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All the other dictators and despots the US supports


Clockwise, from left: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan

The US is already on the nose for its unequivocal support for President Mubarak of Egypt, but all too sadly American foreign policy - and perhaps that's an oxymoron! - has been to support many dictators and despots.

As this piece on Salon says:

"As Egyptian pro-democracy protests rage on, media attention has suddenly focused on the U.S. alliance with the country's authoritarian rulers. American support for the Egyptian government -- to the tune of $60 billion in aid over the last 30 years -- garnered virtually no regular attention before the protests began.

There are now reports of anti-American sentiment among the Egyptian protesters, who are angry about U.S. support for Hosni Mubarak over the years and about the Obama administration's hesitance to throw its full support behind the movement. A powerful symbol has emerged in tear gas canisters bearing "Made in the USA" labels that police have fired into the crowds.

So this is a good moment to take a look at where else in the world American taxpayer dollars are helping to prop up dictatorships with poor human rights records."

Continue reading, here, to see the list of American-supported dictators.

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