Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
... but what they think they need does not translate into any military deterent whatsoever.
They've little enough to fear from the Dutch, the Belgians, the French and the Poles. Apparently they see no reason to develop the ability to project power overseas, and they may fear (with some justification) that if they have that ability somebody might be tempted to use it.

Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
"when it comes to interfering in messy affairs in faraway countries" it should be done properly. You can't take the military option off the table because the political direction and the military execution have been poor. Fix the problem.
I said nothing about taking military options off the table. I said they shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary. One of the reasons that so many interventions have been so badly handled is that there was no really compelling reason to be in them in the first place, a situation that tends to produce weak public support and all manner of political restrictions and interference. It's difficult to muster the commitment to do things right if there's no real reason to be doing them at all. As Ken often points out, Americans don't tend to take things seriously or really commit to them unless there's some perceived existential threat in place. If you're not going to be fully in it, better not to be in it at all.

There's no point in even talking about doing something right if we can't start with a clear and compelling national interest and defined, practical, achievable goals. How can you doi something right if you don't even know what you're doing, or why you're doing it?