IMO that's an inaccurate comparison tman. From what I understand RP actually does believe in a strong defense, but not in offense, as in preemptive meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. I tend to agree with that and believe there has been a lot of paranoid disinformation spread by those with a vested interest in the proliferation of the military/industrial complex.
Since it seems we're currently bankrupting ourselves while playing Team America World Police, I think the only rational foreign policy for us now is to retract our military tentacles while making clear that we will still defend our allies and that acts of aggression will be smacked down severely and immediately. IOW a reprisal of "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
I believe that our past policy of international meddling hasn't made us (or the rest of the world for that matter) safer, and in fact was the primary motivation for the 9/11 attack.