Why?

I don't favor assassinations.  I'm not greatly supportive of the idea that we have troops in places far from here fighting our "enemies".

I do believe that if someone attacks us or perhaps certain allies we need to respond.

However what exactly are we doing in the middle east at this point in time?

I remember when Iraq and Iran were engaged in a brutal war committing atrocities against each other.

The impact on most Americans was non-existent.  Those engaged in certain weapons production benefited to a certain extent.

Atrocities were committed and I don't condone those, but outside of feeling bad for humanity it wasn't a issue.

When the Russian and Afghans were fighting I also don't remember caring much, although I was interested.  Had Afghanistan become a Russian puppet state, I guess it would have been a bad thing, but it never seemed very likely.

What wasn't going on was the loss of American lives or the trillions of dollars down the drain.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait, this all changed.  Now after almost 30 years, multiple regime changes, thousands of Americans killed and trillions of dollars spent, we see new players, shifting power centers and continuing conflict.

Would we have had 9-11 if we didn't intervene?

If those oil fields were part of Iraq would I care?

I can't imagine I would.