America's War for the Greater Middle East

IRAN. Tabas. The charred corpse of an American serviceman lies in the wreckage of a US C-130 Hercules plane, which burned after collision with a RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter, in the Iranian desert near Tabas, after a failed attempt to liberate American hostages held captive in Tehran by islamist militants. The operation was called Eagle Claw, the location Desert One. April 25th 1980. This photo was not taken by Abbas.

Operation Eagle Claw, 1980: a warning from the gods? (© A. Abbas/Magnum Photos)

Marine peacekeepers depart Beirut, 1982. Not for the last time, events will mock the banner’s claim. (US Marine Corps)

Marines survey the rubble, Beirut, 1983. With 241 Americans lost in a single day, Reagan pulls the plug. (SSgt Randy Gaddo/US Marine Corps)

2/2/1983 President Reagan meeting with Afghan Freedom Fighters in the Oval Office to discuss Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan

The Oval Office, 1983: hosting Afghan jihadists.

Rumsfeld in Baghdad, 1983: The presidential envoy brings greetings from Washington. (Iraqi TV)

Operation El Dorado Canyon, 1986. A one-off raid dings Libya; Moamar Gaddafi will exact revenge. (US Department of Defense)

A port quarter view of the guided missile frigate USS STARK (FFG-31) listing to port after being struck by an Iraqi-launched Exocet missile.

The First Gulf War: In 1987, Saddam Hussein’s air force nearly sinks the USS Stark, but Washington blames Iran. (US Navy)

The Iranian frigate IS SAHAND (74) burns after being attacked by aircraft of Carrier Air Wing II from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) in retaliation for the mining of the guided missile frigate USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58). The ship was hit by three Harpoon missiles plus cluster bombs.

Operation Praying Mantis, 1988. In the “largest surface action since the Second World War,” U.S. forces pummel Iran’s puny fleet. (US Navy)

The Second Gulf War, 1991: Advancing with controlled deliberation, VII Corps closes in on the Iraqi Republican Guard. (US Department of Defense)

US Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf speaks during a press conference in Riyadh, Feb. 27, 1991. (AP Photo)

Schwarzkopf delivering the “mother of all briefings,” 1991: “The gates are closed.” Alas, they were not. (Associated Press)

PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia -- An F-15 Eagle takes off during Operation Southern Watch, which was a major operation here for the past seven years. U.S. officials ended an era with the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at a ceremony Aug. 26. At the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the base was home to more than 5,000 troops and about 200 coalition aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sean M. Worrell)

Enforcing the no-fly zones. With few taking notice, the Second Gulf War continues throughout the 1990s. (Staff Sergeant Sean M. Worrell/US Air Force)

United States coalition forces from Desert Storm marching over the Arlington Memorial Bridge during the National Victory Celebration parade.

Desert Storm homecoming parade, Washington, 1991: well-earned, but sadly premature. (US Department of Defense)

March 1991 --- Two million Kurds flee Iraq, settling at camps on the border to wait for humanitarian aid | Location: Iraq-Turkey Border. --- Image by © Daniel LainÈ/CORBIS

Beleaguered Iraqi Kurds flee Saddam’s wrath, 1991. The victory narrative is already unraveling. (© Daniel Lainé/CORBIS)

A group of young Somalis chant anti American slogans while sitting atop the burned out hulk of a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu, Somalia on Oct. 19, 1993. The helicopter was one of two shot down during a firefight with Somali guerrillas in which 18 U.S. servicemen were killed along with one Malaysian peacekeeper and 300 Somalis. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)

Mogadishu, 1993: On a wrecked American helicopter, Somali children celebrate victory. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)

An M1A1 Abrams Tank from the U.S. Army Armored Cavalry crosses the bridge over the Sava River that links Croatia to Bosnia.

Bosnia, 1995: The cavalry arrives to avert further bloodletting. (US Department of Defense)

An overall view of the north side of the building that was severely bomb damaged in the Khobar Towers complex. The explosion of a fuel truck set off by terrorists at 2:55 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 25, 1996, outside the northern fence of the Khobar Towers complex near King Abdul Aziz Air Base, killed 19 and injured over 260. The facility housed U.S. service members and served as the headquarters for the 4404th Wing (Provisional), Southwest Asia.

Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1996: Stationing U.S. troops in the Land of the Two Holy Places comes at a price. (US Department of Defense)

Operation Allied Force, 1999: Belgrade burns, and the Kosovo Liberation Army prevails.

9/11: America’s War for the Greater Middle East comes home. (Chief Photographer’s Mate Eric J. Tilford/US Navy)

KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST 25: U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers gallop down a shallow riverbed during a horseback presence patrol through the town of Kunduz August 25, 2002 in Northern Afghanistan. U.S. Special Forces have recently begun to step up their presence in Northern Afghanistan to more aggressively pursue possible al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives they believe to be operating in the region. The horseback patrols are an invaluable tool for the soldiers, allowing them to patrol narrow streets or alleys as well as other terrain that would otherwise be inaccessable by truck. (Photo by Scott Nelson/Getty Images)

Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001: As Americans charge, the Taliban and Al Qaeda disperse to fight another day. (Scott Nelson/Getty Images)

030401-M-5977R-010 Nasiriyah, Iraq (Apr. 1, 2003) -- U.S. Marines from Task Force Tarawa move to support fellow Marines in a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) equipped with a 50 cal. heavy machine gun attached to it during a fire-fight in Nasiriyah. Task Force Tarawa is conducting combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and to end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Gordon A. Rouse. (RELEASED)

The Third Gulf War: In 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom initiates a project of epic ambition. (Gordon A. Rouse/US Marine Corps)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - APRIL 16: U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks meets with Iraqi war commanders in a palace of Saddam Hussein's April 16, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. The four-star general, who directed the coalition invasion of Iraq, flew into Baghdad for a progress report. (Photo by Karen Ballard-Pool/Getty Images)

Baghdad, 2003: While American generals chill out, the real fight is just beginning. (Karen Ballard-Pool/Getty Images)

FILE - This is a 2003 file image obtained by The Associated Press which shows an unidentified detainee standing on a box with a bag on his head and wires attached to him in late 2003 at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq. An Iraqi Justice Ministry official said Wednesday, April 16, 2014 that this week's closure of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad is temporary and that it will be reopened once the security situation in the surrounding area is stable. The closure is the latest chapter in the history of the prison, which during Saddam Hussein's rule was one of the main facilities for jailing and executing his opponents. After the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam, Abu Ghraib became notorious once again, for a 2004 scandal over abuses of detainees by American guards. (AP Photo, File)

Abu Ghraib: The Freedom Agenda collapses. (US Military Police Specialist Sabrina Harman)

A U.S. Army soldier handcuffs suspected al-Qaida members in Baqouba, Iraq, Sunday, July 8, 2007. Some 33 suspects were arrested in a joint U.S. and Iraqi overnight raid Sunday. (AP Photo)

Liberated Iraq: Snuffing out insurgency or fueling it? (AP Photo)

US Army (USA) Reserve (USAR) Sergeant First Class (SFC) Len Tidey (left), Bravo Company (B Co), 7-158th Aviation Battalion (BN), 244th (Theater) Aviation Brigade, watches as SFC Tom Rees (right), 1st Information Operations (IO), 10th Mountain Infantry Division (ID), releases boxes of leaflets in an aerial drop from a USA CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter over Helmand Province, Afghanistan (AFG), during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

The Afghanistan surge, 2010: Leaflets announce NATO’s imminent arrival in Marja and promise “government in a box.” (US Army)

CA14DP epa03144222 Demonstrators hold a banner as they shout slogans during a protest against US drone attacks, in Multan, Pakistan, 14 March 2012. At least eight people were killed on 13 March in US drone attack in Pakistan's north-western tribal areas along the Afghan border, a security official said. Hu

Abandoning invade-and-occupy, Washington embraces targeted assassination; not everyone approves. (epa european pressphoto agency b.v. / Alamy Stock Photo)

Angolan Marines, known as Fuzileiros Navais da Marinha de Guerra Angolana (MGA), practice clearing a room in Luanda, Angola, March 4, 2015. U.S. Marines, British Royal Marines and Spanish Marines spent three days training with the Angolans in close-quarters combat, small boat operations and repair, and search and seizure techniques before departing for Cameroon during the maritime security exercise, Africa Partnership Station. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Steve Cushman/Released)

With AFRICOM joining the fight, U.S. trainers teach their charges new routines. (Staff Sgt. Steve Cushman/US Marine Corps)

The rise of ISIS enmeshes the United States in a Fourth Gulf War.