I didn't interpret the comment that way. It seems likely the blood and treasure squandered on those unnecessary wars held back growth by misdirecting investmen

I didn't interpret the comment that way. It seems likely the blood and treasure squandered on those unnecessary wars held back growth by misdirecting investment money into war rather than being traditionally inflationary (as it was, say, in Viet Nam or WWII). Now the US is spending on the order of $0 on the UKR war for an enormous IRR, and that's controversial.