BTW: US policy did screw up in one country in Asia. Most of the Authoritarian regimes we supported did bring growth and prosperity to their countrys - South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Vietnam etc. Most of the regimes we worked against turned out to be the worst - North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma. We even tried to get India to support and embrace the free market and they refused and ended up being totally screwed. However, we did support one anti-communist dictator who totally screwed his own country - Marcos in the Phillipines. Before Marcos, the Phillipines were pretty prosperous, and his regime turned it into a basket case. He created a kleptocracy (not a free market system) but we continued to back him because he was anti-communist. Supporting Marcos after he had Aquino assisinated was a huge mistake.
|