I think we might as well get used to being at war to one degree or another for the next few decades.

Maybe, maybe not. One thing we need to recognize is that when we get involved in someone else's war, and take a side in that war, the other side is going to attack us. That's pretty simple, but you don't hear our leaders say much about it.

For example, after 9-11, did our leaders say, "Well, we have taken a side in a civil/religious war in the ME, because we, your leaders, think it's in the best interests of our country to do that, but there's a certain amount of risk to doing that, and we just saw an example of it." No, they kind of went in another direction entirely, and not a useful one, in my opinion.