According to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK): President Obama’s “trip to Afghanistan is an attempt to shore up his national security credentials, because he has spent the past three years gutting our military.”

You decide: From National Defense (050) outlays, in billions of constant 2012 dollars:

• 2009 – $696
• 2010 - $715
• 2011 – $716
• 2012 (projected) - $716

The chart below shows the full context of Inhofe’s remarks.

During the Reagan years (1981-1989), national defense outlays averaged $493 billion. George W. Bush averaged $543 billion. And the post-Cold War average, 1991-2012, is $522 billion per year.

[Editor’s Note: See here for more on downsizing the Department of Defense.]