Because we (shhhhhhh) were backing ISIS and AQ to overthrow the various puppet governments we’d installed decades before.
When you actually fight the war, you win the war.
When you actually fight the war, you win the war.
We are nearly paralyzed by the thought of collateral damage or bad press. If we had fought WWII the way we fought recent wars, the Nazis would still control Europe and Japan would have Hawaii.