The alternative is "Not our problem. Mess with us, you die, leave us alone and we leave you alone."
I have a tad of resentment about the handling of Germany after the war. They got the Marshall Plan, infrastructure rebuilt. Economy hitting boom times, loads of work and loads of opportunity. Rationing ended in the UK two years after I were born. Still have my ration book somewhere. The UK finally finished paying off the USA in 2006. 61 years of payments to an "ally."