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I'm certainly no defender of the US's Middle East strategy, but I don't think apathy has much to do with it. Disengaging with the Middle East would just require a different kind of apathy. We'd have to read about many of the same bombings, massacres, civil wars, and say "I hope they figure it out but this is not our problem".

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I think you're mixing up the motivations and sentiments of those in power and the general public.

US foreign policy is not motivated by an empathetic response to address "bombings, massacres, civil wars". That's only relevant in the calculus of managing the public narrative.

Empires don't enter military conflicts to save or better lives. They do it to control resources and counter regional or global imperial competitors.

Sure, but I think the sentiments of the general public are the free variable here. Electing only kind hearted politicians seems like an infeasible strategy.

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