Farewell to Overt Ideological Intervention

At times, the leaders of nations send numerous troops abroad so that governments can be created or preserved. Some of these operations are completed without much trouble, but it is important to emphasise how many turn out to be quite arduous. Most officials elect to abandon these difficult missions. This tendency was actually on display in the 1980s. At the beginning of this decade, the leaders of Iran elected to invade Iraq. As this operation commenced, Iranian officials were quite confident that another Islamic theocracy could be established inside this Middle Eastern nation. However, once multiple setbacks were experienced, this confidence began to dissipate and the initiative was brought to an end. Since the conclusion of the 1980s, only a small number of nations have made the same transition as Iran. In this article, it will be argued that the US recently became a member of this select group.