Holy shit guys, careful you don't step in the bull-shit. Ghost, I thought you had a history degree or something. If you do, I'd seriously start to doubt it's validity.
The united states DID NOT have a large military prior to WWII, like your post implies. In fact, I think we were ranked 13th as far as size and it was one of the most outdated in the world.
The absolute most amazing thing about the US involvement in WWII is the speed at which our economy was able to switch into war production and take us from a tiny military to the largest, most powerful military the world has ever seen.
So you see, it's entirely possible to keep a small peacetime military and STILL be able to bail out the euros the next time they have a domestic.
Actually, that isn't exactly true alaric...
The United States began building up its military into a powerhouse 2 years before we got into the war. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, we had already switched production of many of our automobile factories (among others) into factories to make airplanes, tanks, and other military equipment. So although we didn't have the huge military in 1941 that we had, in say, 1944, we still had already reached triple our normal peacetime military strength by 1941.
Now, of course, we see the error of our ways in not ALWAYS having a large well-trained military, so we keep one going on a permanent basis. I prefer it this way. I just sleep better.
Peace.
-GhostSniper Out.
