From a historical perspective, the risks were always there. In the early years of building the national security state, liberal internationalists who argued for permanent global engagement faced fierce resistance. During congressional debates over the National Security Act of 1947—which created the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency—proponents had to overcome concerns that a “garrison state” would foster the very kind of totalitarianism America claimed to oppose.
Historian Michael Hogan’s A Cross of Iron detailed the depth of that resistance: from old-guard Republicans like Ohio Sen. Robert Taft, who opposed Truman’s commitments; to progressives like Vice President Henry Wallace, who feared needless escalation with the Soviets; to university scientists worried about the constraints of federally funded research. Between 1945 and 1953, Truman sought a middle path—limiting new institutions and embedding safeguards, such as placing a civilian secretary of defense in charge of the military. Congress mandated a 10-year minimum before a former general or admiral could be eligible for appointment without a congressional waiver.
Truman also accepted budget cuts to domestic programs to satisfy concerns from fiscal conservatives that permanent wartime footing would blow up the budget. Truman settled on the peacetime Selective Service System to raise troops in time of war instead of the more ambitious universal military training (UMT) program he wanted, which would have required all men to undergo military training when they reached 18. A wide-ranging coalition of opponents, spanning from the Socialist Labor Party of America to the National Education Association, had attacked UMT as antithetical to the founding vision of the nation.
Fears about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have also been long-standing. In the middle of the Senate debate over the treaty, Taft declared: “It is with great regret that I have come to the conclusion that I cannot vote in favor of ratifying the North Atlantic Treaty because I think it carries with it an obligation to assist in arming at our expense the nations of western Europe, because with that obligation I believe it will promote war in the world rather than peace.”
Even Eisenhower, a military leader who helped establish NATO, privately expressed frustration with European allies, believing they needed to shoulder more responsibility. Criticism of NATO only grew stronger after the Cold War ended in the early 1990s. As the Soviet threat receded, more voices questioned the rationale for binding U.S. foreign policy to other nations’ interests.