Do you think anyone in a position of political power truly thinks of themselves as a "thug"? I imagine, in their own ways, they think they are doing a "just" and noble deed. Much like the way you characterize America's perpetual war machine, that has destabilized the world in direct ways that supposedly require us to go BACK and "steer them...in the direction our fellow citizens desire." See : Iran, ISIS, several Latin American countries, etc.