Have the sacrifices by Western troops in Afghanistan/Iraq made the world a safer place?
IMHO, no.
We, the West, lost sight of who we were fighting and that was a huge mistake.
The Taliban, odious as they were/are, were never our enemy or a threat to us.
We embroiled ourselves in a war we don't know how to win or how to end.
Added into the mix is the "cause" it's given the rabid right wing of Islam as evidenced by the scum wanting to march through Wotton Bassett.