Defund the World Police

President George W. Bush’s rationale for invading Iraq was simple, and chilling: Act now because we cannot wait for the final proof – the smoking gun – that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

After the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill, Pompeo and Walters lobbied publicly for approval in the House. The United States must confront enemies “who work together against us across the globe,” they urged. A “Russia-China-Iran-North Korea axis” threatens American security, and now is the “time for choosing,” they declared.

But do Americans want to shoot $95 billion into the military-industrial complex, where the aims are undefined and oversight is minimal?

Consider a handful of facts.

Who can say another gargantuan allocation of cash won’t go astray, be misused, or fall into the black hole of botched operations? Not Pompeo or Walters, the unelected movers and managers of taxpayer money.

I don’t dispute that Ukraine is fighting for its survival, that Israel is responding aggressively to a terrorist attack, or that Taiwan’s security is precarious. These are serious issues that require strategic attention.

But our system is out of order. Funding is the people’s lever to gain accountability over the federal government, which spent two decades squandering trillions of dollars and thousands of lives, and rewarding a class of general officers and admirals better at launching wars than winning them.

I say if they want the money, first show us results—ground taken, enemies destroyed, objectives captured, missions achieved. Then tell us what new objectives will be achieved, so we can hold Pentagon bosses, bureaucrats, and elected officials accountable.

Until then, defund the world police—that's how we claw back control over a runaway defense bureaucracy.

Citizen Soldier believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.