I would say that 'colony' would also be euphemistic in this case, but it is hard to be literally descriptive about a cynical attempt to control territory under

I would say that 'colony' would also be euphemistic in this case, but it is hard to be literally descriptive about a cynical attempt to control territory under the guise of externally instituting a democracy (how do you externally institute a democracy anyway?), without offending someone. 'The Great Game' would probably be the classic euphemism for the ongoing Afghani affair, since that is what it has been called since the days of Rudyard Kipling.