Lonewolf,
Whilst I disagree firmly with some of your views, I would at least totally agree with you about politics, and the greed for power and wealth.
At the end of the day, this was all about oil. Nothing else, nothing more.
The US Government couldn't give a fig for the majority of atrocities committed in many countries provided they get their oil and other stuff (their covert support of the Pol Pot regime is proof enough of this).
As luck would have it, I was in Tehran during the overthrowing of the Shah. I spent a short time there as a kid, and it was amazingly westernised. It's a great shame that whatever flag you fight for, you fight for politicians, not your people.