I'm sorry to say, while I appreciate your service and respect your viewpoint IMO I think your position is wrong.
First, being in a hostile environment means exactly that...you are going to be facing danger. Unknown enemies are going to be taking pot-shots at you whenever they can. It is not the duty of those you left behind at home to "protect" you by curbing their own freedoms; it is your job to protect yourself and you squadmates, their job to protect themselves and you, and your officer's and nco's jobs to look out for everyone within mission parameters.
Second, the people you are facing need no excuses to shoot at you. I mean, did each one pop up and state "I'm shooting you because someone drew a picture of Mohammed!", or "I'm shooting you because someone just burned a Quoran!"...? No, they were shooting at you because they want you GONE!
Third, you were in Afghanistan. I'm sure you are aware of the history of that part of the world. The hill tribes have been shooting at everyone including each other for as long as missile weapons have existed. Right now several are unified against western troops, just as they were unified against Russian troops, and against British Raj troops, and against the Moguls, Persians, Alexander...Again, they definitely need no special excuse to shoot at foreign soldiers stationed there.
Why should people back home be limited in their freedoms simply because you think it might make people already hostile somehow "less" hostile? The only way that would happen is to LEAVE Afghanistan entirely (which in my opinion is the better option).