"It is represented as "help" to the general public in order to get them onside." C'mon, LH! That is an opinion, not a universal fact!
Of course 'some' nations or political interests spin the situation to justify (especially to themselves) what they are advocating, but you simply cannot extract motives from a complex situation and label them EITHER 'self-serving' OR 'altrustic'. Why not a complex combination or both... and more?