According to the most recent Gallup poll, “A record proportion of Americans — 47% — say the United States’ national defense is not strong enough. Another 41% say the country’s defense is about right, while 10% say it is stronger than it needs to be.” This is a very interesting finding, particularly given all the emphasis in the media on the unpopularity of the war in Iraq. The movement of these numbers over the past four years is even more intriguing. The percentage of Americans who say the U.S. national defense is not strong enough has increased steadily since 2004 and now is at its highest point since Gallup has been asking this question in 1984. It’s possible the ongoing U.S. engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan is contributing to an ever-larger proportion of Americans desiring a stronger military. Whatever the reasons, the trend over the past four years is striking. However, despite nearly half of Americans saying the U.S. needs a stronger military, Gallup also finds a 44 percent plurality says the U.S. is spending “too much” on national defense and the military. Gallup notes, “Despite or perhaps because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the percentage of Americans saying too much is being spent on the military and defense has increased over the past seven years.” Gallup also raises a noteworthy historical point about how these numbers shift over time. “The all-time high point of sentiment that too much was being spent on the military came in November 1969, in the middle of the Vietnam War (the first time Gallup asked the question using this wording), when 52% said this. In January 1981, just as President Ronald Reagan was taking office, a little more than half of Americans said the United States was spending too little on defense, perhaps as a reaction to Reagan’s presidential campaign positions that the military needed strengthening. By 1987, in the middle of Reagan’s second term, only 14% said the United States was spending too little.” The partisan differences in the poll are also stark. 61 percent of Democrats believe the government spends too much on the military, while only 20 percent of Republicans share that view. See the full results here.
