Problem with American leaders is they have never lived in a Muslim country. I grew up in a Muslim area, and know how they think first hand and up close.
Mubarak, Saddam and Gaddafi kept the radicals in control. The final blunder will be removing Bashar Assad.
Radical Islam can not be permanently subdued by outside military force. Only secular Muslim dictators can keep a lit on it. If you do not understand, be prepared to shed more blood and treasure.
I think most people understand that rulers of muslim-majority countries need to be heavy-handed to maintain order.
It becomes a problem when those rulers use their power in neighboring countries. It becomes a bigger problem when those neighboring countries are US allies,
To suggest that it would have been better to keep Saddam Hussein in power after invading Kuwait and breaking most of the terms of the Gulf War cease fire is absurd. To project weakness to a muslim only invites more violence.