You think establishing a Democratic government with pro-western ties is a "puppet" regime?
I guess you were happier with a totalitarian dictatorship which was anti-western, brutally and sadistically oppressed and murdered its own people, supported terrorists, was working on nuclear weapons, tried to assassinate a sitting U.S. President, threatened stability in the Middle East and continually violated the terms of an agreement it had signed which included firing at British and Western Planes trying to enforce the terms of that agreement?
I guess you'd have REALLY like Joe Stalin.
As a matter of fact I was perfectly happy with a nearly bled to death, non-threatening cesspool sitting in the midst of much more threatening ME nations.
You might say "let sleeping dying dogs lie"!
The little Napoleonic, pseudo-cowboy thought he was opening up a can of "whup ass" and he unfortunately found it was full of worms.