I disagree — nuclear deterrent is cheap, and no one will be very likely to “do unto” a nuclear-armed state.
And just because the violence industry (call it what it is) has been the source of a lot of past innovation doesn’t make it the ONLY source of innovation possible, especially going forward.
Besides, we’re not only talking about R&D money…
Spending several trillion in the Middle East over the past decade has been totally inexcusable. That’s 10 grand per person in the US, think about that.