In their time, yes. But in more recent times "Europeans realized that they had become too good at their favorite activity, killing each other, so they decided to put an end to it". (paraphrased from Chomsky)
I mean, I fully trust Chomsky to find a way in which trying to end over two millennia of hostility and subjugation is somehow used to discredit the West but...
I actually see it as a kind of ambivalent compliment, even if it wasn't meant that way. You don't want to mess with people who are very good at killing you if they have to. Having an effective army isn't easy at all.