[hnbad]

Well, exploiting their resources for hundreds of years, then granting them "independence" while keeping a financial and economic stranglehold along with ill-fated financial "aid" projects offering cheap loans to build an export-focused penny economy and bringing in foreign companies rather than focusing on local sustainability and then bombing them or assassinating their leaders (or installing dictators) when you don't like the direction they're headed is a bit more complex than "bad policy".

Though to be fair, a lot of that also applies to South America and the Middle East.