I was opposed to our war in Vietnam, I was opposed to the first Iraq war to save Kuwait oil for the sheiks, I was opposed to the second Iraq war, I was opposed to the Afghanistan war after the escape of bin Laden, and in general I am opposed to our continued presence in the Middle East. I think the "Arab Spring" would have produced the chaos we see without our presence, but I can't see that our presence helped in any significant way.

Our treasury isn't bankrupt, our federal government isn't bankrupt, and our economy isn't bankrupt. The strength of the dollar wasn't engineered, it came about because of our large economy and our relative economic stability making the dollar the world's benchmark currency which many nations and individuals hold and trust.

If our international influence is waning, I haven't seen it. European nations still depend on us to protect them from Russian aggression, which is increasing. Now we are seeing Turkey pull away from Europe and draw closer to Russia.