Defense of what

The nice polite republicans on NPR commented this morning the new Secretary of Defense has problems to solve, like dislodging the terrorists of ISIS in Iraq.  Memo to NPR.  That is what the State Department is for.  It seems we are giving more and more power to the laughably named "Department of Defense".  What this agency is defending are the moneyed interests of the American Empire in the early part of the 21st century.  With a bloated budget equal to the combined budgets of the next 20 countries, just what are we defending against.  The answer is the fallout from American foreign policy dating back to the overthrow of Mossadegh's government in Iran in the 1950s.  Virtually every government in the Middle East has danced while the CIA pulled the strings since that time.  The resentment will take generations to abate if it ever does.  Meanwhile we are told we need to spend over $600 billion dollars a year to defend the homeland.  The mind reels at the duplicity and arrogance of those in charge of our foreign policy  and the complicity of most of us in this charade.  The fighters flocking to the ISIS banner are driven by hatred of policies which have beggared many for the enrichment of few.  Without drastic changes, the recruitment will continue and we will be dragged into a ground war we cannot win and will continue to hemorrhage blood and treasure until we fall as have all empires throughout history.