Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Here Are Seven 'Autocrats' That Are Supported By U.S. Military Aid

Hamid Karzai at an Afghan National Military Academy ceremony in March 2010. NATO photo

Seven Autocrats Backed by U.S. Military Aid -- Robert Beckhusen & War is Boring staff

With friends like these …

Autocrats. Potentates. Plutocrats. It’s no exaggeration to say the U.S. has a lot of less-than-democratic friends around the world.

Some of them came to power by killing their rivals. Others came to power through elections only to fix the next vote—or employed autocratic means to consolidate control under the veneer of democratic legitimacy. Then there are the autocrats who rose to power within undemocratic systems while being supported by Washington.

Granted, the U.S. has fewer dictatorial allies today than during the height of the Cold War, when much of the Third World lived under despots backed by either Washington or Moscow. But more than zero is still too many. From south of the border to Africa and the Middle East, here are seven.

Read more ....

My Comment: At least this list is smaller than what it was a few decades ago .... we can at least hope that this trend will continue.

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