Real Issues: Defense Spending

The United States alone spends more than the rest of the world's nations combined on defense. And defense spending has surged during the George W. Bush years, to its highest level in real dollars since World War II. Yet there is scarcely a word on the '08 campaign trail about military spending.

There's plenty to talk about. Does war still work? How can we spend so much and have a military that's called "broken"? Can we afford to keep this up? Can we afford not to?

This hour, On Point: A real issue for '08 — the cost of the U.S. military, and where it goes now.Guests:

Lawrence Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior advisor to the Center for Defense Information, in Washington, DC.

Daniel Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a public-policy research organization based in Arlington, Virginia, and former director of the Defense Department's Office of Strategic Competitiveness in the George H.W. Bush administration.