Penis Envy!
Even if a military force is sitting at home doing nothing, they can create large international effects. Imagine How different China and Russia's decision calculus' would be if the US had a significantly smaller military.
Penis Envy! Someone is taking Freud too seriously. Military usefulness does not end with combat effects. They provide the backdrop for diplomacy. If you don't think that Clinton walks into a meeting thankful that she has ICBMs, F-22s, and Aircraft carriers (not to mention the most highly trained and professional personnel force in the world) backing her up - Then you are wrong!Why do we then have the military to go to war with them?, and I am saying that's because of "penis envy" we are measuring each other up. We could choose to (and to a certain extend do) measure each other on amount of gold medals at the Olympics, how good we are at football, green-tech etc. but tradition and something in our reptile brain makes us think that soldiers marching in a parade is a very good measure of our "potency".
Even if a military force is sitting at home doing nothing, they can create large international effects. Imagine How different China and Russia's decision calculus' would be if the US had a significantly smaller military.