If you don't stand behind our troops stand in front of them

I saw this bumper sticker recently "If you don't stand behind our troops, stand in front of them".
I could make a pretty good guess to the kind of person who put this on their vehicle. Probably a decent, lower middle class, hard working, patriotic citizen. Perhaps they served in the military or have family serving in the military.
I can say with absolute certainty that this individual has no idea what the hell is going on in the world and no clue why poor Americans who entered the military because they saw few options for their future are dying on the other side of the world.
This is exactly what is killing America. Decent people, who do love their country are so confused that they support the very vehicles that in no uncertain terms are designed to destroy America. If you think for a minute that the most dangerous man in the world, public enemy number 1, has been able to evade the most advanced military in the history of the world for 8 years by living in a cave I feel sorry for you.
Briefly consider the facts. The U.S.A. armed and equipped bin Laden (as "we" did with Saddam Hussein) as he fought the Soviet's in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The U.S. knew that Afghanistan would prove to be a humiliating defeat for the USSR and spent billions equipping, training, and arming the Mujaheddin resistance, which included Osama bin Laden. When the plan worked and the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan support for Afghanistan from the U.S. stopped leaving it a third world wasteland.
Bin Laden grew increasingly hostile to the U.S. in light of it's interference/occupation of the Middle East. Ultimately he set up his base of operation in Sudan. The Sudanese government offered to arrest and extradite bin Laden on multiple occasions. The U.S. government did not want this, in spite of the fact that by this time bin Laden was known to be actively engaged in international terrorism. Instead the U.S. government pushed for Sudan to expel bin Laden, leading him to relocate to Afghanistan.
None of these points is subject to argument, even the official 9/11 Commission acknowledges all of this.
The question one must ask is why would the U.S. want Osama bin Laden to set up his base of operation in Afghanistan? Afghanistan has been known as the place where empires go to die for centuries. If you don't believe it, check the history of the area and name one successful invasion/occupation of Afghanistan and get back to me with that. Less than 10 years prior to effectively sending bin Laden back to Afghanistan the U.S. had successfully supported bin Laden as he and the rest of the Mujaheddin in their successful defeat of the USSR.
So here we are 8 years after we started a war in Afghanistan, with a president that campaigned on ending the wars we are in now sending more troops to die for what? Do you think with the technology we have today that we couldn't have found bin Laden and killed him by now? Can you explain what "winning" in Afghanistan would look like for the U.S.? Can you possibly tell me how American troops dying there possibly protects our freedom as the other bumper stickers imply?
Back to the original thought, patriotic Americans have been duped into misplacing their patriotism. Rather than simply "supporting our troops" as a patriotic duty, patriots need to ask why are our troops dying in Afghanistan and Iraq? Patriotism should be rooted in a thoughtful and honest assessment of what is in the best interest of America. American soldiers are being sent to die for what? There is no such thing as winning in Afghanistan or Iraq for that matter. They weren't sent there to win anything. These wars were orchestrated for reasons that have nothing to do with "fighting terrorism" or "protecting our freedom". Bin Laden is alive an kicking because the powers that be want him to be. Think of the freedoms that have been lost and the money spent because of the boogey man living in a cave in Afghanistan.