[user104658]

Their deaths were not pointless in terms of what they were sent there to do because in reality, the soundbite that they were there to unite Iraq under democracy was absolute nonsense. That was not why they were sent. So it doesn't matter if the country now crumbles: in the eyes of the global powers who started that war, this is completely irrelevant, and the job is no less "done", so the soldiers deaths were not pointless... They are troops sworn in to carry out orders to achieve objectives. They carried out their orders in Iraq and the objectives (which had nothing to do with installing a democratic system) were achieved.

Whether or not each of us agrees with those motivations or objectives is an entirely separate debate. It is not a soldiers job to decide the objectives of his commanders. And one soldier dying fulfilling his role can be no more or less "pointless" than any other.