Military force is justified only in self-defense; naked aggression is the province of dictators and rogue states.

War is never economically beneficial except for those in position to profit from war expenditures.

What is not conservative about saying, 'Don't go to war unless we go to war properly with a full declaration of war and no other way?'

Throughout the 20th century, the Republican Party benefited from a non-interventionist foreign policy. Think of how Eisenhower came in to stop the Korean War. Think of how Nixon was elected to stop the mess in Vietnam.

Think of what happened after 9/11, the minute before there was any assessment, there was glee in the administration because now we can invade Iraq, and so the war drums beat.

Another term for preventive war is aggressive war - starting wars because someday somebody might do something to us. That is not part of the American tradition.