Well, yeah - Captain Obvious - A long career in the profession in that line of work and investing blood, bone, and muscle in knowing what war takes would have that effect. That, and serving all over the world and keeping very current in the geopolitical realities.
"U.S. military used as a mercenary force for Wall Street and for foreign governments in Third World dumps all over the globe"
Which is precisely the Marxist-Leninist version of these things and I am very surprised to hear putative conservatives spouting the same tripe.
Don't you recognize that the world around us is filled with charming, likeable people who would eviscerate all of us at the slightest chance? Won't you be honest with yourself and maybe whisper back to me that the young people who put on the uniform and fought for us actually kept all of you nice and safe from further mass attacks by the scum of the Earth?
Is all of this because you didn't choose to offer yourself in the service of your country when you were young and in your prime?
Then kill them. Don't go over to their countries and engage in stupid nation-building exercises that involve pissing away thousands of American lives and trillions of taxpayer dollars. I knew the Iraq war was a f#%&ing fraud when the transitional government overseen by the U.S. allowed the new Iraqi government to establish a constitution under which -- get this -- Islam is enshrined as the official state religion. Anyone who was surprised to see the place turn into a breeding ground for groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda is a moron.
The biggest state sponsors of radical Islam are in places like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Hell -- Pakistan's government even harbored Osama bin Laden after he fled from Afghanistan. Did you ever sit down and ask yourself why this is the case? And why do these countries remain unscathed while the U.S. invades and occupies Islamic countries run by secular dictators?
Which is precisely the Marxist-Leninist version of these things and I am very surprised to hear putative conservatives spouting the same tripe.
I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 because Hillary Clinton was the Wall Street/globalist shill in that election. Remarkably to some people (but not to me), she was running on a globalist platform that was nearly identical to the sh!t we saw for eight years during the George W. Bush administration.
Is all of this because you didn't choose to offer yourself in the service of your country when you were young and in your prime?
I actually turned down an opportunity to pursue a nomination to one of the military academies. One of the biggest reasons for this was that I had no faith in my own government to make responsible decisions in the conduct of its military affairs.
I'd make the same decision today. Enlisting young soldiers into our military and sending them anywhere other than our southern border to repel a Latin American invasion is a farce. I'm shocked you can't see this yourself.
I’m curious if by chance you might have known Don Finn, Herman Poggemeyer, or Peter Pace.