>>Schools, police stations, roads, bridges, community centers, power stations, sewage systems, etc all fall into 'nation building.' They are all 'things'
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>Well I still say that those are more along the lines of "goodwill gestures" to build trust and confidence in the people and the real objective behind "nation building" is to change the mentality of "the people".
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>For example, the original "plan" for the Iraq invasion had no "nation building" included and the troops leaving very quickly after victory. It was assumed that the nation was "built" and that the people would be overjoyed with Saddam's demise and take control for themselves. At best there may have been 'plans' to repair destroyed (in the war) structures, but no "nation building".
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Iraq WAS built until we bombed the hell out of it.