There's little difference for me between an Aztec priest who cuts a hole in the chest of a man with a stone knife and then rips out the heart on the one side and a politician who sends troops into a war zone for nebulous prestige or relations gains.
Well, you must hate pretty much every politician or military commander in history. Thucydides' concept of public or national "honor" is closely related to the modern concept of prestige or "standing", after all.