Question: Does the United States support brutal and oppressive dictators? Answer: YES!

The question merits absolutely zero debate. Anyone with a history book can tell you that supporting dictators is big American business. Below are some of my favorite moments in U.S. history, see if you can guess the pattern.

Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)

Obama and Mubarak at Oval Office of the White House, 2009	G.W. Bush and Mubarak in Egypt, 2008
Clinton and Mubarak at Oval Office of the White House, 1999	G.H.W.Bush and Mubarak at Oval Office of the White House, 1989
Reagan and Mubarak at Oval Office of the White House, 1984

The Sauds (Saudi Arabia)

King Abduallah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud with President Barack Obama. Saudi Arabia 2009	King Abduallah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud with President G.W. Bush. Saudi Arabia 2008
King Abduallah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud with President Bill Clinton. Saudi Arabia	King Abduallah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud with President G.H.W. Bush. Saudi Arabia 2005
King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Reagan at Oval Office of the White House, 1985

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Iran)

The Shah of Iran with President Carter, White House, 1977	The Shah of Iran with President Nixon, White House, 1969
The Shah of Iran with President Johnson, White House, 1964	The Shah of Iran with President Kennedy and Defense Secretary McNamara 1962
Iran’s Shah Reza Pahlavi with President Eisenhower in 1954	Mr. and Mrs. Truman and the Shah of Iran during the Shah’s visit to Washington D.C. 1949

Fulgencio Batista (Cuba)

Batista with US Army Chief of Staff Malin Craig	Fulgencio Batista and Dwight Eisenhower
Batista meeting Roosevelt 1942	Batista and Roosevelt 1942
Batista and Cordell Hull (Sec. of State) at the Pan-American Union Dec. 1942

The Somozas (Nicaragua)

Anastasio Somoza Debayle and Hope Portocarreo	Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza (left) and United States Ambassador to Nicaragua Capus Waynick sitting in the back seat of an automobile.
Anastasio Somoza and FDR in Washington D.C. 1939	Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza with President Franklin Roosevelt in Washington in 1939. Eleanor Roosevelt and Salvadora Somoza stand behind them.

Mobutu (Zaire, a.k.a. Congo)

Mobutu with President George Bush at White House, Washington D.C. 1989	Mobutu with President Reagan in Washington D.C. 1983
Mobuto with President Nixon in Washington D.C. 1973

Pinochet (Chile)

Pinochet with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Chile. 1976

Hussein (Iraq)

US Special Envoy and Hussein in Iraq. 1983

Trujillo (Dominican Republic)

US Vice President Nixon and Trujillo meet in Santo Domingo, DR. 1955

Suharto (Indonesia)

US President Clinton and Suharto in Washington D.C. 1995	President Reagan and Suharto in White House. 1982
US President Ford hosts a working luncheon for Suharto at Camp David. 1975	President Nixon and Suharto in White House. 1970

Marcos (Philippines)

President Reagan and Marcos in Washington D.C. 1982	President Nixon and Marcos in the Philippines. 1969
President President Johnson and Marcos in White House. 1966