Our naive “nation-building” goals were not achieved by these wars. Instead, 7,057 American military service members died during the conflicts and 30,177 died of suicide in the years following the wars. Countless other military veterans were seriously injured, both mentally and physically, from these unnecessary wars.
Imagine how strong the United States would be today if the trillions of dollars wasted on those wars was spent on the American people. Instead of lavishing money on infrastructure projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, those dollars should have been invested in American schools, roads, bridges, and, yes, border walls.
Yet, any politician, like President Donald Trump, who advocates for “America First” policies is labeled by the establishment of both political parties as an “isolationist.” These establishment politicians, like former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) or Trump’s Democratic Party opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, are proud to be called globalists, or even neocons.
What is wrong with placing the primary focus of our federal government on “America First?” If America is destroyed how much can our country help the rest of the world? A strong America can do more for others in need than a country that is weak and in turmoil.
This issue is one of the major differences between Trump and Harris. During his presidency, Trump removed the United States from the Paris Climate Accords and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He placed tariffs on Chinese goods to protect American industry and returned manufacturing jobs to the United States.