I wouldn't use the word promoting, that would be something the US government has done the world over throughout the last century, when that was in favor of "US INTERESTS"
Over the last century, the United States government has often provided, and continues to provide today, financial assistance, arms, and technical support to numerous authoritarian regimes across the world. A variety of reasons have been provided to justify the apparent contradictions between support for dictators and the democratic ideals expressed in the American constitution.[1]
United States support of authoritarian regimes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And, there was a time, not too distant now, when Saddam Hussein himself was one such beneficiary!! Then, when it was no longer in the US's interest to do so, then suddenly the handwringing began over Saddam's humanitarian failures and it was time to demonize him, exploit his both real and imagined crimes and threats, and to even fabricate lies about him (such as his ability to create mushroom clouds over US cities, viles of anthrax, and mobile WMD delivery systems) so as to frighten and gain support of the American people for a war that they now recognize as a mistake.
On 10th Anniversary, 53% in U.S. See Iraq War as Mistake