> However, we don't do ourselves any favors by pushing sympathetic moderates towards extremism by waging wars that only serve to open a power vacuum. The law o

> However, we don't do ourselves any favors by pushing sympathetic moderates towards extremism by waging wars that only serve to open a power vacuum. The law of unintended consequences is a tricky beast. I have pasted this link before, but it bears repeating. It's thorny by design, and happens to snide at US - but they are certainly not the only ones who have succesfully created their own enemies. Usually by supporting and funding earlier allies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4H_E8b-qmo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4H_E8b-qmo IIRC Iran was a massive source of counterfeit US dollars in the 1980's and early 1990's. The reason? The last Shah of Persia was supported by the US and was even provided with a mint-quality printing press. [0][1] When he fled the country after the 1979 uprising, the printing press was left behind. 0: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/17960/did-usa-send-federal-reserve-system-officers-to-iran-to-print-cash-for-iranian-o http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/17960/did-usa-se... 1: http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-02/news/mn-1906_1_counterfeit-bills http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-02/news/mn-1906_1_counte... EDIT: made quote appear in italics