Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen says the global war on terror will last 30-40 years, and he thinks America should embrace a larger view to combat it.

"What I would like to see is an overarching strategy and plan for the Middle East, country-by-country, and then in even in the regional sense per se," Mullen said Wednesday on "The Colbert Report."

America and its allies could then look at the strategy and figure out how each would contribute to the effort.

Mullen also said he shares the concerns of many that the U.S. military is becoming less representative of the country as a whole, with less than 1 percent of Americans volunteering to serve.

He said he fears the U.S. military one day becoming a version of the French Foreign Legion with Americans saying, "Please go off and fight our dirty little wars and let us get on with our lives."

"I think that's a disaster for America," Mullen said.

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