I believe history tells us that the US can, and has, supported dictators without the issue of whether this is "American" or not ever coming up.
Jeanne Kirkpatrick comes to mind, with her, in retrospect, mistaken distinction between totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Back then she was talking about, inter alia, the Shah of Iran, and General Pinochet, who, yes, probably were better than the alternatives, but still dictators.
Thus, I believe that you are making a mistake when you equate the allegation, "you are in effect supporting a dictator" with the allegation "and therefore you are not a good American." |
