“To me it’s no big deal, numbers, up numbers down,� said John Isaacs, executive director of the Council for a Livable World, which advocates for reducing U.S. nuclear weapons. “Everyone certainly is in compliance with the treaty.�

The “isolationist” accusation is a convenient way to lump anti-war liberals with Tea Party conservatives. It allows those who support military action to paint their opponents as out of touch — burying their heads in the sand and clinging to a bygone era.

“Obviously, nuclear weapons are the worst of the worst,” said John Isaacs.

“The United States should not rush to deploy a missile defense site on the East Coast until a need … is identified and the interceptors to be deployed at the site prove effective and suitable in operationally realistic tests,” he said.

Peter Galbraith, U.S. ambassador to Croatia in the 1990s who was involved in the Croatia-Bosnia peace process, has made a career of studying conflict. Historically a strong interventionist, Galbraith argues against military intervention in Syria and outlines possible alternatives.