At first it might seem astounding that Ron Paul receives more campaign donations from military personnel than any other politician in the United States. But when you think about it, it is just the latest—and all-too-predictable—outgrowth of a nation deeply frustrated with defeat after defeat.

More soldiers have donated more money to Ron Paul’s campaign than to that of Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rich Santorum and Rick Perry combined, according to the Federal Election Commission. Ron Paul has also received far more financial contributions from soldiers than President Obama, Hilary Clinton, or any other leading Democrat.

This poses a bit of a dilemma to Paul’s rivals, who accuse him of being soft on war and of advocating military policies that would be dangerous to the nation. It is hard to be too critical when so many of the rank-and-file evidently support Paul.

Yet it is a telling indictment of America today.

As far back as the end of World War ii, Herbert Armstrong said that “the United States has won its last war!” He saw then that the pride in our military power had been broken.

Look at what has happened since Japan’s surrender. North Korea: stalemate. Vietnam: tragic defeat. Bay of Pigs invasion: shameful defeat. Cambodian and Laos civil wars: defeats again.

Then there was the first Gulf War. American troops flew and sailed halfway around the world to defeat Iraq—and then leave Saddam Hussein and all his generals in power to continue to oppose America and kill off the Kurds and others who had helped America attain its “victory.”

A little over a decade later, during the second Gulf War, America finally defeated Hussein. But that too has turned into a humiliating defeat. On January 15, the New York Times reported that the Iraqi government has now started arresting and detaining hundreds of U.S. contractors still working in the country. By taking out Saddam, America removed the one regional force strong enough to oppose Iran. Operation Iraqi Freedom inadvertently became Operation Empower Iran. With all U.S. troops now evacuated from Iraq, the country has become an Iranian proxy. America loses again.

Then there is Afghanistan: the graveyard of empires. It has certainly lived up to its reputation. When powerful America stormed into the small country of 25 million people in 2001, a Taliban victory seemed impossible. Hardly anyone, outside of perhaps Russia, suspected that America, with its vastly superior technology and modern army, could lose that war.

So it is sad to see stories such as “Karzai: Afghanistan, U.S. Negotiating With Taliban” and “Washington Ready to Negotiate With Mullah Omar.” President Obama says a third of our troops will be home by summer, and the rest by 2014. No wonder Hamid Karzai wants to make peace with the Taliban. He doesn’t want to get butchered like the Kurds did in Iraq when America left.

But is it really so surprising that so many of America’s soldiers would support a presidential candidate who wants to immediately end the war in Afghanistan and bring most of America’s foreign-stationed troops home? Why die for a cause that your allies in the field and leaders in Washington don’t even believe in?

How demoralizing to be part of an army so hamstrung by politicians, political correctness and people back home that it can’t defeat a country with a gdp a third of that of North Dakota—even when supposedly half the country is fighting on your side!

Who would want to be a soldier anymore?

When President Obama declared the war in Iraq over and that all our troops would be home for Christmas, where was the national outpouring of thanks for those who risked their lives? New York held a victory parade for the Yankees, but where was the victory parade for America’s warriors?

The pride of America’s power has been broken! Even its soldiers—those whose profession is to wage war—give the most support to a Republican candidate whose platform includes immediately evacuating Afghanistan and bringing troops from around the world home. It is not just a matter of America’s leaders lacking the will to sustain our war against terrorism, but increasingly it is America’s soldiers too. And following defeat after defeat, it is hard to blame them.

It is time to remember that ancient prophecy God declared against a rebellious nation caught up in deepening moral and spiritual decline: “And I will break the pride of your power … And your strength shall be spent in vain … if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me” (Leviticus 26:19-21).

America’s national will to fight is broken. And as Herbert W. Armstrong warned more than 60 years ago, America has won its last war.