Seven US Regime Change Wars, Ranked by Disastrousness
Trump has killed Iran's supreme leader and is demanding 'unconditional surrender.' But history tells us that US-led regime change efforts abroad almost never bring positive results.
Many Iranians in the diaspora are cheering on Donald Trump’s war against their home country, despite the growing civilian casualties and widespread destruction, because they believe the fall of the theocratic regime will be a boost for democracy and freedom across Iran.
The problem is that those Iranians, like so many Americans, seem to have forgotten just how catastrophic US regime change wars have been in the past.
So, with the risk of history repeating itself once again, here is Zeteo’s list of seven of the US’s most disastrous attempts at regime change, ranked:
7. Chile
What Happened
When self-proclaimed Marxist Salvador Allende was elected fair and square as Chile’s president in 1970, President Richard Nixon and infamous warmonger Henry Kissinger quickly escalated the US’s already existing campaign against him by making Chile’s economy “scream,” conspiring with the Chilean military, and spending $8 million on covert operations.
The Chilean military successfully took over the country in 1973, and installed General Augusto Pinochet as the country’s leader. Thank goodness for democracy-building!
What Was Said
Nixon justified his administration’s meddling in Chile years later, saying that he had been warned by an Italian businessman that Allende’s victory – combined with Cuba’s Fidel Castro – would create a “red sandwich” in Latin America.
How It Turned Out
One big fascist sandwich.
Pinochet’s 17-year dictatorship was defined by political repression and state violence, with tens of thousands of citizens tortured and an estimated 2,600 to 3,400 citizens executed or forcibly disappeared during his reign. While the country is now a stable democracy, Pinochet’s legacy is rearing its ugly head again through the likes of its new far-right, dictator-praising president, José Antonio Kast.
6. Libya
What Happened
Back in 2011, during the Arab Spring, US-led NATO forces launched a military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s dictatorship for violently suppressing Libya’s pro-democracy protesters. Rebel forces later assassinated Gaddafi, after the US struck his escape convoy.
Sound familiar?
What They Said
“We came, we saw, he died,” the laughing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bragged to reporters at the time.
How It Turned Out
After NATO forces left Libya, rival armed groups began to fight amidst the power vacuum, increasing political instability, and leading to a six-year civil war resulting in thousands of deaths.
The country still suffers from severe economic instability, armed militias, and political divisions today. Even their most recent election – the first in 11 years – was mired with torched electoral offices and rival administrations rejecting the ballot.
5. Democratic Republic of Congo
What Happened
After the Belgian government left the newly independent Congo in chaos and disarray in 1960, Congo’s Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba appealed to the Soviet Union for help. The US quickly interpreted that plea as anti-American, and began to plan his ousting by fomenting protests at Lumumba’s speeches and paying the army commander – Joseph-Désiré Mobutu – to turn against him.
While the US had also begun to devise a covert plot to assassinate Lumumba, the Belgians ultimately beat them to it, killing him in 1961 with the help of armed Congolese men.
What They Said
In the lead-up to Lumumba’s assassination, CIA field officer Larry Delvin warned the US in a cable that, “there may be little time left in which [to] take action [to] avoid another Cuba,” even while admitting he was unsure whether Lumumba was an actual communist.
How It Turned Out
Zero communism, but loads of catastrophe.
Mobutu eventually went on to govern the country as a ruthless and corrupt dictator for over three decades, and was later overthrown in 1997, leading to an even bloodier war that resulted in millions of deaths.
The country today is still engulfed by violent conflict between rival groups, catastrophic hunger, and a paralyzed political system.