>>>>Based on everything you know, no country has ever overthrown the dictator of a foreign nation and created a soverign democracy.
>>>>
>>>>True or false?
>>>
>>>Ummm, you don't consider [West] Germany a sovereign democracy after the demise of the Third Reich?
>>
>>The context of overthrow in this case is an offensive move, not a defensive one. I could have been more clear about that.
>
>Would you consider an example where covert [and overt] policies lead to the overthrow of a dictatorship which resulted in the creation of democracy without actually going to war? I guess this could be a collapse instead of an overthrow since there was no "real" war. In this case I am referring to the Reagan years which ultimately lead to the collapse of East Germany, USSR, etc. Now that is taking the offensive.
The Reagan policies are a different point of view than the Bush doctrine:
In the months following September 11th two distinct schools of thought arose in the Bush Administration regarding the critical policy question of how to handle potentially dangerous countries such as Iraq, Iran, and North Korea ("Axis of Evil" states). Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, as well as US Department of State specialists, argued for what was essentially the continuation of existing US foreign policy. These policies, developed during the long years of the Cold War, sought to establish a multi-lateral consensus for action (which would likely take the form of increasingly harsh sanctions against the problem states, summarized as the policy of containment). The opposing view, argued by Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and a number of influential Department of Defense policy makers such as Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, held that direct and unilateral action was both possible and justified and that America should embrace the opportunities for democracy and security offered by its position as sole remaining superpower.
President Bush ultimately sided with the Department of Defense camp (also described as the neoconservatives), and their recommendations form the basis for the Bush Doctrine.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_DoctrineSo the cold war strategy is similar to how we've been dealing with Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
The strategy we're trying out now with Iraq is obviouslly different than in the past.
