J.Robert DuBois,

You stated:
The US has had a great run of making bad governments look good and persuading people to like the government we think they ought to like! Just look at all our success stories: Hussein, Mubarak, Saleh...
The choice of names reflects a contemporary focus on Arab and Muslim regions. Since 1945 the USA, sometimes with allies, has done a great deal of 'making' and 'persuading' in other places - nor where development was say in vogue. Places like Greece and Italy, later on and further afield Allende in Chile and Mobutu in Zaire. Many of these places no longer appear in focus.

It would be a mistake if the USA's perceptions of the places for 'making' and 'persuading' were limited to Arab and Muslim regions. Oh yes, what is missing in the calculus? Oil I nearly forgot.

Nor should we overlook the private sector, NGO's or communities. As illustrated by the UK population via charities sending abroad UK Pounds 4.0 billion p.a. or US$6.4 billion more than sent in official aid.