Obama's plans call for defense spending to increase by $23 billion in 2018, then plateau through fiscal 2026, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis.
Fifteen years ago, on the eve of the worst terrorist attacks in American history, defense budgeters weren't thinking about roadside bombs, the security of American online networks or paying for drone strikes.
The biggest issue was "transformation," a peacetime initiative to evolve how the Defense Department organizes itself and prepares to fight as-yet-unidentified future enemies.
Now, after two extended wars in the Middle East that are still going on, new realities have forced the Pentagon to change drastically what it spends money on. That includes budget categories that didn't even exist 15 years ago on 9/11...