Peace through disarmament didn't work after the first World War, so they tried peace through strength after the second. And, you know, it worked...more or less. Washington and Moscow bared their teeth a lot at each other over the next few decades, but when push comes to shove, nobody wants a nuke crammed up their ass. In fact, I think there's a pretty good case to be made that the Ukraine War is only happening because America misjudged Russia as much weaker than it is, which just lends more credence to the idea that the only real peace is ever had under the umbrella of overwhelming firepower. If Russia had given up its nukes after the end of the Cold War, your President would be a CIA asset.
What has happened in the West since maybe the 1980s is our elites believe they should be believed simply due to the positions and titles they have. Like, they will be caught openly, brazen lying, not even trying to keep their stories straight (e.g. COVID) then turn right around and become incensed that nobody trusts them. Domestically and internationally. What little credibility the USA had left, the Biden admin shredded to get back at Trump, apparently not realizing that foreign governments, despite largely disliking Trump, care a lot more about having deals honored than which party holds the White House. Biden's managed to torch credibility even with our allies.
