A raid in the dark, a leader dragged to a foreign shore, and then a promise to "run" a whole nation. This is the moment the creature opens its eyes and everyone insists it will be gentle. Build a system on force and secrecy and you should not gasp when it learns the language of domination. The talk of oil companies moving in and crude being sold is the spark that turns ambition into a monster with an appetite. You may tell yourself it is temporary, but every temporary measure grows teeth once it tastes power. The supporters cheering at the spectacle should ask who gets to hold the chain when the creature strains against it. If this becomes another endless occupation dressed as reform, it will be a bloody, pointless tragedy, and the authors will pretend they never wrote the first chapter.