I see what you're saying. The whole Middle East intervention scene is quite confusing and western govts have for centuries come up with some 'compelling' or 'moral' or 'religious' reasons to meddle in other people's bizness.
Of course, the presence of oil, oil pipelines, refineries, tanker loading facilities and ready access to the world's shipping lanes have nothing to do with these interventions.
The US has been actively kicking azz over there since the 50s, when they overthrew the King of Iran and set up Shah Palavi with his secret police and political prisons.
In the early 90s, our airforce got in on the action to repel the Iraqi army from Kuwait (1st Iraq war, lasted 100 days).
Iirc our Navy provided support in the Persian Gulf during the 2nd Iraq war (the war that ousted Saddam Hussein's Baathist govt.. Saddam was George Bush's old buddy pre the Kuwait invasion, when Saddam played to America's tune and fought Iran in what turned into an 8 or 10 year war of attrition).
The WMDs that were given by the UK and US as the pretext for that invasion & overthrow & occupation & seizure of oil wells were never found and the pretext was determined to be a western fabrication.
The US, other European nations and ourselves got involved in Afghanistan for what....10 years? I can't quite remember why we did so...something to do with building schools for girls or something wholesome like that.
That place never really got 'better' as the Afghans have their own ideas about what kind of society (or societies) they want and that doesn't involve educating girls or letting them wear cut-off jeans with mid-drift tops.
Anyhow, this has gone on so long that the West's actions have bred a whole new generation -prolly tens of thousands- of new jihadists. Reportedly, we have disaffected new Canadians -residents of Calgary even- that go over there to join whatever jihadist outfit is the flavour of the month.
This can't end well.
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