The US Navy has more heavy aircraft carrier groups than the rest of world combined. The US has 11 out of 22. It also has the world's largest and most advanced air force. Old US Army equipment is working wonders for Ukraine against Russia, the supposed next best military.
Not to mention the US has a massive arsenal of working ICBMs and SLBMs.
I'm sorry, but nobody stands a snowballs chance in hell against the US military.
Regarding Iraq and Afghanistan, nation building and occupying are two different things. Kind of like ruling verses obtaining power are different.
ETA: Think about that during presidential elections.
They get paid 274k...DC is expensive, but anyone that can't live very comfortably on that is awful with money. Being awful with money will lose you a TS clearance because it makes you susceptible to bribery by spies. I would think it would also be a disqualifier for a SCOTUS judge for the same reason.
I think maintaining a TS clearance should be a requirement for all positions above a certain level in the federal government. Not because they need access to TS information, but to ensure they are at a lower risk of bribery, adversarial interests, and criminal activity. Getting a TS clearance isn't terribly hard. Just generally have your act together. As long as you aren't a train wreck, a drug addict, a criminal, an untrustworthy asshat, or have connections to adversaries, you will pass adjudication. TLDR: A TS clearance would ensure high level government employees are minimumly functional humans.