PREPLANNED?
Intentionally creating confusion and chaos is a well-known business strategy, AND it doesn't take a genius to carry it off!
Witness: When Intel saw AMD gaining on it's business, it quickly created a whole slew of Pentium chips, dozens of variations that no human being could possibly comprehend all at once. The strategy worked. People didn't know what to buy anymore, so they simply bought what they were told. And although it had superior technology, AMD was forstalled for another year, just by all the razzle dazzle confusion in the marketplace.
If you want to sell something, create a lot of confusion and distress first. Now, I'm not claiming the U.S. is doing this with their foreign policy. But
read this article about hawks flushing game-birds, and then consider the possibility.
Every company I've worked for has engaged in some pretty severe and ruthless power-grabbing strategies, flat ignoring the law unless it cost them too much. Business development is a VERY creative field!
Does anyone in our government have a background in business?