"We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient; that we are only 6 percent of the world's population; that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind; that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity; and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Every war prior to the Korean conflict was entered into due to an actual or probable (not perceived or possible) threat to U.S. vital interests, its sovereignty or to its citizens. Starting with Truman we got stupid.

The United States need not and should not view itself as the savior of humanity. Nor the enforcer of democracy in foreign nations.

An argument I frequently hear is that military intervention is often necessary to maintaining our economic prosperity. Really? Japan, an island nation roughly the size of Montana, grew from utter defeat and devastation to become the worlds third largest economy without attempting to impose its political will on foreign nations. China, from what many would consider a third world country 50 years ago, has become the worlds second largest economy without the use of its rather significant military force on foreign soil.

Defense Secretary: Libya Did Not Pose Threat to U.S., Was Not 'Vital National Interest' to Intervene; March 27, 2011 8:16 AM. On "This Week," ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper asked Gates, "Do you think Libya posed an actual or imminent threat to the United States?" "No, no," Gates said in a joint appearance with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "It was not -- it was not a vital national interest to the United States, but it was an interest and it was an interest for all of the reasons Secretary Clinton talked about.

"... it was not a vital national interest to the United States..."      The US should not be involved in the Libyan conflict.

March 2011