It’s difficult to explain for Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., all wars where lies were told to get the US involved and for the US to stay for 20 years and have nothing to show for it.
Now they want us to get involved in a war with a nuclear armed enemy, no thank you.
Vietnam and Afghanistan were both betrayed and lost by leftist democrats. Iraq an unnecessary war but also screwed up by the left and when Bush then punked out, ultimately Obama deserted that one.
We desperately need the bases in Afghanistan and Vietnam to counter China now, losing strategic places in the world to your enemies has real consequences.