New Guidance on Counter-Insurgency

[Ken White]

True in a sense, but the government in question is our creation. We need to remember that, because nobody else in the picture is likely to forget it.

In either sense -- as you very accurately said earlier:

..In my part of the world, and I suspect elsewhere, Americans in particular have a reputation for being very easy to manipulate.

So did we create a government or participate in a massive con game. I suspect more the latter than the former. I also suspect most everyone in the neighborhood is aware of the fact we got shnookered a bit -- just as we did in Kosovo. We are so easy...

Your later post:

...is actually an understatement...It would be more accurate to say the government in question is our infant, still suckling at our collective breast. We can put as much effort as we want into announcing that we are just helping out, but I doubt we'll fool anyone, except possibly ourselves.

is, I think even further off on the 'understatement' part but is certainly correct on the suckling aspect.

As for fooling anyone, my bet would be that a few of the more passionate Anti-American Americans and others will espouse your view but that most of the world will not (brilliant move by us bringing in NATO, that'll aid in spreading the blame... ) and thus that "it is our creature" idea will soon go by the wayside -- except for the usual few over wrought Americans who will complain that they wouldn't exist if it weren't for us, ya-da ya-da...

Bottom line is we opened and held up the edge of the tent, the camel got his nose and then his body inside and now we don't know how to get him out -- and the rest of the world will, mostly, figure that out. Not least because we will very likely go to foolish lengths to be sure that government gets its own way on many things. Even to the point of self harm -- to the US...