With the notable exception of the 90s gulf war. I suspect (with no real evidence or support), that the gulf war did a lot to set the stage politically for the US in the Middle East. Before that, the American people mostly remembered Vietnam and the pointless spending and loss of life from that embarrassing defeat. With the gulf war being such a massive win, I bet the American people gained a new view of the US military as invincible and viewed the Middle East as a pushover. 10 years later, we're in 2 forever wars.