It's also politically useful to have internal enemies who resist the righteous occupation. You can justify all sorts of measures if you frame them as rebels aga

It's also politically useful to have internal enemies who resist the righteous occupation. You can justify all sorts of measures if you frame them as rebels against your rightful claims. This is very standard totalitarian playbook for the past century. Interesting parallels to the US attacks and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. We go from being liberators (in our minds) to occupiers of ungrateful nations. And we have to stick around so long as people resist, because politically people hate to "lose".