I don't know about your first point, but the problem with the US Government and the conflicts we as a nation have entangled ourselves in over the last decade+ i

I don't know about your first point, but the problem with the US Government and the conflicts we as a nation have entangled ourselves in over the last decade+ is that we can't even be bothered to even do the basic due diligence before jumping in. Fundamentally, we ignored even the simplest tenets of 'The Art of War'. It's actually painful to read this after the fact. Powell knew this stuff and at it's core, the Pottery Barn principle is a couple of those AoW tenets boiled down into something everyone can understand. In the end, if you can't even follow the sage advice that has been proved countless times over the last couple thousands of years, you've got bigger problems.