the american military is underfunded?
on what planet?
not this one:
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: The FY 2009 Pentagon Spending Request - Global Military Spending
notice that the united states alone accounts for almost half of the global total expenditures on military toys in 2008---711 billion of a total 1473.
here's a graphic showing expenditures during the bush period:
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: U.S. Defense Spending, 2001-2009
here's a category summary which outlines where this obscene amount of money goes (by category. you know.)
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: The FY 2009 Pentagon Spending Request - Topline
this outlines expenditure levels of ballistic missle systems:
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: The FY 2009 Pentagon Spending Request - Ballistic Missile Defense
it's convenient to look at this stuff---the data these graphics relies upon is available on the website (directly and via links)
so i don't know what you folks are talking about when you say "the military is underfunded"---the levels of funding are grotesque.
within that, there's problems of allocation obviously.
but this system has been the mainspring of republican-specific policy regarding "free markets"---so you see when the state is buying ridiculous amounts of military toys etc. then everything's hunky dory, but when it moves away from being a patronage spigot for political allies of the republican party, suddenly there's "socialism"
the disengenuousness of the conservative position is obvious.