Iraq war was so bad that to show yourself a moderate, you had to compare it to Afghanistan where there was at least a bit of legitimacy. I thought Afghanistan was a bad idea from the start, long before it was cool to say so out loud.
Germany and Japan turned into examples of successful nation building but I think it's high time to accept that those two were the exceptions to the rule and Africa, Middle East and South America are better examples of meddling in other nations.
Will we ever learn? I doubt it, eurocentrism has no limits in its arrogance.