The logical end point of both of your arguments is that the West should stay out of foreign conflicts which pose no genuine, direct and immediate threat to national security. Am I right?
You are exactly right.
If we are going to wage War....it has to be for reasons that both allow for and demand the application of the maximum amount of over whelming force required to defeat the enemy ability and will to fight.
There is never any reason to "Half Step" it when it comes to a War.
Emphasis is on the word "War"...not Police Action, Conflict, Incursion, Overseas Contingency Operation, Nation Building.