From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

America and the Forever War.

Hello again, I'm Aronaldi, and this is To the Point. Think about this. Anyone born in the U.S.

in September 11th has lived an entire lifetime in a nation at war.

Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump have warned of threats from overseas, but allies as well as

enemies feel the real threat is America's unparalleled power. The total cost of the wars is up to

$5.6 trillion, but less than 1% of the population has served.

And without shared sacrifice, foreign battlefields seem far away. Now the so-called war on

terror is coming home, as Congress encourages local police to adopt military strategies and

equipment designed for combat. In the name of ensuring freedom abroad, are we in danger of losing

freedom at home? First, here's the news. Check out KCRW's All News Channel, News 24, programming from

KCRW, NPR, BBC, and more, 24 hours a day. Go to KCRW.com slash News 24 or members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International Program Fund.

Hello again, Warren. I'll knee back with To The Point. It's the last week before To The Point becomes a weekly podcast, and we're looking back at what's changed since our radio program began. During 16 of our 17 years, the U.S. has been a nation at war.

Today we'll hear about the military industrial complex that Dwight Eisenhower warned about and how it's shaping the country.

First, this news update. The killer of 26 people in a Texas church on Sunday was court-martialed by the Air Force for domestic

violence. Federal law might have prevented him from buying an assault weapon and two pistols,

but the Air Force failed to enter his record into a database. Here is the current Air Force Secretary,

Heather Wilson, with Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC's Squawkbox.

We are checking all of the Air Force databases, and there are several of them to find out and

confirm that all court-martial convictions for these kinds of offenses have been reported

in the civilian database.

Have you thought about whether the Air Force will have to accept some form of liability

...