"It's the price you pay for being and remaining the predominant superpower in the world." Jamie wiped a drop of condensation off the side of his glass.
"It's not the Middle Ages anymore. Modern warfare doesn't allot time for us to assemble an army consisting of peasants. A standing army made up of trained men is a necessity these days and those wages which you imply are being wasted are necessary expenditures, Ryan." Those men and women were asked to willingly give their lives for their country. The least the country could do for them is pay them accordingly. Of course, there were those who thought it was wasted money and in times of peace it was hard to convince them of the opposite.
But peace was more often than not only superficial. National Security for one had never considered the world at peace; not even during his eight years of forced inactivity.