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Political Recycling: The Dictator Glut
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10041 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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4 / 1986 |
1,185 Words |
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Mayer Nudell
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The latest developments in the Philippines have put into stark relief the volatility of international politics. Although many U.S. officials realized that a change was inevitable there, the collapse of Marcos' government occurred so rapidly that the United States was not ready to deal with one little noticed by-product of this political change--a dictator glut.
Now you might think that one more ex-strongman would be easy to deal with after all the practice we have had. Not so; like any other commodity, the supply can exceed the demand.
Look at the resettlement problems the French are having with "Baby Doc" Duvalier and remember just how tough it was for the United States to find a home for Somoza and the Shah in 1979. You can't just plunk these guys down anywhere at the fall of a government and expect everything to work out for the best. A certain amount of creative forethought is required.
In the case of Ferdinand Marcos, events outpaced the planning at the State Department. Much of the same sort of phenomenon took place in 1979, when my good friend George was involved in the relocation of Nicaraguan strongman Anastacio Somoza Debayle. George handled that one quite well--although Somoza did get blown away in Paraguay, but that wasn't George's fault--so I wasn't surprised to learn that George had been brought back from his overseas assignment to work on the Marcos crisis. George and I are close, so it was only natural that he discussed his new assignment with me.
At lunch the other day, George outlined the problem. "You know," he said, "it's too bad that Marcos couldn't have held out longer. We're still having trouble getting Baby Doc a new home."
"Why should Baby Doc's problem affect Marcos?" I asked. "Aren't we going to let him move here? After all, I read some place that he has a lot a of property here and with all his savings from his career as a public servant he's hardly likely to need welfare."
"I know it seems simple and straightforward," replied George, "but there's a lot of resistance to the idea that Marcos will settle here. What would we tell the French when they ask us about taking Baby Doc again?"
"Look," I said, "if we take Marcos, maybe the French will keep Baby Doc. At least we can show them that we've taken our fair share of ex-dictators. You know, these guys can be an important resource and we should share them equitably with other countries."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Let's look at Marcos and Baby Doc," I said. "Remember how much they are worth and how much property they own around the world. You know the numbers better than I do, but press reports say that each has hundreds of millions of dollars and property. We are not taking peanuts here."
"Go on," he said.
"If we took in Marcos, just think of what we could do with him. First of all, we send him a military plane for him, his family, and his supporters. Why, the
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