d117,
See I would disagree with you on two counts. (1) The US has lost more people than Pakistan in the WoT. We lost 3000 on 9/11 and we have lost about 5,000 in Afghanistan and Iraq since. (2) The US has not killed very many Pakistanis nor destroyed very many buildings in the WoT. I think drone strikes have killed ~ 150, may 1/2 civilians, who knows. Drone strikes have destroyed maybe 40 houses. So, the turning of your northern areas into hell is caused 99% by the militants, both native Pakistani sympathizers and foreign jihadis. The US has not done the "hell turning".
PS, I lived in Upstate NY near Lake Ontario for many years. I don't really like NY City though. For big city entertainment, we would drive around the lake to Toronto.