Great point about not really understanding the mindset of the people we're "helping."

Fallacy of the Mirror Image by Charley Reese:

"We all know how Americans would react to the accidental death of a loved one. They'd be on the phone to a lawyer, wanting to sue and put a dollar figure on the death of the loved one. But early in the war, when an American officer showed up at the door of an Iraqi family whose son had been killed by mistake and asked the father what compensation he wanted, the Iraqi replied, "Ten dead Americans."

Then there was the boy in the early days of the war who lost his family and his arms and legs. Valiant efforts were made to save his life, and he eventually was flown to England and fitted with prosthetics. The Western press made the kid a big deal, probably because they thought it reflected well on the West. But when the boy was finally well enough to hold a press conference, what did say? Thank you? No, he said he hoped and prayed the men who wiped out his family were burned alive. The press instantly lost interest in him.

...Washington defines victory in Iraq as reconciliation between the Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds. That is, instead, a definition of failure, because it is not going to happen. To say that if we leave there will be a blood bath is to say we will never leave. There is a reason why all Iraqi governments have been powerful central governments long on coercion and short on democracy. The reason is, it's the only way a nation with a divided population can be ruled.

...Washington seems to have an infinite capacity for self-delusion. The essential question regarding the surge and new security plan has yet to be asked. What will happen when the U.S. soldiers leave? The violence will resume, of course. It's kindergarten-level knowledge that insurgents make themselves scarce when conventional military forces move in. So, of course, there will be a temporary reduction in violence, but how long do you want Americans living in Baghdad? Forever?"