So many great Americans through our short history have been non-interventionist. It is steeped in American tradition and for more than 100 years a non-intervention manifesto was revered as essential reading for all Americans: George Washington's Farewell Address.

I've known people like your friend myself. Military veterans who have seen firsthand the cost of war and seen through the fake justifications. Sometimes I think that if America had compulsory military service it would be a good thing if only that it may make us more aware of the cost of war and more reticent to pay it.