Re:Idi Amin – Mad Man or Man Of The World?
Interesting topic fatguy.
I’m going to throw in a few other tidbits about Amin that struck me as interesting.
As is unfortunately too often the case, Amin’s coup in 1971 was facilitated by “Western Powers” (Britain and Israel) pursuing their own geopolitical strategies. They obviously had no particular interest in the wellbeing of the Ugandan populace. (Though I don’t think Obote was any great shakes either).
[url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=434486]Amin’s Coup[/url]
At least the US wasn’t involved this time, and Jimmy Carter broke off diplomatic relations with him in 1972.
Of course as is to be expected, Amin was not particularly grateful, and it’s pretty clear that he colluded with the Entebbe hijackers in 1976.
Right now, one of his 30 children is trying to follow in his father’s footsteps.
[url=http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/reuters08-16-050039.asp?reg=africa&vts=81620030714]Amin’s Son[/url]
Do you think there’s any qualitative difference between dictators like Stalin (maybe) or Castro or even Mao, who start as idealists–men who want to free their country from the chains of colonialism or monarchical rule, and men like Idi Amin who seems to have had no particular political philosophy other than hunger for power or plain greed? In the end they’ve all became corrupted by power, but they didn’t all start there….
elmey