they were never the good guy. not for a single day since their existence.
That's an odd statement. Life isn't a children's movie and there's no pure good and evil, and a country-- not a single entity, and not frozen in time is so ambiguous and constantly-changing that stamping it with a single "GOOD", "BAD", "LAZY", "VIOLENT" stamp is reductionist and lazy. If you don't know the situation well enough (not saying you personally don't), I think it's better to just stay silent or at least make it clear that you are not certain in your views.