Of course. This is a given regardless. I don't think that many are naive of how things work. Having said that, and knowing that it's going to be a corrupt shit show of suits lining the pockets of other suits, you can almost relate it to the argument of a "fair minimum wage". Sounds good in theory, but when the wages rise, it is not at the expense of the executives running the company. It is at the expense of the consumer. The brass is not going to simply say, well what's right is right, I've had my fair share and I will be going on my merry way.
So, with that in mind, knowing that there will be "wasteful" military spending regardless, the question becomes how vulnerable do you want to leave the u.s. at the expense of virtues? Also keep in mind that america does not have a monopoly on greed. Russia and China and everywhere else "waste" a shit load. It just is what it is. There's no getting away from that.
While I have not listened to the full interview yet, I'm not sure how you can arrive at that conclusion having heard what McMasters has to say. It sounds like he believes in what he is doing/has done. I could be wrong.