Background For War: Why Was the U.S. Unarmed?

War begun without good provision of money beforehand . . . is but as a breathing of strength and blast that will quickly pass away. Coin is the sinews of war.

—Rabelais

When war began in Korea, Americans had good reason to believe that the sinews of their war machine were tough & thick; never in peacetime had U.S. coin been spent so lavishly on the armed forces of the nation.

In the five years after World War II, the U.S. had poured out a staggering $90 billion for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Another...

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