Ukraine live briefing: War pushes global defense spending to record high; Russia says U.S. withheld journalist visas
Washington PostDec 22, 2022
The Facts
Military spending worldwide reached an all-time high of $2.24T last year, a leading defense think tank said in a new report issued Monday.
In its annual report on global military expenditure, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said military spending has risen for the eighth consecutive year and jumped by 3.7% in real terms since the previous year.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
This rise in global military spending has been largely fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Unsurprisingly that neighboring countries such as Finland, Lithuania, and Poland have had to ramp up spending to keep the Russian threat at bay.
Establishment-critical narrative
The US — by far the world's biggest military spender — needs to rethink this. Every year, the figure rises without anyone stopping to ask if such an increase is really necessary. US spending on the military will likely exceed $1T in the coming decade. Congress needs to re-evaluate.
