Dylboz:
I understand basic economics and strategy quite well. Perhaps better than you do.
You imply that the U.S. is overextending itself to pay for the GWOT. Yet, how much more expensive would it be for us to sit on our hands? $100/bbl oil is far from ideal, but how much more expensive do you think oil would become if the Persian Gulf were to become inaccessible to Western shipping due to its surrender to Iran? As long as the U.S. engages in foreign trade, that trade must be defended. That lesson was learned early in our nation’s history, in the campaigns against the Barbary pirates.
You claim that the GWOT is “illegal”. I’ve often noticed that lefties claim that policies they simply don’t like are “illegal”. Both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were authorized by Acts of Congress, and neither is illegal in any way.
If your vision comes to pass, I hope you live to see the consequences as well. I expect you’d pay the jizya with a smile.
