is there anything the U.S could do today to stop dictators from rising to power? or is it something.......?
103961
it is something that america cannot control if their government follows its own laws.\n\nhowever, the CIA and U.S. army could pretty much knock aside any dictator it saw fit given that they didn't care about public opinion or bad press.
1134662
It will start with small erosions of US rights, timed just so that we don't put all the pieces together until it's too late. Perhaps an illegal election? (check) Someone hiding behind religion or terror as a response to everything? (check and Check)  A leader who doesn't understand warfare, yet is quick to send the troops to war, with no plan, no end,  no scope, just wanting the underlings to protect HIM (Check, Check and Check) An empirical ruler who  will sacrifice all rights to discredit anyone who goes against him (Valerie Plame and her husband, Check) Slowly you start to lose your rights (we can listen on your phone calls) Check.  The country runs out of money and either has to count on money that's not there (Iraqi oil Check) or money you fabricate (As long as there's ink we'll keep printing money.  Check) \nA puppet being played for a fool by others higher up than them? (check, check) then there's the absolute cronyism that comes with being in absolute power (Haliburtan, et al, Check) because you're too thick and do everything as a knee jerk reaction and don't care about the "People" anymore,  they are not your friends they are trying to destroy you!( Maniacal Check, check, check) \nThe environment is ruined for generations to come because your empirical thinking doesn't go past the next day. (check) The Allies that were once your countries (not YOURS, your countries) friends turn against you as a leader so ipso facto the country (check) You start a home based fear in your own country, BE WARNED guys it's coming... it's either gays or foreign people. He's dipping into the pool of public opinion with both.  Illegal immigration anyone? Gay Marriage? Like the Jews in Germany, someone will be made a target.  The common theme in any end of an empire is that a power hungry fool brought it down, (CHECK< CHECK< CHECK>>>>) Then after dividing the country and the world at this point, someone will take over.  Hopefully it will be afriendly someone, but after his antics, not likely.
834948
Do they actually still teach High school or just play football all day?????\na) Look up the Spanish American War\nb) We lease the place in the same way the UK had Hong Kong.\nc) Communist dictators have no right to lecture on human rights to the US or anybody else.\nd) Were it not for a deal cut over the Missile Crisis of '62, we would have wasted the guy a long time ago.\ne) Try acting like a American & not a Blue helmet....\n\nf) if you actually read the Geneva Conventions, These folks are not covered under them. They are not considered civilians nor are they soldiers.
448322
I would stop trying by different ways 2 establish USA as the only power in the world by making treaties with other countries .id stop betraying other countries askin others to stop warfare but continuing secret weaponery making. I would lend a helping hand to countries for imports n exports\nTHUS TRYING TO MAKE A PEACEFUL,AND A BETTER PLACE 2 LIVE IN.\n(NOTE:im not tryin 2 point out bush)
371103
No.  No country will ever rise the expectations of their citizens.  The only thing that can be done is to minimize the evils of the powerful.
803463
There is none.  The U.S. has just managed to put into power a group of people whose entire political philosophy, and their entire platform, is NOTHING beyond "I hate George Bush!"\n\nThey have no exit strategy from Iraq.  They have no plans to save Social Security.  They have no plans to defend us against terrorism.  They have no idea how to run the government.  They have no concept of how business works.  They have no concept of what the Constitution or Bill of Rights mean. They have no plan for reducing size of the Federal government or bureaucracy.  They have no plan for reducing the Federal deficit except to raise our taxes, and then spend even more money.  They have no plan for improving Health Care except to socialize it.\n\nAnd we've managed to put into power a party that has, traditionally, stated that you, Mr. or Mrs. John Q. Public, are entirely too stupid to know how to run your own life, so just let them run everything for you.\n\nThe next few years ought to be especially perverted.
1029949
Actually, we've moved away from empire. We used to have more foreign territories and be more aggressive supporting the Monroe Doctrine in the Americas, but we got rid of most of our territories and have taken a more hands-off approach to issues in the Americas.\n\nNow, every important country has gone through various stages, including expansion and empire type stages. And there is no certainty that the US will not go through the same thing in the future. But we seek no empire - heck, most of us would like to dump Puerto Rico - and we've given sovereignty back to many of our one time possessions / territories, e.g. Philippines, Panama canal, etc.\n\nThere has been no concentration of power in the executive, considering the recent power grabs by the legislature / judiciary in oversee the President in exercising his powers, such as trying to limit his ability to conduct national security intelligence gathering by wiretap or phone records.\n\nThis kind of power jousting has been going on for 225 years, and isn't about to stop now. Actually, the judiciary has been the worst offender regarding usurping power most recently. And after Watergate, Congress had attacked the powers of the presidency.\n\nAt this time, the executive and legislature have regained a parity. I do not see the executive having gotten out of control in the least.\n\nIf anybody claims that today we have some kind of dictatorship, they are peddling nonsense, and have a shameful ignorance of US history.
1158182
First it is freedom.  True freedom, personal, religious, and political is the solution. With out that your country will continue as it is forrever.  No amount of international help (food, money, pats on the back) will help. Those things only keep those in power stay in power.
137289
Finally, a good question.  Voting out the current dictatorship is the first step.  Stop voting Democrat or Republican.
1106921
I'm concerned about the ramifications. The bigger question is why is this administration continuing to push beyond their power limited them by the constitution.  The "terrorism" card has been played all along the way by George and cronies. They are slowly taking freedoms away that so many of our soldiers have fought and died for us to keep. Your question is a good one and we should all be concerned about what our democracy is morphing in to.
844729
We tried that before with Iran under the Clinton administration. It didn't work. We need to let the world handle this. If the dictators of N.K. and Iran won't comply, it will be up to the world to take them out.
1146967
if they are a democracy...then they wont...\n\nif they try to use it against us..i think our superior firepowewr and training will handle the situation nicely...
303048
Actually, Saddam seized power all by himself, locking up and in some cases executing members of his own party in order to declare himself dictator.  The US did not do that; Saddam did, and the Iraqi people let him.  Get your facts straight.\n\nIraq before Saddam was already a bit of a basket-case.  The regional and sectarian splits that we see today were definitely around back then.  If Saddam had not seized power, somebody else might have.  The government was pretty corrupt, like most in that part of the world.  Iraq had joined other Arab states in attacking Israel, so it is likely that a Saddam-less Iraq would have continued in its hostility to Israel, possibly supporting terrorist groups like its neighbors Iran and Syria.  It is difficult to say how exactly things might have turned out, but there is no good reason to believe that it would be much different.
23944
Its been happening for ages, Gangus Con, Julius Cesar,Adolf Hittler, and now George Bush. Its the never ending struggle for Power. What seperates Bush from all the others is that they didnt try to mask there intensions. Just about every SuperPower in history lasted about 100 years before there fall. As I see it, the U.S. has been the "Big Boy on the block for at least that long give or take a decade. If history repeats itself as in the past, were due to take a fall. Sooner or later, all Bullys fall.
574230
yes I've noticed this. The U.S.A. wants everything our way. Not so sure we want democracy. the present administration is more concerned with having there way than democracy...hopefully this will change when we get a few of these currently elected officials out of office the American people are gettign wise to there ways and soon maybe the U.S. will be happy to mind its own business again. at the current time it seems we havent done a very good job running our own country doesnt make much sense that we are trying to run everyone elses. Unfortuneately we have a few more years with the current president but perhaps the American people can rein him in a little there are many people in the U.S. that are not aproving of the ways things have been handled too bad we get the blame for what the government is doing.
279132
It's been proven time and again that dictatorships don't work out for the west.  They have supported many of them in the past.  As part of their so called "cold war".  They propped them up to keep communism down.\n\nNow they've realised their mistake so they're trying to force west loving democracy on countries, which obviously can't work either.\n\nI think the number one consideration for the US is to be able to trade with a country.  So in that sense they would probably prefer a pro-west dictatorship.\n\nThe European's may be more inclined to let a anti-west democracy go ahead.  But I'm not sure there's such a thing at the moment.  Democracy and West are pretty much the same thing aren't they.\n\nps. I'm from Australia.  We gave kickbacks to Saddam Hussein just so we could sell some wheat.
1164669
Skifaster,\nSerious question and I hope you see this again.  Everything you say is true and Evo could certainly be a concern.  However, do you seriously think the US should overthrow a Democratically-elected leader while spreading democracy in another Hemisphere?  It seems to me that that would even further harm our international image and make it impossible to work further trade deals in our own hemisphere.