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A '''"friendly dictator"''' from the American point of view is one who is [[authoritarian]] but not [[totalitarian]].
A '''"friendly dictator"''' from the American point of view is one who is [[authoritarian]] but not [[totalitarian]].
In the 1980s, friendly dictators included
In the 1980s, friendly dictators included
the [[Shah of Iran]], [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle|President Somoza]] of [[Nicaragua]], [[President Pinochet]] of [[Chile]], [[President]] [[Saddam Hussein]] of [[Iraq]] and [[President Marcos]] of the [[Philippines]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/84debates/2prez4.html The Second 1984 Presidential Debate]</ref> In debates over American foreign policy, liberals and conservatives differed over whether it was better to withdraw support for their regimes (on [[human rights]] grounds) or to support them as the [[lesser of two evils]].
the [[Shah of Iran]], [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle|President Somoza]] of [[Nicaragua]], [[President Pinochet]] of [[Chile]], [[President]] [[Saddam Hussein]] of [[Iraq]], [[President Marcos]] of the [[Philippines]] and [[Efraín Ríos Montt|President Efraín Ríos Montt]] of [[Guatemala]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/84debates/2prez4.html The Second 1984 Presidential Debate]</ref> In debates over American foreign policy, liberals and conservatives differed over whether it was better to withdraw support for their regimes (on [[human rights]] grounds) or to support them as the [[lesser of two evils]].
A well known quote on this subject is from [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]. Asked about his support for Somoza, he replied that "[Somoza] may be a SOB, but he's our SOB."
A well known quote on this subject is from [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]. Asked about his support for Somoza, he replied that "[Somoza] may be a SOB, but he's our SOB."