A reflection.
From our Founding till 1917, some 125 years passed during which we prospered
dramatically, yet quietly, while remaining politically insular on the world stage.
On occasion, we engaged in foreign conflict; w/Mexico, then Spain at the turn of 1900.
Then, in 1912, we elected the most incompetent jackass to ever occupy the WH
a consequence we continue to pay for every day of our existence.
The Great War, arguably the greatest Man made disaster that ever occurred was:
NONE OF OUR GOD-DAMMED BUSINESS, yet Schmuck-in-Chief Wilson, made it so.
Consequently it internationalized our previously insular politics which is the essence of why
we have been engaged/involved w/chronic/continuous foreign military adventures ever since.
How so??? Because one of the most basic impulses in Human Nature is Self-interest.
The Pentagon may have many descriptions, yet one is for certain as it is a political bastion
and perpetually seeking to curry favor w/our Congressional Cronies.
How better to achieve this than to present them w/economic opportunities, real or imagined,
that involve a physical presence in Place X or Y or Z around the world. Doubt it ?????