Simply leaving after decapitating a regime is probably not optimal, but then neither is setting up a DEPENDENT puppet government. The policy has its unintended consequences. Without internal support in these countries based upon a cultural respect for republican government methinks "The White Man's Burden" is more an avaricious play for raw material and cheap labor than it is benevolent.
I note that the most likely successor to Shah Masoud is a communist.
What a surprise!
I have no desire to see the US military guaranteeing Unocal access to gas, nor protection for copper mines simply because domestic RICOnut environmentalists have made that a necessity through Bubba's minerally strategic EOs. Energy can be used to replace materials as a substitute good, for example in compressing Nitrogen to cool power transmission lines that require far less copper. The possibilities are nearly endless. Build nuclear power plants instead of enforcing access to fossil fuels and playing into the hands of the UN thereby. Note that the Tobin tax is positioned to take advantage of dependence upon imported fossil fuels by taxing payment transfers. I would much rather deprive them of the funds.
That said, perhaps making this country independent and strong is the best long term strategy, as well as purging PC communist fascism from western universities by competition from superior alternatives. In that respect, perhaps we can do more for the world long term, by cutting federal support for state universities and supporting the current flourishing of home schooling. I think that the effect of that infusion of intelligent and independent thinking into the highest echelons of government and industry would be far more rapid than is commonly supposed; i.e., less than ten years.
You have seen my comments on civil defense; they stand. If you want me to repost them here I will do so.
Similar to homeland defense by the militia and civil defense by the free market, strengthening our ability to render aid to a collapsing world communism is far preferable to kissing its royal tusch to get at raw materials controlled by western banks.
We disagree Annalex, I do not think we have the population or resources to conduct our affairs and dominate the lives of 1.5 billion Islamists in Russo/China's back yard, nor do I think that it is in our interest to so attempt. Lack of respect for the national sovereignty of other nations will have unintended consequences at home that in my judgement are not worth the risk.