Sunday, July 01, 2007

POLL: Which second rate Third World Dictator is Bush most like?

I just read that piece by the Churchill historian who compared Bush to Neville Chamberlain, and I couldn't help feeling that it was unfair to Chamberlain, who was wrong but not an ignorant wannabe dictator.

It is likewise unfair to compare Bush to the first rank of evil dictators of the 20th century. He lacks the staying power of Stalin or Mao, and the propaganda flair of Hitler that made him so memorable.

Therefore, the proper analogy is to Third World thug kleptocrats. But which one?


Which second-rate, Third World Dictator is Bush most like?
Saddam Hussein (primarily for external wars and suppression of internal dissent)
Francisco Franco (admittedly not Third World but the model for post-Hitler fascist regimes)
Augusto Pinochet (admired by Milton Friedman and other right wing thinkers)
Ferdinand Marcos (bland kleptocratic thuggery)
Baby Doc Duvalier (primarily for the name that inspired me to call W Baby Bush from the start)
Shah of Iran
Idi Amin (for Caligula like excess)
Pol Pot (for screwing his own people to the point that he made Vietnam look like the good guys when they invaded)
Kim Jong-il (for a spoiled, petulant mediocrity getting to office with dad's help)
other
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This list is off, none of the men above have invaded several countries during their tenure or tried to overthrow foreign governments like in the case of Venezuela or Hiati. Try sifting through the many crazed kings and emperors this world has seen throughout history. Nero and Caligula are the first that come to mind. They probably did as much damage abroad as they did to their own empire pretty much like the sociopath currently occupying the White House.

Freedem said...

You left Off Francisco Solano Lopez of Paraguay.

The Ultimate "You can't lose if you don't quit" dictator who inherited the job from his smarter father.

Launched an unprovoked war against Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, and refused on point of ego to quit, even after Paraguay had clearly lost.

Having killed 60% of the population (and 80% of the males) His successor had to institute Polygamy to manage the widows, and get the population back.

All of South America is still recovering after 150 years.