We need to figure out how to get along with them. Even Barry Goldwater said so.
Negatives: Organized crime, cyber hackers, alcoholism, obesity
Positives: A European door to the enigmatic East, Long religious tradition, smart scientists, resourcefulness, hospitable people

It is much less costly to have good relations with other nations. IMO, even the Afghanistan invasion in the 1980's may have had some good intentions. The left wing in Arabian countries favors womens rights and modernization---extreme Islamists oppose this. We got stuck between these two movements with Reagan's arming of the mujahideen, and now the weapons the US supplied were turned against us. The Khurdistanis----who are fighting the Islamic extremist ISIS---is also a leftwing movement. Unfortunately they have a violent confrontation going on with the Turkish government, with terrorist tactics. But how much of the background do we really understand? The PKK at least is able to raise people committed to stopping ISIS----better to be aligned with them than the opposite extreme.