Okay, ya got me here: I concede Nicaragua. Good point there, but it strikes me that the U.S. invested a lot of time in making sure that the region remained stable, long enough for a new government to really take hold. (Incidentally, want to buy a house in Granada?)
I don't see this Bush-led U.S. government as having the patience to occupy Iraq for years at a time, turning it's troops into policemen, waiting through a campaign and an election. You need infrastructure to do that, and ... the U.S. has so far been blowing that infrastructure up.
Panama: I can't say. The U.S. established a presence there mostly for strategic military purposes, and it seems to me that they don't really care who is in command, as long as they get preferential use of the canal. I don't know how much of the income from managing that canal, if any, actually filters down to the common man, even as government aid and programs.
It still seems pretty clear to me that invasion, bombing, and murder are not the most efficient encouragement for democracy.
Re: I'm no soldier, but
Phiilipnes, Panama, Grenada, Nicarauga:
Okay, ya got me here: I concede Nicaragua. Good point there, but it strikes me that the U.S. invested a lot of time in making sure that the region remained stable, long enough for a new government to really take hold. (Incidentally, want to buy a house in Granada?)
I don't see this Bush-led U.S. government as having the patience to occupy Iraq for years at a time, turning it's troops into policemen, waiting through a campaign and an election. You need infrastructure to do that, and ... the U.S. has so far been blowing that infrastructure up.
Panama: I can't say. The U.S. established a presence there mostly for strategic military purposes, and it seems to me that they don't really care who is in command, as long as they get preferential use of the canal. I don't know how much of the income from managing that canal, if any, actually filters down to the common man, even as government aid and programs.
It still seems pretty clear to me that invasion, bombing, and murder are not the most efficient encouragement for democracy.