I have always wondered, looking at what Iraq is now, whether if Iraqis had an opportunity to re-do things if they would have wanted for Saddam to be removed? Knowing what they know now. Same thing for Libya who protested in the streets for Gaddafi to be removed, and for that matter those in Syria who wanted Assad out five years ago during the Arab Spring. Maybe Libya and Syria are better examples than Iraq, since in those two countries the genesis was a revolt by the people while in Iraq it was a military response to Saddam being a threat. So, it’s probably cleaner if I focus on Libya and Syria, but looking at the utter mess that those countries are in today, I wonder if - with hindsight - citizens there would have wanted ‘liberation’ from their respective despots knowing that those strong men would simply be replaced by internal schism, civil war and ISIS.
Your analysis is good. Gaddafi was NO threat to us. He became a stabilizing influence in the Arab community. A bad Obama-//Clinton thing.
Assad is not a threat to us. We should not want him out at this time. Bad in general, Bush, Clinton, and maybe Trump.
Saddam was the only stabilizer against Iran. We were negligent in wanting him out. That was all a Bush thing.