Written by John Escher   

At the announcement of the appointment of Ashton Carter, the president and the new secretary of defense used the exact same phrase to describe our military-- one we had heard altogether too many times before-- "The greatest fighting force in the history of mankind."

Thus "greatest" had become not only a colossal cliche but a litany for all american militarists to utter everywhere.

Besides being stupidly inaccurate, this phrase reflects our national wish to become the modern Sparta rather than Athens.

The speeches also evoked the tired phrase "wounded warriors," another invention of the admen and further glorification of war.

Absent from the speeches was any trace of idealism or thought of retreat from our overly aggressive positioning and tragic maneuvering and hideous bombing of innocents around the world.