We cannot afford to be the worlds police force. The last two wars, with all respect to those who fought them, were a complete waste of blood and treasure (and I said so from day one).
We need to pull back, walk softly and carry a big stick. When we do go to war the reasons should be clear and we should destroy everyone and everything and rain down such hell and misery that no one will want to screw with us for 100 years. Get in, get out, and do not rebuild their country unless it is quite clear that we can also rebuild their culture with reasonable effort. (Hello GW Bush).
But, whatever. The West is no longer in a position to rebuild cultures. Ours is now too polluted. Night is falling on planet earth. Prepare.
But under the management of this lawless regime, the military is as likely, if not more so, to be used against the regime's enemies as against foreign enemies.
RE: “The last two wars, with all respect to those who fought them, were a complete waste of blood and treasure.”
Without the September 11 terror attacks, the Afghan war would never have been fought.
Hard to be certain what might have happened in Iraq, but I’ll guess that Saddam was more willing to throw the dice on war since we were already fighting in Afghanistan.
I never understood Bush’s rationale for attacking Iraq since North Korea, Iran, Syria, Libya, and Pakistan already had nuclear weapon programs, and since Russia, and possibly China, were actively helping some of them.
Just curious - if you had been President on 9/11, how would you have responded, since you would not attack Afghanistan?