US military and foreign policy formula since the end of the Korean War

 From Maggie’s Farm

“What did the U.S. government actually do in Afghanistan and Iraq? Only the things it really cares to or knows how to do--namely, richly to hire its favorite people to try reshaping mankind in their own image. Since WWII, whether in the name of anti-communism, anti-terrorism, democracy, or humanitarianism, it's always the same: dismiss the substance of local quarrels; recast the local scene in terms of American elites' concerns; find locals who agree, and form "coalition governments" that, supposedly, represent the people's aspirations, regardless of what these might be; send in the American experts on everything from education to women's rights, with their recipes and their billions of dollars; and treat as terrorists any locals who disagree strongly.” – Angelo Codevilla, Graveyard of Narratives.

Remember this from Firefly?

“Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people…better.” – Malcom Reynolds.

 Every part of the federal government took part in the war in Vietnam. Every part. The federal government has done the same since. We lost that one, but maybe it was because we didn't do it right.