Indeed. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the US initially supported agents who were enemies of its enemies. But then those agents became enemies. And innocent peop

Indeed. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the US initially supported agents who were enemies of its enemies. But then those agents became enemies. And innocent people suffered and died, all for power games. In Afghanistan, the US initially supported the Taliban against the Soviets. Just like in Vietnam. And then the CIA trained Osama and al-Qaeda, with financial support from the Saudis. But once the Soviets were gone, the downsides of the Taliban and al-Qaeda became evident. Oppression of women. International operations. So the US invaded. In Iraq, the US initially supported Saddam, because he was tough on Communists, and not overtly Islamic. Like those nice Turks. Except that he was rather fascist, but hey. And then they supported him against Iran, which had thrown off US domination (i.e., the Shah) and frightened allies (Israelis and Saudis). But then he pissed off the Saudis, and started talking too much about international operations. So the US kicked them out of Kuwait, starved them and sporadically bombed them for a few years, and finally invaded. What a mess.