Zachary Keck and Akhilesh Pillalamarri
America was true to this model through the end of World War II, raising large armies during wartime but quickly dismantling them afterwards. Even still, the U.S. Army since the start of the 20th century as been highly effective, especially in battle against nation-states. It was America’s entry into WWI and WWII that helped tip the balance of power in favor of the allies. The United States also demolished Saddam Hussein’s Army in Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003.
In an anarchical system like international relations, military power is the ultimate form of currency. A state may have all the culture, art, philosophy, and glitter and glory in the world, but it’s all for naught if the country doesn’t have a powerful military to defend itself. Mao Zedong put it bluntly when he stated: “power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/ranked-the-6-most-powerful-armies-history-22354
