A People's History of the United States Lesson Plan

Zinn shares an anecdote from an analyst who worked for the Rand Corporation, who admitted in an interview that though the stockpile of weapons accumulated by the military during the Carter, Reagan, and Bush administrations was "unnecessary," the stockpile was "useful to convey a certain image" of military might, even if the possibility for the potential conflict was "dubious." What do you make of this logic?

For most students, this logic will sound reasonable, as this continues to be the logic pushed by most mainstream press as a justification of the United States massive military budget. And it does makes some sense—if America wants to remain dominant, to prevent an...