The founders of our own nation faced a similar situation; support the declaration of independence and face death. The king wasn't at all fond of the colonists who wanted freedom. Yes we got help from the French and I'm sure the founders were thankful for it. But it was our war. An American (well future American anyway) wrote the declaration of independence and other Americans signed it. It would have been a different story if Napoleon wrote it. How would the founders have reacted if the French just came here and told us they were going to liberate us with or without our consent, and then set up a government for us modeled after their own?
The big difference that jumps out at me on this is that our "king" was weeks away from us, and months away from actually piecing together a military force to come get us. In the case in Iraq, Saddam and his goons were just hours away, and would snuff out a revolt in a heart beat. This is why the Kurds lost so many people when Saddam gased them. Fortunately, following the first part of the Gulf War, the Kurdish regions were under US protection (no-fly zone), allowing them to develop an autonomous region and prosper.
