In Defense of US military involvement overseas
The Department of Defense functions primarily as a defense agency -- for the protection of private property. This is why we oftentimes need to secure the property of our citizens overseas (i.e. escorting US-flagged vessels in the Middle East). But if the highest good is the aim of this institution, then other aims might suffer. I had a Pakistani classmate complain to me about how their government was headed by corrupt government officials that took bribes from the United States and always sought to increase funding for the military rather than for any social programs. He blamed the US for the root cause of the Pakistani government's current situation. First, on moral responsibility. From a Pakistani perspective, agreeing to US terms is a bribe. When one accepts the bribe, one might ask whether the bribe-maker or the bribe-acceptor is morally complicit. Intuitively, both are. So therefore, both the Pakistani government and the US are complicit in keeping Pakistan corrup...