It wouldn't actually be that bad if we followed the model that General Butler so concisely explained--the thing is, we don't.

Yes, we marched in, took over, and set up stable, if not oppressive, puppet governments that we could do business with, the Shah in Iran, Quadaffi (or however you want to spell it)in Libya,Saddam in Iraq, the Taliban(or don't you remember that we set them up?) etc. --so far so good--

The thing is, we then we decided, for one reason or another, that we didn't like them(usually, it was because if you set up a despotic government that is focussed on creating wealth, sooner or later, the liberalizing effects of wealth trickle down, and the body politic starts to think they ought to be self-determining, rather than chattels to Western interests) and, with great fanfare, fussed about torture and rampant violation of civil rights(which, to be completely honest, we taught them how to do) so we subsidize random, dubious sorts to overthrow the Shah, start the Arab Spring, invade Iraq--and expect that some sort of liberal, congenial, economically cooperative democracy will just spring from the ground. And so it goes...