“We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.”
George Orwell
A country has one duty above all duties, protect its citizens from incursion of other countries. This is done through military means whether that be intelligence gathering or violent acts of deterrence, offense, or defense. A well regulated military is what stands between the citizens of the US and tyranny by foreign and domestic threats.
War is not pretty, it is ugly, and often a necessity. Wars should not be entered into lightly, approached with common sense, and the resolve to win. You go to win and you stay till you win. The objective of war is to win. And unlike a game, the consequences are dire and real.
The United States of America is not the world’s policemen, we should not be engaged in policy that dictates how other countries operate unless it violates basic human rights or infringes upon the rights and safety of the US populace in some way. For example we disallow North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons, but would not engage in local policy such as taxes or capital crimes. Our place on the world stage in such capacity is advisory and would be steered through the diplomacy channel of the foreign policy.
In times of war, we must understand that we are putting lives on the line. As a Commander-in- Chief I would seek to minimize the amount of lives we place in harms way. Investing in technology and weapon development that not only improves our fighting capability but also reduces the amount of troop lives necessary to accomplish the same goals. Reduction of need is not a reduction of capability. We must maintain the same level or higher ability to defend American interests at home and abroad. Anything less would be a failure of leadership. The United States Military must remain and continue to be the world’s strongest and most reliable fighting force.