The ancient Romans said if you want peace, prepare for war. Somehow this is also the downside of the better-known saying that history always repeats itself. Because it is not that history repeats itself at all, it's just that people tend to repeat their mistakes. The great mistake America is repeating is to forget that wise Roman saying. Under Clinton America has been preparing for defeat.
Peace comes through strength.
In a pacific world the need for military might would not exist. But we live, as we have done since time immemorial, in a dangerous and uncertain world. A world in which powers rise and fall. In one sense, American power is unique because it springs from a country that was born into liberty. This uniqueness offers no protection against aggression.