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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: thames_sider who wrote (29588)	9/26/2001 12:46:15 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

I think you overestimate the US's ability to create Western style democracies. In many cases the dictators that the US has supported had no oposition that would likely form a government that was at all democratic, either because no such opposition had arisen or in many cases because it was crushed already. In some cases (at least in South Korea) the dictators slowly allowed democracy to come back and if we didn't support them then it would not have had a democratic government (in South Korea's case it would have been under a communist dictatorship). Overall its a complex issue with a lot of murky grey areas and tough decisions. In cases that don't involve US interests we might just want to stay out rather then get involved in a murky situation where there is no clear right and wrong sides. Even if that means not allowing your pet to wipe out trade unionists and awkward dissidents and other people you don't much like on the way: We could stop sending aid to the "bad pets", but unless we are going to send in the Marines it might be hard to "not allow" the local dictator to crush the opposition. Tim