Cheaper to attack or defend in war...

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It is cheaper to attack or defend in war...

Defense vs Offense

The Losing 2:1 Ratio (or Worse)

defenseacquisition.substack.com

This 2:1 ratio of defense to offense played out again over the weekend as Iran unleashed a combination of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Thankfully, the attack was mostly thwarted through the combined efforts of multiple countries and multiple defensive systems.

The best defense is a good offense - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Generally, the idea is that proactivity (a strong offensive action) instead of a passive attitude will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage.

 

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• The Philippine-American War (1899-1902) cost the U.S. government approximately $400 million.
• Total U.S. war expenditures up to the end of 1943 were approximately $296 billion (current dollars at the time).

The Civil War's estimated total cost was approximately $6.64 billion, with the Union spending about $3.36 billion and the Confederacy about $3.28 billion. Another estimate places the Union's direct cost at over $3 billion, with the U.S. government's debt rising to $2.6 billion by 1865.

The United States' direct cost for World War I was around $22.6 billion to $32 billion, depending on the source and calculation method. Some sources provide a figure of $32 billion, which equates to about 52% of the U.S. gross national product at the time, while others state a figure closer to $22.6 billion for war spending

• $22.6 billion: This figure specifically accounts for the cost of the U.S. war effort between 1914 and 1918, as cited by sources like Spartacus Educational and historyandheritage.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au.
• $32 billion: This figure is often cited as the total cost of the war to the United States, representing a larger portion of the national economy, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• $334 billion: When adjusted for inflation, the cost rises significantly to approximately $334 billion, as calculated by Norwich University