U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan further bolstered the popularity of Islamist groups.

WSJ: Indonesia Polls Show Hard-Line Islamists Losing Ground

So, too, are the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told investigators were among the reasons he and his brother carried out the bombings that targeted the Boston Marathon, according to a U.S. government official who briefed CNN.

CNN: From bin Laden to Boston

What is clear is that Rumsfeld has discarded the "two-war" yardstick that for most of the 1990s was the stated goal of the U.S. military -- to be able to fight and win two major wars nearly simultaneously.

CNN: Rumsfeld still not sure on troop cuts

This afternoon in the East Room of the White House, the President presented the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry to Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta, U.S. Army -- the first living servicemember from the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to receive it.

WHITEHOUSE: Medal of Honor for Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta

Some of the petitions are serious, and some silly as with many of the U.S.-generated requests, which include a demand to build a "Star Wars"-style Death Star.

NPR: Chinese Air Their Cases By Petitioning White House

In November, the Government Accountability Office's head of acquisition management reminded a congressional panel that eight years into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the U.S. still has trouble keeping track of contractors--a problem with severe cost implications.

FORBES: Spending

In recent years, while America's armed services have been hard-pressed to assemble the manpower to fight two simultaneous wars, the number of U.S. soldiers in the military prison system has fallen by 50%, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

FORBES: A Few Bad Men

Irrepressible consumer spending has helped the U.S. economy glide through two wars, recessions and the bursting of the Internet bubble--financial mayhem that should have brought the economy to its knees a long time ago.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Joe Biden, has the ability to both set the economy once again upon the right path and the national-security credentials to lead the U.S. at a time when it's fighting two wars.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Forty-year-old David Passaro is the first U.S. civilian to be convicted of prisoner abuse during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

NPR: CIA Contractor Convicted of Afghan's Beating Death