US counterterrorism operations touched 85 countries in the last 3 years alone

Nearly 20 months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush stood on an aircraft carrier under a giant “Mission Accomplished” banner and declared “major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” Nearly 18 years later, the U.S. is still entangled in military action in the Middle East and beyond.

After the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11, much of the U.S. military activity has been focused on counterterrorism efforts, either in direct combat, through drone attacks, border patrols, intelligence gathering or training other nations' security forces.

These...