This article offers a perspective from the Chinese side of things and is from a Chinese news publication. The biggest point the article points out is that Iranians need to decide their future, which is in line with Trump’s goal. However, the rest of the piece attacks all our past failures, which we have had many. Trump needs to bring this war to an end and soon. Americans are not patient when it comes to wars. All IMO.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-03-18/Iran-s-path-should-be-decided-by-Iranians--1LC6g6WBrl6/p.html
“Editor’s note: CGTN’s First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.
With or without openly declaring it, Washington’s goal in Iran has long been widely perceived as regime change. From sanctions and diplomatic isolation to military pressure and covert actions, US policy toward Iran has consistently been aimed at weakening the country’s current political system and encouraging its replacement with one more aligned with American interests. Yet history has repeatedly shown that external attempts to reshape another nation’s political order rarely produce the outcomes their designers promise.
America’s track record in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan is a stark testament to the failure of its regime change and nation-building “experiments.” In 2003, the US invaded Iraq under the false pretext of eliminating weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), toppling Saddam Hussein’s government only to plunge the country into years of sectarian violence, political chaos, and economic collapse. The American-installed government failed to unify the nation, and terrorism flourished in the power vacuum created by the destruction of Iraq.
Similarly, in 2011, the US and its allies launched military strikes against Libya, ousting Muammar Gaddafi and leaving the country fractured by civil war, economic ruin, and lawlessness. In Afghanistan, the US spent 20 years attempting to impose a Western-style democracy after overthrowing the Taliban, only to withdraw in 2021, leaving behind a humanitarian crisis.
These tragedies prove once and for all that bombing campaigns and foreign intervention do not bring democracy; they bring death, displacement, and despair. As experts have noted, American efforts to transplant its own system onto other nations have consistently backfired.
Washington should realize a simple fact: The right of a nation’s people to choose their own path is not a subjective ideal – it is a fundamental principle enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law. This right is not reserved for certain nations or cultures; it is universal.”