The Middle East is the most screwed up region in the world. We aided Afghanistan against a Russian invasion during the Iranian hostage crisis. We sided with Iraq in the Iran/Iraq war, then invaded Iraq a couple years later in Desert Storm when talks failed in Desert Shield. This was to liberate Kuwait. After 9/11, we invaded Afghanistan to break up Al-Qaeda network in Enduring Freedom. Then came Iraqi Freedom invasion and the dethroning of Sadaam Hussein. Then, we have strikes all over the place taking out Isis. Lots of other instability in the ME brings us to today.
I can see where Aggie’s friend’s feeling come from. When it comes to fighting the enemy in their own countries, there is no one you can completely trust. Same was true in Vietnam with the Vietcong, which was communist South Vietnamese, which were worse, in lots of cases, than the communist North. (For those who didn’t know).
I thank this man for his service. He knows he is lucky, too. I wish him well. I only question his resolve due to his commitment to fighting terrorists, and we are now engaging the source of it all.