Sorry, but I baited you into the embassy argument. How infuriated do you get when you see our embassies attacked? I'm sure, if you're any kind of patriot, it does infuriate you. Me too. That's where the military comes in. We NEED things like Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) that can handle these things. The 82nd and 101st Airborne are also participants in quick reaction type missions. If you need a better explanation about MEUs, here's a link
Marine expeditionary unit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
It is a very expensive, very complex unit that is one of the cornerstones for our global security. They use every weapon in the arsenal. However, with recent cuts, the centerpiece of the MEU (an amphibious, tracked vehicle) has been totally ruled out. Like I said earlier, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) should have been cut. It had become too pricey and the company attempting to build it displayed that they didn't know what they were doing. However, the need is still there. The current version we have leaks, has no armor, is painfully slow in the water, and is extremely old. Imagine floating along, going to secure an embassy (with rounds incoming), and you're going 8 mph (on calm waters) with no armor around you and the only weapons you have are two machine guns that are easily outranged by any coastal type gun. This is all to make sure an embassy is secure, not to go invade some country or "fight for oil" like everyone likes to say about Iraq with no proof. If we want to be diplomatic, and we want to send these emissaries to all of these foreign countries, we owe it to them to provide security if they need it. This is not a far fetched idea. It happens more than people think it does. Just google embassy evacuated by Marines and see how many pages pop up. This is just a sample of why we need a military as big as it is.