Pod Pundits celebrate war (Yes, I know, what else is new?)

This is both disappointing and fascinating. But, sadly, not surprising. I mean the giddiness of our Pod Pundits after the Syrian missile strike last week. Followed by the MOAB bomb drop in Afghanistan this week.

It's on full display in this Morning Joe segment from today, Trump White House Undergoes Shift In Policy And Tone Toward Foreign Policy MSNBC 04/12/2017:

And in this one, Ignatius: President Donald Trump Becoming Credible Foreign Policy Leader 04/14/2017

This is a symptom of the problem that Gregory Daddis describes in the Army War College's quarterly journal Parameters (Faith in War: The American Roots of Global Conflict 46:4 Winter 2016–17):

If subversive Islamic fundamentalists selectively interpret the sacred text of the Qurʾān to justify violence, is it possible Americans are equally discriminatory when defending their own, seemingly moral, obligations for waging war? In truth, much of America’s deployment of military power during the last 50 years, even back to the early twentieth century, rested on a set of absolute beliefs, convictions amounting to a sort of secular fundamentalism. Policymakers and citizens alike possess an enduring faith that the United States, via its military forces, has the power to transform societies abroad.

Some of the more sober commentary on this matter includes:

• William Astore, What Does an “America-First” Foreign Policy Actually Mean? LobeLog Foreign Policy 04/14/2017 ("To Trump and his generals, an 'America-first' approach to such problems actually means putting the military first, second, and third.")
• Andrew Bacevich, Memo for McMaster The American Conservative 04/13/2017
• Will Bunch, Trump bombs again - and it's time to cancel this unreality show Attytood 04/14/2017
• Michael Meurer, Is Trump Turning to Missile Strikes to Salvage His Failing Presidency? Truthout 04/14/2017
• Paul Pillar, Syria and the Call of the Quagmire The National Interest 04/06/2017