[TDL]

"the right-wing nutcases that pull its strings..."

You may want to look into the history of the military in the U.S., both right and left share in it's excesses.

[vfdfv]

I am no fan of either party, and I consider people like Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton to be right-wingers as well, but the self-proclaimed political right does the majority of warmongering.

[coldtea]

Perhaps because the "left" in the US is still cloase to what would be called right (or even far-right) in other places, when it comes to anything "patriotic" (and even in religious and moral issues).