Larry Jaques wrote:

Turning the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan back over to their own
people would be nice, too. Wars are expensive. Especially wars which
don't accomplish a damned thing, let alone the establishment of a
democratic gov't there. Grrrr...

Well, there's the deterrent effect...

Look what we did to Sadaam: We invaded his country, deposed him from power,
exiled his family, confiscated his fortune, took over his homes, imprisoned
his friends, killed his children, and eventually got his ass hanged.

In a rational world, tyrants likewise inclined would be incentivized to
moderate their behavior lest the same thing happen to them.