I recently received a comment with a quote from Ronald Reagan about freedom. I feel the need to balance it.
Reagan supported Sadaam Hussein, he said he was our friend. Reagan brought militant Islamic fighters to the US and trained them in counterinsurgency. That movement was led by Osama Bin Laden. They brought those methods to Al Qaeda and used them against us.
Reagan supported the Contras who attacked schools and health clinics in Nicaragua.
He sold weapons to Iran when they were sworn enemies of the United States. And he didn't even have the guts to take responsibility for it. He let Oliver North take the fall.
Ronald Reagan was the worst president of the 20th century not just because of bad policies, but because of his cynical leadership.
And he is falsely credited with ending Communism. The credit for that goes to Gorbachev. How many people would give up dictatorial power willingly. Reagan wouldn't, he would use it to bust unions like he did with the air traffic controllers.
He committed treason and called it patriotism. He committed terrorism and called it freedom fighting. He played Orweiian DoubleSpeak like no other president in my lifetime. He was an actor and a politician, not a hero.
Comments (1)
You've got that right! To say nothing of his initiating the deregulation that has ruined the economy, dismantling the best elements of The Great Society, disempowering the EPA, and loading up the federal courts. I always shake my head when people idolize him.