"Put your guard down, there's no credible threat."
"Gender equality in the military? Expensive, complicated - do it!"
"Additional rules for soldiers? Expensive, complicated - do it!"
"Do we really need a military this large? Nah, downsize!"
"The US would never not follow their promises, real or implied."
"The UN is a powerful and effective safeguarding body; trust them."
"International law is a powerful and effective deterrent against invasions."
"Maybe the military should be focused on more civilian improvement activities."
"Can we start researching whether we could be a post-militarized society?"
And they tried that, and never really gave up on it, but the real big returns came when they started funding of the international white supremacy and far right movements.