The whole point of war and defense narratives is to make people afraid so you can override every precaution and appropriate and dissipate resources freely. That's the logic behind DoD mega spending, 'war on drugs', war on terror' narratives, right wing moral panics / culture wars populism, and organized crime protection rackets.

Make people afraid, they will give you anything to make the threat disappear. Including their freedom and dignity. There is no single entity involved in this game that is not shady and corrupt to its core.