Investing and current affairs writer David Stockman found himself in hostile territory this week in an interview at the Fox Business show Mornings with Maria. In the often-tense interview, Stockman seems to shock and rile some of the show’s hosts with his assessments that the United States military should not have been given a big monetary infusion in the recent spending deal worked out by President Donald Trump and Congress and that the US should stop its excessive military intervention overseas.

The US military would not need so much money if the military were used much less, argues Stockman, who is a member of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity Advisory Board. “Don’t have so many missions; don’t be bombing Syria; don’t be mucking around in the Middle East,” Stockman says is the “obvious answer” to host Maria Bartiromo’s contention that the increased military spending is needed because “we’ve starved the military.” And, in response to Bartiromo’s suggestion that Stockman is advocating turning away when the Syrian government uses chemical weapons in Syria, Stockman explains why he sees such chemical weapons allegations as “a hoax” and argues “we have no dog in that hunt,” meaning the American people are best served by the US government just keeping out of the conflict in Syria.

Watch Stockman’s complete interview here:

Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.