When A Warhawk Is Actually A ‘Peace-Monger’

The price of war is high, but the price of passivity in the face of nation-destroying evil is invariably higher.

Allan J. Feifer | November 4, 2026

After Donald Trump, with Pete Hegseth’s strong support, renamed the Defense Department to its former, more bellicose-sounding War Department name, tongues wagged. The administration, opponents claimed, was filled with “warhawks,” a derisive term conveyed to those who believe that liberty must constantly be defended. In fact, the renaming signaled that America was returning to its roots, reaffirming what people seem to have forgotten: peace has never been free, and winning conflicts demands a warrior ethos.

As the term “warhawk” reveals, one of America’s fundamental schisms today is the fear of the ill-defined but ominous-sounding “forever wars,” with many reflexively against the use of military force, for any reason.

But the debate shouldn’t be reduced to a choice between endless wars and isolationism. Not every problem warrants intervention, and use-of-force actions deserve scrutiny. But reflexive opposition to force does not lead to peace. We must not abandon a shared understanding that liberty must be defended, adversaries must believe we have the requisite will, and that avoiding war often requires demonstrating a willingness to fight.

It’s impossible to prove that American engagement prevented larger wars and associated loss of life and treasure. But history offers compelling reasons to believe American alliances, military presence, and deterrence kept regional confrontations from escalating into direct great power conflicts. The price of maintaining American military power may be far less than the cost of the wars that power has helped us avoid.

Since our founding, the United States has deployed its military abroad hundreds of times, in circumstances ranging from minor operations to full-scale wars. It’s difficult to tally all the deaths and other casualties, but estimates are that over 1.19 million Americans have perished in wars and conflicts, with millions more wounded physically or psychologically.

Since WWII, however, the pattern has........

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