There was a time not so long ago when the United States opposed incursions into the Middle East. Witness the 1956 collusion between Israel, Britain and France to
retake the Suez Canal. Then President Eisenhower went ape when he found out about the plan, and refused to have anything to do with it. Quite a refreshing change from the current crop of Republicans running the show, though the lessons of Suez can be seen in the Iraq fiasco today.
By the way, I just watched an excellent documentary called "
Why We Fight," all about Eisenhower's speech warning of the coming military-industrial complex, and how his predictions have come all too true. Check it out, it's a really good film.