Point taken. Still, it leaves me wondering: what's the "rail gun" of diplomacy - e.g. how would serious money spent on R&D help us resolve the issue of Israel and the Palestinians?
And what's the "rail gun" for nation building - how would serious money spent on R&D help us create a stable, democratic Afghanistan?
I fear we're stuck in the "meta" version of "if all you have is a hammer": in terms of budget, all we have, in international relations, is the Defense Department. It has its uses, but its effectiveness is increasingly limited, not by dollars, but by our vision.
And what's the "rail gun" for nation building - how would serious money spent on R&D help us create a stable, democratic Afghanistan?
I fear we're stuck in the "meta" version of "if all you have is a hammer": in terms of budget, all we have, in international relations, is the Defense Department. It has its uses, but its effectiveness is increasingly limited, not by dollars, but by our vision.