Geopolitics is a lot more complicated than what people like to believe, and not because there are good guys and bad guys making intricate interwoven plans, but because all humans are flawed and communication is hard.

Large hierarchies of people are almost always working on their back foot, reacting instead of planning. Do the inherent flaws of capitalism make America a malevolent actor on the global stage? Yes, but does that preclude other nations from making similar idiotic decisions? Of course not.

Hell you don’t even have to be a capitalist, just look at China’s history with Cambodia.