I'm not sure why you're being down-voted. $2T in well-placed handouts seems like a pretty effective way to win "hearts and minds". The test mentioned at the end

I'm not sure why you're being down-voted. $2T in well-placed handouts seems like a pretty effective way to win "hearts and minds". The test mentioned at the end of the article ("would just handing citizens of this country the cost of a war be more effective at regime change than toppling the regime?") seems like a good initial test when evaluating whether war is necessary. In general, soft power as an alternative to hard power is a serious question in national security strategy -- trhway's comment is not a troll, it's something security/IR researchers and policy makers take quite seriously.