So, not a total expert on this, but I&#x27;m pretty sure that 17% is the DoD budget, which is (by some estimates) about half of the actual total military spending. By other estimates maybe more than half - it depends what you consider &quot;military spending.&quot;<p>For example, iirc, a significant portion of NASA&#x27;s budget is for military applications - spy satellites and such. Similarly, the DoD budget doesn&#x27;t consider veteran&#x27;s benefits owed to former soldiers, which is a large portion of the long-term obligations comprising the national debt. It also leaves out most of the national security complex (DHS, NSA, FBI), military applications in the Department of Energy, and so on.[1]<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Military_budget_of_the_United_States#Other_military-related_expenditures" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Military_budget_of_the_United_...</a>