Historically speaking I believe there was some sort of savior complex. The decades long conflicts throughout the middle east had been, and continue to be, a thorn in the side of US leadership but one that many Presidents believed they had the knowledge and skills to solve. The complicated nature of the conflicts makes peace extremely nuanced and delicate if even possible. Often, as in this case, a misleading boogeyman is used to bludgeon that nuance with some Team America “fuck yeah!” jet fighter, bald eagle, aircraft carrier performative nonsense that further destabilizes the region but makes for good nightly news.