As someone who wasn&#x27;t alive then either, it&#x27;s a rather well documented period of history, albeit mostly in dead tree form. Karnow is probably the classic (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;gp&#x2F;aw&#x2F;d&#x2F;0140265473&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;gp&#x2F;aw&#x2F;d&#x2F;0140265473&#x2F;</a>).<p>To use a more modern analogy that exists on the internet, the 2010 US military research &#x2F; development &#x2F; testing budget looks like it was around USD$80b.<p>Or in other terms, roughly equal to the total of all research spending by all other branches of the US government. (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.aaas.org&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;RDGDP_1.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.aaas.org&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;RDGDP_1.jpg</a>)<p>Now you&#x27;re a university professor &#x2F; dean &#x2F; president. Times are hard (they always are, you&#x27;re in academia). There&#x27;s a huge pie sitting right next to the one you&#x27;ve been fighting over, and all you have to do is work on certain technologies that may or may not have lethal consequences.<p>I wouldn&#x27;t take the bet on many people saying &quot;No thanks, I&#x27;ll be happy giving up grant money for moral reasons.&quot;