“If we were the good guys & the most powerful nation in the world, why didn’t we use some of that power to make their lives better?”
Yes. Its for real. There are utopian expectations of what US can do. When it does not happen, or not quickly enough (like in reconstruction of the abused ran down Iraqi infrastructure) - its because we don’t WANT to do it.
Exactly! Even in domestic affairs you'll see that kind of thinking. New Orleans isn't put back to the way it was before Katrina yet?