gosh peg -- let me help you out >>>the shit hit the fan<<<
when the WTC towers came down
From that moment on the USA and about 80 other countries began an "offensive" war against Jihadists and the REGIMES that aid and abet them
SH's regime was front and center a target as we were already at war with him and Iraq as a country was and is ideal for fighting both the military battles and the idealogical battles needed for victory over the Islamofacists
The military battle in Iraq is nearly complete -- the democratic institutions will take a generation or two or three
-- Iran is next
I do not think they are going to stop their enrichment activities