The more plausible explanation, to me, is that it's part of the wealth transfer to the upper class. US Government contractors make billions off war-related contracts and US contractors have lucrative contracts in many Middle East countries that those countries are forced to accept in exchange for US military protection. On top of that, military action is a great way to divert the populace's attention while you're lowering taxes and otherwise screwing over the poor...just look at how well firing a bunch of missiles at an airfield worked for Trump.
If we allowed the Middle East to just work itself out without our meddling, there would be a lot of well-monied, powerful interests that would stand to lose a ton of money and they're willing to exert their influence to ensure that doesn't happen.
Seconded. These wars may not be in the interest of the US as a nation or of the US people, but those who profit from it have been doing so for a long time and gathered immense power, and are not willing to lose the source of their power. It's a kind of self-sustaining feedback loop.
If we allowed the Middle East to just work itself out without our meddling, there would be a lot of well-monied, powerful interests that would stand to lose a ton of money and they're willing to exert their influence to ensure that doesn't happen.