|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.commentary.org/articles/jonathan-schanzer/regime-change-iran-america-trump/
Regime Change without Nation-Building
(Commentary) Jonathan Schanzer - America and Israel are at war with Iran. Both countries have been targeted by the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979. Should American aims include using force to change regimes we believe violate the international order and pose a long-term threat to us and to the West? Not all regime change is bad or disastrous. The U.S. has overthrown more than three dozen hostile regimes in modern history. Some have been remarkable successes. The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and its unconditional surrender led to the emergence of Germany as a stable and democratic European ally. Similarly, the defeat of Imperial Japan in 1945 led to a democratic Japan that is one of Washington's most important Asian allies. In 1983, U.S. forces entered Grenada, defeated the Grenadian military and Cuban forces on the island, and supported constitutional elections in 1984 that restored civilian democratic rule. In 1986, the U.S. toppled Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos after fraudulent elections that rocked the country. In 1989, the U.S. removed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. More recently, America toppled the dictator of Venezuela, a narco-state that undermined American security and national interests in South America. Admittedly, not all regime change efforts have ended well. Iraq and Afghanistan are America's ultimate regime-change failures. In the case of Afghanistan, the war was just; the Taliban sheltered al-Qaeda leaders before the 9/11 attacks. President George W. Bush's error was trying to forge Afghanistan into a flourishing democracy. Bush made the same error in Iraq. Regime change was hard in both Iraq and Afghanistan due to the interference of Iran, which provided training and material support for Iraqi militias and enabled deadly attacks against American troops. History is replete with American regime-change experiments that did not bankrupt America and did not thrust it into a forever war. The writer is executive director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies.