[leaveyou]

When was the last time the "people" were asked if they agree with the size of their country's army ?

EDIT: we agree to disagree but my impression is that when it comes to army and security services the tail is wagging the dog almost everywhere - not only in US. Any congressman can be presented with classified information which with the right interpretation can justify basically anything and the said congressman will simply ignore the public will.

[sailingparrot]

How is this different than any other topic? People get asked their opinion on this every time they are asked to go to vote. Support candidate that aren't promoting an isolationist and/or world police agenda for example.

[bkohlmann]

At least in the US, every 2 years. Congress funds the military and determines its size.

[brlewis]

Just to close the loop on this and connect back to "the people":

Congress funds the military. The military funds large corporations. Large corporations fund congressional election campaigns. And "the people" base their votes off of campaigns.

[zip1234]

Congress wants to fund the military, especially when their are bases in their own state. That means lots of dollars taken from elsewhere in the country and spent in their state.

[CalRobert]

Every election when they choose to support candidates who have stated policies regarding the military, really.

[cf141q5325]

In a defacto two party system with both parties agreeing in general that a large military is needed and see interventions to topple governments as a time honored tradition.

[clarkmoody]

Spoken as if the establishment doesn't actively pick which candidates the people get to "choose" from.