It helped that the allies managed to kill a large proportion of the "difficult" people in those countries. The surviving population were left in devastated cit

It helped that the allies managed to kill a large proportion of the "difficult" people in those countries. The surviving population were left in devastated cities with starvation rations and the memory of a brutal invasion. Hardly an environment that makes people want to resist an occupation. The shock and awe approach in Iraq allowed huge numbers of soldiers to survive the war without ever really being properly defeated. It is hardly surprising if they switched to an insurgency when the new country offered little in the way of jobs or opportunity. We need to realise that war is about violence. It is naive to believe you can defeat a country psychologically without defeating them physically first. The West is understandably reluctant to face up to that reality.