"United States deployed force .... has done so in support of "worthy causes all over the planet," whether stopping genocide or promoting democracy in the Middle East.

Was this supposed to be ironic? The US like every other country has deployed force to get what it wants, to stop an enemy or to please it's own voters. Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada (in fact most of central america), Cuba, Iraq (1 and 2), Afghanistan (1 and 2) were not about promoting democracy.