If these seem like momentous days, consider the year 1979: the second great oil shock, the ascension of Margaret Thatcher, the appointment of Paul Volcker to head the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

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Military leaders protested that this was far too little to achieve foreign policy professed goals, while civilian leaders resisted militarizing the federal budget or economy as in Soviet times, according to Global Security.org.

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Moreover, U.S. firms may legitimately wonder why tax-dollars should be expended on supporting potential competitors (for example, in the Soviet space industry) when the federal government declines to help its own companies experiencing traumatic market shifts.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy