Basically we spent 20 years fighting "terrorists". So now it's really easy to paint one side or the other as the "terrorists". And thanks to Islamophobia pushed by mainstream TV shows and Movies, if you get painted as a "terrorist" then everyone in your country is also a "terrorist".

The word is in quotes because very few of the groups fought by regular forces (regular infantry as opposed to special operations) were actually international militant NGOs like Al Qaeda. Mostly they were local militias mad at the coalition forces for their own reasons, like "Why did you kill my kid in an airstrike!?!", or "I like the Taliban because they pay me really good for the poppy you torched. Also, you torched my livelihood in a country that has no safeguards against starving to death." And even the Taliban, ridiculously evil bastards that they are, were never an AQ like group. They were concerned solely with taking back Afghanistan.

All of this nuance was lost on anyone who didn't read the actual reports coming out of these countries though and many of those reports were classified. So all most people got was their favorite action and/or police drama shoveling the idea that all muslims are terrorists. With a side of Fox News villifying any brown people they could find.

So now, Israel walks in, sees all this, screams "terrorist!" and shoots the nearest Gazan kid. Predictable results were predicted many times by academic scholars.