I was homeless and hitchhiking through the country when a soldier – a high-ranking officer, IIRC – picked me up. The talk we had didn't take a month, not even an hour. But he made similar remarks, and other things he said changed my view greatly, and planted the seed of an idea: that actually, they are potential allies in our quest for peace. Nobody really wants war, except for a few psychopaths.
RE: Decapitating the snake... watching the power vaccuum be filled.