking. The only plausible explanation for such spending is the greed of defense contractors. [Highly recommended: George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara" with Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison]
http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securityspending/articles/US_vs_Global/
