As long as the pan-Islamic forces (AQ's stated goal is a pan-Islamic state, after all (return to Caliphate)) are destabilized, the US "wins." Our geopolitical goals are remarkably consistent across administrations.
The US is a great power that seeks to prevent other powers from challenging our hegemony in regions important to us. The Middle East is important to us, hence we will seek to destabilize nascent powers.
If European interests coincide with ours—or if a State wishes to ally herself with the US for whatever reason—they join us.
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