>>35
No one in the US gave two shits about Afghanistan in 2001. The US policy towards Afghanistan on September 10th, 2001 was one of benign neglect.
As for Iraq, Saddam Hussein signed the armistice in 1991 agreeing not only to give up his vast chemical weapons stockpile and his nuclear weapons program, but also not to interfere with NATO/UN operations around the borders of his country. Each and every Iraqi violation of the No-Fly Zones was sufficient justification for war. His hundreds of attacks on NATO/UN aircraft on patrol in the No-Fly Zones in the twelve years after the war were icing on the cake. By that time his offers of support and sanctuary to Al-Qaeda were not relevant.
Put down the bong, you've had enough.
There really are crazy people out there who want to restore the Caliphate and convert the entire planet to Sharia law by force, and they have trillions of dollars in oil money to supply their schemes. There really are groups of crazy people out there who hate Western Civilization and want to tear it down and replace it with their dream of a glorous past. And there really are people in the West, including some highly placed in governments, who are nihilistic enough to sympathize with them.